Suzanne Fink, MSN, RN goes from "wheels to heels" as she works as a nurse with dystonia

"Suzanne Fink, MSN, RN, often compares herself to Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.” Like Ariel, she experienced a sudden loss of her voice. And like her, she also had it restored – only not by magic, but rather through the expert care of Cleveland Clinic’s Voice Center."

"Throughout her life, Suzanne, a nurse at Cleveland Clinic, has faced challenges from a movement disorder known as early onset childhood dystonia, which causes involuntary muscle contractions and spasms."

“Everything always took me longer,” she says. “I had a lot of ambition and goals, but chronic illness is an uphill climb.” Her physical condition varies from day to day, allowing her to walk or putting her in a wheelchair. “Some people think I have a twin because I go from wheels to heels,” she jokes.

"Even with these difficulties, after graduating from Kent State University with a bachelor’s in healthcare administration and still dreaming of a nursing career, she began as a service relations coordinator at Cleveland Clinic. The timing was perfect — shortly thereafter, the organization announced an onsite program to train nurses. With the support of her supervisor, she worked days and went to school every night, graduating in 2007. Since then, she has had a successful and varied career, including as a neonatal nurse and a flight nurse. In February, she returned from over a year in London, where she was helping Cleveland Clinic to establish a new hospital. She now works as a lead systems analyst in Nursing Informatics."

“I wanted to attempt something new by going abroad with my wheelchair and crutches. I’m always in the mindset of seeking to push boundaries and do new things.”

 Read more about Suzanne at:

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/patient-stories/455-voice-center-helps-nurse-with-dystonia-speak-again

Cheers!

Donna

Experiences of d/Deaf nurses in the United Kingdom

 

Deafness is a common disability in the UK. It affects one in three adults, and many nurses have hearing loss when they enter the profession or develop it during their career. A systematic approach to a narrative literature review was conducted, reviewing available articles about the experiences of d/Deaf nurses. This revealed that they may face many challenges in the workplace, such as discrimination, environmental challenges and barriers to communication.

 However, d/Deaf nurses may possess additional skills that make them an asset to the workplace, such as adaptability, lip-reading and empathy for patients with disabilities. Considering both the high prevalence of deafness and the shortage of NHS nurses, it is critical to support the recruitment and retention of d/Deaf nurses at the start of, and throughout, their career.

Read more at:

Tanner C (2026) D/deaf nurses’ workplace experiences, barriers and skills. Nursing Times; 122: 7.

The following links will take you to a pdf of the article along with  a guide for the article to be used with a journal club.

260720-d_Deaf-nurses-workplace-experiences-barriers-and-skills.pdf

Journal-club.docx

Cheers!

Donna

Significant wage gaps between nurses with and without disabilities found in the United States

 

"Health Affairs Scholar" published the results of a study of wage gaps between nurses with and without disabilities in the United States.

"This study analyzed cross-sectional data from the 2008-2023 American Community Survey (ACS) among working-age (20-65 years old) employed nurses. Nurses self-identified as Registered Nurses (RNs) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs): Nurse practitioners, Nurse anesthetists, and Nurse midwives. An individual was considered disabled if they answered yes to any of the 6 ACS disability questions (Appendix 1). Linear regressions estimated outcomes (logged annual and hourly wages and total hours worked annually) as a function of disability, adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, year, and state-by-metropolitan area fixed effects. We conducted subgroup analyses by occupation (RNs vs APRNs), age-group, and disability type. All models included robust standard errors and incorporated ACS survey weights and complex survey design."

"The analytic sample included 473 850 employed nurses, with 17 425 (weighted, 3.5%) reporting a disability. See Table S1 in Appendix 2 for sample characteristics. The most common disability types were mobility (23.9%) and hearing (22.1%) disabilities. Employed, working-age nurses with disabilities were older, on average, than those without disabilities (mean age: 48.6 vs 42.6, respectively). The top industries where nurses with and without disabilities worked were overall similar (ie, hospitals, outpatient care centers, and nursing facilities), though a smaller proportion of disabled nurses (55.1%) worked in hospitals than non-disabled nurses (63.7%)."

"In adjusted analyses, disabled nurses earned 12.2% lower annual wages (95% CI, −13.6 to −10.8; P < 0.001) and 7.4% lower hourly wages (95% CI, −8.3 to −6.5; P < 0.001), and worked 27 fewer hours annually than non-disabled nurses. Wage differences between nurses with and without disabilities remained significant after adjusting for total hours worked (Table 1). Models that additionally adjusted for industry (job location) showed similar estimates for primary outcomes (see Table S2 in Appendix 2)."

"Overall, these findings point to wide disability-based wage gaps within the largest U.S. healthcare workforce. As more nurses enter the workforce with disabilities or acquire them with age or the physical demands of the job,³ policy and organizational changes to foster disability-inclusive workplaces are essential to improve retention, equity, and patient care.^4"

Please visit:

Laurin Bixby, K Jane Muir, Michelle Kephart, Mihir Kakara, Wage gaps between US nurses with and without disabilities, Health Affairs Scholar, Volume 4, Issue 7, July 2026, qxag161, https://doi.org/10.1093/haschl/qxag161

Wage gaps between US nurses with and without disabilities to read the complete article.

Cheers!

Donna

Care at Shriners Hospital enabled patient with cerebral palsy to become a NICU nurse

Vanessa was born at 28 weeks. She spent 154 days in the NICU after being diagnosed with a significant brain bleed. While she developed into a bright, fully functioning toddler, her body struggled to keep up.

“I didn’t take my first steps until I was two and a half,” Vanessa said.

That delay led to a referral to Shriners Children’s in 1998 when she was 2. There, she was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy affecting her lower extremities.

Despite the difficulties, Vanessa holds some of her best childhood memories from Shriners Children’s – swimming in the therapy pool, playing basketball with a visiting Sacramento Kings player and the overwhelming sense of support.

“Shriners Children’s made me feel happy even when I felt sorry for myself,” she said. “It is one of a kind, and it totally made me the nurse I am today.”

That nursing path was intentional. Though she once dreamed of being a surgeon, she realized nurses are the backbone of the hospital, providing the crucial face-to-face support for families. She and her now-wife moved to Arizona for nursing school, navigating their education through the COVID-19 pandemic, where Vanessa gained frontline experience as a certified nursing assistant in a COVID unit.

Today, she has achieved her dream job: working as a NICU nurse at a top-level hospital in the Pacific Northwest, caring for the most premature infants.

“I chose the NICU because prematurity is a top risk factor for developing a disability like CP,” Vanessa said. “Having been a NICU baby myself, and hearing what my mom went through as a single parent, I wanted to provide the same support and compassion for my patients that UC Davis and Shriners gave us.”

For her, the work is deeply personal and preventative.

“Reading my own old medical records, I see how far NICU medicine has come. Now, we’re on the frontline protecting these preemie babies. It’s a privilege and an honor.”

Read more about Vanessa at: 

https://www.shrinerschildrens.org/en/news-and-media/patient-stories/2026/02/vanessa-cerebral-palsy-care

Cheers!

Donna

Support for nursing faculty with disabilities and chronic illness is needed

 

Cross, Lisa PhD, RN, CNE, CRRN, CHPN; Coombs Delis, Pamela PhD, RN, CNE. Supporting Nurse Faculty Who Have Disability and Chronic Illness. Nurse Educator ():10.1097/NNE.0000000000002187, May 25, 2026. | DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000002187 

Cheers!

Donna

Dionne DeMille RN, a profoundly deaf nurse, graduated with her DNP

Weber State University shared this story.        

"A former high school dropout, Dionne DeMille thought she’d never amount to anything. Now, set to graduate with her Doctor of Nursing Practice this Saturday at Weber State University, she wants to use her life and career experiences to open doors for current and future disabled healthcare professionals. 

“I love seeing anyone with a disability coming into healthcare. We absolutely need them,” she said. “They bring a perspective and a compassion that just surpasses the general population. We understand what it’s like to struggle.” 

"DeMille, 60, of Eagle Mountain, is profoundly deaf and works as a nursing instructor at Nightingale College, an online nursing school in Salt Lake City. At 6 years old, she was inspired to become a nurse after attending a vaccination clinic and being comforted by a nurse before getting her shots." 

“We lined up in this huge, long line and I remember being so terrified,” DeMille said. “Then I get up to the front of the line, and there’s a nurse. She got down on my level, started talking to me, and said, ‘Hey, you got this.’ I remember thinking, ‘I want to be like her someday.’”

"DeMille was diagnosed with severe hearing loss as a child and was raised oral, meaning she talked and lip read instead of using sign language. Because of her deafness, she was told a career path in nursing was out of reach". …

"For her doctorate-level project, DeMille created a program for nursing school faculty to advocate and expand access to students with disabilities. The program involves a liaison who will be a bridge between faculty and the university’s disability services coordinator, and a toolkit involving strategies, training programs, and examples of previous accommodations for disabled students."

“We found the biggest roadblock for schools of nursing and for faculty being resistant to bringing in students with disabilities is simply a lack of education,” she said. “Maybe they’ve never had somebody in a wheelchair say they want to be a nurse. It really doesn’t matter what that disability is, there are ways to overcome that, and there are ways to help you become a nurse.”

Read more at: 'Let's find what works for you': Deaf nursing graduate aims to expand opportunities

https://www.sigmanursing.org/member-stories/member-stories-detail/dionne-demille/

Cheers,

Donna

Ray’Mon Lewis, RN BSN, the only nurse who uses a wheelchair in Louisiana, inspires his patients to move forward

Maddie Kerth reported this story.

“Nursing called me, truly,” Lewis said. “That’s how I feel.”

"When it came time to apply for college, Lewis committed fully to Southern University’s nursing program. He excelled in his classes and built trust in his training."

"Surrounded by classmates and professors who supported him, he said he felt like part of a family. With each day that passed, he grew more certain that nursing was the only path for him."

“I didn’t have a Plan B,” he said.

"But with one semester left in Lewis’ senior year, everything changed."

He woke up in a hospital bed, heartbroken and confused.

“Took my eyes off the road for a quick second,” Lewis remembered."

"But that’s all it took. He says his car flipped five times."

"Doctors told Lewis the damage from his single-vehicle accident was severe. They said he was paralyzed from the chest down."

“I never looked down on a moment of being paralyzed,” Lewis said. “I was positive when they came in and told me about the situation, the diagnosis. It’s the card I’m dealt, so I accepted it.”

"Lewis turned to rehab, giving it his all, even though his dream of becoming a nurse suddenly appeared out of reach."

"He began the process of relearning the basics, reclaiming his independence inch by inch. And through it all, his Southern University family promised there’d be a spot for him whenever he was ready to come back."

“It definitely brightened up my spirits when I was in there,” Lewis said.

"Slowly, he got stronger. He made it outside. He learned to navigate life on wheels."

"And, six months later, he was back."

Read more at: We the people: Ochsner nurse inspires patients with his survival story

Cheers!

Donna

Introducing Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine, nurse scientist and disability justice scholar

 "Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine, PhD RN (she/her) is an Arab disabled queer woman, health humanities nurse scientist, disability justice scholar-activist, and spoken word poet. Dr. Jamal-Eddine completed her PhD in Nursing with a certificate in Disability Ethics at University of Illinois Chicago where her doctoral research explored the use of spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine's goal is to create transformative change within nursing education and practice through developing engaging decolonial pedagogic strategies, community-based interventions, and transformative policies rooted in the lived experiences of multiply marginalized disabled people. 

Dr. Jamal-Eddine simultaneously investigates the ways in which unjust systems of oppression manufacture disability, both domestically and transnationally. Her long-term goal is to found an applied public-humanities / community-engaged healthcare equity center in a university that confronts healthcare inequity, violence, and oppression and promotes liberation, humanization, and belongingness for all marginalized patients, students, and practitioners."

"Sabrina has performed a spoken word TEDxTalk on her experience with Xenophobia and Islamophobia. This can be found here: go.osu.edu/tedxsabrina"

https://www.sabrinajamaleddine.com/

https://nursehub.com/meet-dr-sabrina-ali-jamal-eddine-phd-rn/

Cheers!

Donna

Lisa Myers, a nurse, receives kidney transplant: Third time was the charm!

The National Kidney Foundation reported the story of Lisa Myers, a nurse who faced kidney disease head-on and emerged victorious through three kidney transplants. Through her resilience and determination, Lisa's journey offers hope and inspiration to all.

"Soon after I graduated, I got the call. I was second in line for a kidney. At one-thirty in the morning, they called again. The kidney was mine, but I was nervous. I'd had two transplant failures at this point and had settled into my dialysis routine," said Lisa. "When we got to the hospital, my team was so positive I felt reassured that  I was in good hands."

When Lisa woke up from the surgery, she saw a bag full of urine–the kidney was working! With that knowledge, she peacefully went back to sleep. 

"When they took the catheter out, I urinated for the first time in a decade. That's when it hit me–After ten years of dialysis, working full time, and going to school, I was going to be free again. I guess you could say, 'third time's the charm' for me." Lisa said, "After recovery, my transplant center honored me with an invitation to speak to their staff as a qualified speaker with experience as a patient and a provider."

It's been four years, and Lisa's kidney is still functioning. She's a school nurse, volunteers during her free time, and has begun focusing on her mental health. 

"My coworkers couldn't understand how I could go to dialysis and come to work every day. Helping people got me through it. Now, I need a professional to fully heal. I started therapy and am working through the trauma by writing a book about my story," said Lisa. "I want others on dialysis to know that they aren't alone. There is hope. Don't give up."

Cheers!

Donna

Overcoming Adversity: A Nurse's Kidney Disease Story | National Kidney Foundation

Michelle DiGiacomo, a nurse with a tracheostomy, shares her story of pain, peace and purpose

Michelle's story "begins with a busy but unremarkable life as a new wife and mother, showing only initial signs of a common medical condition. Then, she delves into her struggles with accessing proper medical care and describes the eventual procedure that left her disabled in her mid-twenties. She explores the physical and emotional pain of adapting to her new appearance and the impact on her family life as she learns to manage living with limitations. DiGiacomo's quest to find a new normal, told through humerous anecdotes, includes the jarring discovery that the operation was not medically necessary. This leads her to further, even more disturbing revelations."

"DiGiacomo dares to address the broader issues of medical negligence, provider bias, healthcare disparity, ableism, and the importance of patient advocacy. Her story emphasizes the power of community as she shares her perspective on forgiveness, finding strength and faith while using her experience to help others as she fights for systemic change in the delivery of healthcare."
"Michelle turned an adverse medical event into an opportunity to meet her true self, and in doing so, gained the strength to triumph as a nurse. Her resilience sheds light on the power of forgiveness and faith."
"A wide audience would benefit from reading this book… parents of children with tracheotomies, adults with tracheotomies, medical professionals, nurses, and nurse educators."

The book can be found on Amazon at: https://a.co/d/0eetLRf8

Michelle can be followed at https://www.facebook.com/Nursewiththetrach and https://www.instagram.com/michelle__d_rn/

Cheers!

Donna

Amanda Lee became a nurse in spite of her past! Support for second chances!

 Amanda Lee, RN posted this on Facebook on February 5, 2026.

"Half of this photo represents who I am today.
The other half represents who I once was.

There was a time when my face was posted online as Most Wanted.
Active addiction. Mental illness. Homeless. On the run. Jail, psych wards, detoxes. I truly believed my life was over before it ever started.

Fast-forward to nursing school.

What most people don’t know is that I went through all of nursing school not knowing if I’d even be allowed to sit for the NCLEX. There was no guarantee. No safety net. Just hope, hard work, and faith.

After graduating, I had to submit a packet to the Board of Nursing that was literally about an inch thick:
• court closure documents
• proof of completed probation
• letters of recommendation
• personal statements
• documentation of years of recovery
• evidence that my life looked nothing like it once did

Then I waited.

For months.

While my classmates scheduled and took their NCLEX, I waited. I watched. I prayed. I wondered if everything I worked for could be taken away with one “no.”

Eventually, I got the answer.

Yes.

Not only was I allowed to take the NCLEX — I passed.
Not only did I become a nurse — I’ve gone on to travel nurse, advocate for patients, earn recognition, and build a career I once thought was impossible.

Today, my life looks completely different:
 Married to an incredible man
 Over a decade sober
 Travel nurse
 Homeowner
 Pardoned by the state
 Restored relationships
 A life filled with peace, purpose, and joy

This photo isn’t shock value.
It’s proof of transformation.

I share this because people deserve to know:
• Your past does not automatically disqualify you
• Recovery is real
• Transparency matters
• The Board cares about who you are now
• And it IS possible to come back from what feels like the end

If you’re navigating nursing school with a record, recovery, or fear about the Board — ask me questions.
If you’re in the middle of rebuilding your life — you’re not alone.
If you feel written off — so was I.

And if this photo makes you uncomfortable?
Good. Growth usually does.

Recovery didn’t just save my life.
It gave me one worth living."  

https://www.facebook.com/alabamaamanda

Cheers!

Donna

Army combat medic fought mental health issues on return from Iraq and moved forward to become a nurse

                                     

"While deployed in Bagdad, Iraq, as an Army combat medic during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sgt. David Fields was known as “doc.” He cherishes that title as a badge of honor."

Years later, “My sponsor asked me when I felt the happiest in my life. It turns out that it was when I was in Iraq as a combat medic,” Fields says.

After going to the Veterans Administration, Fields secured Veteran Readiness and Employment benefits designed to retrain military personnel and help them access employment and educational opportunities. He took aptitude tests that confirmed that he was best suited for nursing.

On the cusp of graduating with a bachelor’s degree in nursing with a minor in gerontology, Fields is hoping to establish the same rapport he had with military service members with a different population – the elderly. He is this year’s recipient of RIC’s Harold Sweet Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions and excellence in the study of aging. 

Less than one percent of registered nurses are certified in geriatrics, according to the American Geriatric Society, so Fields’ presence will help to fill a major void.

“I feel like I have a special knack with senior citizens,” says Fields, now age 43. “I have a close relationship with the elderly women in my family, especially my nana, who is in her 80s now. I strive to treat people the way I treat her. I have the care and capacity to make a difference in geriatrics, and I want to do so as a nurse practitioner in geriatrics mental health.”

Read more at: 

https://our.ric.edu/news-events/news/meet-our-graduates-former-combat-medic-earns-degree-nursing-work-elderly

Cheers!

Donna

After 100 surgeries as a kid, Caleb Wolf is now a nurse!

 "Diagnosed at just two years old with Chiari malformations and pseudotumor cerebri, conditions that caused serious pain, seizures, cognitive issues, and vision problems, Wolf would go on to have more than 100 surgeries and treatments at Children’s Mercy Kansas City hospital in Missouri." 

"Wolf faced enormous challenges throughout his long-term stays as a pediatric patient, but fought, not just for himself, but for other patients like him who were forced to spend their holidays in the hospital. He founded a non-profit that gifted kids with holiday and other special gifts during their hospital stays, and then later, as an adult, he found the ultimate way to give back: He became a nurse himself and now works as a staff RN at the same hospital where he practically grew up." 

"At only the age of 12, Wolf and his friend Reagan started a group called Henson's Heroes, which supplies toys, gifts, holiday meals, and other items of enjoyment, comfort, and need to patients and their families. What started with a competition between friends to see who could get the most toys donated (spoiler: they filled two entire school buses!) quickly became a community tradition." 

"I was like, 'Okay, I get it now,'" Wolf says. "I kind of understand what's going on here. And that gave me the boost to kind of see, kind of the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Today, Henson's Heroes lives on through the hospital's annual Snowflake Shoppe, which allows parents and caregivers of inpatient and dialysis families to "shop" for gifts—donated by the community— without ever needing to leave the hospital. Community members or individuals can still donate online to continue Wolf's efforts with monetary donations that can be directed to the Snowflake Shoppe." 

Read more about Caleb at: https://nurse.org/news/nurse-caleb-wolf-childrens-hospital/

Cheers!

Donna

Erin Murphy, RN survived a heart attack and is raising awareness about SCAD

 

"Hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, Erin Murphy moved to Birmingham in 2017 to finish her bachelor’s degree at UAB.

After four years as an inpatient nurse at UAB, Erin was offered a job as an inpatient charge nurse on the Adult Psychiatric Unit at Shelby Baptist Hospital in Alabaster.

Last June, Erin was making her rounds on the unit when she started getting shooting pains down her left arm and shortness of breath.

She told her manager, who then called rapid response.

Erin was taken to the Emergency Department, and a few hours later, doctors said that her troponin was elevated.

Troponin is an enzyme in the heart that plays a vital role in muscle contraction, so elevated troponin levels indicate damage to the heart muscle.

Cardiologists discovered that Erin had a Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD), which is a condition where a tear occurs in the wall of the coronary artery, causing blood to accumulate between the layers of the artery wall, leading to a heart attack.

Through this scary and uncertain time, Erin praised her doctors at Shelby Baptist for making her feel at ease.

“Dr. Bender took amazing care of me, and her care did not end when I was discharged from the ICU. She helped me get a SCAD specialist, wrote me referrals and she’s just been incredible.”

Now, nearly one year later, Erin is raising awareness for SCAD and heart health.

Did you know that SCAD is the number one cause of heart attack in women under 50?"

Read more about Erin’s advice about protecting your heart.

https://bhamnow.com/2025/03/20/local-nurse-survived-heart-attack-tells-her-story/

Cheers!

Donna

 

Kaila Mabus was inspired to become a nurse because of Castleman Disease, a life-threatening lymphatic disorder

 "Nursing was never a consideration for Mabus prior to Castleman; she didn’t even know anything about it. She had her heart set on becoming a teacher because she loved working with children."   

"That changed after spending months in Lurie, where the nurses got to know her in ways beyond just a medical chart. Mabus remembered Jessica for making her laugh, Brittany for taking her out on the patio to get a little bit of air each day and Anna for being with her on the hematology-oncology floor during Christmas. Their care showed Mabus her true calling." 

“We always hear about cura personalis at Marquette: caring for the whole person. My nurses embodied that. They cared for me physically and mentally; they were true friends to me,” Mabus says. 

"While Mabus is not certain what specialty she wants to pursue, she is favoring the two areas she experienced as a patient: nephrology and oncology. She’d still like to work with children and hopes to show them the same compassion she received from her care team."

 Read more at:

Marquette student inspired to become a nurse through battle with rare disease | Marquette Today

Cheers!

Donna

Nurse survives and inspires others

 “The signs of danger were there,” Tamara recalled. “But I was in denial for a long time.” 

The abuse Tamara faced was sporadic and she convinced herself it wasn’t a domestic violence situation, but as she and her husband faced divorce, his behavior took a deadly turn. On what seemed like an ordinary day, Tamara came home from her shift to an argument that escalated in an unimaginable way. After retreating from the argument, Tamara thought the matter would be settled and was surprised to see her husband emerge in their living room with a gun in his hand, pointed at her. 

“Are you really going to shoot me over a bathroom door?” Tamara remembered asking. 

Before she could react, her husband shot her six times, before taking his own life. Their two teenage children were home, and their daughter, 13 at the time, called the police while her son, 15 at the time, carried out the 911 operator’s instructions. 

“The scene was overwhelming, but I remember my children were both bold and courageous. My son coached me through his tears until paramedics arrived. I still remember being in my scrubs, knowing exactly what was happening to me. I never lost consciousness, so I was looking at the patient experience from a perspective I’d never been in,” Tamara said. “I still get chills thinking about it all.”

 Read more at:

Tamara’s story: Nurse survives and inspires others to heal 

Cheers!

Donna

After overcoming a dark past, nursing student defeats the odds and graduates with the help of her sister

 

"Obtaining a degree of any kind is not an easy or simple task, and for Jonnell Richard, she wouldn’t have crossed the stage on Dec. 15 if her sister had not “saved her life.” 

"Growing up, Diamond Blackwood and Richard dealt with years of physical and emotional abuse that left visible and long-lasting psychological scars that could’ve derailed anyone’s journey, but one sister’s courage and the other’s sacrifice helped Richard defeat the odds." 

"In 2021, the sisters garnered the attention of the creator of the Humans of New York blog. The website and its corresponding social media pages capture images of New Yorkers and couple the photographs with short stories about their lives."

"Brandon Stanton, who manages the website, would approach people on the street and ask them to take their photographs for a feature, but after the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, he asked his over 17 million followers to submit their stories. He said Blackwood and Richard stood out among the 25,000 submissions because of “the devotion and sacrifice that Diamond made to help raise her sister.”

"Stanton mentioned Richard’s desire to attend nursing school, and a few followers stepped forward, offering to mentor her." And they did! 

"Richard graduated from Utica University with a 3.7 GPA."

Read more at:

https://atlantablackstar.com/2024/01/08/nursing-student-defeats-the-odds/

Cheers!

Donna

Claudia I. Martinez, MD has an important message for health care providers with disabilities

"The otoscope and ophthalmoscope are two tools I haven’t been able to use. The residual weakness in my hands from my stroke still lingers and my grip strength is poor. Bc of this I drop everything I carry in my right hand and often those I carry in my left hand as well."

"Being able to see into my patient’s ears, mouth and eyes is very important. In therapy we often tie my hand with an ace bandage wrap so I won’t drop what I’m holding, but needing another person to follow me and literally tie my hand to each tool for me while I’m seeing each patient just isn’t practical. Bc of @eazyhold I’m now able to get this same effect and can use these tools on my own."

"The world isn’t built for individuals with a disability, but thanks to adaptive equipment such as @eazyhold we have a chance to make things around us accessible and not allow our disability to handicap us in every aspect of our lives."

https://www.instagram.com/claudiaimartinez/

https://eazyhold.com?bg_ref=wIZgbMzdyQ

Cheers!

Donna

“I am a nurse: Color me Exceptional!” Introduction of Japanese version

 By Nozomi Kawabata RN, BSN, MSN, BE, living with * * disorder

I translated this picture book in 2024.

Above illustration of the five nurses is a part of the cover of the coloring book.

この記事は米国の著者、読者とのコミュニケーションのために作っています。

In a nutshell, this is a picture book from the US based on real stories, featuring illustration of more than 20 nurses with various disabilities and diseases working in various clinical settings. The English version was published by Amazon in 2019.

This introductory video (5 min 35 sec) for the coloring book was created by Mameko, a nurse living with ASD and YouTuber.
Click below for the Japanese introductory video for the coloring book
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDIkVCIcrLM&t=5s

For more detailed information about the coloring book, please visit the following Japanese website. It includes the names of the disabilities and diseases that appear in the book, a list of occupations and workplaces where nurses are active in the United States, and Japanese explanations of the nurses who served as models.

 まれかん、障害のある看護師たち - 塗り絵の本

Now, regarding the background of translating this picture book, the author, Dr. Donna Carol Maheady, who is a nurse and nurse educator, a founder
of www.exceptionalnurse.com ( a nonprofit organization supporting nurses and nursing students with disabilities in the United States). She has also published three collections of narratives by nurses with disAbilities. I had to resign from my position as a ward nurse at a leprosy sanatorium due to disability-related issues, and a few months later, while attending a vocational rehabilitation center, I came across these books, which were a great source of comfort to me. I have now completed the translation, but due to various circumstances, the Japanese edition has not yet been published. I am determined to explore ways to utilize the manuscript...

Amidst this situation, we decided to publish this coloring book in Japan first. We hope that creativity and imagination for a society where diverse nurses can play an active role will spread in Japan as well. The original title of the coloring book is “I am a nurse: Color me Exceptional!”, which is the name of the supporting NPO. The word “exceptional” is difficult to translate into Japanese, and there are various translations in the dictionary, such as “rare,” “different from normal,” “unusual,” and “extremely excellent.” However, in consultation with the author, we decided to use only “I am a nurse!” as the title for the Japanese version of the coloring book, with the hope that nurses with disabilities and illnesses will soon be accepted as normal.

One of the title of Dr. Maheady's narrative collection, Exceptional Nurse, has been translated as “rare nurse.” However, in the not-too-distant future, I hope that nurses will become as commonplace as air in a nursing world that does not discriminate against people with disabilities (at least in theory... laugh), and that this project will be completed with the achievement of disability employment rates in the nursing field.

For nurses who are also patients, being able to search in their native language and immediately read stories and thoughts shared by their peers is extremely important, both in their work and in their daily lives. While there are excellent Japanese books and articles written by nurses who are also patients, there is a clear need for more information that is easily accessible online at any time.

Next, we would like to introduce the Japanese website titled “Stories of Nurses with Disabilities” (NPO Health and Illness Narratives DIPEx Japan), which features interviews with 20 nursing students and healthcare professionals aged 20 to 70 who have illnesses or disabilities.(Partial release beginning in 2025) Additionally, this website aims not only to provide information and emotional support for patients and those directly affected but also to serve as a resource for specialized education for healthcare professionals, public lectures, and academic research.

“Narratives of Nurses with Disabilities.” (Japanese Sites)

障害ナースの語りwww.dipex-j.org

In translating the coloring book, we have received advice from Ms. Yoko Setoyama, a nurse who is a representative of this JPN database “Narratives of Nurses with Disabilities.”

Thank you very much for reading this far.
Click here to  go to sales page of JPN coloring book on Amazon.co.jp.

Proceeds from the sale of the book will go to www.exceptionalnurse.com to provide scholarships for nursing students with disabilities.

Additionally, this article was inspired by a series of master's thesis submissions by Ms. Natsuko, a nurse with mid-life visual impairment  who works as a consultation support specialist alongside a guide dog. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Ms. Natsuko for providing the inspiration to begin writing this article.

P.S.
Here is Kawabata's self-introduction in English.

#創作大賞2025

【日本語版】https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0DBR9DVRK

Originally published on No+e: https://note.com/marekan2022/n/nadacd31eed1a

With thanks to Nozomi Kawabata RN and so many others for helping us bring this project to life!

Donna

Amanda Biederman, RN, BSN a nurse with Cystic Fibrosis

 The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation shared the following:

"Amanda grew up in the mountains of Southern California and was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 4 years old. She has her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing and has been an oncology nurse for 10 years. After 4 years of professional life, Amanda had to stop working due to progression into advanced CF lung disease at age 27. On January 2, 2019, Amanda had a double-lung transplant, and later the same year was diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD), a post-transplant form of cancer."

"Today, Amanda is cancer free and back to work as a nurse. She is passionate about advocacy for chronic illness and mental health, volunteers with Donate Life NW as an educator in schools and hopes to grow as a writer to empower others facing hardships. Connect with Amanda on Instagram @beautyforashes05."

https://www.cff.org/author/amanda-biederman

Read more at:

https://www.cff.org/community-posts/2023-04/what-ive-learned-about-self-advocacy-person-cf-and-nurse

Cheers!

Donna