2026, Food, Gatherings, Health, State Fair, Uncategorized

Nursing at the Fair

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We got to see the Emergency Services folks at the Fair in action again this year – NOT FOR ME. 

It was last Saturday, a seriously crowded day.  YA and I were feeling very lucky to have scored seats on the bench across Al’s to enjoy our malts when suddenly a man about 8 feet from us fell into the street.  Neither of us actually saw why he fell, just the fall itself.  I was just about to set my malt down and go over but immediately there were at least 8 folks surrounding him.  It made me think of a scene from one of my favorite films People Will Talk.  Cary Grant has taken over the lecture hall of another professor and during his talk, Jeanne Crain gets dizzy, faints and falls off her chair into the aisle.  All the other medical students jump up to help.  Cary Grant’s line is “Get back, get back. Quiet down, quiet down. A group of  Cub Scouts would know better than to crowd like this”.  I stayed put. 

I suspected from YA’s rapt expression that we were going to sit there until the situation was resolved, one way or the other.  When I asked her if this was the case, she nodded, not taking her eyes off the scene.  So I settled in. 

One of the people who had jumped in to help immediately was the woman who had been sitting next to me on the bench.  She knelt down next to the guy as they got him sitting up.  You could see her talking to him calmly; she kept a hand on his back the whole time.  She never seemed to lose her composure and when the first (and then second, third and fourth) set of emergency services guys showed up, she was the one communicating with them.  I said to YA “she must be a nurse”.  YA agreed. 

At first we had thought maybe heat stroke but then we saw the guy holding and rubbing his left shoulder – was it a heart attack?  Then YA heard someone say that the guy had landed on his new shoulder – he has just had shoulder replacement a few weeks back.  Ouch.  There were four different sets of emergency folks who came to the scene – it took quite some time to make their way through the crowds, even with lights going. They also were calm and assured; they asked questions, took vitals and eventually they were able to trundle the guy onto one of their gators and whisk him off.  Well, whisk probably isn’t the right word, considering the crowds.

I talked to the woman who had been attending to him and she confirmed that she was indeed a nurse.  I knew it.  Anyway, I told her that I had thought so based on her actions and I thanked her for her service.  Turns out that May 12 is International Nurses’ Day – I’m thinking we should have more than one of those celebrations a year.  So thanks to those of you on the Trail who are nurses or spent your career nursing – seeing one of your legion in action was really great.

Tell me about a nurse who made a difference to you!

22 thoughts on “Nursing at the Fair”

  2. Joanie.

    When I left St. Olaf the summer of ‘78, feeling frustrated and disappointed about so many things, I went straight to work. My job title at that time was Human Services Technician. I took care of people who couldn’t care for themselves.

    Joanie was the LPN assigned to the same area that I was. I saw her most days I was there. She was soft-spoken and patient. There was a lot of work to do, and she offered to help when she could. She taught me the proper way to do certain things: transfers, bed baths, bathing, bed positioning. I had never had training. She never criticized. She just helped.

    Because of Joanie’s actions, I enrolled in the practical nursing program at the local community college. I never planned to work as a practical nurse for my entire career. I meant to go back to St. Olaf. It got harder to do that every year. The truth was, I really enjoyed my job.

    Joanie and I worked together at the medical hospital on campus a few years after I got my license. It was nice to work side by side with someone who had inspired me. She always had poor health, being type 1 diabetic. She passed away several years ago. She made a big impact on someone going through a transition. I’m not sure I told her clearly what an impact she’d had on me.

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  3. May 12, Nurses’ Day, is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. There’s actually an entire Nurses’ Week, May 6-12.

    When I was about 5 or 6, I was hospitalized for a tonsillectomy. The hospital was pretty far from our home on the Iron Range and my mom didn’t drive at the time, so I spent a lot of time alone. The nurses were wonderful and spoiled me with Jello, chocolate pudding, and ice cream.

    Husband has been hospitalized a couple of times for chronic health issues and has always received excellent care from nurses–not just because they were good at their jobs, but they were kind, friendly, and patient. They were always willing to take time to explain things.

    But my most important experience with nurses was when I delivered Daughter. It was July 2 and I was a week overdue. I was feeling rotten (but no labor pains) and my mom came to look after Son (just turned two). She left when Husband came home and he started to grill chicken for dinner while I went to lie down. That’s when my water broke and I instantly went into hard labor. We scrambled out the door, with no time to get care for Son, so we took him along. The car ride was unbelievable, with Husband driving and coaching and Son laughing at the funny noises we were making.

    I didn’t want to give birth in ER, so I made Husband drop me off at the front door of the hospital and made my way up to the maternity floor. The nurses at the desk took one look at me and sprung into action before I could even speak. They got me into a room and started monitoring my progress. My doctor was on vacation and the only doctor on duty was a young resident with little to no ob-gyn experience. He stood there and took direction from the nurses while they ran the entire delivery. One took Son out of the room when my yells got too scary and fed him cheese and crackers. Those nurses took care of everything and Daughter was delivered safely less than 30 minutes after we got to the hospital.

    Nurses are the heart, soul, and backbone of our healthcare system and don’t get nearly enough credit.

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  4. We had wonderful psychiatric nurses at my old place of work as well as at the local hospital’s psychiatric ward. Several nurses went on to be psychiatric nurse practitioners. My favorite was the woman from the Bahamas who had attended our local college and married a rancher. She was really good with patients and was a lot of fun to work with.

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  5. Pretty sure you all already know this story so i’ll keep it brief.

    On December 30, I was 5 weeks pre- due date and because of scheduling, had my appointment up in Maplewood.

    A recently retired nurse had gotten called in as they were short-handed and they had also gotten a new ultrasound machine she was curious about, so asked if I would mind hopping on so she could try it out. Sure, I’m curious about such things too, having started as a pre-med.

    That baby was NOT moving, even when squawked at. She called the doc in to take a look and they decided to keep me overnight “for observation”.

    Early the next morning, I had an emergency c-section and the s&h was born.

    We had many wonderful nurses in the NICU, who I have always credited with teaching me to not be scared (I should have been, but that would have just complicated things), but I always think of that first nurse, who I never got to thank for saving his excellent brain.

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  6. Of course, then there was the psychiatric nurse at the hospital who got a different job as a surgical nurse in the OR. She said it was so much more pleasant than psychiatry since the patients were unconscious and didn’t talk!

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  7. I’ve had a lot of good nurses.
    From one named Deidre when I was 14 and in the hospital with my leg injury. She came in every night and took care of me and massaged my leg and made sure the day team had done the bedpan right.

    Then the OR nurses for other surgeries and we laugh and have more fun than someone should in the Emercency room.

    During Covid I took a friend of mine to the ER. When his wife arrived it took a while to get her let in, because I was the one that came in with him.
    I joked with one nurse, after the wife got in, how upset the wife was. And rightfully so, but still. With the masks, I couldn’t tell if anyone was smiling. I said I couldn’t see her eyes Wrinkle. The nurse said “I use Botox. Nothing wrinkles!”

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  9. Being a retired nurse, I am perhaps a bit critical when evaluating other nurses. I am also a bit spoiled because, with a few exceptions, our nursing staff on the NICU was the best. When I retired 17 years ago, I had worked with the majority of the staff for all 27 years. We were a well oiled machine. I was pleasantly surprised during my recent lengthy hospitalization at MHealth Fairview University of MN Hospital. The nurses who cared for me were wonderful. Not only did they provide skilled care but they were also genuinely concerned about me – making sure I was clean, comfortable, and warm. Knowing how much it stings, they apologized for having to give me a heparin shot three times a day. They were curious about my career and thanked me for all my years of service. I can’t praise them enough. That also goes for the nurses at the Acute Rehab Center. I also have to thank the many nursing assistants who also provided very competent and compassionate care. Makes me proud of my profession!

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  10. i have gotten to thank the kindness of strangers too many times recently with prostate cancer broken leg infected hand arthritis kicking in like they said it would back when i had smashed my foot 20 years ago and my good fortune is that there is at least one who is above and beyond to help make it better than tolerable. im not the most desirable person when im in pain and the nurses im thankful for help me get past that and get into heal mode. im a crappy hospital resident and tend to bail as quickly as possible. the nurses get it and help me go into hunker down and heal mode.

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  11. Husband story was that the nurses’ aides would come to room while the younger patients were napping, and play parcheesi with him. I think he was enamored…

    I have had many good and helpful nurses over the years, just can’t remember a good story.

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  14. RN’s, LPN’s and aides who helped my wife over 4 years. Some bad and mediocre aides, but many good ones, three spectacular aides. All the nurses except one were good. Too busy to interact with patients. Hospice nurse excellent.
    “Nurses” where I doctor here are mediocre. Whole huge business has poor morale. My nurse friend was excellent. I spent many nights in hospitals, me and the nurses. Watched them put up with demanding or difficult patients. Treat my dying patient with such sensitivity. They would ask if they could stay while the family and I said prayers and goodbye.

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