Whether it is the health of my patients, or my own health, I am thankful for the opportunity to make a difference in the health of so many. I believe we are all given gifts. They tend to differ widely from one person to the next, but we all have talents, gifts, given to us. Some find them quickly – even from childhood, others struggle for years trying to find theirs, and yet others don’t recognize their gifts until the end of their life.
I was given the gift of knowing from a very young age what I wanted to do for a life career, and I haven’t changed from that knowledge. I “healed” my friends of their “illnesses” during my very young play, pestered my aunt and grandmother, both of whom were nurses, to teach me everything I wanted to know about health and disease, and started reading books to learn more when quite young. I started to study in earnest at the age of 12, and by age 14 I was already volunteering in hospitals as a “Candy Striper”. Today, they are called “Junior Volunteers” and work mostly in teaching hospitals at reception desks and in gift shops. In my day we also did minor patient care, similar to a Nurse’s Aide.
In high school, through the year-long ROP program, I re-took the Nurse’s Aide (CNA) course 3 times (helping teach it my 3rd year) because I wasn’t old enough to be hired at the hospital I worked at. Finally, the day I turned 16, I was hired. After I graduated from high school, I took my nursing training and worked at the same hospital and through a nursing registry for the next few years.
Then, a series of events occurred that made me disenchanted with the industry I was in. I still had the same desire to help people with their health, so I redirected into the wellness field I am in now. I am so thankful that I did.
Today, my desire to give people their lives back spurs me on to continue to educate myself and be present with everyone that walks into my treatment rooms. My favorite part is learning everything about their health. I’m not limited to asking “what one thing are you here for today” as is frequently asked at the beginning of medical office appointments. I get to get the scoop on everything going amiss with their health. With that, I can piece together the puzzle of what went wrong to start with, and what I can do to get them joyously back into life again.
More than anything, I am grateful that we have a body, wonderfully designed to heal itself. Once we do proper investigative work, give the body what it needed to heal with or take away the health-destroyers, my job is easy. I am only the instrument to restore health, and for that I am immensely grateful!
