Ann’s entry into the work force greatly improved our
economic situation. Most of Ann’s
educational expenses were covered by grants, but Elliott was in his second year
of college, and we were trying to make do on one income, which wasn’t really
adequate to cover all of our expenses.
When Ann started to work we were actually able to buy new towels. The old ones had become pretty threadbare.
Ann soon adapted to her new role at St. Luke’s
hospital. Throughout most of her work
with the hospital she served as a circulating nurse. She also discovered a ministry opportunity
that we had not anticipated. From time
to time church members and friends had surgery at St. Luke’s. I would often go to the hospital to sit with
families as they awaited the outcome of the operation. Since Ann had access to the O.R. suite, she
was often able to come to the waiting room and report on the progress of the
patient. She would even go the hospital
on her day off, put on her scrubs and stay in the O.R. suite until the surgery
was over.
Ann spent about ten years working at the St. Luke’s O.
R. For awhile she was the head of
surgical nursing, but that proved to be an unsatisfactory relationship. When her mother developed a terminal illness,
she gave up the supervisory position.
Nevertheless, she remained busy throughout that time. She frequently took call, and would
sometimes be called out in the middle of the night. Once in a while she worked a double
shift. One year she got called to come
in on New Year’s Eve although she was not on call. They had an emergency surgery situation at
the hospital, and the person in charge of scheduling was desperate. When she called she told Ann, “You’re the
first person I’ve talked to, who was sober.”
Ann left in the middle of our New Year’s Eve celebration to help with
surgery. That was the way our lives
often went in the eighties.
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