Great news!

I received some excellent news last week! I'll be attending nursing school next month at Ohio University in Chillicothe.  Over the past few months I've been turning in all of the necessary papers and even took a pre-assessment exam at the end of November and it all paid off.  Since I've completed all of the support courses, I just need to finish my nursing classes and clinicals and in 2 years, I'll be able to sit in on the NCLEX-RN exam and if I pass, I can become an RN.

When I graduated from high school I was torn between staying at home and attending nursing school at the Mount Carmel College of Nursing or go to Ohio University in Athens and major in something in the healthcare field.  While I am happy about all 4 years spent at school in Athens, I sometimes wished that I would have gone to nursing school, but I figured that I would be able to just move on and get my Masters in Public Health, however that wasn't the case.

On April 28, 2009, my grandfather was involved in a very serious car accident.  He was life flighted from Berger Hospital to OSU Medical Center (at the time I was just hired as a new employee to the admissions department) and came in to the ER as a "trauma" patient.  Little did I know that all of this was occurring right under my nose until my mother called me as I was leaving work.  She had told me what happened and that the entire family was waiting in the ICU.  When we finally spoke to the doctor, he said that most people don't survive from car accidents that my grandpa was in and that it was going to be a long road to recovery and boy was he right.  After a halo, 2 surgeries on his cervical vertebrae, tracheotomy, 4 weeks in ICU and one emotional roller coaster, my grandpa was finally ready for his 2 week rehab program at Dodd Hall.  During those weeks, I was able to help my grandpa with whatever he needed, whether it was moving his pillows to make him more comfortable, help get rid the fluid in his trach, or just talk to him during my lunch breaks.  It was then that I realized where my true passion lies and I would be unhappy if I couldn't obtain it.

When I walk thorough the floors of the Medical Center, sometimes I'll see the various nurses that my grandpa had during his stay and I smile because I know how well they took care of him and how supportive and caring they were to my family, especially my grandma.  I can only hope that one day I'll be able to have the same impact on a family.