Nursing professor who has multiple sclerosis teaches pediatric nursing.....and so much more!

Amy Boitnott

Kaylyn Christopher wrote the following about Amy Boitnott for UVA Today:

When class time is up, Boitnott, who keeps her balance steady by maintaining a sturdy grip on her podium, watches her students file out of the room. Then, she lowers herself onto her scooter and makes her way back to her office to tackle the next task of her day.
Eleven years ago, doctors diagnosed Boitnott with multiple sclerosis, a progressive disease that affects the central nervous system.  

“To teach a class is very taxing,” Boitnott said. “My body has to choose: I can either keep myself upright and balanced, or I can talk. It can be exhausting, so I use a scooter to get to and from class because I really can’t walk after I teach.”

“If I fall on the floor, they have to pick me up,” she said. “But it’s OK; we all need help in this world. It doesn’t mean I’m a weak person; I just have a weak body. I have a strong passion and a strong attitude about life, though, and I really hope my daughters and my students have seen that resiliency.”

Boitnott said she began to realize the magnitude of her impact when a student shared an honest confession with her about how she taught him to not pass judgment based on appearance.

“At first, that student thought ‘I got the disabled professor, the one who can’t walk,’” Boitnott said. “But now he knows he got the one who’s passionate about caring for kids. And that’s what I hope I’m remembered for.”

Read more about this inspirational nurse and educator at:
https://news.virginia.edu/content/balancing-act-pediatric-nursing-professor-manages-living-and-teaching-ms

Please share or leave a welcomed comment.

With thanks,

Donna

RIP Susan Jones: A congenital heart disease patient who beat the odds and became a cardiac nurse

Susan E. Jones, RN

Ed Blazina of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote an obituary for Susan Jones.

For Susan E. Jones, the best way to deal with a congenital heart defect was to become part of the medical community herself.

Mrs. Jones was born with only one ventricle, rather than two, in her heart, leaving her skin blue because her blood wasn’t receiving enough oxygen to carry throughout her body. She had heart surgery a day after her birth and her family was told she probably wouldn’t live very long.

But Mrs. Jones regularly defied the odds for someone with her condition and became a cardiac care nurse, working with the doctors who had cared for her at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh before entering health care administration with insurance providers.

She attended St. Margaret Hospital’s School of Nursing and worked as a nurse in New Jersey for two years before joining the staff at Children’s Hospital to be closer to her regular doctors.
Despite numerous surgeries — including an updated Fontan revision at age 36 — Mrs. Jones built a solid career at Children’s, eventually working to improve the record-keeping system for the cardiac unit. She later moved to Coventry Healthcare and Aetna, where she was a national project manager

Read more about Susan's remarkable journey at:

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2017/02/18/Obituary-Susan-E-Jones-Heart-patient-cardiac-nurse-who-defied-the-odds/stories/201702170095?pgpageversion=pgevoke

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/triblive-tribune-review/obituary.aspx?pid=184125215


RIP Susan!

Donna

Anita Lesko, a nurse with Aspergers, invited to World Autism Day at the United Nations

Anita Lesko, RN, MS, CRNA

Toward Autonomy and Self-Determination-World Autism Awareness Day 2017

Anita Lesko has Asperger's syndrome. She is a nurse anesthetist, military aviation photojournalist, author, public speaker, advocate and founder of a non profit organization...and now invited speaker at the United Nations! 

The event was organized by the United Nations Department of Public Information and Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Denmark, Ecuador, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan and Poland.

We are so proud! Anita participated and gave voice to issues surrounding dating, marriage and parenthood for people with autism spectrum disorders.

Navigating Relationships: Dating, Marriage and Parenthood 

• Moderator: Caren Zucker, Journalist and TV Producer, Co-author of “In a Different Key: The Story of Autism”
• Dr. Julia Ejiogu, Founder and Director, Autism Care and Support Initiative, Nigeria
• Hillary Freeman, Esq., Attorney, Freeman Law Offices
• Anita Lesko, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist and Self-Advocate
• Walter Suskind, Regional Spokesperson, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Advocate for Sibling Engagement http://www.un.org/en/events/autismday/2017/events.shtml

• The full proceedings can be view on the United Nations web tv. *You can see Anita at marker 1:48:35 (wearing her signature hat).

http://webtv.un.org/search/toward-autonomy-and-self-determination-world-autism-awareness-day-2017/5380816054001?term=autism#full-text



Bravo Anita!!!!

With thanks,

Donna