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 Sue
Sullivan
Who am I and what do I do?
I am by profession a nurse and I have been involved in nursing in hospitals
in Brisbane since my graduation.
I have also been happy meeting the needs of our frail elderly sisters.
Where do I carry out my ministry?
Presently I work at the Mater Children’s Hospital in Brisbane
and in visiting our sisters who are in Nursing Homes.
What Franciscan values underpin how I minister?
Health, both spiritual and physical was a matter of great importance
to Francis, as it is to all of us. He suffered greatly throughout
his life with an eye disease for which he underwent painful interventions.
He was marked with the stigmata and carried those painful wounds with
courage as a mark of his desire to be like Jesus in his body as well
as in spirit. There
were times when his illness was so severe that he sought help from Clare
who dressed his wounds. Francis was very compassionate towards
those who suffered because he knew the debilitating reality of pain.
My usual work is nursing children who need surgery as a result of some accident,
or to help in improving their general health. There are times when
I am sent to another ward to help nurse children with medical needs, but this
doesn’t happen very often, and then neuro/general surgical nursing is
my preference. This is probably so because I am more used to it. The
children in hospital have special needs; as a team member I work to help make
life a little easier for our patients, their family members and our fellow workers.
Some of our patients with chronic diseases return to the ward often and it is
a great joy to companion these little ones and to appreciate their courage as
they undergo surgery and treatments.
It is difficult to put words to it all, but sometimes at work, someone
will say to me, “What is it … there is something different
about you?” I hope and pray it is that Franciscan spirit
we all share.
“A
mission without work for the poor and sick,
doing little or nothing for the place in which we live,
is not a very enticing aspect.”
Diary of Elizabeth (Mother M Ignatius)
Hayes, Foundress
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