I’m glad they are among us…
I’m of the opinion you can’t say enough good things about oncology nurses. How they do what they do day-in and day-out is beyond me, but I’m glad they are among us.
I’ve been working on a project up at Hopkins, at the Cancer Center, that I hope to be able to share with you all next week. It’s a video project that reflects on some very special couples who are coping with the trials of metastatic colon cancer. They were part of a weekend retreat that was created to help them face so many of the issues that come with their present and future lives in cancer world.
Two very special oncology nurses did the heavy lifting for this retreat. They put together the total package and by that I mean every thing from massage to legal advice was on the docket. These sessions were full of important information and the couples got amazing advice from all the experts…it was a huge success.
These couples; the cancer patients and their care givers bonded during this weekend. They realized they were not alone in their fight. They shared experiences, they created friendships. They laughed together and we all cried together. It was the perfect combination of reality and emotions and it would not have worked, if it hadn’t been for these wonderful nurses, understanding what elements were needed to make this retreat work.
It’s what makes these women so special. They GET cancer…they GET what patients and care givers need in the most difficult time of their lives.
They cried at this retreat too…because they FELT what everyone else was feeling….they are special…truly special.
January 11, 2013 @ 8:40 pm
What you describe sounds like a marvelous project that will have value to so many others. Too few nurses, especially in oncology, receive the praise they deserve.
There was a moving story in today’s New York Times about a nurse with cancer who literally offered herself up as a case study and teacher that other nurses might learn something about what it is to care for a patient with cancer. The experiences of the two nurses who visited her and helped care for her will translate into improvements in the care of others.
January 11, 2013 @ 8:24 pm
What a wonderful thing to do. This kind of “event” acknowledges the elephant in the room and helps patients and caregivers deal with it. Bless you and those nurses…oncology and NICU nurses especially, are the angels that walk among us.