Nursing Weak

There has been a lot of talk this week about celebrating nurses for “Nurses Week”, and there are so many reasons to do so. Nurses are our front line health care workers. They do everything! And by everything, I truly mean everything. They wipe our tears, our blood, and our bottoms; they fill our veins, our bellies, and our spirit; they push us to do our best, they push us in stretchers and wheelchairs; they hold the curtain closed, hold our clothes, and hold our hands; they help us understand what is happening to us, and our loved ones, they advocate on our behalf, they tell us to push, to let go, to breathe, to hang on.. Nurses are our hand holding, face wiping, confidence building cheerleaders. And if you haven’t yet gone out to thank a nurse personally, I recommend that you do so. 

We have been very fortunate in that we have wonderful family and friends who are nurses, as well as an entire team of top notch nurses in our circle of medical care. We’re lucky. Very lucky. The day Pepper had her very first seizure, it was Tanya, fabulous nurse, cousin, friend and soul sister who kept us calm and self assured. We are truly blessed that she was there with us. But that’s not all. Nope, not by a long shot. We’ve been supported, and loved by many other nurses in our lives. 

In no particular order, they would be: Tanya, Susan, Shelley, Lillian, Anna, Kathy, Jennifer, Trixie, Gerard, and Katie. They may not have been the ones in scrubs administering meds, or checking vitals, but they were the ones who gave the hugs, the midnight advice, dried our eyes, offered us support and told us we are strong. Thank you. We love you all so dearly. 

To our circle of medical care, we need to thank the following nurses: Jill, RPN; from Sick Kids: Jane, Semira, Brynn, Helena, Tara and Allison; and from Trillium: Andrea, Mary, Rose, Angela, Binita, Cecile and John.  Thank you for taking care of our family. You have given us warm, professional and expert care. It has meant everything to us. 

So what are we doing these days to nurse ourselves? Well, we’ve been to a Halton Peel Hamilton Epilepsy support group meeting, we’ve been to several therapy sessions at Erin Oak Kids, we’ve been seen by a developmental paediatrician, the genetics clinic at Sick Kids, and we’ve been out and about trying to live a normal life despite the random and frequent seizures. That’s right, they haven’t miraculously gone away. Though, we have been praying for a miracle. And I am told, several of you are too. (thank you – xoxo).  Pepper is now 19 months old. She is still not crawling, or standing, or talking, but she is stronger on her legs, pushing herself up, and babbling like a gossip. She’s getting there slowly and surely, despite being robbed of learning time by her seizures. We’re approaching 400 seizures. It’s not a milestone we expected to report, but it’s where we are. We haven’t received Pepper’s full genetic results, and we are waiting to see if her “gene variant” is inherited by us. We’re still in the waiting room, but the nurses are taking great care of us. Happy Nurses Week. Go out there and thank a nurse.