myth busting – CARE magazine
grandview extended care
I’m thrilled to bits to announce that my latest feature written and photographed for CLPNA’s Care Magazine is now on-line. It is called Myth Busting, and features photos and interviews from some of my favourite people in the world: nurses who work in the world of continuing care.
I have my own story about working in continuing care. A long long time ago, in the decade they call the ’80’s, I worked part-time at the Mewburn Veterans Home as a nursing attendant, while I was going to the University of Alberta. And studying Shakespeare and Art History. Talk about a contrast in my life. I used to go directly to my English classes on campus still wearing my nursing uniform.
Being a nursing attendant was hard work, but exceedingly rewarding. I’ve carried the experience I had at the Vet’s Home into everything I do in the health system.
The folks that provide hands-on, bedside care to the most vulnerable are very dear to my heart.
yet another interview – bloom blog
Bloorview Kids Rehab has a gorgeous blog and magazine named Bloom. Back in July, they interviewed me for a post called At a dark time, bringing light about Edmonton Down Syndrome Society’s Visiting Parents Program, which I co-coordinate. Pictured is Aaron and I, on the beach in Kaua’i. (I wish I was in Kaua’i right now).
I love this program. Peer support is something very near and dear to my heart. Associated with this program, we have the opportunity to speak to Perinatologists and Pediatricians about disclosing diagnosis – sharing an unexpected diagnosis with a family. This is kind of a big deal to me too, if you check out this Globe link.
the tables are turned
from the glorious food shop olive et gourmando
The tables are turned, and I am the interviewee instead of the interviewer.
Aimee of the Montreal food blog Under the High Chair asks me the hard questions. About food. Glorious food. Check it out here.
I met Aimee when I was in Montreal in July. She generously took me on a private foodie tour of the city, which was a great amount of fun. Lucky me…
a wife’s tale
at the harbour in howth, north of dublin
I was thrilled when my abstract for speaking at the World Down Syndrome Congress was accepted earlier this year. So in mid-August, my husband and I packed up our youngest son, age 6, and travelled to Ireland for the Congress and a subsequent two weeks in Dublin and County Cork.
I’ve chronicled many of our adventures which revolved around food, on Foodie Suz. I also had time to read an entire book (a rarity that I carve out for myself on holidays). This time it was Lori Lansen’s A Wife’s Tale. Lest you think it is like the Canadian version of The Biggest Loser, it is certainly not. A Wife’s Tale is an engaging and compassionate read.It is a lovely book of transformation and post-divorce.
After my first marriage ended, I, too travelled far away – for me, it was to Norway with my two kids. This is a common experience, I think – women searching for home in strange places. Eat, Love, Pray is like that too. Although both those protagonists weren’t travelling with two children under the age of seven. I clearly wasn’t thinking straight.
Take a look at Lori Lansen’s bio page. It is the best bio I have ever read – very warm and personable, and illustrates that our lives really are built around babies and where we live. She provides inspiration for those of us who say about writing: I can’t. I can’t find the time. Lori Lansen just sits down and writes. Because that’s what writers do.
unpaid work writing
So sometimes I write and I don’t get paid for it. But that’s ok, because I do that for organizations I volunteer for. Like the Canadian Family Advisory Network (CFAN). Of which I happen to be chair.
I wrote a piece for London Health Science Centre in Ontario about a family who frequents their Cystic Fibrosis Clinic and have two delightful little girls with CF. We are trying to celebrate family centred care initiatives in Canada. To learn more about family centred care, visit the Institute for Family Centered Care website.
Here’s the link to the London article, off our CFAN website. If you click around the site, you will find all sorts of information about what’s happening at health facililites here in Canada to include a family voice in the care of their children. Of which I feel pretty passionately about…
hushed drama – life in the OR
I wrote an article called Hushed Drama – life in the OR, about LPNs in the Operating Room, for the CLPNA’s Care magazine in the spring. It was just published, and I’m really happy with it. It was a collaborative effort with five different interviews and an extensive photo shoot.
My favourite kind of work is profiling folks who work in health care. There are a lot of unsung heroes out there – not used to the spotlight, but passionate about their work. And they are doing good, important work.
The photo shown above was chosen as the cover shot. (It appears as a mirror image on the magazine). That’s a first for me.
newly read
Writing to Change the World by Mary Pipher – for those of us looking for social change.
Unexpected Blessings by Roxanne Black – finding hope and healing in the face of illness.
Twilight by Stephanie Meyers – my 12 year old daughter made me read it.
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz – from my favourite food blog.
A strange mix of writing books, inspirational books, teenage girl angst books, and foodie books. I guess that pretty much sums me up.
care in the air
I wrote two articles in the Spring issue of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses Care Magazine. One was the feature on LPNs in pre-hospital practice called (cleverly) Care in the Air, where I learned about the exciting world of emergency care.
The other piece is one of my favourite articles I have ever written. I wrote a short bit about a woman named Emma, who is 102 years old and lives in an assisted living facility. I had a great amount of reverence when I walked into her room with my notepad and my camera, and learned that people’s seemingly ordinary lives are always extraordinary when tempered with love.
return from seattle
I’ve been doing a lot of corporate work lately, which means it doesn’t pop up in my portfolio because I don’t actually own the words.
I’ve been writing a lot on my food blog, which is fun. I have regular commenters – many of whom have their own food blogs in Edmonton. I just returned from a Food Chick Weekend in Seattle with my daughter Ella, who is 12, and I documented our adventures in food here.
We were blessed with some rare sunny days, which made for fabulous picture taking. But my favourite time? Our pit stops in our hotel room, where both Ella and I read books. Ella finished Scat by Carl Hiaasen and I consumed A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, which is a lovely read about food and love.
Here’s my favourite photo of our trip – Ella reading. She’s my girl…
unpaid work page
I created an unpaid work page. Here’s a great quote that sums up my philosophy about service:
“It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” – Charles Dudley Warner
