Some of you know that I have a background in nursing. I’ve worked in some kind of healthcare setting most of my work life, either in the care for elderly or in hospitals. From 2004 until 2018 I’ve worked as a registered nurse, I began working in a respiratory care & general medicine ward. There we cared for many people with COPD, pulmonary fibrosis and various lung cancers, and in many cases we saw on the ward, the conditions were life-limiting. Quite soon I found a great interest in palliative care and later I started studying for an oncology nursing degree to increase the chances to get a job in a specialised palliative care facility.
In 2013 I started working in a hospital ward specialised in palliative care, and I loved it. I would probably still be there, if the hospital hadn’t started changing things around, cutting down, increasing uncertainty, and with it the levels of stress and worry about your working conditions.
When I moved to Ireland I left my profession, for a variety of reasons, and I don’t regret it, especially not with the arrival of Covid. However, I still think of some of my patients, and my colleagues and other coworkers in that palliative care ward. Palliative care remains close to my heart, even if I don’t work directly with it, and if I ever would run into an opportunity to be involved in palliative care contexts as a graphic designer, that would be wonderful.
Running and walking for palliative care
As you know I’m making some progress with my running, and my plan for 2023 is to keep going and continue making progress (all going well!). But February will be a particularly busy month!
I really dislike ads on social media, but sometimes they can be useful, and yesterday I ran into an Instagram ad that caught my interest. A fundraising challenge to do 150k – walking, running or jogging – during the month of February, to raise money for Ireland’s children’s hospice in Dublin.
It didn’t take me long to register!
150k is doable. My husband and I walk 10k every weekend, and during the week I walk/run about 10k. If I ramp it up and go out at least walking every day, I can do it. It’s an average of 5,3k a day. On my run days, I can do more than 5,3k. Let’s do this! And please God, let me be healthy and let there not be storms or cold snaps!
Support me and LauraLynn Children’s Hospice
I absolutely love being able to do this and support palliative care and families in Ireland.
I’ve set up a fundraising page on iDonate, and you can donate to the children’s hospice there already!
You can read more about LauraLynn Children’s Hospice here: About LauraLynn
Visit my page here: 150k in February for LauraLynn Children’s Hospice
During February, I’m going to post updates on my currently very inactive Instagram account (find the link in site header and footer), and here on the blog. Wish me luck and please donate if you can! Every little helps.
I’m joining Denyse Whelan’s Wednesday Words and Pics (mostly words this time!) link-up, and Tuesday Topics with Kim and Zenaida.
Featured image: From LauraLynn’s website. Thanks so much LauraLynn for letting me use the graphic!
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