A Turning Point in My Life
A Turning Point in My Life
A year ago I cared for a patient with Parkinson’s
disease. Within that year I flourished and loved caring for
my patient. Each day was a new day, never the same. In
January 2013, he passed away, and that is when I made a
determination to go back to school and get a degree. In
January 2012, when I was asked if I would like to care for
this patient, I had no knowledge what I was getting myself
into. There were days he had no desire to get out of bed,
eat, or drink. Certain days I arrived at 8:00 AM, and my
day started with giving him a full shower.
Never, ever did I think I had the mental ability to get
through the process or the physical strength to support him
for his shower, dressing, feeding, and brushing his teeth. He
was an adorable man. He had days when he was distressed,
not willing to do anything I required of him, because he was
not able do things on his own. He had always been a very
independent man. There were times when I contemplated if
this was the right occupation for me, but I always looked
forward to the following day, to arise and start again. When
the days came nearer to his passing away, I was so
heartbroken and I started to think, “Now what? What will I
do for work? I don’t have a degree in nursing. No one is
going to give me a job just because I cared for a patient with
Parkinson’s.” So that is when I considered, “Why not go to
school and obtain a degree?” This wonderful man
demonstrated to me that I was capable of starting a new
career. I didn’t know I had the ability to care for someone
until this experience proved it to me. I never thought that I
would be going back to school at age 50, but here I am back
in school and studying for a new degree.
Olga Moreno attends class at Dunbar Community School in Fort Myers,
and her teacher is Anna Franta.
A Turning Point
I’ve made many bad decisions in my life but the worst
one is probably the one to drop out of high school. I still
remember the disappointed looks on my parent’s faces.