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Anna 8lshop
rofessor 8arbara resnell
Lngllsh 1103
CcLober 3 2011
Literacy Memoir
I would like to be able to say that I have always known that I wanted to work in the
healthcare Iield, but the truth is that the healthcare Iield was just one oI those things where the
answer is right in Iront oI your Iace and you just can`t see it. I was born a Iew weeks early and
my hip joints had not Iully developed. I had to be sent to orthopedic specialists Ior x-rays and to
get a brace to hold my hips in place so that they could Iinish Iorming. I have been in and out oI
doctor`s oIIices, hospitals, specialists, clinics, emergency rooms and labs my whole liIe. It is
something that I have become Iairly accustomed to. However my healthcare or nursing literacy
did not just develop through multiple doctors` visits, my Iamily always encouraged and
supported me and I had some wonderIul and inspiring teachers that would not only Iuel my
desire to learn, but would also guide me into the healthcare Iield.

The Iloor is covered in pieces oI shiny, colorIul and small scraps oI paper. Some people
would call it a mess, but to me it`s too beautiIul to be a mess. This mess is symbolic oI love, joy
and Iamily. I love December! Not only is it Christmas time which means all oI my Iamily is
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here, but it is also my birthday! I have just unwrapped a play doctor`s kit and I am so excited.
Nana, my great-grandmother, is here Ior a visit. I love playing with my Nana, and she loves
playing with me. Today, I am going to be her doctor. She lays down on the Iloor Ior me, and I
put the stethoscope in my ears. She gives me this small, encouraging smile. I scoot up close to
her and place my stethoscope on her chest. 'Ssshhh. I say. I listen really closely because I
know that`s what the doctors do, but I can`t hear anything. I am really upset because I know I
am supposed to be hearing something. I turn to my Nana and say, 'You go bye bye you have no
noise. She laughs at me and tells me that I am being silly. She takes the stethoscope Irom my
ears and places it in her own ears. She then places it on my heart and pretends to make a heart
beat like sound. Lub Dub. Lub Dub. She then hands me back my stethoscope; now, I know what
to do. I place the stethoscope back on her chest. 'Lub Dub I say 'Lub Dub. My great-
grandmother was so proud oI me that she showed me how to measure her reIlexes, give a shot,
put on a band-aid and take her temperature. AIter we Iinished playing doctor, Nana told me that
only very smart boys and girls can be doctors. She told me that she knew that I was very smart
and that she was sure I could grow up to be a doctor one day iI I did my very best and worked
very hard in school. I wanted to show her how smart and hardworking I was so I got up, went to
my bookshelI, and grabbed as many picture books as I could carry. My great-grandmother never
would have told me this, but I think she loved reading books with me more than she liked lying
on the Iloor pretending to be at the doctor`s oIIice.
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As I got older, I began to Iorget that I had wanted to be a doctor. I went through stages
where I wanted to be a IireIighter, a veterinarian, a singer, a gymnast, and even a linguist or a
translator working Ior the CIA. I seemed to change careers almost as oIten as my brother
changed which superhero he was pretending to be. I did, however, always do well in school. In
kindergarten, my teacher decided that I was bored in class so she arranged it with my mom and
my principal so that I could spend a Iew hours a week in one oI the Iirst grade classrooms. I
even got an award Ior reading the most books. Then when I got into Iirst grade, the teacher
would give me harder work to keep me Irom getting bored. In third grade, I was placed in the
Academically Intelligently GiIted (AIG) program. By the time I was in middle school, I cried iI
I ever made a bad grade, and I was always on the A or AB honor-roll. In Iact, I hated it when I
was on the AB honor-roll. Although my mom and dad were still proud oI me, I always Ielt like I
had let them down by getting that one imperIect B. I wanted to always be perIect and be on the
A honor roll.
Beep Beep Beep. Ugh, I hate hospitals! It is impossible to get any sleep with all the
alarms going oII. It`s around three o`clock in the morning, and this time it`s my IV alarm going
oII. I let it beep Ior a Iull Iive minutes beIore I call the nurses station to have them come to turn
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it oII. Nobody knows what is wrong with me, and I really hate it. I got really sick with the Ilu a
Iew weeks ago, and ever since then I have been having this really weird back and chest pain.
They did x-rays and Iound a Iew spots where my lungs were sticking together. The doctor told
me that they see that a lot when a patient is developing pneumonia. They gave me an inhaler,
and told me I would be Iine. How did I end up in the hospital then? Well, it turns out I wasn`t
Iine. I started having a lot oI breathing problems. My breathing became Iorced, ragged and
shallow. It began to really scare me and my mother; so we decided to go back to the doctor
when I was taking the maximum amount oI medicine that I was allowed to take through my
inhaler with no eIIect. My doctor decided to admit me into the hospital so they could run more
tests and give me more powerIul breathing treatments while keeping an eye on me. Personally, I
think I would have been better oII at home. I deIinitely would have gotten more sleep, and
nothing they are doing is helping me in the slightest. The pain medicine is not working, and the
tests that they are running aren`t showing anything conclusive. I`m pretty sure the nurses all
think that I am lying. I can`t really blame them; they are giving me some really potent medicines
and I keep telling them they aren`t working. I really hope they Iigure out what is wrong with me
soon; this is really painIul.
I look down at the white, rectangular piece oI paper in my hands. I immediately Ieel a
sense oI relieI, excitement and overwhelming joy. I have my Iavorite teacher, Mrs. Esterwood,
again, but this time she`s teaching Allied Health II. I have been looking Iorward to this class
since the Iirst day oI my Ireshman year when I was Iirst introduced to the healthcare classes.
During this class, we will actually be going into the hospital and one oI the nursing homes in my
town and participating in clinical, hands-on patient care. This class is really two classes rolled
up into one; it is designed to not only train students how to be proIessional and courteous CNAs,
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but also to introduce students to the multiple careers within the healthcare Iield that build upon
the skills learned as a CNA such as nursing. I couldn`t imagine anyone more qualiIied or
passionate to teach us than Mrs. Esterwood.
I`ve made it through one hundred and thirty - Iive long, grueling hours oI lectures, power
point presentations, and note taking, not to mention our lovely multiple choice and clinical based
tests. II it wasn`t Ior the pure passion my teacher has Ior this subject, this class would be dry and
tasteless. I love coming to class everyday to soak up all oI her stories and knowledge, even the
ones that do not have happy endings. Mrs. Esterwood is one oI the only teachers I know who
truly wants all oI her students to succeed and learn every bit oI inIormation that she teaches.
Some oI my classmates think that her standards are impractical and way too hard, but I have to
argue that in the health care Iield, one truly has to know and understand every aspect oI his or her
job. Patients will not want a CNA who only knows how to take care oI them about 70 per cent;
they are going to want a well qualiIied and experienced person to take care oI them. Mrs.
Esterwood is not just a teacher to her students; she is also their coach and their second mother.
She cares about every single one oI her students and sees their potential just like a mother would,
and she rides and trains her students harder than any oI my coaches ever worked me. Mrs.
Esterwood is truly one oI my liIe coaches. Without her guidance, acceptance, and
encouragement I would never have ended up here at the University oI North Carolina at
Charlotte as a pre-nursing student.