Jennifer’s final stop for the morning was to visit a long-term patient who has Neuromyolitis Optica (NMO), a degenerative disorder that is similar to multiple sclerosis but it attacks the spine rather than the brain. Patients diagnosed with NMO usually live no more than 5 years after diagnosis, and Francesca P. was diagnosed five years ago. The disease has taken its toll. She’s now blind in both eyes and is a quadriplegic. Additionally, she developed two pressure ulcers as a result of chemotherapy treatment – part of the treatment regimen for the disease.…

After visiting with Maharana L. in Richmond Hill, Jennifer and I drove to visit one of her long time patients, Lenny C., who asked not to be photographed.

As a 19-year-old swimmer, Lenny jumped into the water at Rockaway Beach, hit the water wrong, and broke his neck – instantly becoming a quadriplegic. That was more than 55 years ago, and he lives a full life as an artist (he paints with the help of arm splints). His many friends come to visit him, and some friends even come to his…

The next stop after meeting with Mr. and Mrs. G. was a visit with Maharana L., a Guyanese immigrant living in Richmond Hill, Queens.

Richmond Hill has a large immigrant population from Guyana; this population is currently facing an epidemic of Type II Diabetes. Data suggests that adults born in Guyana have a death rate of 58 per 1,000,000 deaths from diabetes compared to 34 for U.S. born – that’s almost 60% higher.^*

Before we arrived at Maharana’s apartment, Jennifer told me that when she met Maharana three years ago, she was…

Starting my day (see introduction in A Day in the Life of Jennifer Morales: Part 1), I met Jennifer at 9 AM in Kew Gardens, Queens.

Jennifer begins at an assisted living facility in Kew Gardens where she visits seniors every day – checking in on people like Henry G. and his wife Margot.

In his 90s and a German Jew, Henry escaped from Germany during World War II and made his way to Holland where he had a job milking cows. Margot, who was already in the U.S., helped him come…

This summer, I went to Queens, NY, to shadow RN (registered nurse) Jennifer Morales for a day. This is my first time following what we, at VNSNY, call the “frontline staff,” and since I am usually sitting at a computer, I was excited to get out and see the great work done every day in the homes of New Yorkers.

Jennifer is a native New Yorker and an RN working on her graduate degree in administration while raising her two children. She has been with the Visiting Nurse Service of New…