By Nurses Keep on Giving
Off the clock, after retirement and even from beyond the grave, some nurses continue making an impact. Off-duty nurse Carole Goulden risked her own life this year to pull a teenage girl from a burning vehicle after a car crash in Great Britain. The car was completely engulfed in flames just moments after this dramatic rescue. Thanks to Goulden, the girl appears to be on the road to recovery.
Cindy Stokes, RN, made it her mission to help a dying Charleston teenager and his family find some comfort after learning that the teen’s chemotherapy wasn’t working. When the family took a trip to Hawaii for a final vacation together, Stokes wrote a letter to the airline and successfully advocated for a flight that could accommodate the boy’s needs. While on vacation, the boy e-mailed Stokes and contacted the nursing staff from the beach via Skype. During his time in hospice, the boy and Stokes spoke openly about his condition and imminent death. He recognized the nurse as a friend and champion, and even invited her to join him and his friends in a “drum jam”—which she did. When the boy died, Stokes endured the loss with the family, assisted in the funeral planning and comforted the boy’s parents as they transitioned into a life without their son.
Retired LVN Lois Keenan, age 81, can’t stop reaching out to show compassion to those in need. Keenan brings her organizational skills, cooking abilities and years of experience caring for patients to the local hospice. A cancer survivor herself, she’s also deeply involved in fundraising for the American Cancer Society. Meanwhile, Pam McMillan has left a tidy sum ($100,000) as a bequest to two Arkansas hospitals. This gift will be used to support the infant ICUs at each hospital—locations where McMillan worked for almost three decades.
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