Do you wipe a lot of butts?

A young woman comes into the ER with what is essentially a menstrual cramp. She has a long medical history and needs a little reassurance.

I'm giving her discharge papers when she looks at me and asks "Do you wipe a lot of butts?"

Excuse me?

She proceeds to tell me she is a single mother working at the local burger place and feels like she needs something better for her baby. She wants to go to nursing school, she tells me.

I try to hide my excitement as I give her the run down on every local program and what it's all about. I'm not excited because I'm recruiting another fish into this net, I'm excited because she is exactly who I was at her age. A young mother with no future.

I spend almost 45 minutes encouraging her, reassuring her, giving her names, and telling her she can make a change for the better. It is an investment towards tomorrow, I promise her. You will give your baby a better tomorrow by doing this today.

She asks me about my school now, my kids now, and my life now since I went to nursing school.

We get up to leave and her dad gives me a hug. "We didn't want to be here tonight, but couldn't be happier that we met you," he says.

I'm happy she has the drive to change her life. But I warn her that it isn't easy. I spend many nights doing homework instead of playing with my kids. A support system is imperative when you want to quit. And yes, some days I feel like I do wipe a lot of butts. But I do it because I have the license and education and desire to do so.

I felt like I was giving her the pep talk I never got. I hope she gets where she wants to be and I hope she is as proud of herself in the end as I am of myself.