A Stoma Named Stanley: Reflections From A Brief Nursing Career

When I saw this book was available, I have to say I did a little happy dance. As a fan of television medical “reality” shows such as Untold Stories of the ER and Trauma: Life in the ER and books written by First Responders that give first-hand accounts of everyday on-the-job hazards, I was really excited about getting a copy of A Stoma Named Stanley. What I found equally fascinating is the author, JD Moore, decided that nursing would be her “retirement” job. Some people go to work at their local library or deli. This lady became a nurse!

The stories Moore tells in this book may not be what the average person will think they are getting themselves into. For the most part, there is nothing too over-the-top graphic or gross and Moore describes everything with a kind of professionalism that you would only find from someone who has integrity and a true love of humankind. Of course, there is some blood and other human bodily fluids, but that goes without saying in a hospital environment. Some of her stories are not medical-related at all but instead show how the sympathy and empathy she has for some of the people admitted into her hospital makes her such a gem of a nurse. She is patient and understanding and genuinely cares for the people who are in her care.

One of the stories that was really startling was the one where the husband was in the hospital and when Moore asked the wife about her own incapacity to walk, the wife told her that she wished he husband was dead sometimes. The reason the woman couldn’t walk was that the husband had her holding a ladder to cut down a branch and the branch landed on the wife, disabling her. I’m sure doctors and nurses see so many horrible accidents such as this one.

The stories in the book are short and to the point and are actually from JD Moore’s nursing journal. She changes the names in the book which is understandable, however, what I don’t understand is why she put “Ms.” or “Mr.” in front of the patients’ first names. For example, “Ms. Amara” or “Mr. Darren”. I feel like this may be common practice in other countries but in the United States, I felt it was odd.

If you are a fan of medical stories, this is the book for you. It’s interesting and at the same time endearing and heartfelt. I would love to see a follow-up book by the author.