[Maria]

Dale,
I'd love that as I do like to fly just gets expensive w/3 seats to go very far. One seat is ok for shorter distances tho I can think of many places I'd love to go!!! Great that your son pursued his dream!

RE my ability to get a job as an NP (nurse practitioner) I was an RN for a number of years before getting my MSN so I had experience and I had my first and 2nd back surgery while I was an NP actually. Prior to my 2nd back surgery my back problems were episodic in nature and in the beginning my back only went out once/twice a year. After my 2nd spine surgery in '92 my probs became chronic however prior to my back surgeries it was sitting mostly that brought about my severe back bouts hence the non sitting in MSN program. Lifting heavy objects/patients was out as well so no staff nursing jobs except one I held working in a preemie nursery for a number of years while in my NP program.

I guess I was fortunate to have experience, the degree, and could also speak Spanish so put that altogether and I was marketable. I have to add that Nurse Practitioners in most ambulatory care centers see patients so it's not the same type of work involving lifting and such. Also my greatest problem with my back has mostly always had something to do with sitting of which one does very little when seeing patients all day in a high volume clinic (worked OB-GYN for 7 years as well as Family Practice). The last job I had required some sitting (telephone triage) however I had a modified work station for that and stood most of the time.

I worked 18 years more after my initial back injury. And yes there are many nurses with back injuries for various reasons tho I tend to think understaffing is the biggest reason nurses hurt their back and repetitve motion (lifting heavy/people/objects). sometimes it's not even lifting it's just the helping to pull someone up in bed or turning them or basically general fatigue. Probably ergonomics gets in there somewhere as well and some predisposition to such injuries given stuctural makeup of individual. Ho humm I probably should have done something else for a career tho I did really love nursing (the old saying hindsight is 20/20 applies here).

Really I'd still like to be working in some capacity if I could be "realiable." Even with volunteering I've hesitated in terms of committment. So Judy I think it's great that you're able to do what you do even one day/week tho I'd be careful now so that you might be able to work in the future should your back allow for this and hopefully it will.