Articles by Margaret Turley

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Sisters with Cystic Fibrosis on America's got Talent

America's got Talent act by two sisters with cystic fibrosis is very inspiring.
The first time I became aware of this devastating disease I was a young adult just finished with nursing school. It was a pleasure to organize a fund raising concert for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Since then, through the years of my career I've treated a few patients with Cystic Fibrosis when they are ill. These girls are a wonderful example of mind over matter.

                             Christina and Ali Christensen

                       Visit Ali's Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Page.

Friday, July 2, 2010

What Would Florence Nightingale Think about Today's Bioethical Issues?

2010 is the International Year of the nurse. Today's nurses face a host of complicated issues in their day-to-day practice. During the centennial of Florence Nightingale's death, Nurse.com asked noted Nightingale scholars to predict what the founder of modern-day nursing would make of it all.

What insights does Florence Nightingale bring to today's ethical dilemmas?

I'm so glad to see that this next paragraph was included in ethical dilemmas. What back when I first came out of nursing school in the mid 70's the nurse was not really allowed to engage the patient in conversation about end of life issues, such as whether or not they wanted to be DNR.  I was severely disciplined for having done this without the doctor's permission. Now it is a matter of common practice. Here is what the above article says on that topic:

Nightingale would be pleased today with the ways in which nurses engage in end-of-life care in hospice and create healing environments in hospitals, as well as their strategies for bringing closure to personal affairs, such as medical directives, living wills and durable powers of attorney. She would ask us to bring more healing rituals into dying and to be reminded that patients should not be left to die alone unless that is their choice.

A related issue is Parent's Right to make healthcare decisions for their Children. Save the Child is a contemporary novel written by Margaret L. Turley, an RN with 34 years experience. She was inspired to write on this topic because of current events like the Parker Jensen Case in 2003, and the Danny Houser case in 2009. Turley's blog post on bioethics discusses ways families can deal with such situations. As nurses we should be aware of possible situations that require extra assistance and counseling in this area.

Save the Child will be released in September, 2010 during a unique book launch that is sponsoring a fund-raiser for the American Association for Cancer Research by the group Turley belongs to: Writers Unite to Fight Cancer.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Author talks about "Sharing" Cancer


Cancer has a characteristic that we teach our children. Share. Unfortunately, its sharing causes heartache, financial strain and often death. In a period of less than ten years, I lost my sister to colon cancer, prayed for the recovery of two of my sisters-in-law to survive breast cancer and nearly lost my husband to esophageal cancer. A classmate of mine from my writing class has cancer. It just happened. One day, she had a cough and the next day she was down for the count. She’s is waging a brave battle against her demon. In the past two months, I learned my niece has thyroid cancer and a close friend of our family has cancer. Enough sharing already! I don’t know anyone who has not been touched by cancer in some way; family or friends. My husband’s survival experience prompted me to write a Memoir; I MUST BE DREAMING. While it was therapeutic and hopefully those readers who experience symptoms of GERD will pay attention, it’s not a cure.

Research has made great inroads in cancer treatment, but no cure has been achieved. There is still HOPE. This year has been declared the  year of the birthday.  My husband and I walked in a Relay for Life last year. I was awestruck at the number of people participating who had survived cancer, were stricken with cancer and walking in spite of their pain and their supporters. When we walked the first lap in silence    around the high school track with our candles flickering in the darkness, Amazing Grace played over the intercom. The entire track was lined with luminaries representing family members, who had lost their struggle. Organizers of the event had set up a huge luminary display on the stadium steps that spelled out HOPE. The second lap, the luminaries had been rearranged to spell CURE. People cheered. Everyone cried.       Your donations can help one more person celebrate another birthday.

My fellow authors and I are participating in the Goodfellow Publishing Launch and have joined forces with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR Foundation). Our Writers Unite to Fight Cancer group is taking action. We’ve turned our book launch into something special; an opportunity to do our share in raising money for cancer research.  We will each be presenting their newest books at the launch.  Not only are we donating money from book sales, but we are also gathering items for a silent auction.
Please join us in our challenge of raising funds for the American Association for Cancer Research. The celebration takes place on September 25, 2010, from 7:00pm-10:00pm at the Shenandoah Mill in Gilbert, Arizona. Everyone may participate through donations on the GPS website. Thank you for your kind contribution.