Intensive Care by Echo Heron

There is so much I can say about this novel, but for the sake of time and to entice more readers I will only speak to a few main points I took from it.

One of the first things I would like to point out is that Echo was a mother while also going through nursing school. She raised her child to the best of her ability and did have some "real-life" events that threw her off her guard at points. The fact that she included these life events in her book as well really influenced my perspective of her as a nurse and her as an author. 

It truly is easy to become swept up in the grandeur of medicine and forget about the bad days, hard decisions, and inevitable consequences of others' decisions. Intensive Care is a great reminder of the challenges nurses face. It is also a gleaming example of all that is important about nursing. The compassion Echo shows her clients is incredible! I think every nurse strives to provide the best care for their patients and the stories Echo shares are only a few examples of the ways we can do so.

That being said, I encourage all healthcare providers and families of healthcare providers to read this in order to gain a deeper insight into one woman's perspective of the healthcare industry. It hopefully will gain us nursing students some compassion and nurses a little more respect than frequently experienced.

Spring: A Time For Renewal

Well it certainly has been a while hasn't it?

Oh there is so much to update! For one, Spring is almost certainly upon us in the Pacific Northwest! The past few days there has been the typical Spring weather fluctuations - and I will not lie, I am very much enjoying it.


That being said, I have returned to running after a brief lapse to accommodate increasing physical fatigue secondary to demands from academia as evidenced by an ever-aching knee, sleep deprivation, and frequent dehydration from increased caffeine intake.

Spring always reminds me of renewal in the most basic sense - "the replacement or repair of something that is worn-down, run-out, or broken"- in that I can either scrap whatever failed or failing endeavors I was attending to or return to them with refreshed vigor.

I love that I have options... They provide hope.

In Honor of Guello's Birthday: an Appreciation Post

Today is my grandfather's 80th birthday. Now, I don't have many photos of solely him, and the ones I do have are not very good. I think it is kind of a metaphor for his life though... He has always worked for others, whether that be his family, his friends, or the Church. My grandpa, Guello, is who I think of when I think of hard-work, service, and humility.

Guello used to regale me with stories of his youth, particularly of jobs that he worked, conversations that he had, and people he met. He has worked most of his life and has met so many people it is hard to believe he also spent much of his time with his family. Guello is my inspiration for when I do not think I can handle the long, sleepless nights or the rushing days. He never seems to complain about anything, especially working so much. He is always finding ways to help out in some way at church or in the family. Guello's involvement in his parish makes me want to be more involved in mine.

In honor of Guello's birthday, I want to recognize those that humbly serve the community in which they live and/or reach out to other communities in need. Thank you. There are few others like you and I, along with many others that cannot verbalize it enough, appreciate that. Your actions not only physically aid others, they emphasize the inherent goodness in people and give hope to a struggling society and world in constant turmoil. Service truly does make the world go round!

My family celebrating my grandparents' birthdays this past weekend.
As you can probably tell, it was a full house!

Activism in the Form of Love

Today I began writing a letter to the store manager of a Starbucks near Linfield. Why? Well, because I love my friends.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet my friend Millygoat.
She's a sweetheart in every sense of the word.
She loves nature and being active.
She's crazy... adorable.
She's also small.
Imp-like.
Little.
AND I LOVE HER!

My friend Milly is an impish young woman I met briefly at a pre-college gathering in Seattle. A year or so later, Milly and I reconnected on a whole other level. One of the many special things about Milly is that she is extremely allergic to several things. She is especially allergic to dairy.

Long story short, the aforementioned Starbucks served Milly milk instead of soy, not once, but on three separate occasions. Milly knows how to handle these kinds of situations - she simply popped some Benadryl and explained to the baristas the mishap. The baristas only offered to make her a new drink. The serious harm that could have come to my friend due to the mishap is primarily the reason I am writing the letter.

I do not want to immediately assume the mishaps were due to carelessness. I know mistakes happen - it is a fact of life. I also understand that some people simply like the taste of soy and do not have dietary restrictions like Milly's, however, I am outraged that the baristas treated it with nonchalance. I had hoped they would realize the seriousness of the situation and offer assistance of some kind, not simply another beverage. The fact that this particular location was the site of the other two mishaps alarmed me. I wonder if the baristas realized the gravity of the situation - Milly's health and safety was compromised due to simply using the wrong substance.

I find it unacceptable as a business to have such poor service. I know there are others like Milly that are lactose intolerant and suffer from mistakes baristas make and I say enough is enough. People need to know that food allergies are important and need to be treated as such. No one's loved ones should not have to be subjected to more discomfort than they have to, especially with something as basic as food.

I am following Milly's lead and avoiding the Starbucks, but I did not think that was enough. I thought the store manager ought to know the reason it lost our business. I hope that in writing to the store manager about my disappointment and concerns, the location will change its practices or at least be more aware the next time a customer with a severe food allergy appears. One can only hope!