Tuesday, August 25, 2009

A Registered Nurse Decides to Stop Smoking, Start Exercising, Quit Drinking, and Go on a Diet

By Denny Mitchell

For the past seven-and-a-half years Vicky has worked as a professional nurse at a relatively large suburban hospital. As a licensed practical nurse, she undeniably knew what to tell her patients concerning their health and fitness concerns and issues but in her life away from work, nevertheless, she rarely if ever practiced what she taught others.

What were some of Vicky's misgivings in her private life? She avoided any physical exercise whatsoever; she was more or less forty pounds heavier than her optimal weight; she allowed her high-stress position to negatively affect her health; she smoked just around three packs of cigarettes on a daily basis; she regularly drank in a careless and dangerous way; and her diet consisted mainly of high fat, high sodium, high cholesterol burgers, fried chicken, and French fries.

Vicky Gets Into A Traffic Accident, Fails A Breathalyzer Test, and Goes to The Local Jail

One Thursday afternoon on her way to the hospital to start her shift, Vicky was driving too close to the truck in front of her. Sadly, when the truck driver slammed on his or her brakes, Vicky crashed into the back of the truck. Since her speech was garbled when she talked and due to the fact that the traffic accident was her fault, the arresting officer administered a breathalyzer test. As per standard law enforcement policy, when a person is involved in a motor vehicle accident and tests positive for a breathalyzer test, the person has to spend at least twelve hours in the community jail. As much as Vicky hated this, due to the fact that she failed her alcohol test, she had to spend the entire afternoon and evening in jail.

Vicky is Quite Embarrassed About Her Motor Vehicle Accident

To no ones astonishment, Vicky felt very disgusted about her traffic accident. It was embarrassing enough knowing that the motor vehicle accident was her fault, but to add insult to injury, she felt additional humiliation because she was driving after she had consumed a number of alcoholic beverages.

As Vicky tried to relax and clear her thoughts, she realized that things could have been far worse because at her place of employment, when a breath, saliva, or urine alcohol test is given and failed, the individual has to go to mandatory alcohol rehabilitation and then routinely gets placed on non-employment status without pay. This was in effect one of the actualities at her place of employment and there basically was not too much the hospital workers could do or say that would modify this company policy.

Vicky's Shame About Her Traffic Accident Causes Her To Reevaluate Her Life and Make Some Noteworthy and Positive Alterations

Fortunately, the disgrace Vicky felt about her traffic accident motivated her to reexamine her life and make some significant and positive alterations. First, she was going to abstain from drinking in an abusive and irresponsible manner. Second, she was going to take a cooking class so she could learn how to prepare healthier and better tasting meals. Third, she was going to stop smoking. Fourth, she was going to go on a strict weight-loss diet. Fifth, she was going to begin exercising. And sixth, she was going to enroll in a meditation class to address her increased stress.

As distressed as Vicky was about her traffic accident, she used this painful experience as a springboard for healthy change. Not only this but she used her discomforting experience as a source of self-discovery that zeroed in on the fact that she been neglecting her own health while preaching to other individuals how to live in a more effective and healthy manner.

And last but not least, Vicky finally saw the duplicity in her personal life and arrived at a decision that she would live her life as a positive source of encouragement and hope for the patients she treated at the hospital.

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