The celebration of Retirement...

 This week is finally "feeling like retirement", 

Not because I'm sitting around being lazy but because I feel busy without "work" getting in my way.

 That's such a great feeling. 

The start of it all, that's me the top middle with the "mullet"! All young and naive but ready to do what I said I would do since I was a little girls!

I started talking retirement a few years ago.....

These are my work people (Minus sweet Rebekah)

My desk for 8 years, back in the corner and behind the door, it was perfect.

I loved my space

My department threw me a little retirement fling, it was fun to see coworkers from 

the past and present, along with family.

Big ole cake :)

This one, Sharalyn and I go wayyyyy back to the ER, but we were friends before that.

2 of my guys, Gavin and Rick

Friend, church friend and coworker in Neurology Jen.

Sarah and Mary (Left) were my co-workers in Lumbar puncture when I started 8 years ago, 

Renee (Right) stated 6 months after me. All 3 have taken other jobs, So good to see them.

She's a spitfire, she's funny, and keeps me on my toes, my coworker Amanda 

My Brianna and family, Audrey, Carson and Chris

My "sisters", we have a common faith,

 they have been my "calm" on days that are a little over the top.

I miss this one, Jan left a few years ago to persue another job.

More neurology team friends

More neurology team

People sent in words to describe me and my manager made this for me, so sweet and kind of everyone.

A sweet note from my Daughter, who is also a nurse.

Next up:  

My coworkers all took me out to dinner and threw a little going away party

They were so thoughtful, I loved all the gifts

So many fun gifts, all centered around the cabin/lake

Love you guys! I'm gonna miss you all so much.

Were not done yet...

My sweet family all took me to dinner to celebrate my retirement.

The grands  Love them

Family

While at the restraunt I was given a photo memory book of my career at Mayo. 

Brianna did what she does best, she used her resources and found photos that I didn't even know existed, she even contacted old coworkers to have them send messages to me... 

I couldn't read it at the time, my emotions we too volatile.

from my Brice

From my Brianna

Sweet messages from ER buddies Diane and Robin

My sister and her husband gifted me these...so funny

I Love this book so much

It's a wrap folks

Here's to Retirement!

A REFLECTION OF 41 YEARS AS A NURSE...

41 years of impact....

Recieving my diploma in December of 1981

As of June 1st 2023, I have 41 1/2 years of service as an RN at Mayo Clinic.

Through the years I have been impacted by many things...

Patients, Doctors, Co-workers, & Technology to name a few...

In the course of those 41 years, I have changed jobs at Mayo 6 times

Most of my career at St. Mary's hospital, 4 years at Methodist Hospital and then

finally at Mayo herself where I ended my career as a nurse.

Where Mayo meets Gonda

The IMPACT is not on what I may have done in my 41 years of nursing, 

but the IMPACT nursing has had on me.

I thought about breaking this up into 2 different posts, but it needed to flow, so here it is.

 I hope you enjoy reading a little bit about my career as a nurse.

As I ponder over my career I find it interesting and want to reflect on the 

IMPACT the various jobs have had on me as a person, and on my profession. 

My first Love was Cardiac!

 I found myself right out of nursing school in the Cardiac Surgical ICU. 

This was back in the early 80's when heart transplants at MAYO were a new thing.

This was also the beginning of computer charting, and pumps that ran by computer, talk about a learning curve. Looking back I'm glad I knew both ways. I actually had to figure things out in my head, like calculating a drip rate by watching each drip as it came out of the IV bag and then figuring out how many drips equalled how much drug was being given, therefore giving the correct dosage....   I also had to chart pressures & vitals every 15 minutes on a fresh cardiac post op, including,  RA, LA, CVP, blood gas analysis and so forth. Not to mention blood loss and replacement, all the while watching the Monitor for arrythmia's, adjusting drug drips to stabilize heart rates and blood pressures AND keeping the patient from pulling out their 'breathing tube"....I hated when that happened. Today everything is run by computer, that can be good (mostly good), but sometimes bad, like when "the system" is down....UGH

IMPACT... I had to learn fast, and think big.

 My 2nd job was in the Neurosurgical ICU

I was there for 2 1/2 years.  I only left Cardiac because I had my first baby, and took 5 month off to be home with her. That was too long for them to hold my job, so I had to find another one when I came back from maternity leave.  All I can say is it was a totally differen't ICU experience. Less intense, less monitoring, essentially no codes, less stressful, opposite of what I had just experienced in the 

Cardiac ICU. It was just ok, I stayed there until my 2nd baby came along.

IMPACT... A new thing to learn about... the world of Neurology.

My 3rd job was my most favorite of all, once an ER nurse, always an ER nurse.

16 years of Emergency room nursing. 

 For most of my nursing career I was an ER nurse.

 I was saving lives,  reacting to screeching alarms, juggling drug drips and blood transfusions. 

I've even reached into a patients chest after it's been cracked-open by the trauma surgeon,

 to plug a gushing hole in the heart, from a stab wound.

We didn't think twice about what to do for a Trauma Code or Code 45, we have to be fluent when it came to knowing what drug to give, how much, and in what order to give it 

during an emergency situation.

Thats the STRONG and BRAVE and CONFIDENT of a nurse, but we must not forget the...

COMPASSION, KINDNESS and UNDERSTANDING!

Through multiple trauma's, death and cardiac arrests, I felt heartache and grief right along side families, even though it might sometimes appears to be a stoic calm. 

You see nurses work with an air of competence, and readiness to adapt to ever-changing situations. Most patients and their families won't see the emotional loss that we are experiencing right along side of them, it's usually on the way home in the car that we lose it. It's after the fact when we can let it all out, after we no longer having to worry that our skills would be affected from an emotional lapse, 

so we wait and grieve later....when we have time.

IMPACT... It's here where I learned confidence, and leadership.

My 4th job,  The Recovery room.

PACU (post anesthesia care unit)

It was at this time when I broke away from my 21 years at St. Mary's hospital and moved 

downtown to the Methodist campus.

Here's where we prepped patients for surgery and then took care of them after.

I found this to be a frustrating job for the most part.  

 Most of our time involved  management of pain and nausea, it seemed to be an endless battle! 

I admire the nurses that work with patient immediately after surgery, there's never a dull moment, patients never stop coming from the OR's, it's a whirlwind...

 In my opinion it is one of the most physically and mentally places to serve as a nurse.

IMPACT... I learned what "Busy" really was! Time management was my friend.

My 5th job, Interventional Radiology- Sedation nurse

Worst job in my career for many reasons, but I stuck it out for 7 year!

I will not go into detail, as it could go long, and stirs up bad memories! 

Lets just say I loved taking care of the patients, it was just the disrespect recieved from the physician group....I'd never seen anything like that.

IMPACT... It's hard for me to find any good that came from this long 7 years in my nursing career!  Lets just leave it with this,  I loved those patients, 

 a deeper sense of empathy started to develop within my soul.

We had to wear heavy lead aprons during the procedures, because of all the radiation.

A few of my old friends in Interventioal Radiology, 

we also had worked together in the Emergancy room, and a  few of them worked in other areas with me as well throughout my career

My 6th and final final job as a nurse

Lumbar puncture Nurse

Some may relate more to the term, Spinal Tap. 

Yes, we the nurses perform this highly technical procedure on all outpatients at Mayo. The Minnesota Board of Nursing has given it's blessing as we are the only RN's in the U.S. to perform this task. (so my supervisor has told us) I feel privileged and humbled everyday. The folks we do this procedure on are usually not hearing good results, as most of our testing confirms those dreadful neurological diseases such as ALS, MS,  Encephalitis, & CIDP, cancer, auto immune diseases, etc. The procedure is not as painful as most anticipate! A frequent comment by the patient following the tap is usually this... 

"Oh, wow you are really done, I didn't even feel that, it's not as bad as I had expected", 

those were beautiful words to my ears.

Sadly a few patients had experienced... "the inexperienced", that can make for a rough experiance.

I would always reassure them and remind them, this is our job...this is all we do.

I recently read an article from Heathline.com that says this about Lumbar punctures...

"Entering the spinal canal with a needle requires expert knowledge of the spine's anatomy and a clear understanding of any underlying brain or spinal conditions that might increase your risk of complications from the procedure" I humbly agree!

There are exceptions, when a patient has a "difficult back", we struggle, but we usually get the job done and the patients are thankful.

In addition to the outpatients diagnostic LP's, we also help with research, accessing that space where the spinal fluid is and then the doctors takes over to inject stem cells, or study medications. We occasionally have to travel a floor below to perform a LP on a sedated patient.

I Loved this job, there are only 7 of us. Despite our unique personalities, 

we strive all get along, and work pretty well together,

MY People.... I miss them

IMPACT... This job has made me a more compassionate nurse! 
 It has built humility and strengthened my confidence in knowing that 
I am trusted to perform this highly technical procedure. 

Throughout the 41 years of nursing,

I have cried with my patients, wiped their tears, laughed with them, held their hands and prayed with them. 

I have received hugs that don't wanna let go, firm grip handshakes, kisses on the cheek and pats on the back.

...but there is another side to my career, and I can speak for many. 

This profession is not for the weak of heart!  

We have been up to our elbows in every body fluid possible, 
we've been spit-at, swung-at, swore-at and threatened. 
 We've desperately worked to save lives, to make split-second decision, 
we have those "gut feelings".... we all know "that feeling", and we act on it! 
We are sometimes the last voice or last touch a person experiences before they die...
these are the hard things.

We are nurses, the backbone of the hospital, the patients advocate and friend. 
We encourage, reassure, and 
sometimes have to use a bit of tough love. 

Here's what I did on my way to work each morning I prayed for my patients! I prayed that my smile and reassuring voice give them a glimmer of hope. I prayed that I could be a light, a presence of peace in their hectic day. I hoped to reassure them, listen to their stories and care for them during a time of uncertainty and fear.

Once a Nurse....always a nurse

Now on to retirement

Retirement post coming soon

My first, "last" happened today.

 I'm finding that as I get closer to retirement (in about 18 months) 

I'm starting already to wrap up the "Lasts".

Today was one of the "LASTS"

Can you guess from the photo below what it might be?...

Basic Life Support commonly known as CPR!

Every 2 years for the last 40 I've had to recertify in CPR. 

I can't tell If I'll miss it or not... Probably not.

It has been instrumental in my career as an RN (mostly E.R. & ICU Nursing) as I have 

performed CPR more than I want to confess.

Believe it or not, I have met  many CPR-trained instructors that have

 never had to do this daunting task on a real person.

I can tell you it's different, not much at all like the "dummies" we practice on.

and the guidelines are only that, guidelines.

There are times we forget to count " 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and .....

because that's not real life in the middle of the emergency.

but the guidelines are necessary in the big picture when you're trying to save a life.

I hope I never have to do CPR (for real) again, but if I do I will know what to do.

I'm good forever now.

Over the next 18 months or so there will be more "Lasts". 

Some I will look forward to and some I will miss. 

So as I start the countdown, 

I will share from time to time the things that come to me as I finish up 40+ years of nursing.

Advice to my 30 year old self....

I've often thought, 

Wouldn't it have been nice to know what I know now, when I was a young mom? 

It all seems so backwards, we could really use the wisdom and experiance when we are in the heat of life. But then again, I guess that's what builds us into who we are! Life has all kinds of up and downs, We can let things get us down or we can lift up our chins and learn from our experiences, we can choose to be grateful, even in the storms. 

I found this fun little App on my phone, it turns your current photo into a 3D "cartoon you". The resemblance is there but I appear to be about 30 year younger, ha ha

I thought it would be fun to give my 30 year old self some tips and pointers, knowing what I know now......

Take risks, don't be afraid to fail, and don't worry about what other people say.

It's ok to say no... the earth will still revolve without you.

"Be good to your skin, you'll wear it everyday for the rest of your life"

Always trust your gut, most likely your head hasn't figured it our yet.

Love your parents, we are so busy growing up that we often forget that they are growing old.

Ask for help, love yourself and learn to be alone, it's ok to take time for yourself.

Stop comparing yourself to other mom's...their life is not as perfect as it sounds.

Stop comparing your children to your friends kids, be authentic, love your kids where they're at.

Allow yourself to appreciate the journey you are on.

Give yourself Grace

Pick your battles...life's too short

Remember God is bigger than all your anxieties and worries.

"Believe in what you can do and your already half way there"

Remember you wont be perfect, so let Jesus be your role model.

Life if filled with hard times, and good times....Learn from it all, be the woman, wife and mom that God crated you to be.

Practice humility, there is so much you don't know

Parenting can be challenging, there is no instruction book, but we do have God's book...use it and be encouraged.

There will always be tomorrow, choose your priorities well.

You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward, don't over think!

Pray often, trust that the Lord is in control so you don't have to be.

Stand in front of the mirror, look past all the "things" and be reminded that you are fearfully and wonderfully made

Your kids are watching you, what kind of example are you being for them, be authentic and speak truth to them, build them up and praise them. Remind them that God is their best friend.

Look forward to growing old with your husband, We are not promised tomorrow, therefore love each other with purpose and pure joy. Give each other grace, we will never get it all right but we can give it our best shot with the one we promised to love and cherish till death do us part.

I do not pretend to know it all, I'm still working on many of these things myself, but I've had more year to experiance life, more time to get it figured out but also more time to fail. Failure isn't all that bad, it just feels bad in the moment. Failure actually strengthens us and inspires us to do better! 

Be kind to yourself

Small steps every day

Trust the wait

What you think matters

Your friends are your "village"....use them.

Take a chill pill, most worries in life never happen

Pray...always pray. God is so good! 

Love, your 60 year old self.

I like me a mug that has meaning....

I am a coffee lover, but I think even more I love the mugs/cups that carry the coffee!

Many of my mugs have been gifted to me and have special meaning, 

others....well, I just like to collect unique mugs that speak to me.

I Thought It would be fun to share a few of my favorites.

Always running on God's grace....coffee just helps.

My little sister gave me this mug last summer. I keep it at the cabin where she gave it to me.

We are both mamma's so this year on Mother's day morning I chose this one to sip from.

My newest mug. 

I found it fitting with my Norwegian heritage and Minnesota upbringing.

"UFF DA" is a common expression that comes from my lips, not so much the "you betcha"

One of my favorites, gifted to me from my daughter Brianna. 

"You Da Mom", on the otherside is inscribed "I love you"

A good reminder if I'm feeling a little out of sorts... "Choose Joy"

10,000 flannels... used much in the cool mornings at our cabin.

again... Uff-da. 

This is so true for my introverted self.

Obviously 

"Happy Fall Y'all

Mugs for all seasons

He has made everything beautiful in its time"

Ecclesiastes 3:11  

I especially love mugs with scripture that reminds me of Gods promises

Gods word right in front of me

Then of course there's winter...I love my winter mugs (and winter)

You will find me here every morning when at the cabin. 

Sitting out on the deck with the lake in view, often times the loons are calling, 

the birds are chirping and the peace is overwhelming.

Do you have mugs that "talk to you", I often chose the mugs that best fits the mood, my surroundings, my frame of mine or just because I really like it.

What about you, do you have a liking of mugs...... coffee anyone?