11/19/07

By Kermit B. Fernander, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter

kermit@nasguard.com

Critical Care Specialist Nurse, Sandy Joye Ferguson, is no stranger to accolades; she was the first nurse of the year at Doctors Hospital as well as national registered nurse of the year in 2002. Now five years later, she has just authored her first book.

"Life-Changing Lessons from the Intensive Care Unit" is a book that gently guides the reader through the rarefied world of the intensive care unit, an environment familiar to few, apart from medical personnel, exceedingly ill patients and their anguished and distraught loved ones.

Ferguson's book is not a technical guide to the intricate workings of intensive care units. Rather, it is a testimony of faith, hope and love, at moments when these values and virtues are most desperately needed, during the agonizing hours and days when the fate of an individual hovers precariously between life and death.

No other area of the health care facility is shrouded in as much mystery as the intensive care unit, and this is precisely because it is the unit to which the most desperately ill are assigned.

Her book deserves to be read by everyone, and by people from all walks of life. It is a book that reminds us of our vulnerabilities and our dependence on others, and makes us realize that life is a precious gift. But most of all, it's a book that proclaims the triumph of a woman's intense faith in a loving God.

Every health care facility has its complement of caring nurses, Nurse Sandy Ferguson, however, is an exceptionally gifted nurse. Apart from her many professional accomplishments and vast experience in nursing, she is a tremendous woman of faith who is willing and ready to take the hand of her patients and pray to her God with them, as they face some of the most terrifying moments known to the human condition.

The book is elegant in its simplicity, immensely readable and beautifully crafted. While all names have been changed to ensure confidentiality, all of the 15 short chapters are about actual cases and real persons that Nurse Ferguson has nursed in the clinical setting.

One wonders how a human being could cope with such high levels of stress, but, in the case of Nurse Ferguson, she seemed to thrive on it. In fact, the greater the challenges, the more she applied her superb skills, intuitive mind and healing arts to each a situation.

This book goes beyond the popular genre detailing 'a day in the life of' an individual. It is, instead, a privileged encounter with the spirit of a kind, loving, and highly skilled professional devoted to caring for persons from all walks of life at moments in their lives when they are least able to care for themselves.

This, quite simply, is nursing at its very best and, clearly, Nurse Sandy Joye Ferguson, is one of the very best. Not surprisingly, readers are already looking forward to the sequel to her first book, and "Life-Changing Lessons from the Intensive Care Unit" may be purchased on the Internet from www.BuyBooksOnTheWeb.com

Sandy Joye Ferguson, nee Curtis, is licensed to practice as a registered nurse (RN) in The Bahamas and in the United States. She holds an Associate's Degree in Nursing from the College/University of The Bahamas as well as a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Alabama. She earned her RN license from the Alabama Board of Nursing and, later, the designation Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN) from The American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She has obtained considerable bedside nursing experience in intensive care units in the U.S. and The Bahamas, and often performs as charge nurse or supervisor of her shift.

She is married to Dr. Albert S. Ferguson, J.P., founder and director of Albania Christian Academy, and the couple are the proud parents of a teenage daughter, Cyd Sandia Ferguson. Nurse Ferguson may be contacted at amla@batelnet.bs or at (242) 325-4827 or (242) 326-4102.