L.R. Pautauros - Through the Eyes of a Christian Nurse

Guidance, Encouragement, and Inspiration

From the Lessons I Learned

L.R. Pautauros, RN

THROUGH THE EYES OF A CHRISTIAN NURSE

Guidance, Encouragement, and Inspiration

From the Lessons I Learned

By L.R. Pautauros, RN

Copyright 2015 by L.R. Pautauros

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Table of Contents

I was a little girl when I decided I wantedto be a Nurse when I grew up. I enjoyed all the science andhealth-related classes in school, and I wanted a career that wouldallow me to help people. For me, becoming a nurse was theperfect, praiseworthy, career choice. My chosen career, Ilearned fairly quickly, was not as glamorous, perfect, orpraiseworthy as I expected it would be. As a Registered Nurse forover 25 year, I have worked long (sometimes less than desirable)hours, days, and shifts, many of which included weekends andHolidays. My job did not consist of just obtaining vital signs,passing medication, and fluffing pillows, but also changingbedding, inserting tubes into unsavory places, and cleaning upvarious bodily fluids. In addition, my patients (and familymembers) were not always cooperative, grateful, and appreciative,but often times uncooperative, ungrateful, unappreciative and yes,sometimes downright mean and abusive. All that being said, I mustsay, that I have been blessed through it all to haveexperienced a variety of people and situations. My nursing careerhas allowed me to acquire vast experiences in an Emergency Room ofa Level I Trauma Center in Detroit, as well as multiple ERs inMiami and Palm Beach; as an educator for a nursing program; and asan Assistant Director and Health Care Administrator for a largejail. I have seen, heard, and cared for many types of peoplein many situations. (Boy the stories I could tell!)

Recently, subsequent to a challengingcouple of years during which I experienced the loss of one of thesejobs, unexpected medical issues, major financial difficulties, andserious relationship trials, I sat down and pondered it all. Ihave to be honest, during this time, I did go through myperiods of anger, confusion and self-pity, however, never being oneto wallow (I feel it is detrimental to moving forward), formy benefit and thankfully, they were short-lived. Moreimportantly, came an awareness of exactly how much all ofthese experiences (both personally and professionally) has taughtme over the years. (Much more than my years of schoolingalone ever could!) In addition, it occurred to me that muchof what I learned and attained was not just from my ownexperiences, but also from those experiences of the many people Iwas privileged to meet and care for throughout my life and career.Experiences such as the fear and pain I observed in my gunshottrauma patient or heart attack patient and his/her family wentthrough; the perseverance and strength of my nursing student whochose to go to nursing school following the death of her baby toSIDS; the hopelessness and discouragement of the 17 year old inmate(father of a 2 year and 8 month old) in jail for stealing. (By theway, when asked about the medical history of his father he statedyou mean my sperm donor.) The list goes on and on. Eventuallycame the thought, could my experiences, both the victories anddefeats, be beneficial to others somehow? Could sharing some ofthese experiences, thoughts, and lessons that I have learned overthe years encourage and/or inspire another? I decided maybe,hopefully, and that was enough for me.

This I believe we ALL go through victoriesand trials throughout life whether they be physical, emotional, orspiritual. To successfully get through the trials andtruly enjoy the victories I believe is dependent upon theawareness and development of wellness in ALL of these areas(physical, emotional, and spiritual), because all depend on theothers. I also firmly believe that we can learn, develop and beencouraged through others experiences, in addition to ourown. It is my sincere desire that what I have learned from some ofthese experiences may help others as they navigate through theirown lives and situations (both the good and the bad), andthroughout these times and afterwards that they may experience agreater sense of peace, security, confidence, value and faith.

God isAmazing!

As the title of this book insinuates, I am aChristian. (Now, for those of you that may consider stopping righthere, I really urge you to continue forward, as I truly believe youwill miss out on some really good, constructive, and yes, inspiringinformation.) I have been since I was about 12 years old, though Idid not always believe, act, or live as one. In fact, to behonest, it has only been within the last few years that I reallytook it all seriously. I will also add at this point, thatit is a continual work in progress! As a Christian, I DOadvocate for God and Jesus. I also believe, however, that one hasto be open and ready for such. It is my hope that you will keep anopen mind while reading on, as only then do we have the potentialto learn, be encouraged and inspired.

We ALL have a spiritual side(pertaining to our spirit or soul), in addition to our physical andmental. That inner part of us that make us believe what webelieve and value what we value. The part in us that searches forour purpose in life. I believe our spiritual side is instrumentalin determining things such as hope or hopelessness, a positiveself-esteem or lack of, a positive or negative outlook, etc. Assuch, a healthy spiritual side makes us feel hopeful, positive,self-assured, and valued. Can you see how having a healthyspiritual side could also affect every other aspect of you and yourhealth? Just as it is important to develop and strengthen ourphysical and mental parts, I believe it is also important that wedevelop and strengthen our spiritual side as well.

For me, such development and strength hascome from my belief in Christianity. Believing in God and His lovefor me, as well as the fact that He controls everything, changesthings for me. Knowing what little control I really haveover things lifts a huge weight off my shoulders. Trusting in Hislove and goodness gives me hope and encouragement when thingsarent going well. Believing in His mercy and forgiveness means Idont have to go around feeling guilty about EVERYTHING Iever did wrong in my life and that, even if there are stillconsequences for my wrong-doing (and there always are, in someway or another), He will forgive and make things good in thelong run. It is in believing in all these things that has carriedme through my toughest trials in life so far.

Thought: Would developing your spiritualitygive you more hope, self-assurance, increased value, a morepositive outlook?

In this World There is Good and Evil

You may be thinking, really, no kidding?But, I mention it because sometimes I believe we overlook justthis as a simple, basic fact. There are many things inthis world that have an opposite, and in truth, I dont believe youcan really recognize one without recognizing the other. There ishealth and illness, land and water, high and low, sky and ground,up and down, light and dark, the list is ongoing. In addition, Ibelieve we can also acknowledge that these opposites may directlyinfluence or effect their opposite. For example, illness has adirect influence on ones health; the less illness, the better thehealth. The amount of light has a direct influence on the amount ofdarkness; the more light, the less darkness. Also, though we maynot have any control over the existence of such things, most peoplewill agree that we may have