You were a practicing nurse from the mid 50’s all the way
through your retirement in the 1980s so it was a major part of your life. I’m
sure it defined you; I know I defined you, partly, by that side of you; so I’d
like to devote this next section to the story of your nursing career. You've
already talked a bit about it, like the scholarship, the years you trained, but
I would like to get into details. Nurses always have interesting stories. I
remember you coming home from work many times with some tales to tell,
sometimes funny, sometimes hair-raising.
I am pretty sure I knew I'd try for nursing school in the
beginning of the 12th grade. I investigated to see what classes I needed
and found I had everything except Chemistry. I had gotten pretty good marks in all my
other classes so I signed up for Chemistry and Biology in my senior year.
I had already taken all the other college requirement classes. I knew I would
need typing so I took that class during my lunch hour. All in all it was a very
busy senior year. Saint Mary's High School had a very high accreditation so I
didn't have to take any entrance exams into college. Saint Mary's Hospital
Nursing School was affiliated with Central Michigan University, so that
worked out well.
I applied for the Scholarship and everything looked pretty
good but then near the end of the school year I found that they had given
the scholarship to my classmate, Jim Bray, because he had decided he
would go into the Seminary. I was very disappointed but then applied
for a loan and was accepted for that through The School of Nursing.
Halfway through my freshman year of nursing I was informed that I would get the
scholarship after all because Jim had decided the priesthood wasn't for him
after all. So I was given 2/3 of the original amount of money as he
had
already paid 1/3 of it to the seminary. So after I graduated
from nursing school, I had to pay back that loan which wasn't that hard to
do because I had a job in the “OR” (operating room) before graduation.
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| St. Mary's School before demolition in 2008 |
It was truly like going to College. We had professors
from CMU come to our nursing school for the classes and then halfway
through our first year we went on the floor where we staffed the
hospital, still in a learning mode. There were lots of college
grad nurses on the staff and they were our teachers in the hospital. We
worked really hard on the different floors the next two years with
affiliations at the TB (tuberculosis) Hospital in Detroit and the
Psychiatric Hospital in Dearborn. So all in all it was a pretty well
rounded complete education.
Tell the story about the leg
in the “flower box.” I love that one.
OR (surgery) was what I really liked after
graduation. The story about the leg amputation is true—just a little bit
of humor on the job. I was walking past the X-ray department on my way to
the room where they would pick up the leg (It would be buried after the doctor
examined it again) and one of the girls from X-ray jokingly asked if the flowers were
for her (the box was long like a big bouquet of flowers would be packed
in). I guess I just couldn't resist and went along with the spoof.
You were the first in the family to
graduate college. How did they feel about that?
Yes the family was really proud as I was the first in the
family to get a college degree. My grandparents came to the
graduation as did my God parents. We celebrated with dinner at the
house afterward. Gene and I were engaged then and had pretty much set the
date for the wedding. It was supposed to be in May (of 1956) as that was
the Month of Mary (The Blessed Mother). Then he got orders for Japan
and we were all tore up about what to do. So we needed to move up
our wedding date and I picked February 11 as that is the Feast of Our
Lady of Lourdes. I worked in the OR until I was able to join him in Japan
the following May. (I will send you this
much and finish the rest tomorrow).
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| Saint Joseph's Hospital in Bangor Maine Early 60s The new hospital being built to replace the one Mom worked in on the right |
I definitely remember that you
worked at hospitals in Texas (San Antonio) because there were times when you
would come home just dead tired and cranky. In fact, THE only time I've ever
seen you "lose it" was I believe in San Antonio one afternoon when I
was bugging you that I was hungry. You stunned me when you just went off and
began to slam food out of the cupboard onto the table in front of me. I
remember feeling so embarrassed for myself and bad for you because I knew that
you didn't mean to be so mean. I also remember you having a few incredible
tales about some of your patients, like the guy that came in with maggots on
his wound, stuff like that. I really didn't know that you had worked in so many
different hospitals.
Sorry I was kind of in a hurry to complete
that nursing jobs note. I thought I had mentioned working in San
Antonio early in my notes. That was a hard job as they put me in charge
many nights and I was uncomfortable taking charge. I was sooo tired doing that.
It was at the Methodist Hospital on the outskirts of San Antonio. A much
belated apology for being such a crabby Mom. I can barely remember that. Sorry.
Ha! No apologies necessary. I only
brought it up because in retrospect THAT one incident is about the worst I ever
remember you getting with us or with me anyway. I think also that at the time
Dad was gone during that long TDY to Naples Italy, so you were stressed out
from that as well I suspect. Of course with us just being kids we weren't very
sensitive about how all that might affect you.
Did you work at the base hospital in
Karamürsel as well? Seems like we did a bit of the latchkey kid stuff back then
but I can't recall for sure.
No. I
never worked when we were overseas. I just talked to a friend that
I go out to Breakfast with after 8 o'clock Mass on Sundays and after she
married and started her family, she didn't work much at all.
Sure have to give credit to all working moms, not an easy thing to
do. Another anecdote was walking into one of the patient’s
room and seeing a guy who went to Saint Mary's High and graduated a
year ahead of me—a really small world. When Mary Kay was born in
Japan, the nurse who helped with the delivery was a Saint Mary's Hospital grad
who was a classmate of a friend in Birch Run—small world!
One of the things I remember about
much of your work related comments at the time was your fondness and kindness
to your older patients. Has that changed now that you are one of them yourself?
Somehow I doubt it. Chuckle…
Actually I have always received great care
when in the hospital or going for tests. I guess in the end you receive
the pretty much the same as you give.
Okay, sounds like you believe in
karma Mom! What you sewed as a sympathetic caring nurse all those years is what you now
reap as an aged patient.
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