When my mother was 15, she was stricken with polio.
Doctors told her she would probably not even survive.
And if she did, she would never walk again, and she did.
It's a pretty amazing story.
She had seven kids.
I was the youngest of seven and the only girl.
We grew up hearing her say the phrase "I need
you to be my arms and my legs."
And we did.
We did all the vacuuming.
We did a lot of the house cleaning,
and she was amazing and did everything that she could do.
She'd make bread, but she couldn't lift the loaves
into the oven.
She couldn't pull them out.
She couldn't knead the dough, things like that.
And so we grew up doing a lot of those things.
And as she got older, she then dealt
with a lot of what they call post-polio syndrome
and was in a wheelchair and on oxygen.
And so I had the privilege to have her and my father
in our home with my husband and my kids
and was able to take care of her.
So when she passed away, I missed being able to help her.
So as I started thinking about going back to school
and what I wanted to do, it resonated with me
to be a nurse.
I had heard from a friend here that's
a nurse that they were recruiting for nurses to go.
They needed them in New York for the COVID-19 pandemic.
And the moment I heard that, I wanted to go.
I was drawn to it.
A couple people ask, "Why are you doing this?
You don't have to."
And I just could not stop thinking about my mom.
And I grew up hearing stories about polio.
I remember her talking about medical personnel, doctors,
nurses.
And she had one nurse in particular
that changed everything for her and made
things so much better for her.
And because of that I was given a pretty amazing mother
and a pretty amazing life because of her.
Sorry.
And I thought, "How could I pass this up to possibly return this
to someone else?"
And so I went to New York City, and it was crazy.
It was hectic.
It was difficult. But it was so rewarding to have
an opportunity to serve in a situation that
was affecting everyone that I knew, everyone in the world.
And I thought quite often of our Savior.
And I've thought of the times when He would minister,
the times when He healed.
And He went to those that people were avoiding.
I felt that when I could view people the way
that our Savior sees them, it helped me to better comfort,
to better care, to better minister, to better serve them.
It made it so personal for me.
And I feel like when I read in the scriptures
and I read of the Savior, when He would heal,
when He would minister, He did it one at a time.
It was personal.
It was intimate.
It was a very individual experience.
And I love that about what I do.
I love that, as a nurse, that I can have that opportunity over
and over and over again, and that even though I
have so many faults, but in those moments
when I can change my perspective,
that I can be more like Him, that I can treat people the way
that He would treat them.
And it's changed my perspective--not only
as a nurse, but it's changed perspective in my life to be
able to try to do that.
And I've found that there's those perfect moments when
I'm trying to be more like Him and to use my hands in the way
that He did.