Nurse Healer to Nurse Healed

By Joanna Feather

Hello. My name is Joanna Feather, RN. Well, at least it was. I recently changed my life's journey. As with all of us, life teaches us lessons, and we learn from them. There are certain things that define us. I thought my career was the definition of me. I have always thought that ever since I graduated from the CENA program in the summer of 1993

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Feb 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887384986

Joanna Feather

My name is Joanna Feather. I am a woman of God. I now look to Jesus for my peace and comfort versus alcohol. I published a book recently, Nurse Healer to Nurse Healed, which prefaces this miraculous story with my near-death experience. I live in Lapeer and have a mixed family of six children that all have encountered Emma's miracle. My love for the Lord is so strong that I want to shout it from the rooftops: He has done so much for me and my family!

Book preview

Nurse Healer to Nurse Healed

Joanna Feather

Nurse Healer to Nurse Healed

Trilogy Christian Publishers A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

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Copyright © 2022 by Joanna Feather

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 979-8-88738-497-9

E-ISBN: 979-8-88738-498-6

Acknowledgments

This book, first and foremost, is written for all the hardworking, self-sacrificing, awesome nurses that put their own families and own health on the line to care for others. To be in this profession, most need a heart of gold and a spirit of giving. I’ve worked with so many wonderful nurses that made huge impacts on this book. I want to thank all the professors and mentors that have made me the nurse I am today. I remember two specifically that really had an impact on me, Janet Bryant and Christine Wineman. After I was in school, many nurses have molded who I have become. Many come to mind, but I would like to name a few that have really made a difference in my career and who I have looked up to: Carolyn Smukala, Patty Dupuis, Stacey Smukala, Debbie Geiger, Jill Wilcox, Monda Shaver, Dana Latunski, Gabe Feather, Greg Symons, Ken Streeter, Melissa Sommerfield, Barb Reittenbach, Connie Encicso, Briget Stam, Nicole Willette, Chris Taber, Colleen Chapman, Colleen Karry, Roz Williams, Ted Krzysik, Jeanette Hunt, Kristin Frank, Sue Dobis, Tracey Kluck. I have worked with so many more that have made me a better person, but I could go on for hours.

I thank my husband, Adrian, for holding onto me through all the negativity I got into.

For working through all the trials nursing has given me, and being there for me during this time, during a long illness, and growing spiritually with me this past year. I love you.

My children, Olivia, Emma, Gabe, Griffin, Ava, and Jackson. I know it was tough having me working so much and all the nights and being gone, and I hope you all know I tried to give you the best for your lives, and that is why I stuck with it for so many years. My love for you is beyond measure. I am very thankful to you, Gabe, for helping me get to where I needed to go with my illness and being my advocate, and helping me dig through things for answers and my plan of care. You all are my heart and soul.

I thank all my family, especially my Aunt Cheryl, who came in from Washington to help our family, for praying with me and discussing things with me to help me with clarity; my mother- and father-in-law, who came in from Florida and helped when I got out of the hospital; and my parents for taking Jackson in a crucial time and getting school supplies for kids; and all of the above family for visiting me in the hospital, caring for Jackson and cleaning my home. Also helping me get my bearings when I got home.

I thank my best friend, Dana Latunski, for always encouraging me, praying for me, caring about everything that was happening to me day in and day out, talking me off ledges and helping me decipher things, and helping me to look at all the medical details.

I am thankful for all the prayers I received. All the prayer warriors on Facebook. My Vision Pointe church family, Faith Gospel Tabernacle, Jamey Willett Parker (thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, and for coming to see me in the hospital), my cousin Jen and your inspiration. A special thanks to Cathy Merling for coming to the hospital and anointing me with oil, and praying diligently for me. That was one of the most sincere Christian acts I have encountered in my life. I would like to add Cindy and Chuck Carr, who invited me into their house and helped me to rededicate my life to Christ and get saved.

I thank TBN for being my publisher. I am sure these are the right people doing it, and I cannot wait to see the finished product. Matt Rudnitsky and his publishing company that I found scrolling Facebook one day—I took his writing class, and it helped me to organize and develop my writing.

Most of all, I thank God. Day in and out, He listened to my prayers, heard my needs, and healed me against all odds. He got me through all the fevers, the difficulties breathing, and the emotional toll being in the hospital was giving me. Glory be to Him that I am alive. I am thankful every day for the life I have and the healing I am still working on myself. He helped me to really examine my life and career. It still is a long road ahead, but it will get easier day by day. I pray I continue to devote my time and life to His glory.

Introduction

My name is Joanna Feather. I have been in nursing since my teen years, starting as a certified nurse aide in 1993. I moved on and obtained my licensed practical nursing degree in 1998 and finally got my registered nursing license in 2002. I have worked in many facets of nursing, including long-term care, hospice, emergency, medical-surgical, operating room, including pre- and post-op and intra-op, management, and have always been some kind of a float. I have worked in rural and urban hospitals and most recently have been a travel nurse. I love advocating for my patients, but as of the last few years, I love advocating for nurses.

Nursing has changed drastically over the years. I have become burned out in my career and have developed some negativity, and had some poor coping mechanisms. I decided at the beginning of this process to write this book more for therapy than anything. I was at my wits’ end and was so negative about everything. Then it morphed into a lot more once I became a patient, and I hit on that perspective as well.

God has always been there for me, but most times, I turned the other way and just got sidetracked. Then something drastic happened to me this year, I became ill to the point of near death, and I finally surrendered myself and my negative behaviors. I show you how He was always woven through my life and how I finally let go of the negativity.

I am hoping that I can help people that aren’t in the medical field to understand what nurses are up against these days, and I am hoping to touch even one person in the medical field to change their coping mechanisms.

I live in mid-Michigan with my husband and children. I am not sure what the future holds for nursing or myself; I just know God is now in charge of my moves, and I like life best that way.

Chapter 1

The Rural Hospital

I tiptoed by the bathroom and could see she had left her white stockings drying on the towel bar. Every time they were gone, I’d cringe because I knew my grandma would be working. You see, she was an RN supervisor at the local rural hospital. A lot of local people knew her, and she was noted to be a great nurse. I found her career very admirable and intriguing. Her daughter was an LPN as well, so the profession ran through the family. My boyfriend in high school’s mother was also an RN; she worked with my grandma. She was also my sponsor for my confirmation in the Catholic church. Mind you, I was sixteen years old. That is when the profession hit me; that is when I knew I was going to be a nurse. I found these women admirable, hardworking, and supportive of their families. They touched my heart and my soul, and I always felt that nursing was noble and respected, and I wanted that for me. I wanted to be Joanna Carson, RN, one day… We all had an inspiration. Or at least we all were inspired by the profession of nursing. We went into it for the cause of caring, honor, and admiration. Society looked at us with respect.

I decided to work at one of our local rural nursing homes during the summer of ’93. Why not? They gave a six-week course for free and prepared you to take the state nurse aide exam; it seemed perfect. I found it exciting and invigorating that I was learning all these things that would eventually lead me to my goal. I made good money too. Not too shabby, considering my friends were making minimum wage and not really thinking of advancement in their careers. I was learning how to put foley catheters in, change diapers, bathe and feed people, transfer them, and I was learning how to love people. Giving of myself… I did a lot of that. The fact was, at that time, I didn’t mind a darn bit…