As I write this I realize that it has been 12 years since my mother died at Parkwood Hospital from terminal cancer. She was never in pain with her Multiple Myeloma, which was a blessing.
In her final year after my Dad died the previous year, also from cancer, she became her own person and took responsibility for her actions.
She helped one of her roommates deal with her fear of dying and held her hand. Normally my Mom would have told me about this, however, a nurse did. This was such wonderful growth for her. Today I drove around Parkwood and looked at the Ponds and the changing leaf colours. It was peaceful and I felt close to her.
Mom in Scotland
On September 12th I travelled with a fellow nursing classmate from London to Orillia’s Fern Resort for our 50+1 reunion. We took the back way which though longer was so relaxing with beautiful scenery! We were lucky enough to get the cottages on the waters of Lake Couchiching.
We gathered chairs outside Leah & Jan’s place (next door to Jane & me). It seemed to be the gathering place in between meals. All the meals were included in the price. Some were excellent, a couple so-so but because we didn’t have to cook them, all were appreciated.
Meals at Fern
Four of our nurses are still working. One retires next month and one in December. Not bad considering we are all in our 70s! We had fun catching up on our lives, our children and our Grandchildren. Many pictures were shared as well as many pictures were taken.
Laurie flew in from Florida, while Jan L. came from Vancouver Island. The majority of us stayed in Ontario. Barb, who organizes our reunions, brought with her the scrapbooks that she has done since we started training. It never gets old seeing us as 17-19 year-olds with many hopes and dreams. Most have been happy with their career choices and their contributions to the people we have served.
While at Fern we went swimming many times in the large pool. It was really warm. The lake was pretty reedy and the bottom was mucky so the pool it was! We also learned to play Bocce ball. I never knew how much fun that could be.
There were so many activities to be enjoyed. We for the most part just got caught up. A few went to Casino Rama. Linda and I bought our moccasins on the reserve before getting to Fern. We buy them every five years. There was a bonfire and I believe they found some marshmallows.
Some people stayed from the 12th to the 14th, while others dropped in for the day. There was an extra bed in the large hospitality room, which one of our peers took advantage of.
Nursing Class 50+1
It was so hard to believe that in 1968 we all began our dreams and graduated in 1971. There were so many crazy times and various experiences, including following our community mothers through their pregnancies and deliveries.
As part of our training, we went to Sick Kids in Toronto, South Muskoka Hospital in Bracebridge and the Psychiatric Hospital in Penetang. I for one stuck with Psychiatry. We all worked at our home hospital called Orillia Soldiers Memorial Hospital. I personally got a lot of shifts on the medical unit.
Shifts…..we did not get to do shifts until our 3rd year. Boy that was an eye-opener! In my 40 years as a nurse, I never did get used to shift work i.e. I couldn’t sleep on nights, or on days when I made the shift back. I always envied those people who could sleep at any time.
Our OSMH gang
There was a special bond with my classmates through these three years together. Through good times and adversity, we were there for each other. In many ways that is why we treasured our times together as adults and nurses with many years of experience.
We will meet in 3 years at Fern instead of the 4 until our 55 years. We want to see each other sooner and to spend two full days there. We will call it our 55-1 year anniversary.
Thank you for the fun, the laughter and most of all for being student nurses with me in Orillia. Here’s to friends forever.