Nurse Twiggy

Do you remember Twiggy? For those who don’t, she was the 1960s supermodel who made anorexia chic.

I got a phone call from one of my nursing colleagues today. She said that one of my patients, who couldn’t remember my name, said I had ruined her life. While caring for this patient last weekend, I set boundaries, put limits on my patient’s self-destructive behavior, and wouldn’t put up with her temper tantrums on the unit. Wow, how awful of me. My friend told me that while my patient was decrying my “deplorable behavior” to the other nurses this morning, she kept referring to me as “the skinny nurse.” After a bad weekkend, the phone call made my day.

I’m old, my hair is turning gray, and I am in desperate need of Jenny Craig therapy, but for today, I am the skinny nurse. Call me Nurse Twiggy. Sometimes, life is good.