– By Ashley Letbetter, Senior –
Ashley is at MD Anderson’s unit P8 where she is moved by the personal stories of patients.
I was placed on unit P8, the neurology and rehab unit. Daily, these nurses take care of patients while strengthening them mentally and physically. On pod A, the rehab side, patients recovering from all types of cancers, surgeries, and treatments go through intensive physical and occupational therapy three hours a day. This allows these patients to be able to perform everyday activities more easily. On pod B, the neurology side, patients with brain and spinal tumors are watched closely to assure there are no complications from their varying treatments.
Although I love learning about each patient’s condition and the pathophysiology behind each one, I can’t help but love getting to know each patient personally. I hope I never tire of learning about someone else’s life. I have many stories that have impacted me personally, but one in particular really stands out.
She is a 26-year-old woman who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis when she was five years old. This has caused her to have many surgeries and rounds of chemotherapy. She also experiences numbness around certain parts of her body as an effect of the tumors on her spinal cord.
This young woman finished high school but could never finish a college course because of all her treatments. She loves spending time with her dog but she can’t because, as she said, “I spend more time at MD Anderson than at home.” As we talked, I couldn’t help but get tears in my eyes.
While I was spending my time in college worried about tests, projects, and other menial things, she was worried about how her family was going to pay for her medical expenses. This young woman has never gotten the opportunity to get her degree, fulfill her other dreams or just experience life without immense physical pain. One word, neurofibromatosis, is the major difference between my life and her life, but somehow it caused our lives to look so different.
My favorite quote is, “There’s no one you can’t love once you know their story,” and it’s so applicable to nursing. As a nurse, we need to learn to be empathetic. Without this ability, we forget how beautiful our jobs are; we forget how beautiful our lives are. This is why we put on a happy face for all of our patients, despite whatever trials we are going through in our own lives. If we remember this, we’ll see the beauty in the middle of all the madness that is being a nurse.