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Grad emerges from pain to help children by Heather Woolwine Public Relations When confronted with a personal tragedy, people may choose numerous ways to move beyond that life-altering moment. Some people withdraw from the world indefinitely. Others display a glimpse of their former selves, but retreat to tightly wound cocoons. Some emerge on the other side of tragedy as butterflies —changed, but beautiful and free to explore the world around them.   Madeline Mills Walterboro native Madeline Mills is one such butterfly. A 2007 graduate of the accelerated BSN nursing program, Mills became a widow approximately six years ago when her husband died. In addition to dealing with the pain of losing her husband, Mills also became a single mother to their 7-week-old son, Trevor. Suddenly, the new mom was in strange and scary territory. “That was really a turning point in my life,” Mills recalled. “ I was working a job that was essentially bookkeeping. I realized that I was just existing, I wasn’t contributing anything to society other than trying to be a good mother to Trevor. Losing my husband really put things in perspective for me. It pointed me in the direction of a career that was going to make a difference.”   The devoted young mom set about achieving her goal. She wanted to be a nurse. After several years of getting her prerequisite courses completed and simultaneously raising her son, Mills began volunteering at the Children’s Hospital to gain insight about the pediatric nursing profession.   “When Madeline showed up at my door to volunteer at the Children’s Hospital in August of 2004, she was very certain about her dreams to become a pediatric nurse,” said Christine Messick, MUSC Children’s Hospital Volunteer Program director. “What concerned me was that she was a student, a single mom raising a 3-year-old son, and she was working. I thought, ‘There is no way she is going to have time to volunteer.’”   Messick said that thought was quickly dispelled when Madeline began serving as a volunteer in the Special Care Nursery.   “From that day forward she has continued to amaze me with her undying passion to make a difference in people’s lives,” Messick said. “Besides holding premature infants in our Special Care Nursery, Madeline has also provided companionship and diversional play opportunities for our older patients, and conducted fundraisers to make sure every child had a gift during the holiday season.”   With so many hats to wear, Mills is endlessly thankful to her parents and her mother-in-law for the support she received to reach her graduation day. “They have been amazing. We live with my mother-in-law, who has done so much to help with Trevor,” she said. “It’s been hard sometimes to find that balance. There were times I cried myself to sleep, because I wanted to be able to spend more time with my son or felt like I should have been there with him. The accelerated program was very hard, but I found my groove by the second semester. We were going through a lot before then, as Trevor was asking more questions about his dad. I felt like I needed to be spending even more time with him, but I couldn’t spend as much as I wanted to and still do  OK  in school. It was tough. I’m lucky to have the family I have.”   “Madeline is remarkable. She is dependable, compassionate, personable, committed, intelligent, resourceful and incredibly good with children—from babies to teenagers. …There is no doubt that our patients, families and staff have benefited from her time, kindness and passion. Her dream that she shared with me three years ago has come true because she put her heart and soul in to it, just as she will do with every one of her future patients,” Messick said.   Mills' nursing philosophy is simply to treat patients to the best of her ability. Still surprised by some of the compliments she has received from others about her stellar performance while training, Mills said that one of the most important lessons she learned was that in her profession, it’s not always about saving lives, but touching them and leaving a positive impression. She credits Nancy Duffy, R.N., CON instructor, and Mardi Long, CON student liaison, as serving as the catalysts for her metamorphosis.   “If I had half of Nancy’s brain, I’d be completely satisfied. Mardi is the best keep secret on campus. I didn’t find out about her until second semester and I felt deprived,” Mills said with a laugh. “But throughout the college I felt like I could go to anyone, because everyone there is so willing to help out with anything.”   “Madeline has a clear vision of how she can positively impact the health care of those she encounters. It usually takes time for nursing students to see the ‘big picture,’ but Madeline had a clear vision from the beginning,” Duffy said. “She's recognized for the ability to connect with people, and this is truly a gift that will make a difference for the children and parents she meets. She has demonstrated the ability to deal with tough issues and advocate for the patient. Madeline is the first to say ‘I don’t know but let me look it up.’ This is the nurse you want taking care of your family. …I have no doubts that nursing is the right career for her.”   Upon graduation, Mills will begin her nursing job in the MUSC Children’s Hospital’s Pediatric Emergency Department. “I really believe in a saying by Gandhi, ‘You must be the change you want to see in the world.’ I knew it was going to be difficult to get through school and raise my son, but I accepted that. It’s not the type of education where all you need is book sense to make it work; if you can’t relate to the patient, you can have all the As you want but it still won’t make you a great nurse. I became a nurse because of the human connection and the opportunity to connect with people in a way other disciplines can’t experience.”   In the future, Mills sees herself pursuing her master’s degree to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and is looking into the requirements for becoming a doctor of nursing practice. As for now, she relishes the fact that she and her son will celebrate major milestones when she graduates today and he graduates from kindergarten  May 24.   “Bad things happen to people and a lot of people will use those things as excuses as to why they can’t go on,” Mills said. “I think it’s much better to build yourself up based on the fact that you survived the initial event and that things will get better. Don’t be afraid to move forward. It may be difficult to accept, but if you know your strengths and use those to believe in yourself, you can do anything.” Mills couldn’t have made it without: 1. Supportive family and son 2. Faculty and staff support 3. Friends from the program 4. Thursday margaritas 5.  Starbucks     Friday, May 18, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.