At a very early age, my father had told me that I would be the nurse in the family and although, it had always remained in the back of my mind, my path getting there was full of twists and turns. My education was very diverse, post high school, having attended UCONN and Greater Hartford Community College, over a 4 year period, where I experimented in courses ranging from business to psychology to philosophy to Human Development and Family Relations. In my final year, I married and started a family, tabling education in favor of raising children and running my own wholesale jewelry business. Although disjointed, all of this experience had a purpose enriching and fortifying me, bringing me to the place of readiness to launch my nursing calling, through enrollment in an RN program at On M Wilcox School of Nursing.
My nursing career started in Oncology at Hartford Hospital back in 1992, where shortly thereafter I concurrently, took a part time position doing hospice work with Hartford VNA Hospice (Currently HHC at Home). Working in the hospital and with Hospice, I came to know a great team of medical Oncologists, who ultimately hired me in their private practice. It was with Oncology Associates where I spent the bulk of my nursing years as an ONS Certified oncology infusion nurse and case manager. I developed a passion in walking through the life cycle of cancer with all of these beautiful souls I cared for. Despite the direction of the course of this dreaded disease, came the realization that hope, love and levity, were ever present, throughout the process and I took my role seriously in infusing that along with the chemotherapy. After 26 years of Oncology Nursing, I made the difficult decision to leave, shortly after the practice was integrated into the HHC system. Having a mother whose health was starting to fail, I required a bit more flexibility in my schedule which led me to spend the better of these past 4 years as a contracted home infusion nurse.
Despite my many years in conventional medicine, I have always had an interest in root cause and wholistic healing through mind-body-spirit, alternative and integrative approaches; and have put them into practice, myself, with diet, supplements and exercise, while utilizing prayer, meditation, sound healing, acupuncture, massage and energy therapy in my personal tool box. I have training in Reiki, Healing Touch and Integrative Energy Therapy, studied intuitive medicine, and completed coursework regarding the heart brain, gut brain connection through the Whole Health Institute.
I am blessed with a beautiful family and in my spare time, my husband and I love to travel down to Barbados where we have 2 gorgeous grandchildren to play in the sunshine with. Within this past year I earned my black belt in Taekwondo, which wasn’t exactly on my bucket list, but it came to me during that difficult time of transition and has helped to fortify me in a very complete way. Aside from ongoing learning, I otherwise enjoy hiking, kayaking, reading, writing, cooking and playing with my 2 dogs and cat.