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