On September 4, 1999 a nurse named Nina handed my beautiful newborn son to me. He had 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes. As I cradled him in my arms admiring him I was fascinated by how perfect and complete he truly was. When he closed his eyes I could see the tiniest little veins in his tiny eyelids. Amazing! This child of 5 pounds 12 ounces has not only 10 fingers and 10 toes but he has veins that carry blood throughout his body, he has a heart to pump the blood, he has lungs, he has kidneys and he came from me! At that moment I realized he was a whole person, a true being. He was perfect!.
Hours earlier when I was in labour with my son, there came a point when the mood in the room changed. All of a sudden the nurses weren't by my side holding my hand, encouraging me and helping me breath through each contraction. The lights went on and the room was bright, the nurses approached the bottom of my bed, as if on queue, to remove the bottom portion of the bed, thereby getting the bed ready for me to deliver, where previously it was set up for a woman in labour. They moved quickly, almost choreographed. I remember the sense of excitement when I realized that the time had come. I was about to become a mother! .
When I was released from the hospital and took my infant son home I could not stop thinking about how exciting it was in the delivery room, how envious I was of the nurses who get to see new life coming into this world every day. I had never really considered nursing as a career choice before. In junior high and high school I volunteered with Saint John Ambulance, and reading the medical dictionary was always a favorite pastime for me, but yet I always had my mind set on social work. However at this point in my life nursing was just so appealing and exciting to me. My life plans were beginning to change.
Two years later I was back in the hospital in the room next to where my son was born.
