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Letter to the editor

A future in patient's hands

Her father fought her choice of professions.

By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published February 9, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT Barbara Colson, 84, worked as a nurse for more than 50 years at places including St. Anthony's Hospital, Bayfront Medical Center and Whispering Oaks. She died Feb. 2. [Family photo]

ST. PETERSBURG - At the end of each shift, Barbara Colson would count all 240 of her patients by hand. On holidays, when money was tight for her co-workers, she'd bring them flowers and bags filled with treats.

"She was a very dedicated nurse," said Cary Martinez, a receptionist at Whispering Oaks nursing home in Tampa, where Mrs. Colson worked for years. "She was from the old school. She used to wear the hat and the white stockings and all of that you don't see nowadays. She was a very, very kind woman."

She wanted to write a book about her life. Her family persuaded her to take it one story at a time. A few years ago, she sat down to write a chapter.

On Jan. 27, Mrs. Colson's 84th birthday, her family passed out the following story to her party guests, while she looked on.

* * *

My journey started at Gordon Keller School of Nursing at Tampa General Hospital. I was 18 years old, very plain outshined by my three very beautiful older sisters, but I was very determined. I wanted to be a scientist and discover some great secret of the universe. But women were not supposed to be smart enough in those days, so I felt I could make my contribution as a nurse.

I was 5-foot-5 and weighed 90 pounds. I had an allergic reaction that left me with constant acne, rashes, hives and a quiet, shy temperament. I didn't look strong enough to carry my own weight, much less the rigors of nurses training.

My beloved Daddy, Lorin Scott Meredith, would not hear of it! No daughter of his was going to be a servant to other people. The day I left for training, Daddy disowned me. It bothered me terribly. There was no better man, husband or father in the world. But I was going to be a nurse and I was determined to earn my cap.

I laugh now at what the instructors must have thought when it took me 45 minutes to make a bed that still looked like it had just been slept in. With practice, my speed went down to four minutes.

My self concept was forever changed the night I learned God's strength is able to replace my weakness. A surgeon wanted someone to put compresses on a man's hands all night long. The man had an infection that was not responding to treatment, and he was scheduled for an amputation the next morning.

The nursing students were exhausted. No one responded. I went to my room and all I could think about was a man going through the rest of his life without hands. I said a prayer. With my classmates thinking I was crazy, I volunteered.

When I took the bandages off his hands, I thought, "Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" Those were hands? All I could see were two swollen lumps. The stench was overwhelming.

It was nine at night when we started. All night, I put compresses on, and we prayed. Were my eyes deceiving me? Was the redness blending out? By 1 a.m., the swelling really looked better. At 2 a.m., you could really see a difference. At 7 a.m., the surgeon came in, said it must be a miracle and canceled surgery.

Weeks later, I decided to make the trip home to St. Petersburg. My father worked as the manager of a department store. I decided to drop by. He emerged with one of his customers - my patient!

"Mr. Meredith, is this your daughter?"

"Yes," he begrudgingly replied.

"Do you see my hands? The only way I could support my five children is with these hands. If it hadn't been for your daughter ... my hands would have been amputated. She's beautiful."

* * *

That day, Mrs. Colson realized nursing was her calling. She worked for more than 50 years at places including St. Anthony's Hospital, Bayfront Medical Center and Whispering Oaks.

Recently, she suffered from congestive heart failure and lung problems. On Feb. 2, she died.

Her story, incidentally, had a happy ending. That day outside the store, her father put his arm around her. He admitted he was wrong.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8857.

BIOGRAPHY

Barbara Colson

Born: Jan. 27, 1924.

Died: Feb. 2, 2008.

Survivors: children, Rodney Colson, Linda Fee and her husband, Michael Fee, and Albert Leon and his wife, Cheryl Colson; 11 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren.

Services: 2 p.m. today at Baypoint Christian Church, 2001 62nd Ave. S., St. Petersburg.

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 21:35:21]