Forging Ahead /Nursing students overcome hurdles to graduate

Nursing students overcome hurdles to graduate

By Phyllis Stokes
OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Courtnie Ellisworth walked across the stage to receive her diploma from Jefferson Regional Medical Center’s nursing school in December 2013, leaving behind a year filled with emotional turmoil and looking forward to a better life for herself and her two sons.

Ellisworth began studying nursing as a means to provide for her sons. who are 1 and 4, but that wasn’t her original plan. “I started out studying pre-med and biology,” Ellisworth said. “But when I learned I was pregnant with my first son, I needed my career to start sooner.”

With an interest in medicine already, nursing was a natural transition for Ellisworth. But an experience she had taking care of a sick relative left her with a desire for hands-on caregiving. “I saw from taking care of my aunt, the difference it makes when someone who really cares takes care OF you,” she said. “You improve better.”

Midway through nursing school, Ellisworth faced what she called “her biggest obstacle” to completing her course. Her youngest son, 6 months old at the time, began having difficulty breathing. “He started crying more than usual,” Ellisworth recalled. “I took him to the doctor several times and was told there was nothing wrong … that I was overreacting.” According to Ellisworth, she knew something was wrong, so she kept going back to the doctor. On her fifth visit, she said an examination revealed that her son had a broken rib.

Ellisworth reports being horrified, especially after hearing that the broken rib was an old injury that occurred when the child was approximately 3 months old. After a brief investigation, Ellisworth said, both of her children were taken into protective custody. “I felt so many emotions,” she said. “I wondered how this could have happened, I felt guilty, shocked … I felt pain for my baby — and for a while, I felt betrayed.”

Ellisworth said while working as a waitress and going to school, she had relied on family members to keep her boys. “I couldn’t afford daycare.” she said. While she knew the injury must have occurred while the child was outside the home, she said she did not believe anyone in her family would do anything like that on purpose. Her feelings of betrayal soon faded, leaving her confused and afraid. “I didn’t know how all this was going to end,” she said.

When her problems at home were compounded with a challenging school curriculum, Ellisworth said she contended with doubts about the future she was trying to build. She said she questioned everything” “Would I get my boys back? Would I be able to finish school? Would I go to jail?” She said she wondered that even if she finished school—would it matter? “I felt like part of my heart was ripped out,” Ellisworth said. “I felt like quitting.” Ellisworth said she relied on prayer, support from her family, the support of classmates and staff at school. “The staff at school was so understanding, and patient. They encouraged me to keep going, and they never judged me,” she said. “I could be myself. If I needed to talk … I could. I never had to pretend like nothing was wrong.”

Kathy Pierce, director of JRMC’s School of Nursing, conducts interviews for students entering the program. Pierce said Ellisworth persevered through her difficulties with a good attitude “I don’t think people would have picked up that she had anything going on,” Pierce said. “She always had a smile. She kept her head up.”

While Ellisworth appreciated all the support from staff and classmates, one particular classmate was coming to her own conclusions. Asked to describe Ellisworth, fellow graduate, Andria Glover responded without hesitation: “Courtney was one of the strongest people in the class, if not one of the strongest people I have ever met.” Glover noticed how Ellisworth “didn’t let what she was going through hinder her; she kept a positive attitude.” Glover said of her experience watching Ellisworth’s display of determination” “I learned that if she can go through that and make it, anybody can make it.”

According to Ellisworth, after two months of questioning, visitations and meetings with Child Protective Services, the investigation was dropped. No charges were filed and she was reunited with her children, both of whom she reports to now be in good health. Ellisworth said she still has no answers about how her son was injured and having the boys back in the home involved some transition as she learned to put things in perspective again. “I was horrified for a while whenever they would play or bump into something,” she said. “But the grace of God got my kids back and now has helped me find peace.” Ecstatic to have the situation resolved and her diploma in hand, Ellisworth looks forward to moving forward in her career. She plans to get her master’s degree next.

Glover, who had to overcome her own doubts during school, is also making post-graduation plans. By the time Glover made her decision to go to nursing school she already had overcome insecurities resulting from a life of adversity.

At 6 years old, she lost her mother to suicide. “My world was turned upside down.” Glover said. The experience left her with a broken family and shattered hope. Glover, who was raised along with a younger brother and several cousins by her grandmother, struggled finding her place inside and outside the home. She grew up going to church, but said she was never able to really connect on a personal level.

But at the age of 19, her life took another turn that would again have a huge impact. “I joined a church,” she said, and “determined who I would be in the Lord.” Instead of being paralyzed by her past, Glover forged ahead. Along the way, as doubts surfaced and no one else was there to push her, Glover said she told herself, “You’ve come too far … shed too many tears to stop now.”

“I could tell from the initial interview that she was driven,” Pierce said. “She never gave up.” Glover, repeatedly acknowledging her faith as her source of strength, said nursing school showed her just how strong she could be. “It’s empowering to know I can work hard and achieve my goals,” she said.

Glover and Ellisworth were among 12 students in a class of 33 to pass the Health Education Systems Inc. exit exam, the final test required before graduation, on the first try. After passing her state board examinations, Glover’s plans are to work with children. “I may not be able to do that in the beginning, but I love pediatrics and that is what I will eventually do,” she said.

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