Next week is National Nursing Home Week, an occasion we all can celebrate! As I thought about what to share with you for this special week, I decided to tell you a story. It’s about a nursing home nurse I knew many years ago.
We all know people whose paths we cross that end up making a profound impact on who we become. Mary was one of those people.
My first long-term care job after graduating from college was at a small nursing home in Montana. Mary was an LPN there. She took me under her wing and helped me learn my new role.
It was apparent that Mary possessed a gift for working with nursing home residents. And I could see that she genuinely loved her job.
On those rare occasions when we had a bit of extra time during a shift, you didn’t find Mary sitting around chatting. She was off curling someone’s hair or helping a lonely resident write a letter.
I even remember a couple of times when Mary borrowed the nursing home van on her day off. After loading it up with residents, she took them out for a treat at the local ice cream shop.
Mary demanded high-quality care, and she was strict with the staff. Yet, her co-workers respected Mary because they knew how much the residents meant to her.
I can say that I learned the technical aspects of nursing in college. But Mary taught me real-life lessons about dedication, compassion, and how to find humor in difficult shifts.
After working at the nursing home for 18 months, I moved on to a new job in North Dakota. Mary returned to college in another city to become an RN.
We kept in touch for a short time, but as so often happens, we eventually lost track of each other. (This was before the era of social media and cell phones, so keeping in touch was a bit more difficult back then.)
Now and then, I thought about Mary and wondered how she was doing. A few years ago, I decided that I needed to find her and let her know what a positive impact she had on my nursing career.
I started with an online search, and it puzzled me to find absolutely no trace of Mary. But everything changed when her dad’s obituary popped up on the screen.
My heart sank as I read that he “was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary, a nurse who died in 1997.” I later learned from a mutual acquaintance that Mary died of ovarian cancer.
It’s been 22 years since Mary’s death. I feel sad that this world lost a wonderful nurse at such a young age. And I feel bad that I never let her know how much she helped me in my nursing career.
I don’t want this story to be in vain. That’s why I’m offering you an invitation. As National Nursing Home week approaches, please think about those people that made a positive impact on your life and your career.
Then I hope you’ll track down at least one of these people and let them know what a difference they made in who you are today. Please do it now, before it’s too late.
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