" The meaning of life is to give life meaning "
~ Victor Frankl ~
~ Victor Frankl ~
My why starts with my story and my story starts from birth. I was fortunate enough to have grown up with not only my parents, but also my grandparents. My admiration for the older generation began way before I knew what would eventually become of that type of conditioning. Their stories have helped to create my story. A story that involves being a woman, a daughter, a grand-daughter, a mother, a friend, a sister, a nurse and now an end of life care doula. A story that involves such an overwhelming calling to advocate for both myself and for others. Especially those who either no longer have a voice or need someone to help them along the way.
My story takes place in Ohio some 50 years ago and has traveled through Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and now the Carolinas. Home is now wherever love lives. My kids, Bonnie & Conor, are both in college and the nest has been emptied. No better time to recreate myself and begin this new journey into doula care. The 22 years of punching a time clock as an RN has served it's purpose. So much experience and so many friends gained, but the next chapter has been ready to be read for years now. A new chapter that allows my passion for end of life care to be shared with each client, caregiver and loved ones who make up their world.
Looking back over the course of my career as a nurse, I have been doula-ing for much of it. In the ER I would be the one to volunteer to stay with the patients after their passing, covering them with a warm blanket. Dimming the overhead trauma lights to a low setting, pulling up the chairs, a table with tissues and putting the side rails down on the the bed in order to allow the family to hold their loved one's hand one last time. To allow them to get close to their body and hug them again, whispering in their ear for the final time. Offering my condolences but leaving them at the bedside for privacy for as long as they needed. Letting them know that hearing is the last sense to leave the body and to continue talking to them until they've spoken everything they needed them to know.
With every nursing job I've found the documentation/task to patient care ratio to be the opposite of what my idea of caring for people entailed. I knew there had to be a better system in place to really get to the core of people's thoughts and wishes as their time on earth was coming closer to an end. I found that through discovering the term doula during my time in Hospice. I continued to explore it from the outside looking in, knowing I had to wait for the right season to dive in completely. That season was a year ago when I committed to taking the training course through INELDA in March, 2020. I flew to Denver, CO as a nurse and truly returned 4 days later with a peace of mind that I had made the right decision.
I have taken on this new role completely and wholeheartedly, amidst the pandemic, sometimes stretching beyond my comfort zones of the unknown vs known. I would rather be at peace with the mystery of never really knowing where or how I will cross paths with my next client than go through the motions of settling in a field that no longer serves me and my heart completely.
My story takes place in Ohio some 50 years ago and has traveled through Massachusetts, Vermont, New York and now the Carolinas. Home is now wherever love lives. My kids, Bonnie & Conor, are both in college and the nest has been emptied. No better time to recreate myself and begin this new journey into doula care. The 22 years of punching a time clock as an RN has served it's purpose. So much experience and so many friends gained, but the next chapter has been ready to be read for years now. A new chapter that allows my passion for end of life care to be shared with each client, caregiver and loved ones who make up their world.
Looking back over the course of my career as a nurse, I have been doula-ing for much of it. In the ER I would be the one to volunteer to stay with the patients after their passing, covering them with a warm blanket. Dimming the overhead trauma lights to a low setting, pulling up the chairs, a table with tissues and putting the side rails down on the the bed in order to allow the family to hold their loved one's hand one last time. To allow them to get close to their body and hug them again, whispering in their ear for the final time. Offering my condolences but leaving them at the bedside for privacy for as long as they needed. Letting them know that hearing is the last sense to leave the body and to continue talking to them until they've spoken everything they needed them to know.
With every nursing job I've found the documentation/task to patient care ratio to be the opposite of what my idea of caring for people entailed. I knew there had to be a better system in place to really get to the core of people's thoughts and wishes as their time on earth was coming closer to an end. I found that through discovering the term doula during my time in Hospice. I continued to explore it from the outside looking in, knowing I had to wait for the right season to dive in completely. That season was a year ago when I committed to taking the training course through INELDA in March, 2020. I flew to Denver, CO as a nurse and truly returned 4 days later with a peace of mind that I had made the right decision.
I have taken on this new role completely and wholeheartedly, amidst the pandemic, sometimes stretching beyond my comfort zones of the unknown vs known. I would rather be at peace with the mystery of never really knowing where or how I will cross paths with my next client than go through the motions of settling in a field that no longer serves me and my heart completely.