Why I wanted to become a nurse

When my daughter was 2 months old, she came down with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD for short. She was sick for about a week before I could get the doctor to FINALLY get her in to see a pediatric gastroenterologist. The doctor I had to take her to see wanted her to stay in the hospital for a few days to make sure he didn't mis-diagnose her. That was the LONGEST 3 days of my life. They did ALL KINDS OF TESTS, some were painful to her, some weren't. She was hooked up to an apnea monitor while she was there, to make sure she didn't die of SIDS like her brother did back in 1996. They did blood tests, ultrasounds, urine samples, EVERYTHING, even a barium test! And let me tell you, there's nothing nastier than a barium diaper! lol



Finally, the night of day 2, the doctor came in and told me what was wrong. I was relieved, and a bit scared as well. I sort of blame myself, because of all the spicy food I ate when I was pregnant, but I was assured that that's not the issue why she has it. Some babies get it, and some don't. So, that said, we were able to go home on St. Patrick's day, 2000. I was so relieved, and scared at the same time, because what if I didn't give her the right dosage? What if I underdosed or overdosed the meds? That didn't happen. She's healthy, happy, and fine. What DID happen during those 3 days was this: While they were working on my daughter, I got a chance to watch what they were doing. While she was sleeping, I was sitting there watching the monitor lights, and thinking that maybe I'd have a more promising career in Nursing than I would as a paralegal, which is what I was majoring in at Duff's Business Institute in Pittsburgh, PA, before I found out I was going to have Jessyka. I can't wait to start school toward a nursing degree. I love children, and I would love to work in a PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit) or a NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Wish me luck!