“It was in ‘82 that the PTSD hit me and I had to quit work completely,” Alan Story said, as he adjusted himself in his chair, his fishing hat proudly emblazoned with the words Vietnam Veteran.
When Story was first drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, he had just left his home state of Montana and entered a new world outside the United States. “Every few hours a day and night for three or four months we’d have rockets flying over our head; it was crazy,” Story said.
After struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for years, he credited nurses for saving his life, psychologically. “Nurses are special, special people. They’re some of the best professions in the United States. So that’s why I want to honor them,” He said.
Story put on one of the first events that he has planned, a musical jam session held in the Colorado Mesa University ballroom. The event was held Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. and was a musical gathering of members from the community, be it musicians, retirees or those just looking for a good time. It was his way of giving back to the nurses that helped save his life all those years ago.
“Music soothes my soul,” Story said. He believes it brings people together and can help bring society back to the roots that he cherishes of his youth.
Doug Rowden, who has a Bachelors of Science in nursing, works long shifts. As a registered nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital, he’s used to the daily twelve-hour grind, the kind of thing that many people wouldn’t be able to handle.
Much like Alan Story, he’s seen a lot. Many people in similar situations to Story, physically and mentally compromised, who are in a tough spot.
He described some of the more intense situations. “I’m there when the CT scan comes back with a mass in grandma’s brain. I’m there when a family learns the reality of life after a traumatic brain injury. I’m literally tightening the restraints to keep you from ripping out your IVs and punching the staff, relieving terrors with Haldol and Ativan as the brain adjusts chemically to life without alcohol.”
But much like Story managed to overcome some of his greatest demons, Rowden cherishes some incredible memories. “I’m also there when the patient with the debilitating stroke can finally have a spoonful of applesauce without aspirating. I’m there when the years of horrible pain are gone after the cervical laminectomy,” Rowden said.
From Story’s perspective, nurses saved his life, as he puts it, psychologically. From Rowden’s perspective, he’s not doing it for the recognition, but the kinds of moments that both he and Story can recall as turning points in their respective stories.
“We care for the mind and spirit as well as entire families. The psychosocial aspect of nursing is, in my opinion, ninety percent of the job, the physical delivery of care is ten,” Rowden said. And Story would agree, as his mental struggles are shared by many people.
This isn’t the last stop for Story or Rowden. The next step for Story is to head up a group at the Delta Christian church, under Celebrate Recovery as the head of the PTSD and Veterans branch of the church.
As for Rowden, he’s hoping to work with the Critical Response Team, a group of nurses that you can think of as the Special Forces of nurses. Both look forward to the future, one using state-of-the-art medical tools, and one a guitar.
