I'd like to begin by sharing my journey on how this all began. I have always wanted to be a nurse, someone who helps others. My journey began with nursing in many rural communities whereby you were the "jack of all trades, master at none" type of nurse. I could on any given shift deliver a newborn, to holding someone's hand while they took their last breath. I thrived on this adventure, each day a new challenge.
My journey led me to a downtown city hospital where i worked each day in the fastest pace known to nurses; the trauma room. Here I helped those who held on for their lives, watching sorrow after sorrow with few positive outcomes. Day in and day out this routine led to very little change and challenges in my life, but this season had me raising three of my own babies all as toddlers-crazy and quite the blur in my life.
When I moved to Olds 12 years ago, I chose to return to what I knew best rural emergency rooms and delivery rooms. Here I would be able to challenge and expand my growth as a nurse.
Until one weekend, yes ONE weekend changed my life. I suffered a "fluke" spinal cord injury that led to damaged nerves and emergency surgery, which not knowing then, would build the strong person I am today. The anxieties of walking again, the depressing moments of physiotherapy and some of my darkest days as a mom, feeling helpless. Knowing that I could not return to working those long 12 hour night shifts I needed to find passion again, purpose again, challenge myself again. This my friends has led me to you. My inspiration came at looking at my resume and asking myself what field I could work. Now the desire for mental health came to me long ago in a Lethbridge Hospital Adolescent Mental Health unit as a nursing student. How naive I was to not fully understand that children could actually be unhappy or stressed. It was an eye opener that sparked interest into more research and learning throughout my career. So there was no doubt where my next calling was as I stared at that resume. For the past 10 years, I've worked in community mental health clinics both in urban and rural settings. I have specialized with children and adolescents. These unique beautiful souls whom struggle with adversity, with emotional pain, with dysregulation, with amazing parents, with crappy parents, coming from all home environments are the ones who challenge me and give me purpose. My passion is working with kids because that is where the magic happens. Their language of play, their energy, their passion to grow. Now therapy isn't just what I know, or what I can teach your child, it's ALL about relationship. Without relationship you will not have therapy. If a child can trust their adults then you can teach them everything they need to know. If they feel safe and secure within that relationship they will flourish and grow. As humbling as it is , they do all the work and it's my job to believe in them, to not judge and to allow them to grow forward in their journey of life. And as a parent I know this journey of raising children is often hard and my hope is to walk alongside you and offer what I can in helping you get thru this season in both you and your child's life. So you see friends, my entering upon this new journey in my life, having this new private practice is really just a testament of striving to accomplish goals and purpose in one's life that almost certainly will allow me to GROW FORWARD!
Thanks to all of you.
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