On this episode of BrainStorm: Katherine Pomerleau is the Program Administrator for Wings of Change – Peer Support. Overcoming adversity herself, Katherine has been a dedicated advocate for First Responder Wellness. She is a Registered Nurse, currently working on a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and serves as an educator to other Health Care professionals..
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BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: I talk about Wings of Change, a peer support group I developed with the help of many other amazing first responders & healthcare professionals. This is a great preview into how the meetings are run.
There are now 14 chapters in Canada.
Locations: http://www.ivegotyourback911.com/events/
Resources:
56 Seconds by Syd Gravel
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: My publisher Heather Down and friend Kim Forster share what it is like to be behind the scenes with me at events. Not everything is smiling faces like the pictures may show. Learn what it’s like to battle PTSD and depression while trying to feel like a contributing member of society – it’s not easy.
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
Brain Storm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: How I battle boredom, My spiritual awakening while at rehab, Gratitude for monotony, Special interview announcement, and more…
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
Brain Storm by Paramedic Nat is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: How being numb doesn’t mean that you feel nothing. “Don’t Swim in S**t Soup.” A tribute to Chester Bennington, …and more.
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
Brain Storm by Paramedic Nat is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: why it is important to have a crisis plan, how to make one, when to use it and when not to use it. How I have used crisis plans, shout out to my best friend Kim, and more…
Pre-order My new Book: here
Get Save My Life School: here
Brain Storm by Paramedic Nat is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
Thank you again to The Agenda for this amazing opportunity.
I had an excellent meeting with the CEO and Head of the Nursing Department of a hospital in which my daughter and I had a very terrible experience with a nurse and her lack of professionalism and compassion. I’ve always believed that positive and positive attract – and today that theory was once again proven.
The primary reason for my request of this meeting today was to share a negative experience, but I don’t go about doing so with the old Natalie ‘jersey them’ attitude anymore. I now approach difficult experiences as an opportunity to grow; and today I think that all three of us in the meeting did just that.
After sharing my recollection of the events in a detailed fashion, I continued the meeting with a request to not have the nurse in question reprimanded, but rather to have my daughter’s and my discontent shared with the nurse (or how would she even have the opportunity to change her actions and bedside manner), and to share an offering of peer support to her and all of the staff at the hospital. I explained to the CEO and Head of Nursing what Wings of Change was and how it could easily be facilitated at the hospital. I am not naive to think that it is quite possible that this nurse was having a bad day and could require some support of her own – however this does NOT condone her actions. This conversation point went over very well and I will be sending more information about Wings of Change to both of them for there consideration.
I also suggested the following:
I also applied to be on the Patient and Family Advisory Committee and requested that if I am selected that I have a voice in the adult and youth mental health department services and care.
According to the College of Nurses in Ontario, Standards of Care, “Nurses are obliged to provide empathic and knowledgeable care” (www.cno.org), and MOST do. But when a situation occurs where this standard is not met, I encourage you to contact the patient advocate in the hospital you are being provided care in.
I would like to thank both the CEO and Head of Nursing for meeting with me today and for their professionalism and genuine concern with regards to the care of my daughter.
I got my butt back to the Buddhist Centre – finally. It’s been months since I have had any sort of spiritual renewal and the other night was a welcomed hour and half of peace. At the risk of sounding completely unspiritual, while I was there I was reminded that self-pity is a son of a bitch. And that I have been drowning in it for quite some time. Sigh. I was also reminded that we often ‘claim innocence’ with regards to what our minds think, and thus what our bodies feel, but if we take a closer look, we often have a hidden motivation as to why we think and feel the way we do. We are always getting something from our thoughts and actions, and in my case, my cynical outlook on my current unemployed situation was allowing me to wallow in self-pity, which in turn has been ‘giving me permission’ to sink even deeper into my depression. Deep breath.
The other day I was unpacking and I found this paramedic statue. It was broken when I packed it, and was suddenly much more broken when I unpacked it – and the symbolism of this hit me hard.
I cried in secret for much of the afternoon, feeling sorry for myself and angry that I couldn’t be a paramedic anymore. But when I posted this photo on Facebook, I was reminded by a few lovely people that I could perceive this experience in a different way.
Kintsukuroi is the practice of repairing pottery with gold or silver and expressing that this repair has actually made the pottery more beautiful. I also know that when a bone is broken it heals much stronger than it ever was before. Being reminded of this allowed me to see that I could repair the statue (again) and that it would be even more beautiful and strong.
That night my son and I found some glue and repaired the statue together. She is sitting on my kitchen window sill now and not packed away in a box so that I can be reminded that I am ok and that yes, at times my spirit has been broken, and that self pity can seep into my veins faster than the blink of an eye, but with amazing friends out there who take the time to remind me that I am ok, I can learn to see my broken parts as beautiful again.
Paramedic Nat 