P. MARTHA WADE-GRAHAM - GREEN COVE SPRINGS, FL - FORMER STUDENT, FRIEND
Sandy was one of the best teachers at UI College of Nursing. I can still remember her lectures during our psychiatric nursing rotation. Her insight into mental illnesses and their treatment carried me through my entire nursing career. Her lectures emphasized the importance of observation. She taught us not to approach nursing with our mouths working all the while, but to allow the patients time to be the ones to do the talking. She believed that once a bond of trust was established between a patient and the attending nurse, most patients will tell what is on their minds, what they are feeling, and what they need. She also taught us how to observe for impending and sometimes shockingly sharp turns in a patient's condition. Her sense of humour kept our attention and her elocution during speaking made her lectures a pleasure to listen to. During my time as a student at UI Sandy also provided me with much needed emotional support as I dealt with a horrendous custody battle. The night I learned the outcome, at nine P.M., I was due on duty at 11 P.M. With Sandy's immediate and caring response, I was at work on time, with a smile on my face, without any need to share my heartbreak with anyone in my work situation. Her love of horses was totally infectious. One day I saw her and said, "Sandy, you look tired today." She laughed and told me she'd been in the barn all night long with a horse who was sick, and I learned a few amazing details about horse anatomy and how to care for them during her recounting of her horse's illness. She also had a huge collection of Blue Willow china, and going to her house on Foster Road to relax and share food was made even more delightful by the cheeriness of this beautiful collection. We remained friends after I left Iowa, and I visited her upon my return from living and nursing in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, England and finally in Connecticut. I loved Sandy a lot.g
