Tuesday's Blog- September 27

Thirty years in September- A nurses memoir
Kate Genovese

"I went to sleep that night more appreciative of my mom, and the things I had." (Genovese 19)

Kate just graduated Waverly High School. She was seventeen years old, embarking a career as a nurse. However, she did not get accepted into any RN programs. She ended up applying to LPN programs (licensed practical-nurse) and chose to attend Shepard-Gill, located on Newbury Street in Boston. In the middle of the Vietnam War, Kate was headed to Boston frightened about leaving home, and separation from her friends and family. Kate's four year boyfriend, Bill, was joining the marines and heading to basic training to eventually go to Vietnam. She was having a hard time with change, but she had to accept it and move on. Shepard-Gill was affiliated with three large Boston Hospitals, Mass General, Beth Israel, and New England Baptist. Kate was put into working at Beth Israel. There she was dealing with a bunch of patients, especially ones that were on the verge of death.

One patient with the name of Mary, found a lump on her breast and had many procedures done to her that were not hopeful. She was a mother with a daughter the same age as Kate. Kate started thinking about all the times her mom would tell her to get a coat on because she could catch a cold or when she would gently rub her and her sisters hands together and put them under her arms until they had warmed up. She started getting emotional, "How I had taken all that tenderness, caring, and love for granted" (Genovese 19). Kate started appreciating her mom more and more after that day she found out Mary was not doing well. People often think a certain somebody (ex. parents) could never get sick, that mother's or father's don't die. But in reality, you never know what could happen. Freak accidents, diseases, and sicknesses happen. And sometimes we have no control over them. As Kate continued working and going to college, she called and visited her mom more often.

https://www.google.com/search?q=beth+israel+hospital&rlz

This quote connects to me because sometimes, like Kate, I take my mother or the things I have for granted. I often find myself caught up in life. Sometimes I expect more or I am not thankful for the things that I have. For example, my mom gets mad at me when all my clothes are thrown on the ground in my room because they should be taken care of and hung up rather than on the floor. She says I am lucky enough that I even have clothes because there are people in the world that cannot afford clothing. There are a lot of other things that I often take for granted such as food, education, or the vacations my family and I go on. Recently I got into a really serious car accident that almost costed me my life. When the police officer called my mom and told her I got into a bad car accident she met me at the hospital right away. When she ran into the room I instantly could tell how broken, hurt, and sad she was that she almost lost her daughter. She repeatedly told me how much she loved me, how she will not leave my side through this process, and how my car can be replaced, but I can't. At this moment I realized not only how lucky I was to be alive, but also how lucky I was to have such a caring and loving mother. Some people are not fortunate enough to have a mother to be right there when something happens. And that is something not only me, but every other seventeen year old should realize, that mother's are a blessing. At this age we frequently get into fights or say we hate our mother, but in the end mother's are going to be the only person there for you and the only person that will love you an absurd amount. After reading this book and getting into an accident, I am going to think twice about fighting or yelling at my mom.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=mothers+and+daughters