INCORPORATING MEDICINE INTO MY WRITING

I want to thank Lindsay for giving me a day on her blog.  For those of you who don’t
know me, my name is Kathleen Grieve.  I’m a registered nurse with over 17 years experience…most of those in critical care.  But what a lot a people don’t know about me,
is that I never started out college with the intent of being a nurse.  I wanted to be a writer…a journalist, to be precise.  Taking the who, the what, the why, when, and where and spinning the facts for the public to form an educated opinion.

Only, life changes and as I grew from that gangly teenager and entered the adult realm, I realized how hard it was going to be to get a job that paid a decent wage in the field I’d chosen.  I had an acquaintance that was a registered nurse who worked in a trauma ICU and between her, her husband and my now ex badgering me…I was basically talked in to going into nursing.

Talk about a 360 degree turn of events.  Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made, but I will never, ever forget my first clinical experience.  We were going to perform our first bed baths.  Our instructor rattled off a list of names as I sat there in a daze in the back of the small conference room, trembling on the inside. I had to bathe another human being…not no baby or little kid.  But an adult!  Then I heard my name,

“Kathleen? You haven’t chosen a patient, yet.  Who do you want?” Her sharpened
pencil poised on her list, she waited expectantly.

“Ah…” What the hell were the names again??? Why hadn’t I been listening? “Umm…Margaret,” managed, voice slightly wobbly.  “I will take Margaret.”

“Oh, you mean, Marvin. I don’t have a Margaret….” Then she scribbled my name next to Marvin’s on her clip board and rattled off some pre-bathing instructions.

Marvin??? Panic swelled.  I had to bathe a man??? Oh, dear Jesus.  How was I going
to get through the next hour?

Thank Goodness we were paired for our first bathing experiences.  Because without the
help of my fellow nursing student, I never would’ve made it through that day.  We walked into Marvin’s hospital room.  He’d been in a motorcycle accident and had a closed head injury.  He stared sightlessly at the ceiling; his chest rose and fell, breathing rough.  He had a tracheostomy.  ((A small hole in his neck that would allow him to breathe easier, suction his lung secretions, or be hooked to a respirator if he should run into respiratory distress.  All stuff I know now as a veteran nurse, but that first day I had no knowledge of a trach or what its purpose was)).

Secretions bubbled out of his neck from this hole.  It looked like someone had taken a
wand and had blown soapy bubbles above him and they all landed right around his
neck and chest.  My instructor said, “Let me suction Marvin, then you two can get started.”

She took a small catheter and slipped it into the hole in his neck and then moved her thumb over the part of the connection that would suck out the bubbles.  When she did this, Marvin sat straight up in bed, his eyes grew round and he started to turn blue. Terrified, I about ran out of the room, but my feet remained glued to the linoleum floor.

With practiced ease, she removed the catheter and poor old Marvin sank back into the covers, his color returning to normal.  “Okay, girls.  You can get started.”  And she turned and left the room.

Are you kidding me?  A little explanation would’ve been nice!  Somehow, I made it through that day.  I can laugh at myself now.  That young, naïve girl who was petrified of touching another human being.  I’ve learned so much about myself and others through my experiences as a nurse.

Some people go through horrendous experiences in the hospital because of the illnesses they have.  Their bravery and warmth humble me.  As sometimes happens, you gravitate toward your first love.  Mine was writing and reading romance.  So it was only natural
that I began to write medical romances. I love a happily ever after and the chance to explain what really happens in a trauma room, or how to recover a patient after open heart surgery, or how we go through the motions of a code blue.

I hope you enjoy my books as much as I enjoywriting them!

 

BLURB:

Emergency room nurse, Roxanne Carter is a loser-magnet wishing she could enjoy her single life. Commiserating with girlfriends over butterscotch martinis creates the idea of The Dating Manifesto–a not so scientific research project which promises to point the way to dating success. While gathering data to find the most suitable single men available, she wades through a series of unsavory, stale dates, which literally places her back at ground zero. Just when she is ready to give up, sin personified in the form of sexy firefighter Jett Avery, arrives tainting all of her previous data.

A traumatic warehouse fire, in which firefighter Jett Avery’s closest friend dies, has him suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Attempting to stave off the worst of his depression, he decides to use his brand of therapy…Sex. The remedy has lost luster until he encounters ER nurse Roxanne Carter.

The pursuit of Roxanne by Jett’s twin brother, Doctor Cruz Avery, complicates her research and interferes with Jett’s therapy. Does Roxanne choose the brother who by analysis is the perfect match? Or the broken, dark and irresistible one?

 

EXCERPT:

She held up her hands, palms facing toward him. “Stop. This is a hospital. Not some stupid television show where the medical staff is always making out in a closet. I work here. Don’t even think about it!”

Jett closed the distance between them until her hands pressed against his chest, searing their imprint through the thin cotton of his T-shirt. He grasped her fingers and lifted them to his mouth, licking the sensitive tips with his tongue one by one. Heat filled her eyes and she trembled.

“You feel the pull, too. Don’t you?” he asked, dropping her hand.

Jett slid his hands to her waist, and molded her against his erection. A perfect fit. Her sharp intake of breath as she shook her head told him all he needed to know. He smiled. Satisfaction filled him.

“Liar. Shake your head in denial all you want, but I can see the reflection mirrored in your eyes, and feel the powerful draw when I touch you,” he said in a husky tone. He rubbed his stiff cock against her stomach. The intensity of his desire eliminated all reason.

Jett buried his face in her neck and breathed in her sweetness. “Hmm. Today you smell like chocolate.” His tongue traced the delicate shell of her ear as his hands stroked her bare arms. “But you taste like honey.”

Her knees bent and he placed his leg between hers to support her. On the brink of total insanity, he continued his light exploration. His hand skimmed her torso, and skirted the side of her breast. With slow, deliberate care, he let his fingertips graze her collarbone on the way to grasp the back of her neck. Another tremor rippled through her.

God, she felt so damn good.

She tilted her chin and her head rested in his open palm. “Jett,” her sultry voice caused his penis to throb. “This is not a good idea. Anyone could come in here and….”

He pushed his thigh against her crotch. She inhaled sharply, desire deepening the blue of her eyes. “You were saying?”

Her brow furrowed. “And…”

“Intoxicating being a little naughty, isn’t it?” he rasped. He gently tugged her face closer to his. “Hmm. I believe you mentioned the other night that your most recent sexual exploits have been lacking. Let’s add something of interest for your science venture.”

Available now at Evernight Publishing

Remember, I’ve offered up a free digital copy of Dating 911 to one lucky reader today! Please post a comment!!

Kathleen Grieve blog Keeping A Pulse On Life & Romance

Kathleen Grieve website

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