Greatest Gift of All

Courtesy of ScrubsMag.com, by Nicole Lehr • July 31, 2010

What’s the greatest gift you could imagine receiving? Some would say a winning lottery ticket. Others would argue that the car of their dreams or house they’ve always wanted would suffice. And some would stray from the material world and deem that marrying your soul mate or seeing your kids grow up into successful adults would be the greatest gifts of all.

What about the gift of life itself? I’ve never worked in labor and delivery, but I’ve always been envious of those nurses who do. They are constantly bringing new life into the world and seemingly experiencing this great gift that parents receive as they are handed their new baby for the first time.

I treasure our profession because it allows such an opportunity to experience life’s greatest gifts nearly every work day. After some deliberation, I decided that, similar to a labor and delivery experience, children on my unit are handed the gift of life a second time around when they go through open heart surgery.

I have always been intrigued by heart transplants. The concept of placing a stranger’s heart into another body is complicated, amazing and nearly miraculous. The hardest thing I had to overcome when I first started my job was getting past the sad fact that another child had to lose his or her life in order for this organ to be available. I have accepted this as a professional, but to this day I’m not sure I would be able to accept these very raw facts as openly as a parent of a child receiving a heart transplant.

Some of my most emotional and touching experiences as a nurse thus far have been related to heart transplant recipients. I have seen blue babies come out of surgery a new robust shade of pink in mere hours. I have listened to a child who didn’t eat for months ask for a meal of chicken fingers and macaroni a few short days after her transplant. Then I proceeded to watch her finish her meal.

I have witnessed a boy who couldn’t walk to the bathroom without getting short of breath come back to visit a year after his transplant to brag about the sports he is playing. I have cried with a parent when they were told the transplant was a last-ditch effort and the chances of rejection were high, and later cried with the parent when the little girl took her first steps two months after the transplant. I have witnessed a teenage girl at camp show her scar to her friends, a scar that had been re-entered three times with each subsequent transplant she had received.

A mother, who I am very close with, recently shared with me that she received a letter from the parents of the child who her son’s organ donor. This letter reached the mother’s hands three years after her son had his heart transplant. It detailed the donor child’s name, some hobbies he enjoyed and why everyone who came into contact with him loved him. The mother told me how sad she felt for this family, but she realized now how perfect of a match the heart really was–regardless of blood type and antibodies–because her son was very similar to the boy. This letter embodies an example of the gift of life being given a second time around.

Although I would love a million dollars or even a year-long vacation around the world, I still believe the greatest gift one can receive is life. What other profession outside the medical realm allows you to see this gift being given on such an intimate level on nearly a daily basis? Whether through heart transplants, a recovering trauma patient, or witnessing the birth of a child, the nursing world is filled with life. People sometimes say it takes a special type of person to be a nurse, but I feel confident in saying it’s the profession that is special and I’m honored to be a part of it

Spring/Summer New Arrivals 2012

Its time for our new Spring/Summer Arrivals and these new scrubs do not dissappoint!



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Better Living Corner - Getting Sandal Worthy Feet

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Thrifting

It used to be that most people in America grew up getting and wearing hand-me-down-clothes. For me, as a younger sister to a brother, that sometimes meant I had to wear boys clothing, much to my dismay. I swore I would never make my kids wear hand-me-downs, but I learned when I had my own two children that my budget didn't allow for new frilly clothes each season like I had hoped.

As an adult, I have shared clothes between friends, and also between family members for our children's clothes. Now, I have been introduced to “thrifting”!

According to Wikipedia, “thrifting” is the act of shopping at a thrift store, flea market, garage sale or a shop of a charitable organization, usually with the intent of finding interesting items at a cheap price. A larger philosophy permeates the act of thrifting which celebrates the recycling of formerly owned items and a new love for vintage material goods.

Thrifters are most commonly people who have no economic choice but to buy second hand. Thrifters are also your basic, garden variety bargain hunters. Thrifters are anti-consumers, wanting to buck the mainstream shopping center mentality. There is also a growing thriftier demographic called Eco-Thrifters with a heightened environmental awareness, hoping to reduce their carbon footprint.

So, where do you go to thrift? To find local thrift shops, search online for thrift stores and your city. Here in the Denver, Colorado area for instance, we have Goodwill, ARC and Savers. All of these thrift stores sell clothing and household items for pennies on the dollar.

The trick to thrifting is first and foremost finding treasures in a pile of “stuff”. Yes, it takes time to sift through that stuff, but its worth the effort because you can literally save hundreds of dollars in one trip alone!

To help you get started and keep your sanity, here are a few helpful tips for thrifting success:
Go regularly and inquire about “restocking” day. To get the best stuff, you will need to go often, and the best selection is after stores have restocked.

Go during off-hours. This is purely for sanity’s sake. Friday or Saturday nights around dinner-time most stores are pretty empty. Mid-day Saturday it gets a little crazy, so try this at your own risk.

Maintain a standard and you will be happier with your purchases. Look for higher quality items because they are usually the same price as the lower quality items.

Shop off season. Thrift stores also have sale days and will discount off season items to make room for a new season. Instead of $3 for a nice sweater, you can pick it up for $1.50!

What you wear to the thrift store matters. Often there are long lines for fitting rooms, or they are non-existent. Wear something that is comfortable and easy to try things on over.

Keep an open mind. If you go looking for a pink satin dress in a size 10 for a weding this weekend, you probably wont find it. Plan ahead, or pick up great items for potential events down the road.

Whether you need “new” jeans or love the thrill of finding a Chanel pea-coat for six bucks, thrifting offers a little something for everyone!

Source: wikipedia.com; www.painfullyhip.com;