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