Grace General Hospital - Our Days of Grace Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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i ' Jtu%4e’ ' Piayest Father, I have knowledge so will You show me now How to use it wisely and find a way somehow To make the world I live in a little better place. And make life with its problems a bit easier to face - - Grant me faith and courage and put purpose in my days. And show me how to serve Thee in the most effective ways So all my education, my knowledge and my skill May find their true fulfillment as I learn to do Thy will — And may I ever be aware in everything I do That knowledge comes from learning and wisdom comes from You. - Unknown

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Norma Strong - Stonewell, Man. Joyce Suderman - Winkler, Man. Life demands from you only the strength you possess. Only one feat is possible - not to have run away. - Markings - by Dag Hammarskjold Climb every mountain Ford every stream. Follow every rainbow ' Till you find your dream. - Oscar Hammerstein II Lynn Weizel - East Kildonan, Man. Love in your heart wasn ' t put there to stay. Love isn ' t Love ' till you give it away. - Oscar Hammerstein II Edith Wutke - Plumas, Man. The good man is not so much he who has no faults; but he who is striving honestly to overcome them. - Unknown - 16

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‘VaCecUcbncf rfclcOieM Lieutenant-Colonel Meekings, Lieutenant- Colonel Everett, Honoured guests, classmates, little sisters. Moms and Dads - and - as quite a number of the girls in our class have already at¬ tained a degree, that of Mrs. , we extend a special welcome to their husbands. Three years ago, this evening was but a dream; today it is reality. In recalling all the things we have done and learned perhaps we need not be sur¬ prised that the years have passed so quickly. When we started out on 200 Evanson Street in an old but homey residence we were very unsure of ourselves and very unknowing; yet we tried so hard not to look TOO dumb! Initiation proved that we were at the bottom of the ladder but, also, that we were part of the group of student nurses. The first five months were mainly study. We never knew that we had so many bones and muscles; but when after eight hours on the ward they began to ache and creak, we ceased to doubt their existence. Soon - at a ceremony we will always remember - we received our beautiful white caps. - And now we LOOKED like nurses. By this time we had come to know our roommates rather well. It sure was nice to come off the ward and have someone to listen to our complaints. Occasionally one heard complaints about the roommate as well. One liked it cold - one liked it hot; one went to bed early - the other went late. Then there were those who read and re-read their diaries at twelve midnight while the roommate in the next bed wanted to sleep. Oh well, everybody has to do a certain amount of adjusting and as Miss Seeman said to us early in our training, Just keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground. It seemed but a short time and we were Intermediates. We celebrated this im¬ portant date with a hayride. As the weatherman would have it, we had rain. Needless to say we were all soaked to the skin but since we wound up the party with food and drinks nobody suffered any ill effects. Our panacea for everything was food, if I re¬ member correctly. It was during our second year that our Little Sisters entered the School. How pleasant! I remember evenings spent discussing episodes which happened to us during our first year which might have enabled them to see that we, too, had had our bad days among the good. Then came the time to branch out into different areas. Seven o ' clock was a poor hour to go to work but when it was the first day to the Operating Room it was worse. There were those who liked it and those who didn ' t, but we all admired the skill and dexterity of the surgeons and their capable assistants. In this place we were glad to be gowned, gloved and masked so that none of the doctors would in the future recognize any of us as that student who made that foolish mistake during the operation. Then there was the scrub nurse (a student) who got the three individual ties in her gown each done up in three knots by one of the surgeons. Next day she was innocently asked by him how she had managed to remove her gown. Obstetrics was a new experience. Birth is a miracle and it made us wonder and marvel. What frail, innocent little squirming bundles we worked with in the nursery. Those who had never looked after such small creatures handled them like glass but soon found that they could be loved and cuddled with no apparent damage. The students were always accused of spoiling the babies. In March of our second year we moved to Children ' s Hospital for a ten week stay. Children all day long and what a variety of them. One had to adjust rapidly to their fancies. If they wanted to use you as a horse, then a horse you must be. I am sure many of us got a good review of colouring and relearned the art, probably forgotten since our childhood. Nevertheless we learned much about the physically ill child and also about their normal growth and development. I am sure we will never forget those floats, milkshakes, or chocolate-covered doughnuts for coffee break! The residence lacked some sound-proofing and it was quite a simple matter to carry on a four-way con¬ versation between two rooms. Since our motto was no secrets in this family , that 18 was no hindrance.