About me...

I'm a retired registered nurse who worked in Wichita Public schools for almost ten years.  I began my career as a labor/delivery nurse and thought I had found my passion, but things change, and so did I.  I found my passion in elementary schools where there are so many kids who need the interest and dedication of a registered professional nurse!

So, I know you're thinking, "What a cushy job....bandaids and boo-boos."  And guess what, we do some of that.  But in the middle of those bandaids and boo-boos, you find out that there's no food at a house, or someone there is hurting them.  One of my first little ones told me how his Dad had "friends that live under the highway" and came to their house to "smoke."  He continued to relate to me that one of these "friends", tied him up and hung him by his ankles from the ceiling.  I remember his name.  I remember what he looked like. I remember the bruises and rope burn marks on his ankles and wrists. And I'll never, ever, forget the house he lived in.  I went to his house with a school colleague and found no food, no heat, and no working plumbing.  There were cockroaches on the countertops, and wet clothes molding in a big barrel.  the house smelled of urine and feces. We called Wichita PD and the kids were removed from the home.  If he hadn't come to the health room with a boo-boo, I'd never had the chance to ask him about the bruises on his ankles, arms and neck. I'd never had a chance to ask the right questions, or assess the situation.

This blog is to educate you about the too, too many children in Wichita schools, who need professionals to intervene in their lives. Professional school nurses do so much more than put on bandaids and hand out ice.  They save lives.