Mother’s Day Giveaway – Celebrating nurse moms and their legacy
To honour the incredible mothers who have shown compassion, courage, and strength in their roles as both ‘mom’ and ‘nurse’, the Alberta Association of Nurses wanted to celebrate them for Mother’s Day!
The below entries were submitted by nurses across the province into a random draw to win flowers for themself and their mom. The winning entry came from Hunter Bullivant!
Please enjoy these incredible stories of nurse moms who made an incredible impact on their child, their workplace, and their patients.
Winning entry
Hunter Bullivant (RN) – for (name, title)
Most nurses often have one defining experience or moment they knew they were meant to be a nurse, such as witnessing a nurse take care of a loved one or being a patient themselves and appreciating that one specific nurse that made a difference for them. I was one of the fortunate ones who gradually came to know the privilege of being a nurse and the value it can bring to your life through the stories told by my mother.
My childhood was spent listening to tales of sorrow and heartbreak but also of the strength and resilience of patients and their families, and how much of a difference my mom has been able to make. It was spent in public, constantly fending off people recognizing her and thanking her for the care she provided years ago. It was spent rummaging through her gift baskets, cards, and keepsakes given to her by patients in appreciation. I saw every day the impact she made on people, and I think I’ve always known that I wanted to be just like her. Being raised by such a beautiful person, it is no wonder I wanted to follow in her footsteps.
Not only is my mother a nurse and a nurturer, but a woman of leadership and strength. She taught me through her career that women are braver than they know, stronger than they seem, and smarter than they think. She was a part of the first group of Nurse Practitioners trained in Alberta, doing her degree all while becoming a first-time mom and caring for a newborn, me. I sat in on lectures and presentations and although she states this is why I have a passion for nursing, I think she knows that it was always her inspiring me.
If that wasn’t enough, my mom also founded Joggin for a Noggin, a fun run dedicated to sending neurosurgery kids to camp. Her whole life is dedicated to the care of others and she continues to go above and beyond, changing what it means to be a nurse. Just when I believe I cannot possibly be more inspired by this woman, she surprises me. She was awarded the 2024 Health Care Professional Award from the Brain Tumour Foundation and rightfully so. I have her to thank for all my career goals and the passion I have for the best job on earth, nursing. I am so lucky to have been raised and inspired by her. I hope one day, I might be able to reach the level of impact she makes every day, on her patients, families, and on me.
Allegra H. Mackie (RN) – for Lucja Kawa
I’m an RN from university of Alberta hospital in critical care. I would like to put forth an entry for an amazing person who is my stepmom. She has been nursing for over 30 years in total. She came to Canada already having her nursing diploma from Poland, and while caring for me and my four younger brothers and sisters she not only re-took her nursing education here but had to learn an entirely new language.
She is definitely an inspiration to me not only as a nurse but as a mother.
Lucja Kawa works at the Misericordia community hospital in Edmonton Alberta. Everyone that has the pleasure of working with her can’t help but smile as she is both knowledgeable and kindhearted, an embodiment of what great nursing care looks like. Thank you for your consideration.
Sydney Bennell (RN, BScN, BSc) – for Donna.
My mum, Donna, has been an inspiration to me my whole life. While she is not a nurse, her empathy, compassion, and advocacy efforts are the reason why I entered the profession. She has encouraged me my whole life to peruse my passions and helped me come to the realization that nursing was the career choice for me. She’s been a pillar in my life and if it wasn’t for her support, I wouldn’t have been able to complete nursing school and make it through my first year working as a nurse. All her encouragement to keep going through the hardest days, celebrating my successes and being there for a big hug at the end of the day was essential for my career.
Victoria Bernard (RN)
My mom has been the biggest influence on my decision to become a nurse. Growing up, I watched her embody kindness, strength, and selflessness in everything she did, always putting others before herself. Whether it was caring for our family or helping friends and neighbors in need, she showed me the true meaning of compassion. Her unwavering support and encouragement gave me the confidence to pursue a career in nursing, and her example taught me that making a difference in someone’s life—no matter how small—can be incredibly powerful. Because of her, I strive to bring the same warmth and dedication to my patients that she has always shown to those around her.
Marcy Beddome
My mom graduated from the Saskatchewan CNA program in 1948. She worked in Alberta and Saskatchewan. She met my father while she was working at the local small rural hospital. Over the years she continued to work and displayed the knowledge and skills that her career gave her. She was open to learning new things. As health care changed in rural communities she adjusted and continued to grow in knowledge and versatility. She was a contributing part of the family. I saw the value of being able to raise a family and work both on and off the farm and be an active member of the community.
While growing up she instilled the value of being able to be have a career that would provide stability and security in the event of any untoward life events happening. Thus leading me to take my Diploma RN. I have been a nurse now for 50 years and I’m thankful for my moms quiet strength and guidance that gave me an opportunity to be a nurse. My journey has been phenomenal. I have worked in so many areas of health care and through this the people I have met and cared for and the knowledge I gained has made my career choice the best.
Karla Wyld (RN, BScN, MN) – for Joanne (Tymstra Prins)
My mom Joanne (Tymstra) Prins was a Mental Deficiency Nurse. At age 21, she along with 18 others graduated in September 1968 from the Department of Public Health of Alberta; one of only 453 to graduate from the sole Canadian three year diploma program. This unique nursing program was delivered out of the Provincial Training School (PTS) for just over forty years from 1932-1973 at the Alberta School Hospital(later named Michener Centre) in Red Deer.
Just prior to graduation, in June of 1968, my parents were married and my mom’s new role of farmer and homemaker transected her nursing career, and she didn’t work for long in the specialty field. I read that “the work had been very tough and strict hierarchically organized” with 12 hours day and night shifts (Boschma, G., 2020). I don’t know much about her experience as a nursing student, but I do have her old photo album that tells a story of a bygone era captured in the pictures of life in the PTS dorms. I have evidence there was a healthy sense of humor among the girls living in residence with photographic evidence of the shenanigans!
Mental Deficiency Nursing was a specialty field of nursing with the focus of caring for people with developmental disabilities. My mom has been gone for over 18 years and unfortunately, she never talked much about that brief chapter in her life. One of the units she had mentioned being employed on, focused on the care of babies born with hydranencephaly. Caring for those vulnerable patients with a limited life expectancy must have been very difficult for her as a young woman, leaving a lasting impact on her. Thankfully advances in science have led to early detection and treatments for that condition.
The PTS structure was adopted from hospital training models used in Britain and Ireland. The term Mental Deficiency is no longer an acceptable term today, but just over a century ago following WWI, the Alberta government replicated the approach to care of individuals with developmental disabilities from the British Mental Deficiency Act (1913), where institutionalizing and separating people with developmental disabilities was believed to be progressive.
In 1928 the province of Alberta passed the eugenic Sexual Sterilization Act with the goal of preventing procreation of people regarded as “unfit” for society (Boschma, G., 2020). This unethical and barbaric process remained in practice until 1972, sterilizing over 2,800 people. The appointed medical director Leonard Jan Le Vann, who arrived in 1949 with a
strict military background, not only endorsed the expansion of the eugenic program, but was later found to have conducted his own unethical experimental medication research on the patients at Alberta School Hospital. He retired the year after the school closed.
In 1996 public controversy and the truth erupted as victims of sexual sterilization without their informed consent began coming forward to describe the humiliation, traumatization and abuse they were subject to. Led by the bravery and fortitude of Leilani Muir, who was successful in her lawsuit against the Alberta Government for wrongful sterilization, 850 more people were compensated for some of the harm incurred. Excerpts from interviews of former Mental Deficiency Nurses, indicates that they were not typically informed or involved in any decision making about the sterilization. Their patients would be taken away for the day and returned later following the operation and they were given very little information. One Mental Deficiency Nurse said medical information, family history and even the admitting diagnosis or condition of the patients were kept hidden from the nursing students, making them often question why some of the patients were even admitted at all (Boschma, G., 2020).
I still have one of my mom’s tattered nursing textbooks from 1965; Maternity Nursing, and inside its fragile printed pages, the 60 year time span between now and then is obvious. There are things however that didn’t change over the decades that lie between my Bachelor of Science in Nursing education and hers, and that is the compassion and empathy, and the curiosity and great satisfaction from caring for people across the lifespan. I wish I had known more about my mom’s experience as Mental Deficiency Nurse, but I do know she cared deeply for people of all abilities and was a strong advocate for social issues. I imagine the not only did her nursing education inform those traits, but the horrifying aftermath of what was revealed after the PTS closed, strongly influenced her as well.
My mom encouraged me to become a Registered Nurse and as National Nursing Week approaches, I am thankful to her and ALL the incredibly influential nurses in my life who contributed to a piece of my nursing identity.
