A three-year-old boy lies sleeping in his hospital bed. Monitors are silent, white noise plays in the background, and lights are low.  “You aren’t doing your job. You don’t know what you are doing. You need to call the doctor right now!” Outside the room, the little man’s mom is angry and screaming at the ...

I have the privilege of being both a pediatric nurse and a mom. With 11 years of hospital bedside experience in the pediatric intensive unit, I encounter a range of patients and families. Each meeting is unique and special in its own way. Something new I learn every shift, is how to foster resilience in ...

Catherine sat up in the creaking bed and rubbed her swollen eyes. This head cold had made the previous night a hard one to sleep through, and its presence lingered today. “Achoo!” She sneezed into her hands, got up, and washed them thoroughly in the washbasin, as mother had taught her. Afterwards, Catherine donned a ...

Obtaining quality sleep is a challenge. Factor in alarms, excessive noise, artificial illumination, and people waking you up, the idea of getting any shut-eye sounds impossible. Bodies need rest and an opportunity to reset. In the hospital, it is paramount to recovery. Hindrances Hospitals hinder relaxation due to functioning as a 24-hour workforce. Patients are ...

Hospitals are not always a fun place to be. Visitors liven the place up and make a sterile room more welcoming. As a bedside nurse with 10 years of experience, I witness a plethora of gifts for patients and see how presents elevate the spirit of the sick. Flowers are among the top choice for ...

It is a challenge for patients in the hospital to connect with loved ones outside. When there is a sibling at home, the challenge is twofold. As a nurse with ten years of experience in the pediatric intensive care unit, I often see parents wanting to bring siblings to visit. Sometimes visits are feasible, other ...

Cancer: The word means nothing to most people. But to the people who have it, or those close to them, the word means everything.

Coronavirus has been affecting everyone around the world differently. I believe that our emotions and thoughts of the virus differ based on the roles we currently hold in society. “Essential workers” are those who have been working on the frontlines, exposed to society and the virus, who are risking their health, the health of their ...

We can’t control how COVID-19 will act, but we can control how we react.  Our behavior during the coronavirus crisis matters.  How we deal with each other and our social circles is just as important as how we deal with the virus. Behavior matters. There is a story out there in cyberland about how one ...

footprints march the sand as you did though the memory now fades as the ocean tide washes them away and when the sun settles for the night to come i watch the infinite stars circle eternity around my head i remember you traced them with a finger interconnecting constellations and regaling me with stories of ...