When I graduated High school all I knew was that I liked sciences and people. I took a year off after high school to coach cheerleading and work at the local Tim Hortons. During that year, I dated a local boy, and one night at a local minor league hockey game his little brother, 14 at the time, just collapsed on the ice during his shift. He had been tired lately and had funny bruises, turns out that trip to the ER that night showed he had Leukemia.
He spent months at the Alberta Childrens’ Hospital, and the nights that I was visiting I really liked the nurses and wondered how they did it. Then one day in the cancer clinic I watched a nurse access his central line (port o cath) and at that very moment I thought I really want to do that (and vaguely remember announcing it to the entire clinic!), and the rest is history. I enrolled in nursing school and knew from day one I wanted to work with kids with Cancer. I was honoured to actually get to work with most of the nurses that cared for him and got to Thank the nurse who accessed his port for inspiring me to pursue nursing.
I was blown away by Tim’s courage and strength throughout his battle with leukemia. I never once saw him negative, even when he was so sick. He made the doctors discharge him early from the hospital so he could be a groomsmen for his Brothers’ wedding and he never once said he was tired, when we all knew he was exhausted. He went on to ride his bike across Canada to raise funds and awareness for Pediatric Cancers. www.spokemantour.com I was completely inspired and humbled by his determination and drive, and knew that I wanted to work with kids just like him. And I have for the past 3 years and they inspire me daily. If those kids only knew how much they teach us all about the beauty of life.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
A poem for the nurses out there
Here is a little poem. Nurse’s week is next week and I really want to recognize all the amazing contributions nurses make in the lives of their patients!
I develop relationships with my patients
Sometimes I get bodily fluids on my clothes, and that’s okay
I comfort the grieving
I am patient
I do the dirty work
Everyone I work with daily is very capable and effective
I see people as people, not cases, not statistics
I live and breathe life and death
I see people at their most vulnerable
I can draw blood so carefully that you barely even feel it
I facilitate healing
I CARE
I do what needs to be done
I Love wearing scrubs
I have given someone their first bath;
And I have given someone their last bath
~anonymous~
I am inspired daily by each and every one of you,
And am blessed to work with such passionate nurses!
I develop relationships with my patients
Sometimes I get bodily fluids on my clothes, and that’s okay
I comfort the grieving
I am patient
I do the dirty work
Everyone I work with daily is very capable and effective
I see people as people, not cases, not statistics
I live and breathe life and death
I see people at their most vulnerable
I can draw blood so carefully that you barely even feel it
I facilitate healing
I CARE
I do what needs to be done
I Love wearing scrubs
I have given someone their first bath;
And I have given someone their last bath
~anonymous~
I am inspired daily by each and every one of you,
And am blessed to work with such passionate nurses!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Why I love my job.
What do I love about being a pediatric oncology nurse? First and foremost the kids! I am inspired by their strength and courage every day.
Work is like another family to me. Oncology is different, our kids aren’t short stays at the hospital, some of them are there for months at a time. I have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with kids and their families. I am there to give them their chemotherapy, watch them battle through the nausea and fatigue and everything else that goes with chemotherapy, but I’m also there to celebrate recovering blood counts, birthdays, and sometimes even the arrival of new baby siblings! I get to watch a mini hockey game between a child and his grandfather in the hospitals hallway and I get to keep score. I even get to see Santa and his reindeer deliver gifts on Christmas Eve and see the trail of cookie crumbs and carrot bits leftover from what the kids had left outside their rooms!
I love that these families, unknowingly, keep me humble and remind me of what is really important. I am blown away that somehow these kids and families make the best of every situation, and normalize life in the hospital. Vitals every 4 hours, medication after medication, bloodwork every day at 4am. Test after test, procedure after procedure, and no matter what, you’ll always see a smile on that child’s face, maybe not that day, maybe not that week, but you’ll see it soon enough!
I love the sense of community that exists at work. Families come together, find strength in each others stories and struggles. The unit is like a little cul-de-sac, and every room is a house. Kids still nock on each others doors to come play and they still ride their tricycles around the unit, with speed limits enforced of course!
Most of all, I love that I get to share all of these experience, the good, the bad, the happy and the sad with incredible nurses. People sometimes wonder why nurses are “clicky”, we share a lot in a 12 hour shift together you know, we couldn’t run a hospital without such strong teamwork! No to mention it may be one of the only jobs where talking about bowels at any given time is completely acceptable!
Work is like another family to me. Oncology is different, our kids aren’t short stays at the hospital, some of them are there for months at a time. I have the opportunity to build lasting relationships with kids and their families. I am there to give them their chemotherapy, watch them battle through the nausea and fatigue and everything else that goes with chemotherapy, but I’m also there to celebrate recovering blood counts, birthdays, and sometimes even the arrival of new baby siblings! I get to watch a mini hockey game between a child and his grandfather in the hospitals hallway and I get to keep score. I even get to see Santa and his reindeer deliver gifts on Christmas Eve and see the trail of cookie crumbs and carrot bits leftover from what the kids had left outside their rooms!
I love that these families, unknowingly, keep me humble and remind me of what is really important. I am blown away that somehow these kids and families make the best of every situation, and normalize life in the hospital. Vitals every 4 hours, medication after medication, bloodwork every day at 4am. Test after test, procedure after procedure, and no matter what, you’ll always see a smile on that child’s face, maybe not that day, maybe not that week, but you’ll see it soon enough!
I love the sense of community that exists at work. Families come together, find strength in each others stories and struggles. The unit is like a little cul-de-sac, and every room is a house. Kids still nock on each others doors to come play and they still ride their tricycles around the unit, with speed limits enforced of course!
Most of all, I love that I get to share all of these experience, the good, the bad, the happy and the sad with incredible nurses. People sometimes wonder why nurses are “clicky”, we share a lot in a 12 hour shift together you know, we couldn’t run a hospital without such strong teamwork! No to mention it may be one of the only jobs where talking about bowels at any given time is completely acceptable!
Monday, May 3, 2010
My name is Kim. I'm a nurse a CHEO.
My name is Kim McMillan and I’ve been in the “Cancer World” for 3 years now. My role is a Pediatric Oncology/ Bone Marrow transplant Nurse. I started at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary as a new graduate 3 years ago this Month. I worked in Calgary where we cared for children with all types of cancer and provided stem cell transplants for children with a type of leukemia that is most responsive to transplants.
I have also enjoyed working as a camp Nurse at Cancer Camp in the summers, especially out at the Camp Horizon site in Kananaskis. It’s humbling to see patients, their siblings and any other children affecting by cancer at camp, learning, growing and having fun. It’s a beautiful thing to see children I cared for in the hospital at their sickest times now out playing and laughing and loving life just like any other kid.
After 2 years of Calgary I decided I wanted to explore the rest of Canada, as travelling is my passion, and I am blessed to have a job that allows me to do that. After chatting with my long distance best friend who had always lived in Ottawa, and professes it is the most beautiful city in Canada I decided I should see for myself! I packed up my things, and drove out to Ottawa in late August and with the help of my best friend, I had an apartment waiting for me when I got here. I’m pretty sure my best friend was right, Ottawa is beautiful!
I am currently working at CHEO in the inpatient oncology unit and have been since September 2009. It’s great to see how another hospital works, the similarities and the differences when caring for the same population of Patients. The nurses, as with any oncology unit I have worked on are wonderful, amazing and always inspiring!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition....and you'll learn why!
I have also enjoyed working as a camp Nurse at Cancer Camp in the summers, especially out at the Camp Horizon site in Kananaskis. It’s humbling to see patients, their siblings and any other children affecting by cancer at camp, learning, growing and having fun. It’s a beautiful thing to see children I cared for in the hospital at their sickest times now out playing and laughing and loving life just like any other kid.
After 2 years of Calgary I decided I wanted to explore the rest of Canada, as travelling is my passion, and I am blessed to have a job that allows me to do that. After chatting with my long distance best friend who had always lived in Ottawa, and professes it is the most beautiful city in Canada I decided I should see for myself! I packed up my things, and drove out to Ottawa in late August and with the help of my best friend, I had an apartment waiting for me when I got here. I’m pretty sure my best friend was right, Ottawa is beautiful!
I am currently working at CHEO in the inpatient oncology unit and have been since September 2009. It’s great to see how another hospital works, the similarities and the differences when caring for the same population of Patients. The nurses, as with any oncology unit I have worked on are wonderful, amazing and always inspiring!
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition....and you'll learn why!
Friday, April 30, 2010
my life after cancer
Remission, it’s a pretty cool word, and an amazing feeling. I am officially in remission now, and funny thing is, my life hasn’t changed all that much. While undergoing surgery, treatment, etc, I tried to live the same life as I would have had I not been dumped on by the “big C”. Although, I must say it has changed my perspective on life…”get’r done” kind of attitude – life’s too short to wait around worrying about the what-if’s and the “can I really do that right now?”
All in all it was an eye opening experience…even a learning experience. I was able to fine-tune my time management skills, I mean, I had to plan study time and assignment time around surgery, radiation and frequent doctor’s appointments…and oh yeah, work. All in all, it was a great experience to learn and reintroduce myself to…myself!
Life post-treatment/cancer is pretty routine for someone my age - working, friends, etc. Some days I am extra tired…I mean, life is better with a thyroid…but I can’t grow mine back. I still have doctor’s appointments and blood work to do every six months or so, but nothing too crazy! It’s funny, to describe how I deal with life after cancer. I mean, I go about my daily business and don’t think too much about it; I’m not the kind of person to let an obstacle get in my way. I really forget all about it until someone mentions it, or asks me about the scar – you should see the other guy; it was a knife fight of epic proportions!
Today, I am loving life, working hard and fulfilling my goals…one very small step at a time! I can offer one piece of advice to anyone who is battling through it, or family/friends of those affected by any form of this disease: Don’t change your life, live like you’d normally live and then kick it up a notch! After all, it takes more energy to feel bad/sad than it does to feel good, so live your life to the fullest no matter what life throws at you, even if it is the “big C!”
All in all it was an eye opening experience…even a learning experience. I was able to fine-tune my time management skills, I mean, I had to plan study time and assignment time around surgery, radiation and frequent doctor’s appointments…and oh yeah, work. All in all, it was a great experience to learn and reintroduce myself to…myself!
Life post-treatment/cancer is pretty routine for someone my age - working, friends, etc. Some days I am extra tired…I mean, life is better with a thyroid…but I can’t grow mine back. I still have doctor’s appointments and blood work to do every six months or so, but nothing too crazy! It’s funny, to describe how I deal with life after cancer. I mean, I go about my daily business and don’t think too much about it; I’m not the kind of person to let an obstacle get in my way. I really forget all about it until someone mentions it, or asks me about the scar – you should see the other guy; it was a knife fight of epic proportions!
Today, I am loving life, working hard and fulfilling my goals…one very small step at a time! I can offer one piece of advice to anyone who is battling through it, or family/friends of those affected by any form of this disease: Don’t change your life, live like you’d normally live and then kick it up a notch! After all, it takes more energy to feel bad/sad than it does to feel good, so live your life to the fullest no matter what life throws at you, even if it is the “big C!”
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Treatment for my thyroid cancer
Well, where to start. The treatment for the type of cancer I had was different than the typical radiation treatment. I was lucky enough not to have to do chemo, just radiation. But it wasn’t your typical radiation….
The thyroid gland is one of the major glands in your body that uses iodine…it pretty much lives off of it like I live off steak. That being said, for my radiation treatment, I pretty much had to swallow a pill – not hard to do, you’re right, but it was the month and a bit leading up to it that was the hard part. Essentially, I had to “deprive” any remaining thyroid tissue of iodine before taking the radioactive Iodine pill, which, by the way, did not make me glow – pretty lame! So what does that mean? Well, we all know that salt is in everything we eat and pretty much makes food taste amazing. But what I didn’t know is that they add iodine to salt. So the “tough” part of my treatment was drastically cutting back on my salt so that I could deprive my body of iodine. This was tough for me because I have a love-love relationship with food!
After swallowing this pill, I wasn’t allowed prolonged contact with my family for about a week after. It was nice having all my meals prepared for me, having my own bathroom, etc. but it did get a little bit lonely…thank god for social networking! There were some precautionary measures that I had to take (other than hiding from my family and children): I had to flush the toilet three times after using it, disinfect everything, etc…oh and eat a lot of candy! Clearly this was part of the treatment….no lie. Because of the nature of the salivary glands, they may get damaged because of the radioactive iodine. Eating candy helped ensure that the salivary gland was always producing saliva – although, they still got mildly damaged and swelled up huge.
After that was all said and done, I went for a full body scan. The typical, lay down for 45 minutes without moving drill – not so fun. I had to repeat this process (but with a milder dose/kind of radioactive iodine) every six months or so for the first two years and then a year later in the third year; yes, diet and all. Here’s a little tip I found out during my last diet: Kosher salt doesn’t contain iodine…who knew! At least my food wasn’t bland anymore! I also had to stop taking my thyroid hormones, or pay a ridiculous amount for two shots before my scan. I opted for the second option since I pretty much sleep all the time if I go off the hormone supplements. I haven’t had a scan for a while now, but I still have frequent (about every 3-4 months apart) doctor’s appointments – just a routine check-up of the neck and blood work. I also think they are still trying to get my hormones in balance too. I’m not quite there yet, but it will be one day!
The thyroid gland is one of the major glands in your body that uses iodine…it pretty much lives off of it like I live off steak. That being said, for my radiation treatment, I pretty much had to swallow a pill – not hard to do, you’re right, but it was the month and a bit leading up to it that was the hard part. Essentially, I had to “deprive” any remaining thyroid tissue of iodine before taking the radioactive Iodine pill, which, by the way, did not make me glow – pretty lame! So what does that mean? Well, we all know that salt is in everything we eat and pretty much makes food taste amazing. But what I didn’t know is that they add iodine to salt. So the “tough” part of my treatment was drastically cutting back on my salt so that I could deprive my body of iodine. This was tough for me because I have a love-love relationship with food!
After swallowing this pill, I wasn’t allowed prolonged contact with my family for about a week after. It was nice having all my meals prepared for me, having my own bathroom, etc. but it did get a little bit lonely…thank god for social networking! There were some precautionary measures that I had to take (other than hiding from my family and children): I had to flush the toilet three times after using it, disinfect everything, etc…oh and eat a lot of candy! Clearly this was part of the treatment….no lie. Because of the nature of the salivary glands, they may get damaged because of the radioactive iodine. Eating candy helped ensure that the salivary gland was always producing saliva – although, they still got mildly damaged and swelled up huge.
After that was all said and done, I went for a full body scan. The typical, lay down for 45 minutes without moving drill – not so fun. I had to repeat this process (but with a milder dose/kind of radioactive iodine) every six months or so for the first two years and then a year later in the third year; yes, diet and all. Here’s a little tip I found out during my last diet: Kosher salt doesn’t contain iodine…who knew! At least my food wasn’t bland anymore! I also had to stop taking my thyroid hormones, or pay a ridiculous amount for two shots before my scan. I opted for the second option since I pretty much sleep all the time if I go off the hormone supplements. I haven’t had a scan for a while now, but I still have frequent (about every 3-4 months apart) doctor’s appointments – just a routine check-up of the neck and blood work. I also think they are still trying to get my hormones in balance too. I’m not quite there yet, but it will be one day!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
At least I'm still around kickin'
Name is Dave Eng. I am a 24 year old - just finished up my second B. Com at the university of Ottawa this past fall. The type of cancer I had was not the worst kind out there. I had thyroid cancer and I was diagnosed in the fall of 2007, right at the beginning of the semester, but that’s not where the story starts. I first felt something weird earlier that year during an exam period. I always had the tendency to put my thumb on my neck when I studied and felt something new that I never felt before. I saw my family doctor who scheduled me for a series of biopsies and ultrasounds and it was official, I found out that fall.
Now, this may seem scary at the ripe old age of 21, but it was just another obstacle to overcome in this journey I call life. I went for surgery in October of that year and got my whole thyroid taken out, and they got a bit greedy and took my parathyroid and some lymph nodes out too – okay, not greedy, it spread to there too. Here’s a little tid-bit about the thyroid: it controls your metabolism, regulates body temperature and energy levels and helps control other organs in your body. It is difficult living without one, especially when you’re not on your supplements (which I had to do for quite a while after I had mine removed). But that didn’t stop me. I wanted to get on with my life and put it behind me. So while undergoing surgery, radiation treatment and a multitude of appointments, I toughed it out and found the strength to finish up that semester.
Today, I can still feel the effects of the lack of a thyroid gland. If I forget to take the supplements for a few days, it is definitely noticeable – I always want to sleep! I have also gained weight that I just can’t seem to shake – no big deal though, at least I’m still around kickin’, enjoying the miracle of food! Besides that, I have a gnarly scar on my neck. In a way, this has shaped my life a lot these past few years. I find myself trying not take things for granted and to go after what I want because you never know when life will throw you a curveball. So, I decided to move to Mexico for a bit, learned Spanish, backpacked Costa Rica, take a trip to Barbados and I’m leaving for Cuba this week…clearly I love to travel! Overall, I like to chalk this up to opening my eyes to the world. I know it wasn’t the most serious cancer out there and I have so much respect for the strength of the people that have to undergo multiple rounds of chemo and radiation.
Now, this may seem scary at the ripe old age of 21, but it was just another obstacle to overcome in this journey I call life. I went for surgery in October of that year and got my whole thyroid taken out, and they got a bit greedy and took my parathyroid and some lymph nodes out too – okay, not greedy, it spread to there too. Here’s a little tid-bit about the thyroid: it controls your metabolism, regulates body temperature and energy levels and helps control other organs in your body. It is difficult living without one, especially when you’re not on your supplements (which I had to do for quite a while after I had mine removed). But that didn’t stop me. I wanted to get on with my life and put it behind me. So while undergoing surgery, radiation treatment and a multitude of appointments, I toughed it out and found the strength to finish up that semester.
Today, I can still feel the effects of the lack of a thyroid gland. If I forget to take the supplements for a few days, it is definitely noticeable – I always want to sleep! I have also gained weight that I just can’t seem to shake – no big deal though, at least I’m still around kickin’, enjoying the miracle of food! Besides that, I have a gnarly scar on my neck. In a way, this has shaped my life a lot these past few years. I find myself trying not take things for granted and to go after what I want because you never know when life will throw you a curveball. So, I decided to move to Mexico for a bit, learned Spanish, backpacked Costa Rica, take a trip to Barbados and I’m leaving for Cuba this week…clearly I love to travel! Overall, I like to chalk this up to opening my eyes to the world. I know it wasn’t the most serious cancer out there and I have so much respect for the strength of the people that have to undergo multiple rounds of chemo and radiation.
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