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Sources of Inspiration
- By Denise Kennard
- Published 10/2/2008
- Inspiration and Motivation
- Unrated
Denise Kennard
Denise is the co-owner and administrator of Competent Care Home Health Nursing in Costa Mesa, California. She has over twenty years of experience in home health nursing, in both bedside care and managerial roles. Denise is a member of California Association for Health Services at Home and serve in two committees. She is also a member of National Association of Women Business Owners and the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce.
We all have things in life we want to accomplish. Some of us have excellent will power and follow-through. Others of us never seem to get anything done. When I think about accomplishing goals, one inspiring young man always comes to my mind.
I first met Tom when my nursing agency sent me on an assignment to his home. He was thirteen years old. All I knew was that I was to care for him that day; I had no idea what the following years would bring. On that first day I arrived at his family's home and received the report from the nurse I was relieving. She left, and I tiptoed down the hallway to the room where Tom lay in bed.
Completely unable to move, he was connected to a ventilator that forced breath into his weak, malfunctioning lungs. Another tube went from a surgically-inserted valve in his abdomen to the feeding pump that nourished him. Despite his physical disability (and his unusual appearance with all those gadgets), he was an average 13 year old boy! It didn’t take long to figure that out. Tom had a mind that astonished me; he was able to remember things as far back as his infancy. He seemed to make up for his physical limitations by taking in everything around him and retaining it.
I continued working with Tom and began transporting him to a school where he was “mainstreamed” --placed in a regular classroom with fully able students. I took notes for him, filled in test answers for him, and typed papers as he directed. One of his favorite pastimes was to watch his best friend Eric play sports. Any sport was interesting to Tom, and Eric was talented at all of them! I remember asking Tom during one lunch period, as he watched Eric play volleyball, “Do you feel like you're missing out by not being able to play like that?"
His answer to me was that since he had never walked, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like, and that he was just content to watch. WOW! Nothing seemed to get that boy down. I was surprised at his maturity and inspired by his contentment and by his determination to take the gifts that he did have and make the most of them.
As I remained Tom’s nurse throughout his four years of high school, he continued to amaze me with his tenacity. Just getting out of bed was a several hour ordeal for him; everything he did took much more time and effort than I can imagine exerting day after day. When I face an obstacle or task that seems "impossible" or beyond my abilities, when my perseverance is failing, I think of Tom and his resolute spirit. Tom was eager to get up and participate in the world around him; he was unflagging in the pursuit of his goals. To me, that is truly inspiring!
I first met Tom when my nursing agency sent me on an assignment to his home. He was thirteen years old. All I knew was that I was to care for him that day; I had no idea what the following years would bring. On that first day I arrived at his family's home and received the report from the nurse I was relieving. She left, and I tiptoed down the hallway to the room where Tom lay in bed.
Completely unable to move, he was connected to a ventilator that forced breath into his weak, malfunctioning lungs. Another tube went from a surgically-inserted valve in his abdomen to the feeding pump that nourished him. Despite his physical disability (and his unusual appearance with all those gadgets), he was an average 13 year old boy! It didn’t take long to figure that out. Tom had a mind that astonished me; he was able to remember things as far back as his infancy. He seemed to make up for his physical limitations by taking in everything around him and retaining it.
I continued working with Tom and began transporting him to a school where he was “mainstreamed” --placed in a regular classroom with fully able students. I took notes for him, filled in test answers for him, and typed papers as he directed. One of his favorite pastimes was to watch his best friend Eric play sports. Any sport was interesting to Tom, and Eric was talented at all of them! I remember asking Tom during one lunch period, as he watched Eric play volleyball, “Do you feel like you're missing out by not being able to play like that?"
His answer to me was that since he had never walked, he couldn’t imagine what it would be like, and that he was just content to watch. WOW! Nothing seemed to get that boy down. I was surprised at his maturity and inspired by his contentment and by his determination to take the gifts that he did have and make the most of them.
As I remained Tom’s nurse throughout his four years of high school, he continued to amaze me with his tenacity. Just getting out of bed was a several hour ordeal for him; everything he did took much more time and effort than I can imagine exerting day after day. When I face an obstacle or task that seems "impossible" or beyond my abilities, when my perseverance is failing, I think of Tom and his resolute spirit. Tom was eager to get up and participate in the world around him; he was unflagging in the pursuit of his goals. To me, that is truly inspiring!
