Linda Pavlos
Bio
I am a retired Nurse (LVN) of 46 years, I always knew since I was a child that I wanted to be a Nurse. I am in the process of writing my book here on vocal.media. Thank you for this opportunity.
Stories (12/0)
Making Butterflies
The clock was ticking away the hour, every second, getting closer to check out on the time clock. Our facility was extremely strict about overtime. That evening was especially busy for me as Supervisor in the Rest Home since many of the Doctors preferred to make their monthly rounds on my shift. They knew, and rightfully so, that if they called me asking permission to see their Residents in the evening, after office hours, there was no way I would refuse them. They also knew that by calling me ahead of time, I would have all their Patient’s charts neatly stacked in the shelves of the rolling Doctor’s cart with a “Honey Do” list taped on the top allowing them to be in and out of the facility in the shortest time possible.
By Linda Pavlos3 years ago in Humans
Mind your own business!
Mind your own business! Finally …. I had moved out of that dingy old apartment in an extremely poor neighborhood! Now I could afford something nicer since I was finally finished with college and was working. My scholarships paid the lion's share of the tuition while my small inheritance paid the rest, Thank Goodness! Now the only things I had to worry about were keeping this wonderful roof over my head, staying warm, and feeding myself…... on a regular basis ……. that would be nice.
By Linda Pavlos3 years ago in Longevity
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter 7 The Shadow of Death…. The loss of my mother. Shortly after we moved from the boy’s camp, my birth Mother became quite ill, with extreme shortness of breath. Her condition became so exacerbated that she was admitted to Palo Alto Hospital. She was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Failure for which she received a Pig Valve replacement.
By Linda Pavlos3 years ago in Families
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter 6 Shadows: Hard Changes: Part 3 of Becoming a House Parent When we arrived back at the house, it was dimly lit, deathly quiet…... no one home. Before climbing the stairs to the front room, I opened the door to the Dorm…. It was empty, where were my boys? I thought for a second…. Wondering…. I really didn’t know what to think. I was still dumbfounded by the accident, and meeting Tommy’s Grandmother. this had never happened to me before in the 27, what REALLY seemed like now, ‘very short years ‘of my life.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Humans
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter 5 Shadows: with great love comes great pain: Part 2 Becoming a House Parent Because of this great job, I was able to truly feel like a mom. I was spending precious time with my own children I didn’t have so available when I was working as Nurse. I didn’t have to leave any of them and be gone all day or sometimes all night, be called in on my day off because we were short staffed, stay over 16 hours for the same reason, work on holidays or choose which holiday I wanted off and hope I was able to get it, I didn’t have to wear a uniform or have special equipment like my stethoscope, drive my car every day, just to go to the store or appointments and I was getting to cook all the time, I loved that a lot! It was worth it to me to take a lesser paying job with all these precious benefits.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Families
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter Four Shadows of loving the unlovable: Becoming a house parent My three children were still youngsters when I made the decision to deviate from Nursing for a while. I wanted to spend more time with them while they were still small. I was the one who worked, my first husband, Dale, their father, stayed home with them. He didn’t have a trade and had difficulty finding a job, so we traded places. Plus, I was paid better.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Humans
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter three Shadow of Concern; My first Convalescent Hospital. In those early years, Convalescent Hospitals, now called Extended Care Facilities, were run differently than they are today. In those years, the Ombudsman program was very new or unknown. There weren’t any signs posted with the phone number for help in the facilities like they are today. No one ever discussed this service with me at that time. The C.N.A.’s had much heavier assignments than they do today. The Residents seemed to decline quicker. If the Resident refused to eat, they were to be forced-fed with a large (60 cc or 2 ounce) syringe, for example.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Humans
Shadows In The Hall
Chapter two Shadow of Responsibility; Nursery Charge Nurse I enjoyed working in the Nursery with the babies. However, in those days we only had one Nursery for all the babies. Today there is the Critical Care Nursery, the intermediate Nursery, and the Newborn Nursery. In our Nursery, however, we had them all. Healthy babies, premature babies AND physically challenged babies like the one born with a Myelomeningocele on her low back.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Journal
Shadows In The Hall
Acknowledgement This book is being dedicated to my now deceased husband Andy Pavlos who inspired me. We had gone to the long-term care facility to drop off a present for the elderly. Our volunteers at the hospital put up a Christmas tree every year with candy canes and a tag with a number. assigned to a Resident. the public is then encouraged to take a cane and return with a gift before the Resident's Christmas Party.
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Journal
Shadows In The Hall
Shadows in the hall. This is the first Chapter in my book. I worked as a LVN for nearly 40 plus years until a fall at work shortened my career. Over time, after the fall, I recieved 2 Hip replacements and a Left Knee replacement, limiting my abilities. Then, in 2003 I was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure, bringing my career to a halt, I was now told because of my condition I would not be able to work around sick people! That was my business!
By Linda Pavlos4 years ago in Humans
