5 Truly Inspirational Nurse Stories | VNA Health Group

Nurses Week is a great time to pause and

reflect on the impact that nurses have

in the community I think it is important

to pause and reflect and really reflect

on yourself and see what difference

you're making it's very important to

recognize our nurses I really do believe

in that this is the one profession where

one person really does make a difference

in someone's lives you know the role of

nurses and in our organization is

incredibly important really nurses are

our heart and soul they really kind of

are the backbone of health care we're

all nurses and we're all like in a

brotherhood or sisterhood however you

want to say it we meet people at very

very difficult times and we have an

opportunity to really change how they

see their future you know our home care

as nurses work really hard each day you

know they don't know exactly what they

may come across I think it's more

important to recognize nurses on a daily

basis and the things that they do above

and beyond every day sometimes it could

be just a smile sometimes just to touch

but sometimes there's some extraordinary

examples that we have and I think we'll

probably see in some of the video

stories today

my patient was a 98 year old veteran

very proud to be a veteran and he had

congestive heart failure for many years

and he understood the disease he

understood why it happened but he really

had a very very poor diet and he would

joke with me and I and he'd say well I

made it through all the wars those wars

didn't kill me what makes you think my

diets going to kill me

so he had a very distinctive voice you

could you would pick his voice out of

any crowd so there's a little mini mall

and in the community very small mini

mall and it kind of has a center court

so there was a lab in there and we drop

off our blood specimens there so I'm

cutting through and I could hear his

voice I said oh he's here where is he

what is he doing here right there he was

in center court with about six other

gentlemen he had his magnifying glass he

had his soup can and he had the written

instruction that I had given him and he

says guys guys we got it all wrong my

nurse says and when I heard that my

heart just skipped a beat because I

really felt like I really not only got

through to him but now here he's

teaching his peers and it was just so so

heartwarming and really that was I just

stood there in the background just

watching him and really luckily he

didn't see me because he would have

drawn me over there and then I would

have to you know give advice to

everybody you know who weren't my

patients but it really was very very

heartwarming very very satisfying

Beverley story was kind of interesting

because it really exemplified how one

nurse going out to teach one patient

then further spread the message to a

whole group in a community so where

Beverly went and taught the one patient

he went and taught a group of patients

and who knows how many paid how many

people those that group went on to tell

well you know many seniors share

information with each other

oh my doctor said this no this doctor

said that so they maybe they don't

really believe what you say but they

believe each other and if one of them

has success with something then it kind

of proves that it works that what we're

doing is working the only thing I knew

about the case the time is that he had a

diagnosis of lung cancer and that he was

89 years old and when I first came to

the house to do the start of care visit

I met with his wife and himself and

there was three of five children their

adult children when I walked in and

introduced myself and took his hand I

could tell right away that he was a very

proud man and very used to being in

control of his surroundings well for the

majority of the time that I was visiting

with him he would call it his condition

I'd asked him how he was feeling as well

you know I have this condition and maybe

about a week and a half before he passed

away and he was declining and much

difficulty walking and wasn't able to

eat anymore he said to me Amy I think

the disease is getting worse and I've

said I think you're right the night that

I have pronounced him though we were

talking and they were thanking me for

having their dad comfortable at end of

life which he was and that was not the

impression that was given to him when he

was first diagnosed with this cancer and

the

daughter-in-law whose mother was had

been on hospice said to me Amy I want

you to know that I was against this up

until last night and she said my mother

was on Hospice and it was a horrifying

experience for me but I have to say that

you have restored my faith in the

hospice program roses Rose had a lot of

ups and downs so she had a lot of

problems with her heels she became

septic from them they did wind up

deciding to amputate both of her legs to

help resolve our problem and that you

know really was good for Rose because it

avoided she kept going back in and out

of the hospital with those wounds

rosemary was you know essentially bed

bound her multiple sclerosis had been

taken over her daily ability to function

independently at that time I believe she

had a young child who you know who

needed more help and jackie was able to

assist her and her husband at that time

in taking care of them and making them

have good quality of life and mrs.

Reynolds was B was able to bring up her

children she was able to you know

maintain a normal household even with

her disability I have no complaints

about Jackie there she's been wonderful

really

she had nurses come in when I had those

heel infections here on Saturdays and

Sundays they changed my dressing and

everything she's very very good I

couldn't ask for anything any anything

better really very nice

well this was a very difficult case to

begin with was a the Olmec child in the

family and they waited 18 years to have

him so it was a very emotionally

mentally and physical challenge in this

case family were struggling with the

decision to come to hospice but their

immediate goal was for them to for the

child to get better well in hospice

program and pursue more curative

aggressive treatments

they were struggling with accepting the

decline of the child he came in our

program in April of 2015 from month of

April until June July patient was slowly

declining and meantime we as a hospital

we created an environment and build

trust with them it was very hard because

they they weren't so open to the hospice

and I don't blame them being the only

child is very hard to accept that your

only child will die and it was a very

careful maneuver to go to their heart in

their minds with the help of all my

three managers Viki Bosco

Donna Henry and Cindy Charles we were

able to penetrate in their brains and

their hearts and build a trust the best

thing how to do that was to just being

present in there actively listening

listen to them and being empathic

being a mother I associated myself and

put myself in their shows many times and

it was very hard to maintain that

professional

kind of boundaries that were there and

there were many times when I could look

at that son and say my son's face which

was very hard when you see things not go

well it's very hard on all of us it can

it can tear your heartstrings when

things are not going well every time

when I was leaving this house

I was keeping that sign of peace

in his forehead and

thinking about their pair is that what

they were going through the best thing

in promise to myself was to help them

going through these practices one of the

questions they were questioning me was

why our son why did God God gave it us

after 18 years did they get back and

there wasn't any answer to that question

I couldn't answer that question I just

listened but

in my heart I all scream inside

like I said I had a great team support

and I had a moment that I was falling

especially after he died this kid died I

was falling back but the team kind of

caught me and supported me were there

for me until I kind of let it go that

idea the best still and is going to be

with me the moment I die

so Janine has been with this particular

family for a number of years the child

started as a as a infant into the

program was referred for some

developmental issues chromosomal

abnormalities well I got him as a

newborn and my first thought which I

very distinctly remember was oh my

he had a diagnosis which they usually

don't survive and so I expected somebody

very very severely ill and he was very

very severely ill we had really in the

beginning no knowledge of the ozone

already had and she kind of steered us

in the right direction they had a witch

doctors to get in contact with and have

seen and you know based on her

recommendations we've you know seen

doctors and really without her we would

have you know the ship was gonna going

all over the place before we were able

to really get steered in right there

actually the challenge for him is that

in the diagnosis that he has is so rare

that his major diagnosis is so rare that

most children that had that diagnosis

which does not have an official name

is less than two years so he has some

unusual things that occur but he's

beaten all of those odds coming through

things that he's been told he couldn't

do he's managed to do it's slow progress

but every step he makes is wonderful to

see he's only recently begun talking or

saying words prior to that he would

scream now he'll say two or three word

sentences it's it's amazing to say the

mother of the one child and the

grandmother of the infant was you know

really eager to be able to participate

and in our conversations that we had had

you know about Jim Ian's role in the

home she had shared that the older child

who has like I have said some

considerable developmental issues

doesn't really have a lot of words that

he uses it was not an extremely verbal

child and what he does say isn't always

clear but you need names

one thing that he says quite often and

very clear and she shared that story a

lot so you know it really spoke to me

about how important Jeanine is to his

family and this child and

you know now the grandchild as well

it's great story well tell Shawn at this

point sitting in his company and he'll

say Janine Janine whenever he gets a

little boo boo in the house Janine zani

my you got here you know so he expects

her now he expects her to come over you

know he loves her so some of the

qualities that just Janine has displayed

with this particular case is her

carrying her ability to look at the big

picture and see some of the things that

she could help with that may not really

be what others may think as you know her

role and you know she has helped to get

a crib for the family through the

Children Family Health Institute you

know she reached out to appropriate

resources and was able to see a need and

again you know is that the job of a home

nurse to get a crib for a baby

most people would think no but Janine

thanks yes we could tell you a million

stories and they're they're very

adaptable they're flexible they're very

compassionate

they're very true to their hearts the

many hands one heart theme really

embodies Nursing because it does take

many hands to get a person to wellness

and to help each other

emphasizes our individual strengths and

yet the expertise and passion to come

together with one heart one focus to

dedicate to patient care

first and foremost I just want to thank

all of our nurses for their service to

our organization to their patients to

their communities the work you're doing

is indispensable the world is a better

place because of what you do I want to

say to all our nurses a very big thank

you for their dedication commitment

they're inspiring we're in the best

career in the world

we're helping people were trying to work

with people it's you cannot beat that

there's no way to beat that there's

there's nothing else where you do that

in the same way that we do as nurses

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