Monday April 27, 2009

Highlights of the Day

Morning:
AGM begins with the national anthem, passages and an introduction of MNU board members and staff. Sandi Mowat will make her address.

Afternoon:
Wayne Helgason, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, will speak at 1:30 p.m.

Tomorrow at a Glance

Charly Pazdor from Ekler Ltd. will speak about planning for the future at 1:30 pm.
A resolution increase pay for charge nurses will be debated. Two constitutional amendments will also be discussed.

Orient Express Banquet Tonight

There will be geishas, Kung Fu fighters and traditional Indian dress.
The theme of this year's banquet is "East meets West."
Oriental music will play while performers give the audience a taste of Chinese folk dance. Ching Wu Athletics will perform Kung Fu.
Even the food will be oriental, right down to the chop sticks.
Business is adjourned today at 4 p.m. That gives delegates more than two hours to get ready for the banquet.
Cocktails begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the banquet in the Centennial Ballroom. A prize will be given for the best costume around 10:30 p.m.

Think you know the MNU? Let’s find out...

1.   Who was the first president of the union?
      A) Shirley Codd
      B) Vera Chernecki
      C) Kathy Connors

2.  How many locals or worksites did Sandi Mowat visit during
     her recent tour around the province?
      A) 35
      B) 68
      C) 42

3.   When was the nurses' union founded?
      A) 1983
      B) 1965
      C) 1975

4.   What was Front Lines Magazine called in the 1990s?
      A) Voices in Union
      B) Union Pulse
      C) Nursing Times

5.   When did the MNU move into the Union Centre?
      A) May, 1990
      B) August, 1975
      C) September, 2003

6.   Who is Manitoba's Minister of Health?
      A) Kerri Irvin-Ross
      B) Theresa Oswald
      C) Dave Chomiak

7.   What is the name of the MNU's new communications advisor?
      A) Shauna Briscoe
      B) Meghan Hurley
      C) Marise Frankel

8.   What city was the Canadian Federation of Nurses Union founded in?
      A) Ottawa
      B) Winnipeg
      C) Vancouver

9.   Who is a guest speaker this afternoon?
      A) Wayne Helgason
      B) Shirley Douglas
      C) Charly Pazdor

10. When did the MNU move from the fifth floor to the third floor of the Union Centre?
      A) December, 2001
      B) September, 2005
      C) February, 1999

Answers

1.   A)  Shirley Codd was the first president of the nurses union when it was created as
           the Manitoba Organization of Nurses' Association.

2.   B)  Sandi Mowat visited 68 locals and worksites during her tour across the province.

3.   C)  The nurses' union was founded as the Manitoba Organization of Nurses' Association
            in 1975.

4.   B)  Front Lines Magazine was called the Union Pulse in the 1990s.

5.   A)  The MNU moved into the Union Centre in May, 1990.

6.   B)  Theresa Oswald is Manitoba's Health Minister.

7.   B)  The new communications advisor is Meghan Hurley. She came from the
           Winnipeg Free Press to work for the MNU right before the AGM.

8.   B)  The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions was founded in Winnipeg.

9.   A)  Wayne Helgason from the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg is speaking
           at 1:30 p.m. today.

10. A)  The MNU moved from the fifth floor to the third floor of the Union Centre
           in December, 2001

How to dance in the rain

It was a busy morning around 8:30 when a man in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.

He said he was in a hurry because he had another appointment at 9 a.m. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be more than an hour before someone could see him.

The man kept looking at his watch so I decided since I wasn’t busy with another patient I would evaluate his wound. It looked well healed so I removed the sutures and redressed the wound.

While treating the man, I asked if he had another doctor’s appointment because he was in such a hurry. The man said no—he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

I asked about his wife’s health and he told me she had been in the nursing home for a while and she had Alzheimer’s disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was and she hadn’t recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised and asked him, “And you still go every morning even though she doesn’t know who you are?”

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, “She doesn’t know me, but I know who she is.”

I had to hold back tears as he left. I had goose bumps on my arms and thought that is the kind of love I want in my life.

True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be and will not be.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything but they make the best of everything they have.

“Life isn’t about how to survive the storm but how to dance in the rain.”