A Work of Heart

I had the privilege of growing up with my very own registered nurse living on the next floor up. When my belly ached, fever spiked, or nose bled (neighbors’ driveway, ice thick as a brick, Mom says don’t and as soon as she’s out the door I do), I would run to Aunt Betty. With a casual yet confident “Whatcha got there, kiddo?” she tended my childhood wounds so that the first layer of fear and pain were changed just by telling her I fell down went boom.

I never heard my aunt complain about her work, but today it’s clear that long shifts, night shifts, understaffing, and the sheer number of details and decisions involved in their job make nurses prime targets for stress, tension, and exhaustion. In a 2011 survey by the American Nurses Association, three out of four nurses cited the effects of stress and overwork as a top health concern.  More revealingly, 80 percent of nurses with neck, back or shoulder pain caused by the job said they frequently work despite pain. And according to a 2014 study by two French nursing/health professional groups, 62 percent of Ile-de-France nurses feel personally threatened by burnout on the job.

Tuesday, May 12th, is International Nurses Day, and to mark this occasion and give back a little of Aunt Betty’s love, I’m offering reduced-price sessions to nurses all this week. Each session is made-to-measure depending on what the person needs, but will almost always involve lots of breathing, letting go of unnecessary efforts with the help of my touch, and taking the time to pay attention to your body —  a way to “take care of yourself to take care of others.”
By appointment only through Saturday, May 16th.