Residents Speak Out: Nursing Staff

---It is NOT from the same hospital where I live, but I think that ALL can relate! WE ARE ALL IN THIS...TOGETHER!

AMY VAN DYKEN-ROUEN (plus MARY + SUE STORY)

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen

 

---Many of us are aware of the Amy Van Dyken-Rouen situation. She is the Olympic Swimmer with many awards who had an accident. She can no longer walk, etc., BUT, her attitude toward life is incredible. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She vows that she will someday walk, but it is the ‘overview’ she has about the whole thing that is so impressive.

---I was thinking about why her situation and ours seems so different. I’m sure that her zest for living is NOT anything new to her. I would bet that she was very positive to most things in her life. I wondered why there were folks like Amy and folks like those in the underserved population.

---I’d like to make up a story about Mary + Sue. Mary got all the breaks. She was encouraged to speak her mind and asked her opinion quite frequently, even in her younger years. Her dad would make up scenerioes that she would have to think to get out of. She was supported very much.

---Sue was smart like Mary, but did NOT have the support from others that Mary had. Her dad saw life as 'a dog eat dogs world' AND 'get the other guy before he gets you.' She was championed for little and often told that a child is seen but NOT heard. She will never amount to anything, so why bother? Her father was not very thrilled with life and found joy in cutting down those who did.

---Mary saw that life had a way of offering up challenges. Sue saw things that happen as another obstacle to achieving the obscurity that she sought. Life Sucks…WHAT NOW? Mary was more the Amy type, while Sue had the mindset of the underserved population.

---With such a negative self-image, her hospital stays were difficult. Any of her interactions were difficult. Everything that she did had an earmark of difficulty.

---We would have ALL benefited from having Sue’s approach to life…being improved. Her positive approach is a much, more needed response to life...than her Life Sucks approach that was eating away at her insides.

 A Steady Diet of Well-Placeds Positive Encouragement Works Wonders.

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen on Her Accident

---Amy Van Dyken-Rouen shows the importance of the attitude you bring to a situation. Her enthusiasm is unprecedented. Her buoyancy is unbelievable. I would say, ''keep on truckin'' - but, I think that will, anyway. Kudos!

''SNACKs HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD''

‘’The Snacks

                   Heard ‘Round The World’’

 

To Enjoy Living - We Have To Be Heard
AND Taken Seriously!
The LESS We Are Heard and Taken Seriously,
The MORE Time We Spend Trying
To Obtain These Conditions

When We Finally Feel Satisfied
That These Conditions Are Met
‘’We ARE Free
We CAN Enjoy!’’

A Few Years Back The State Spoke
Of Snacks
They Spent an Inordinate
Amount of Time on This
In Fact,
Their Whole Visit Seemed To Be
About The Snacks

I Believe We All Have
Needs and Preferences
Being As We ARE In a Hospital
Our NEEDS Are Taken Care of
By Where We ARE
Admittedly, They Are Pretty Good
About That

But, This Leaves The Preferences
Our Preferences Being Met
Can Make or Break
Our Whole Psychological Stay
At The Hospital
(or ANYWHERE AT ALL
FOR THAT MATTER!)

NOW...It Seems To Me, That The State,
In Their Own Inimitable Way,
Was Alluding To The Same Thing,
(Kind of!)

If Preferences Are Met
We Are Happier and MORE Satisfied.
If NOT, We ARE NOT!

Snacks Can REPRESENT That ONE Thing
That We ALL Need
To SATISFY That PROFOUND HUNGER
That We ALL Carry
That We Have At Every Moment!
AND…This Snack Doesn’t Have To Be Edible!

If We Begin To Get Our Preferences Met
In a Regular and Timely Manner
We Will Be Much Happier Campers
Than We Are NOW

I Think Most of the Time
NO Matter The Malady
That Brought Us To The Hospital
The ‘’UNMET’’ Desire Causes The Problem
Of PATIENT UNREST and
THERAPEUTIC UNSETTLEDNESS!

A HUGE PROBLEM, WITH A SIMPLE SOLUTION

Well…I, Guess, That’s a Wrap!
I Think I Will See If there is A Snack Available
That Will Fit My ‘PARTICULAR’ NEED!
(Admittedly…I’m One of the MORE Fortunate Ones Who Has
Learned This Valuable Lesson.)

I NOW Know My PREFERENCES
AND...Better Yet,
HOW TO GET THEM MET!

BUT…Why ARE There So Many
Who HAVE NOT YET LEARNED?

This APPLIES TO
EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE!
We ALL HAVE NEEDS and PREFERENCES!