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If you were given a wake up call in life, what do you think it would awaken you from? I think I had one several years back...when me and my best friend from high school both joined in the army together, he went active tanker and I went reserve supply dude. Unfortunately, he didn't make it back from Iraq...and...when it happened, the day of his death, I don't think I fully appreciated what it meant. Sure, I was sad, and knew I'd never see or speak to him again...but I think I was spared to do good in this world...to help those less fortunate than myself. But sadly, all I've done since then is worry about myself. Jobs. School. Relationships. All that bullcrap. But now I think I'm going to try and change...but...I just wanted to ask you all, if you HAVE or were to experience a "wake up call", what do u think it would be?

I've had 3 large events that lead to one big wake up call.

Between 1992 and 1996 I had my Grandmother and 2 uncles die in the same hospital. Now the problems my Nan had were mostly caused by staffing and it ripped my Dad and therefore my family apart as she was only 72 when she died, she underwent surgery for a broken hip then got a pressure sore in her lower back due to a lack of being helped to move around, the pressure sore got worse and worse until it got into her spinal column causing sepsis and swelling in the cranial cavity which basically suffocated her by restricting blood flow to the area of the brain responsible for the breathing reflexes. My 2 uncles died of AIDS contracted through blood transfusions, they were Haemophiliacs. I knew they were going to die but it was the way they were treated at the hospital that infuriated me, it was like they were lepers. The treament was due to the nurses not being properly educated.

Anyway it was these events that lead me to chose Nursing as a career, my thought was "If I don't do something about it who will?" So I know I can't bring my relatives back to life but I can be a good nurse who doesn't put another family through the same kind of heart ache that I went through! And I know the grieving person can blame those not responsible for the bad that happens, but that's the nurse I want to be, the one that the family can go and talk to and knwo they'll get a straight answer and not get the run around about what is going on and can trust that their relatives or friends will get fair treatment no matter of their disease, disorder, disfigurement, race, religion, creed, colour or crime (yes the hospital I have applied to work at also takes part of the hospital duties for the local jail hospital) and be treated as a human not a number or problem or a burden! This is why I chose nursing and not to become a doctor, I'd rather be on the front line taking the shots and making sure the patient knows their doc is doing all he/she can to help! That and I don't gots the smarts for medicine! :( Although there is a nursing practioners course I can do once I have 5 years of experience that I am planning to go for by continuing my education whilst working!

Sorry for the long winded post, but somtimes passion controls the keyboard!

John

My junior year of college I had a 14 year old boy on a motor cycle hit my car while I was performing a u-turn. It was entirely my fault. When I reached him, he was f-ed up. His left leg was bent in so many odd angles and it was the better leg. His right leg, I could see the ball of the joint on the femur sticking out. His thigh was buterflied open with the lower half of the femur sticking out above the knee. The calf looked realatively fine, but his right foot looked like it had been turned inside out. I knew he was fourteen because he was the little brother of a friend of mine from high school. After performing the best first aid I could on him, all I could do was hold him, talk to him and wait for the paramedics to arrive.

I guess I had post-traumatic stress disorder, though didn't know it then. I saw him everytime I closed my eyes for months and then occasionally years after. I turned heavily to booze for a while, it was the only way I could sleep.

It did force me to grow-up. I know no clue or direction until then. I went from barely passing my classes to making all a's and b's. It also made me realize that there isn't anything I can't handle.

Other than the obvious, the two things that stood out to me, was one how much carnage the human body can handle. The other was our body's remarkable defense mechanisms. I was holding the kid and all of a sudden all the pain left his face. He became very clear headed. He looked at me and told me to help him up. He had to get his bike up and get it home because his dad was going to kill him. He even tried to sit up. I kept him down. I didn't want him to see his own legs. Told him that his dad wouldn't be worried about the bike. I do thank God that the paramedics showed up soon after that.

By the way, he lived and I will never ride a motorcycle.

For me, when i was younger - ages 14-16 when it was at it's worse. We all used to fight with neighbouring towns. My town and the town next to us has fought for generations (literally). Then some highly intelligent (note sarcasm) local MP decided it would be a good idea to send kids from our town to the rival towns high school - the high school got a big makeover so we all went to the same one. My town is the smaller town, less than half the size. You were hated just for being from where I was from. And we were out numbered.

It was fun for a teenager with a chip on his shoulder. We all enjoyed it, both sides. It got to the point when a police van would have to come up at break and lunch time and sit in the middle of the school to make sure nothing kicked off. Sometimes, in the morning, when we were waiting to get on the bus to go to school, you would see some older boys from that town travelling through ours - to get to work as they had left school by that point. About once every 2 weeks, someone would run up to bus when it stopped, open the fire exit, and go on the bus and let loose. Buses eventually hated going through the two towns, and would make less freqent journeys.

One day we walked up to a shop near by the school, me and about 4-5 friends. When we got there, another of our friends had walked to the shop before us, with his g/f. he was on his knees, crawling, with a poolof blood under him. He had purple-ish, red-ish blood like stuff coming out the corner of his eyes. He didn't even recognise us, even though we all grew up together. He had walked round the corner with his g/f and just got attacked by 3-ish (don't know exact number) boys. They jumped all over his head. Suddenly it didn't seem like fun anymore. We started to take it a lot more seriously, though, instead of just stopping it. Admittedly, I witnessed similar beatings happen in return for that incident, and they all shook me, deep down. The sound of a foot kicking a face/head, at full force, with the other person lying down is physically sickening, and something i'll never forget. The sound is nothing like what you hear in films. Mindless violence is all over the place. I mean, so many people got a beating, so many people got into trouble with police, school, parents, injuries... It was all over nothing.

A LOT more happened after that, but my attitude (and my closer friends) had changed completely. Secretly, I couldn't wait to leave school, so that I could get away from it, because I seen how easily 'it' can happen. The boy that got a serious beating - he changed. He's been in and out of jail, really lost the plot after that. It's like he stopped caring about anything. Only people close to him knew that he had changed, anyone that didn't know him just thought he was a phsyco from day one, but he wasn't. I'm certain he got some kind of brain injury that changed him.

If were to jump on a bus, go to that town, and go for a stroll, there's still a very good chance I would get attacked, even though it wasn't farr off 10 years ago when it was at it's worse.

The younger kids - they're worse. The new 14-15 year olds, they pride in their weapon collections - knifes, various bats etc. Kids are getting stabbed/slashed or severely beaten all the time now. And it doesn't seem very historical any more, every town seems to hate every town now. A 16 yearold who started going to the PL club, well, he's been stabbed twice, and had a broken bottled shoved in his face. He's trying to straighten himself out - him and his friends were fighting with another town, and one of the other kids got severe brain damage. That's him, won't be the same again, from the age of about 15. It's bizarre. And it's still over nothing.

I guess i wondered off a little. My younger brother, last night, got mugged/robbed. He got away, ran for his life. He ran so far that he got lost, and was out half the night, with no phone, no money, no anything, trying to find his way back. He only moved to his flat recently, so doesn't know his way around properly. They got £5 ($10), probably luckily, all he had on him. Mindless violence.

It's taking me a hell of a lot of will power not to drive out the spot it happened and try and find them. It's very possible I would. But I won't. It would be a mistake. Instead, i'll go to the gym, and i'll rip the place up. I DL'ed last night, but I think i'll atleast do rack pulls tonight. I shouldn't, but I will. I need a satisfaction that no upper body movement can offer.

Sorry for rambling on so much. I just realised exactly how much i've written.

KPj