Celebrating PMB’s Healthcare Heroes

This Nurses Day we’d like to shine the brightest spotlight on all of the nurses who have been working tirelessly for the sake of others’ health and well-being during these rocky times. Often not getting the recognition and praise they deserve, these healthcare heroes do so much more than provide medical service and patient care. For every patient, across all specialties, it’s the nurses who are reliable sources of kindness, guidance, and support.

Originally a tribute to Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, Nurses Day has flourished into a celebration of all the hard work and effort nurses across the globe dedicate to their patients year-round. 

For centuries, during times of chaos, tragedy, and uncertainty, we’ve leaned and relied on nurses for hope, strength, and compassion. This year, in the midst of a global pandemic, it’s the nurses across the globe who have been the heart and soul of care and support in their local communities.

A profession that requires unwavering persistence, constant selflessness, and an uncanny ability to manage stress, we are thankful for each and every nurse who has gone above and beyond during this tough time. At PrimeMyBody we’re proud to have dozens of Affiliates who also wear their nursing badge with pride. In honor of Nurses Day, we’d like to highlight a few PMB nurses whose care and medical expertise is saving lives and improving the quality of life of patients and their families.

What inspired you to get into nursing and why is it your passion today?

It has been a journey for sure. I’ve always been interested in healthcare in some shape or form since I was a little girl. I love to help others. I became more passionate about nursing when I realized what a privilege it is to be entrusted with the care of patients and their families during what’s probably the most vulnerable time in their lives. 

I’ve worked at the bedside for over 25 years and for my entire career has been at a major university medical center in downtown Chicago. For the majority of my career, I have worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where sick babies are admitted for treatment. Many of our patients are born prematurely, have a birth defect, or experience trauma at birth. I credit all the nurses out there who have the enormous responsibility in advocating for our patients and having the clinical competence, emotional connectedness, technological know-how, and the physical ability to do our work.

Please share a bit about what it’s like to be a nurse during these uncertain times.

Where I work there are some pregnant mothers who have tested positive for COVID and delivering babies. Creating a plan for the babies whose immune systems are weak is necessary to protect them from getting the virus whether it’s the flu, COVID, or other contagion is crucial.  In comparison to the work happening in other higher-risk departments like the Emergency Rooms and Adult ICUs, we are blessed. We do have some patients in isolation and testing some for airborne viruses like COVID. Fortunately, we do not have the massive numbers coming into our department in comparison to other units.  I am amazed by the courage of my sisters and brothers on the frontlines. 

I am so proud to be a nurse, especially now. The courage and compassion my fellow nurses, and healthcare workers in general, have demonstrated through this pandemic have been incredible. Over the past couple of months, all of us have become acutely aware of the complexities of this virus and how to treat it. What has hit me the hardest are the stories of patients having to face this illness alone and without their family members. 

Nurses have been the ones with these patients consistently, comforting, and caring for them—body, mind, and spirit.  Even in death, the nurse is there to comfort the patient and the family. This role can be such an enormous weight to carry and so opposite of how we normally care for our patients, which is patient and family-centered care. My friends working in the Emergency Rooms, COVID Units, and Adult ICUs have compared what they have been doing to what going war might feel like. 

How have PrimeMyBody products been there to help you in the last couple of months?

With everything happening now I am more diligent than ever in taking the hemp extracts multiple times a day because they give my body what it needs to be healthy. Keeping my immune system strong, as I am frequently heading into a high-risk environment, is extremely important. 

What other health routines are you practicing to keep yourself and others safe?

In addition to taking hemp regularly, I am diligent about also washing my hands, not touching my face, wearing a mask, doing my daily meditation, doing deep breathing exercises, and eating nutrient-rich foods; exercising/moving; and getting outside whenever I can.

What is it about nursing that you love?

From the time I can remember I was always patching up my brothers, sisters, or our animals. I took care of the small cuts and bruises, it was something innate in me that made me want to care for others. My career choice was later solidified when my father was battling cancer and I witnessed the incredible way that the nurses cared for him and genuinely had his best interest at heart. Those nurses inspired me. I have had a passionate 20-plus year career in pediatric nursing. 

Describe for us what it’s been like to be working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic?

I feel so much gratitude and respect for the work that all nurses are doing. Working at a pediatrics hospital, we have been fortunate not to see a huge influx of COVID-19 patients, but like all hospitals, we have been preparing and educating our staff on how to care for these patients and families if they did come into our hospital. Nurses everywhere step up to the plate and do what needs to be done for their patients whatever the situation may be. I am inspired and humbled by what nurses are doing today.  I have never been more proud to be in this profession then I am today.

How have PrimeMyBody’s wellness products been helping you during these uncertain times?

As a nurse, I feel like sometimes we are the worst patients and worst advocates for our own health. Having PrimemyBody products allows me to take care of myself and take care of my family in a very easy way.  We use all the products. My whole family takes Focus, and John and I take CALM too. Sleep is key to repairing our body. Enough sleep, and quality sleep, has always been a challenge, but CALM has solved that issue for us. Our whole family loves the Prime Protein Superfood. Most days someone in the house has a shake for a meal or a snack. It’s really the best protein I have ever had. My favorite product is NOX. It helps me stay younger looking, which I don’t think I even need to elaborate on. PrimeMyBody products have changed the lives of everyone in my family, and am so very appreciative of them.

Tell us a bit about your nursing background and how it’s provided you purpose and joy?

I have worked in the kidney disease field for 25 years, mainly in research & education. I travel all over the world staying on top of the latest treatments for kidney disease. I transitioned into the cannabis nursing field about five years ago and started my own cannabis training academy for medical and non-medical professionals.

I don’t know if it was a passion at first, but when I was in nursing school my father was on dialysis and had kidney disease. That’s where the passion for my specialty started. Through my journey I realized I had to build my life around what makes me happy. I have a passion for kidney disease, and I love traveling and teaching. I was very intentional when building my career around things that make me happy. We spend so much time in our jobs for most of our lives and I see so many people in jobs they don’t like and it’s important that we’re in something we love. I never feel like I’m working, ever.

How has working in the kidney disease field during the pandemic affected you and your colleagues physically and mentally? 

They are burned out. A normal kidney patient takes a lot of manpower, so when you have a COVID patient they have to stay in their protective gear for long periods of time in the room. Many nurses’ faces are bruised from the masks. Admins are asking other nurses to head into the hotspots now that don’t have experience in kidney disease because our nurses need relief.

We had one person in my company that passed away. We currently have other employees that have COVID. Our company has taken a really strong stance in keeping us safe at home because we’re always out there traveling and training. We are not planning to go back into the field any time soon and it will be a phased re-entry. I’m currently training people on computers on how to use the equipment, but usually, I’m in the field teaching.

Having professional knowledge of health and hemp, why do you use hemp extract and recommend it to others?

I am now on the frontlines trying to change the trajectory of how cannabis is viewed in this country. The best way to do that is to have healthcare professionals involved. Nursing is the most trusted profession according to surveys, so what better profession to move the awareness of hemp forward than a nurse? That’s why I’m recruiting nurses and banding them together. 

I use our hemp extract regularly and I see what it’s done for my former professional football player friends. Now that the research is emerging you can’t deny how valuable it is. PrimeMyBody has a product that is at a level that is unparalleled. I recommend it to my clients and am always confident in suggesting it for others.