They were three little girls in a row for their entire hospital stay. All close to the same age. All burn contracture cases during our plastic surgeries. One had a severe burn on her foot when she was a baby. The scarred tissue froze in place. Now at age 8, her small toes were on … Continue reading Skin

I was involved in a car accident right in the middle of finals during nursing school. Within the same week my TB skin test puffed up positive. The stress, the pressure, and now the fear of having tuberculosis (a disease we just learned about in class) threatened to overwhelm me. I was three-quarters of the … Continue reading Tried and True

When we keep claiming the light, we will find ourselves becoming more and more radiant. What fascinates me so much is that every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love.” -Henri Nowen Our plastic surgeries have … Continue reading Radiant

“Wow! You’re tall! Do you play basketball? Volleyball?” I’ve become used to disappointing people with the answer “no” to these questions. Most see it as a waste of natural potential. Others just bemoan that they weren’t given the same gift to use for their basketball career. I’ll be honest, it bothered me in high school. … Continue reading Football.

I stared down at the casket in front of me and felt like a complete failure. My job was to keep these lungs breathing. My goal was to get this tissue the nutrition it needed to heal. My strategy was to time pain and nausea medication for comfortable visits with family and friends. And I … Continue reading The Goodness of God

“Mama?!” ”Mamé?” ”Mama?” ”Mamé?” Giggles. As everyone settles down for the night, I hear the sweetest game of Marco Polo from my patient, Mamé, and her mom across the ward. Mamé is one of our precious two year olds. She came to our unit very shy and afraid. Due to an amniotic band surgery on … Continue reading She held my hand!