nursing Archives - Amy Schisler

Meet Morgan

June 26, 2019July 31, 2020Amy Schisler

Over the past few weeks, my blog readers have seen Morgan’s senior photos, read my advice to her as she gets ready to head to college, and accompanied us to Greece and Rome. After all of that, Morgan suggested that you all might like to know her a little better. Since she’s heading off in less than two months to begin her journey to her future career, she’d like to share with you what led her to this moment. I hope you finish this feeling like you know her a better and knowing that there is still hope for future generations.

Warning: you may need a tissue or two.

Morgan and trophy.jpg — Morgan as the Tooth Fairy, #careergoals

Throughout my whole life, and up until January of 2018, I struggled with what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was terrified to make the wrong choice, knowing that this was probably the most important decision I would ever make. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be connected with medicine. I floated between dentist, surgeon, and even medical malpractice law. My whole life I served others with compassion and love, but it never clicked. Little did I know, that in less than two months, my whole world would flip upside down. I knew exactly what I wanted to be: a nurse.

On November 22, the day before Thanksgiving, my grandfather, who I called Poppy, was admitted into Johns Hopkins Hospital. This would be a shock for the whole family, because he had just gotten back from a week-long vacation in Colorado with my dad and aunt. Less than a week later, it was found out that he had Frontal Lobe Dementia, a rare and terminal form of dementia. We were told that he might have up to six months to live, but it was looking like a lot less. In early December, he was allowed to go home with hospice care. By this time, Poppy had lost all ability to talk and had to be fed through a feeding tube. This change was dramatic because he was always the life of the party and the most talkative person in the family with the most stories.

22728713_10210269648273922_4818804090097890691_n — Morgan and her Poppy

Poppy was a huge part of raising me. For example, he lived only 15 minutes away from my school, allowing me to see him often, and allowing him to always be present whenever anybody needed him. He came to my house just about everyday, whether it was to help my dad or simply to give to my sisters and me some pastry that he just mastered. So when I heard that someone I thought who was going to live forever was looking at less than six months, I became empty. More than just being upset that I was losing someone so important to me, I felt helpless. For me, there was only one way I could fix this, and it was to do something. So at only 16 years old, I became one of the primary caregivers for my grandfather. This forced me to become really mature really fast. I had to use my independence to be responsible for another person.

Everyday after school, I would drive right to the farmhouse where Poppy lived. I would go straight inside and begin my daily routine: feed him through a feeding tube, give him any pain medicine, try to communicate in any way possible, and just be company for him. After hours of caring for him, I would go home, do my homework, and go to bed fully prepared to do the exact same thing the next day, and everyday, until this journey was over. For the next two months, until the time of his passing, this is exactly what I did. Over Christmas vacation, I stayed with my grandparents around the clock. I was dedicated to making Poppy feel comfortable and showed deep compassion for him. This compassion is something that I will carry with me into my future career.

I learned and used every skill I needed to fully care for my grandfather so that my grandmother, Grancy, could get some sleep at night and not worry about doing everything for herself and Poppy. There were times that I would tell her I knew exactly what I was doing, even if I didn’t, and then I would figure out how to do whatever it was. By the end of my time with my grandfather, I knew that nursing was my calling. Our time together gave me the opportunity to learn skills that I will use everyday as a nurse, such as giving insulin and feeding through a tube. While these skills are material things, I also grew in compassion, sympathy, maturity, and responsibility.

Nursing Preview.jpg — Nursing Student Preview Day

Since that time, I have been very enthusiastic about my future. I am constantly trying to learn new skills that will benefit me, I have started teaching myself the Spanish that I will use with patients, and I am taking classes aimed towards health professions. When I told my uncle that I had decided to be a nurse he said to me, “You’re so smart, just go ahead and be a doctor! It pays more and you are more than capable of doing it.” I just smiled and explained to him that I don’t want to be a doctor. I don’t want to go and give patients their diagnosis and then move on to the next room to do a consultation. I want to be the person that cares for a patient for their whole journey and makes them comfortable along the way. While the time spent with my grandfather in his last few months was long, hard, and emotional, I know that it happened for a reason. I am eternally grateful for Poppy as he helped me figure out where I am meant to be in life, and not a day of my life will go by when I won’t thank him for being such a big influence on me.

409-Morgan's Grad's Show00427 — Two peas in a pod

I think Morgan’s grandfather would be so proud of her as he would be of all of his grandchildren. It’s going to be hard to let her go, but I think Morgan will be do just fine. I’m so excited to watch her make her dream come true.

Psalm 112-3-5.jpg

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What I was writing about a year ago this week: Chincoteague Island Trilogy.

Amy Schisler is an award-winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her follow up, Island of Promise is a reader favorite. Amy’s children’s book is The Greatest Gift. The suspense novel, Summer’s Squall, and all of Amy’s books, can be found online and in stores. Her latest novel, Island of Promise, was recently awarded First Prize by the Oklahoma Romance Writer’s Association as the best Inspirational Romance of 2018 and was awarded a Gold Medal in the Independent Publisher Book Awards 2019 for Inspirational Fiction. It is a finalist for the RWA Golden Quill Contest and the Eric Hoffer Award of Fiction.

Amy’s latest book, The Devil’s Fortune, is now available! Order your copy today.

You may follow Amy on Facebook at http://facebook.com/amyschislerauthor, Twitter @AmySchislerAuth, Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/amyschisler and at http://amyschislerauthor.com.

Amy’s books: Crabbing With Granddad (2013), A Place to Call Home (2014), Picture Me (2015), Whispering Vines (2016), Island of Miracles (2017), Stations of the Cross Meditations for Moms (2017), The Greatest Gift (2017), Summer’s Squall (2017), Island of Promise (2018).

Defining Success

June 13, 2018August 5, 2020Amy Schisler

It’s an amazing thing to watch your children grow. I guess I’ve always known that being a parent is a special gift that holds a lifetime of rewards, but you really don’t get it until your children are on their own. Sure, you experience the joy of a baby, the thrills of all the “firsts” that a child goes through, the gold stars on homework and tests, the first goal on the playing field, the magical moments of their first love. But you never truly understand what a gift you’ve been given until a couple decades have passed, or come close to passing. That’s when you stop seeing them as children and begin seeing them as real, grown-up, decision-making, mistake-prone people. It’s also when you begin to wonder, even worry, about how they will define and discover success.

Because being successful, according to world standards, is hard! There’s so much conflicting advice out there. Find your passion. Make lots of money. Wait to get married. Go, get married. Wait to have children. Have children while you’re young. Make money, not babies. Follow your heart. Follow your head. How is any young person supposed to know what to do? Did you know that 80% of college students in the US change their majors at least once, and most students change their majors three times in the course of their college careers? Why? They have no idea what they should do, or WANT to do, to be successful. Read more →

Following The Heart

April 4, 2018May 15, 2018Amy Schisler

I feel like I’ve been down this road before. I’ve walked across the campuses of over a dozen colleges and universities, and every time was a different experience. The first several visits were with a prospective student who knew exactly what she wanted and didn’t want, exactly what questions she had, and exactly what kind of experience she wanted to have during her first four years of freedom (yes, a first-born indeed). Four years later, visiting colleges was an entirely different ball game. Each tour ended with the questions, “Did you like it, Mom? Do you think I will like it here?” Each tentative step across a quad, each glance into a classroom, held a mixture of trepidation and excitement. Two years later, enter child number three.

All of our college tours have been in the pouring down rain, but we did have a sunny stop at the Flight 93 Memorial.

“I don’t really care where I go,” and “I just want a degree, so the campus doesn’t matter,” are often heard statements as we drive hundreds of miles over the course of this week. It’s not a lack of interest or an attempt to put off the future. Morgan simply wants to be a nurse. Period. She doesn’t care where or how she gets there as long as she knows that the school she chooses will give her a good background and a solid career. She’s always been that kind of child– five going on ten, ten going on twenty, seventeen going on thirty. Her life has been carefully laid out and planned, step by step, since she was a toddler. This is the child who has always wanted to get married and have four children. This is the child who knows what kind of house she wants, what kind of school her children will attend, and exactly what kind of family pet they will have. She is a child who always dressed as some kind of medical profession for Halloween by her own choice. She has always known that helping others in a medical capacity is her calling. She just didn’t know what that specific calling was going to be.

I’ve mentioned many times that this past holiday season was a rough one for us and that Morgan spent countless hours tending her grandfather in his final weeks. She fed him, gave him medicine, helped dress and bathe him, and did whatever else was necessary to keep him comfortable. By the time her Poppy was called home, Morgan knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt what she wanted to do. She knew that nursing is her calling, and we all know she will be passionate about the care she gives.

That’s why I find myself in Pittsburgh tonight, the second night in a hotel that is sandwiched between numerous top-notch nursing schools. And that’s why Morgan finds herself actually caring, for the first time, about where she’s going to attend college. Does she want to go to the #2 or the #7 school in the nation for nursing? They’re great schools that are highly competitive, but have many students fighting for the best clinical assignments. Does she want to go to a tiny, relatively new college that ranked much lower but still has a fabulous program and can promise high scholarships and guaranteed career placement? Does she want an inner-city experience, a suburb experience, or rural experience? Does she want a Catholic college, like her sisters, or a state school? There’s much to love about every place we tour.

There is one thing I know for sure. Wherever Morgan goes, she is going to make one heck of a nurse. And she’s going to let her faith guide her in making the right decisions. How wonderful it was to hear her ask the Dean of Admissions, “How often is Mass offered on campus?” That one question, more than any others, let me know that she has her priorities in order. I have to believe that everything else will fall into place.

Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God’s saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well. – Matthew 6:33

Did you hear Amy’s guest appearance on Danielle Bean’s Girlfriends Podcast? Check it out!

What I was writing about this time last year: A Love Without End

Amy Schisler is an award winning author of both children’s books and sweet, faith-filled romance novels for readers of all ages. She lives with her husband and three daughters on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her books, Picture Me, Whispering Vines, and Island of Miracles are all recipients of Illumination Awards, placing them among the top inspirational fiction books of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Whispering Vines was awarded the 2017 LYRA Award for the best romance of 2016. Island of Miracles has outsold all of Amy’s other books worldwide and ranked as high as 600 on Amazon. Her latest children’s book, The Greatest Gift, is now available; and her novel, Summer’s Squall, can be found online and in stores.