In my first book, Inside the ICU: A Nursing Perspective, I describe the day-to-day events from behind the closed doors of the intensive care unit. I portray what the nurses endure on a daily basis in order to save lives. I explain what really happens when the doctors are not available. I provide examples of the daily challenges of making sure the patients and their families have all the information that the doctors fail to tell them. And, I describe the never-ending quest of making sure the best interests of the patients are guaranteed. Not only do I share how I have helped many patients, but also how several critically ill patients have helped me learn a few lessons as well.


Each stand-alone chapter addresses a different thought-provoking dilemma based on real patients and true events.

Jordan was 32 years old. He was healthy when his motorcycle crashed, but within days he was brain-dead.  The reader will gain an understanding of organ and tissue donation while hearing how Jordan’s family made the unselfish decision to donate his organs.

Peter, all seven-hundred pounds, taught the staff a lesson in discrimination, caring, and respect when he repeated some of the insults he overheard when it was believed that he was unconscious. 

Randy was homeless and had no place to go. His hardened personality caused problems, but when it came time to send him home, the author stood up against the administration to allow him to be discharged to a field where he could panhandle, rather than to a “home.” 

Pat was in the ICU with her chest wound gaping open. The excitement of seeing the heart dancing inside her chest was amazing, but watching it suddenly stop was devastating. 

Ronald and Ivan were both dying, but one would experience a peaceful end of life, while the other would have to suffer unnecessarily. These, and other accounts of real-life events, will bring the reader into the trenches of the intensive care unit, experiencing life and death situations.


This book will entertain readers who enjoy medical dramas on television. Anyone who thrives on the excitement of the medical dilemmas that are addressed daily.  It will capture interest of nurses, new and experienced, and will prompt them to stand up and become patient advocates for all of their patients. And, it will encourage any person to think about, and talk to their families about, their own choices in health care.

The book is meant to provide an inside look into what really happens in the ICU, while providing the readers with information and knowledge they can use on a daily basis. Inside The ICU provides valuable information for any reader who will be encouraged to think about discrimination of those who do not conform to what many feel is “normal”, and it will inspire the readers to talk about end-of-life decisions before it’s too late. Additionally the book reveals excellent examples for nurses to learn from. Examples of compassionate care and patient advocacy are only a few of the many lessons within the pages of this book.