Fighting for Life

Every day I walk into work surrounded by children who are fighting for their life. These past two years, I have watched many kids persevere with dignity and strength through difficulties, trials, and pain. My patients inspire me as they endure so much without complaining.

Many have asked how I can work on the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit (5200) where death and dying is a reality for some of these patients. I know foremost it has been the grace of God on my life to carry me on after heartbreaking moments. However, most days on the unit are fun seeing kids still being kids. As you enter the double doors make sure to watch out for patients barreling down the hall on tricycles. You may also see others dancing in the playroom during music and movement.  One of the most exciting moments is the confetti parade celebrating when a patient leaves the hospital after transplant. It can be very emotional as this sometimes represents several months of being in the hospital.

As a nurse I have the privilege to be part of these families most challenging and intimate moments in their lives. I chose the field of nursing because I wanted to help people in their greatest time of need. In return, I am the one who has been blessed as I have walked and fought alongside these amazing patients and families.

Now it is time for me to transition to a different position at Duke so that I can continue to expand my knowledge and skills within a variety of areas within pediatrics. As I say goodbye to my home unit, many of these patients and their families will forever be carried in my heart. What an opportunity to be part of their lives and to bring a smile or a kind word during such a difficult trial. In reality, they also touched my life and inspired me as I witnessed their daily battle fighting for life. Life is precious; and we should count every day as a blessing from the Lord.

Some Things Never Change

One of life’s blessings is friends to share this journey. Some have come and gone during a particular season of life while others remain after many years. I am blessed to have a couple of close childhood friends that are still part of my life. Many things have changed from the early days but the bond of friendship has not.

For the 4^th of July I boarded a plan and headed south to spend a few days in Florida with my friend Mary Catherine. Our friendship began in the first grade when I “bullied” the tire swing at recess and would not let Mary Catherine have a turn at pushing the swing. So she went home crying to her mom who in return prayed with Mary Catherine that we might be friends one day. We became friends by the end of the year and were inseparable for many years following until we graduated high school.

Life has taken us different directions geographically, and she has now been married for almost five years. Even with all the changes, we still pick up right where we left off.  Whenever we are together we always find adventures along the way: whether it is driving the back roads while listening to country music, running through the streets in order to arrive just in time for the fireworks, or nearly being attacked by a school of fish while swimming in the ocean. Life never has a dull moment.  

About to paddle down the Econfina





We spent one day leisurely paddling down the Econfina River and exploring some fresh water springs in a canoe. It took a little bit of practice to learn how to steer since Mary Catherine nominated me to take the backseat. We had a couple of incidents with tree limbs attacking us, but I managed to only end up with one battle wound.

I am amazed with how parts of our lives look so different from our childhood, yet some things never change.  We grow and learn as our circumstances in life change, and we continue to add to the person we are and have always been. It’s not always about what we are doing, but who we are doing it with. As Mary Catherine says “Some things never change, they just get better.”

Winter Wonderland

Growing up in the south we never got much snow, but I always enjoyed a dusting because it resulted in school closings. Now I am a nurse and do not have the option of a snow day; so snow is not always exciting, especially when I have to work.

It seems that there is always snow in the month of January. Without exaggeration it has snowed on at least a third of my birthdays (a lot for growing up in North Carolina). So it was no surprise that there would be snow this year especially since I had plans to go skiing for my birthday.

I should have known there would be a snow storm which would dump almost two feet on Beech Mountain this past weekend. It made for quite an adventure trying to drive up the mountain especially with a few whiteout moments where I could see nothing in front of me. Thankfully I had chains for my tires, and my little old Camry made it up the mountain.



Me, Caroline, and Edie on the slopes



It was a new experience skiing through so much fresh powder on the slopes. It was in fact freezing with single digit temperatures and wind chills in the negative teens which made for quite a chilly adventure. We bundled up enduring the cold and had fun on the slopes.

On Sunday we drove to the top of Beech Mountain where we hiked to the Gazebo at the peak. It was quite difficult walking through two feet of snow, and we often lost our balance as our feet sunk into a snow drift. It was worth the hike to enjoy the breathtaking panoramic view of the snow covered winter wonderland with the distant mountains as a backdrop.

It is funny how often our perspective or situation changes our outlook. If I had to drive to work in that much snow, I would have been unhappy. Instead I had the time to enjoy the beauty of the snow and play in the winter wonderland. The snow was delightful and created an exciting adventure.

We have a choice of how we view and allow the storms of life to affect us. We can either see the storms as gloomy and become unhappy, or we can find the beauty even in difficulty. I am realizing that so much of our response depends on where we place our hope.

 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13

Winter Wonderland at the top of Beech Mtn