Education:
BS in Nursing.
Professional/Personal Overview:
I am retired from a forty-five year profession as a registered nurse. I was the primary caregiver for my husband who suffered and died from ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). I spent many hours searching the literature, and I gained a wealth of knowledge which allowed me to attempt to provide for his care. In the process of caregiving, I came to know this particular horrendous disease up close and personal. I believe what I learned during this difficult journey has equiped me to help others who may be facing a similar challenge. I am a Christian who believes in God's promise that He will sustain us and go with us through the fiery trials of life.
Published Works:
I have had two unrelated nursing articles published in the American Journal of Nursing.
Work History/Expertise:
I have a BS in Nursing with forty-five years experience. I am able to read, interpret, and relay complex medical information in simple, understandable terms. During the early part of my career, I served as a Second Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corp, and I was stationed at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. Soldiers with life altering injuries taught me about true courage. I am now an Army Veteran.
I have nursing experience in essentially every clinical area of a general care hospital setting, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). My primary interest was in cardiac care, and I spent most of my career working with cardiac patients. I was the nurse manager of a Coranary Observation Unit for twenty-five of my forty-five year nursing career. The last ten years, I was nurse maager of a cardiac rehabilatation program. I retired from nursing in 2004 in order to care for my husband.
Other:
After my husband was diagnosed with ALS, although a nurse for many years, I was terrified at the prospect of having to care for someone with a disease such as this. I wondered how anyone with no medical background or skills would be able to cope with the enormity of it all. Most people know that ALS is a fatal disease, but they know little else. When they or a loved one recieves the dreaded diagnosis, they cannot begin to cope because they don't know what to expect. They desperately want and need to know what to do...how to begin. By taking the reader along on this physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual journey, I hope to share my experience and what I have learned about caring for a person diagnosed with such a devastating, life changing disease.
I had caregivers in mind when I wrote this story, but I believe Bill's story would appeal to patients, family members, care-givers, friends, co-workers, nurses, students, and numerous others connected to and affected by this horrendous disease. Maybe it is the tragedy as well as the mystery, which surrouinds this illness that makes it so powerful...so intriguing. It does indeed remind us of our human frailty. It does not fail to remind us of our human mortality.
I had caregivers in mind when I wrote this story, but I believe Bill's story would appeal to patients, family members, care-givers, friends, co-workers, nurses, students, and numerous others connected to and affected by this horrendous disease. Maybe it is the tragedy as well as the mystery, which surrouinds this illness that makes it so powerful...so intriguing. It does indeed remind us of our human frailty. It does not fail to remind us of our human mortality.
