‘When You Marry A Nurse, You Marry Their Job’: Husband Reveals The Gritty Details Of His Wife’s Life As A Nurse
True love can be measured in actions, not just words. And the support that you give your spouse as they chase their life’s greatest passion is worth its weight in gold. One husband who is an example to us all is Cole George who loves his wife Ashley unconditionally. And here’s how.
She works endless shifts as a nurse and while she takes care of her patients, he takes care of her emotional wellbeing, the house, and their 4 kids. When Cole shared the story on his Facebook page, the support from the online community was enormous and many felt that they could relate to Ashley’s life.
“It wasn’t as much an inspiration as it was a calling,” Cole told Bored Panda about how his wife Ashley got into nursing. Scroll down for the full interview.
Meet Ashley. She works as a nurse
Image credits: Cole George
We know how tough it is being a nurse, doctor, or other healthcare professional. To see that exhaustion on the job is not an isolated issue, have a read through Bored Panda’s earlier article about how a sister revealed the gritty details of her twin’s life as a nurse.
While Ashley works herself to the point of exhaustion, her husband Cole supports her every way that he can
Image credits: Cole George
“She just knew, just like I knew I wanted to be in the Military,” Cole said about his wife’s calling. “She knew where her heart was. That was in nursing, she was originally trained as a pediatric nurse, both her sons were premature and NICU babies. Ashley being able to always use her training and being able to pick up on certain things that a patient does allows her to keeps her training on point and apply them. Every day is an opportunity for her to be better. The other part of her motivation comes from this family (work family as well). We are all so very proud of her and what she does.”
Cole also revealed to us what the biggest challenges of being a nurse’s spouse are. “The biggest challenge for being a spouse of a nurse is probably not much different than that of a first responder or a military spouse. Long days, long nights, sleeping alone, always wondering if they are safe.”
The challenges of being married to a nurse are very real
“In the last couple of years, [the question of] nurses’ safety has been on the rise with attacks from a multitude of patients. Patients that have drug problems, psychiatric issues and some that just don’t like being in a hospital setting. For myself, personally, the hardest part is the missed meals, and time with our kids. We both work full time, but opposite shifts. So I try to let her sleep during the day and get all 4 kids out of the house doing activities. Riding dirt bikes and quads, RC Cars, our 10-year-old old daughter is building her own Harley Davidson Motorcycle. So we stay busy.”
“I never want to give up, neither of us would want that. We always push each other. We want to see each other succeed. Is it tough!? Hell yeah! But it isn’t so thought that I’d quit. Or I’d quit her,” Cole exclaimed.
“We married them. We should support them.”
“If we care or love our spouse’s and they love what they do, then it should not matter if they are oil workers, fishermen or first responders. We married them. We should support them. Even if it is something that we may not really care for. It was their career choice. I was not about to let anyone tell me that they were not going to be part of my life because I chose to go into the military,” he talked about his relationship with his wife. “She chose me knowing what I had done, I chose her knowing what show does. It’s what makes her her. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
According to Cole, while his wife is at work, he makes sure that the house is clean and that all the chores are done. He feeds their kids and helps them with their homework so that Ashley can focus on her vocation with everything that she has. What’s more, he even prepares food for Ashley to take to work. Right there. That’s real love right there.
Cole also understands the importance of quiet emotional support: he listens to his partner and lets her vent. He even tolerates her wearing ‘the worst’ socks that he’s promised to burn in a ritualistic way.
The couple support each other unconditionally and make a great team
Image credits: Cole George
Exhaustion from overwork is by far the biggest challenge that healthcare professionals face. Unfortunately, it is far from the only problem. For instance, not many people think about it, but nurses face actual threats to their health and safety at work. From pathogens and potential injuries from needles to bullying, harassment, actual physical violence from patients.
Nurses would love to spend more time taking care of their patients, but lots of them lose hours and hours on end when filling out paperwork and entering data into electronic health records. In other words, time that could be spent nursing people is instead spent on bureaucracy. Which is necessary but eats up huge chunks of time.
To learn more about nursing and the challenges that health professionals face daily, Bored Panda reached out to Emily, a nurse who works in an emergency room in Ontario. “Working full-time, you work four 12-hour shifts (two days and two nights). It is a lot of hours, but your body becomes accustomed to the work. The most I have worked in a row is 5 shifts, which is a lot. I know nurses who do 6 or 7 in a row.”
“I myself don’t feel I could work safely at my best doing that. A lot of nursing floors are very mentally stimulating. You don’t really have the option of ‘not functioning.’ If that happens, people can die,” Emily highlighted the responsibility that sits upon the shoulders of health professionals every single day and night.
She continued: “I thrive on stress. When people code, when a trauma [case]comes in, that’s when I hit my stride. I function better under pressure. That being said, taking care of yourself outside of work helps you manage your work-life balance so you can go in for your set, or pick up that overtime.”
Emily explained that, in her opinion, having more staff in hospitals would help nurses work better. However, she said that what’s also important is “more funding for the floors to keep beds open.”
“A huge reason why the wait times are so long in emergency rooms is the patients we have in the department already: we don’t have anywhere to move them. They’re not able to be discharged, so they can’t go back to the waiting room. We are ‘bed-blocked’. Hospital funding gets cut and the first on the chopping block are beds and staff.”
“That being said, in Ontario the crisis beds and the mental health wards have their beds cut down to basically nothing all the time. So, unfortunately, you have people who are placed on a mental health form and cannot leave the hospital because they are a danger to themselves or others, and they can be in the emergency department for days and days because the miniscule number of mental health beds are all occupied.”
Some people closely related to Cole’s story about Ashley’s vocation
Nurses are the secret weapon of healthcare. It would crumble without them. They are rarely given enough gratitude, love, pay, or acknowledgement. I salute you nurses, as you run across the floor on your tired feet, sit and talk with a lonely or scared patient, how you put on a brave front in the face of uncertainty, how you fight for the rights of your patients...some you just met, and how you compartmentalize all your feelings. I wish I could thank personally every nurse who has helped me through 15 years of a horrendous illness. Hug a nurse today. Say thank you. God knows they need it.
Beautifully said! My sister is a nurse and a perfect representation of a super hero. She runs herself ragged everyday and I couldn't be more proud of her.
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nurses Don't have the respect they deserve. You can see A LOT of tv show about doctors... but nurses? my wife left that profession because she didn't get any respect from her bosses, cost her almost her life. that's a s****y profession and so many bosses Don't care about them
I was a nurse for 35 years. I would come home exhausted day after day. I would often hurt my back, ankle, neck etc. I would take ibuprofen and get on with it. I loved my job,BTW. When I was young, I would think that what would do when I got old. Would I be using a walker to get up and down these halls? I was joking of course. I am 67 now and I am not laughing. When I was 61, I was working full time as an RN. I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to quit, went to bed and had to retire. I am not in bed anymore. I am cured of cancer but my injury ridden body kind of fell apart. Chemotherapy and Radiation are horrible to the body. I have been told due to all of the injuries that I have had, I have a body of someone in their late 80's. Debbie It's been 5 years since my last treatment and I have to cut this short
If you care for and value your wife but don't write about it on facebook do you really even care? Its like giving somebody flowers for valentines day but not posting a picture, doesn't count!
I know it's meant with love, but writing things like "i clean the house for her" or "she has...somewhat sane children" makes it sound like it's her job to clean the house or take care of the children. Your wife has an important and demanding job and you support more at home. that is how partnerships should work.
I agree with you. "the house is clean for us and our children". It's not her job to clean the house. And, by the way the same would be said for anyone who lived in the house - it's not male bashing because I remind my daughter of the same thing - sorry Dave.
Load More Replies...
As a former nurse, it can be exhausting, to do this day in and day out. Blessed is the person who chooses nursing as their passion in life. For they can't do anything else and be happy. Blessed are their families because just as in the military, they serve,too! I spent the majority of my hospital nursing, single, and never managed to have a life! But I always made sure to take an extra shift, a day off to work for my fellow nurses that were married with kids, the time off and all holidays! It was my pleasure to do this. I just couldn't see them working on a holiday that celebrated families and someone couldn't be with theirs. It was just something I chose to do. So, thank you all nurses, for your hard work and dedication! Oh, and one more thing, I tend to have a habit of changing the table paper, after I have a visit to my doctors and I love to see the surprise on their faces! It's something kind,I can do for another nurse!
My hulk of a son is an Emergency Room Nurse. I hear all the stories...(we’re a medical family) and the heartbreak in his voice sometimes. He’s in the Atlanta area so has seen it all pretty much. His thing is the kids. Always has been. Gonna brag here for a second.....there have been two children thus far that he has rescued from horrific family situations. He has this inner instinct when it comes to the little ones. God bless everyone who is out there taking care of others no matter what your job is!!!!!
What I would like to know is, does Ashley's husband Cole have any male relatives like him that is single and elderly? Seriously, what a gem of a man. This truly is an example of unconditional love. Nurses don't usually get the credit they deserve. Some physicians would not be as affective without their nurses. Say thank you to the nurses. It would maybe make their day.
Wow! He is an amazing husband. I have never heard of a husband being that supportive. I was much more impressed with him then her even though she is amazing too. I hope they realize how lucky they are.
Not a nurse, but I am the daughter of a retired department of transportation worker and I know how taxing some jobs can be on people. He was working in all seasons, whether it was really hot or really cold. He had to do traffic control for accidents and in those situations people would get angry at him because they couldn't go the highway route they wanted to. I am also the daughter of a retired teacher and that job stayed with my mom even when she came home. She was always thinking about her kids and their home situations.
where are all the bootlickers when a 'Thank you for your service' is actually due ? F*****g stupid world we live in.
I worked as a unit clerk for 30 years and a unit clerk/nurse aide the last two of those 30 years prior to retirement five years ago. With only one exception, every nurse I worked with was amazing, and every one of them, male or female, gave their job their all. I don't miss the medical-hospital environment at all---the last 18 years of working in the large hospital I was employed in was in the ICU, and it lived up to its name 24/7---and I definitely do not miss that one nasty little witch who made life absolute hell for those of us she didn't like (which was any ICU staff member who wasn't a nurse, or wasn't in nursing school). I do, however, have a great deal of respect and admiration for the 99.999% of the other nurses with whom I worked, and for my three cousins who were all nurses for the majority of their working years. Nursing is a mighty tough job, and nobody anywhere should ever put a nurse down in any way at all.
To everyone at bored panda and all your followers. Thank you for all your support. To all our first responders and military. THANK YOU. Cole and Ashley George
I could never do that job. I've been in and out of hospitals for the past twelve years, and I appreciate the hard work that nurses put in each shift.
I'm guessing you have never really needed a nurse's care. It's not the same as other jobs, being on your feet all day. I worked at Target on my feet all day and I can bet it is no where near the same job as a nurse.
Load More Replies... Nurses are the secret weapon of healthcare. It would crumble without them. They are rarely given enough gratitude, love, pay, or acknowledgement. I salute you nurses, as you run across the floor on your tired feet, sit and talk with a lonely or scared patient, how you put on a brave front in the face of uncertainty, how you fight for the rights of your patients...some you just met, and how you compartmentalize all your feelings. I wish I could thank personally every nurse who has helped me through 15 years of a horrendous illness. Hug a nurse today. Say thank you. God knows they need it.
Beautifully said! My sister is a nurse and a perfect representation of a super hero. She runs herself ragged everyday and I couldn't be more proud of her.
Load More Replies... nurses Don't have the respect they deserve. You can see A LOT of tv show about doctors... but nurses? my wife left that profession because she didn't get any respect from her bosses, cost her almost her life. that's a s****y profession and so many bosses Don't care about them
I was a nurse for 35 years. I would come home exhausted day after day. I would often hurt my back, ankle, neck etc. I would take ibuprofen and get on with it. I loved my job,BTW. When I was young, I would think that what would do when I got old. Would I be using a walker to get up and down these halls? I was joking of course. I am 67 now and I am not laughing. When I was 61, I was working full time as an RN. I was diagnosed with cancer. I had to quit, went to bed and had to retire. I am not in bed anymore. I am cured of cancer but my injury ridden body kind of fell apart. Chemotherapy and Radiation are horrible to the body. I have been told due to all of the injuries that I have had, I have a body of someone in their late 80's. Debbie It's been 5 years since my last treatment and I have to cut this short
If you care for and value your wife but don't write about it on facebook do you really even care? Its like giving somebody flowers for valentines day but not posting a picture, doesn't count!
I know it's meant with love, but writing things like "i clean the house for her" or "she has...somewhat sane children" makes it sound like it's her job to clean the house or take care of the children. Your wife has an important and demanding job and you support more at home. that is how partnerships should work.
I agree with you. "the house is clean for us and our children". It's not her job to clean the house. And, by the way the same would be said for anyone who lived in the house - it's not male bashing because I remind my daughter of the same thing - sorry Dave.
Load More Replies... As a former nurse, it can be exhausting, to do this day in and day out. Blessed is the person who chooses nursing as their passion in life. For they can't do anything else and be happy. Blessed are their families because just as in the military, they serve,too! I spent the majority of my hospital nursing, single, and never managed to have a life! But I always made sure to take an extra shift, a day off to work for my fellow nurses that were married with kids, the time off and all holidays! It was my pleasure to do this. I just couldn't see them working on a holiday that celebrated families and someone couldn't be with theirs. It was just something I chose to do. So, thank you all nurses, for your hard work and dedication! Oh, and one more thing, I tend to have a habit of changing the table paper, after I have a visit to my doctors and I love to see the surprise on their faces! It's something kind,I can do for another nurse!
My hulk of a son is an Emergency Room Nurse. I hear all the stories...(we’re a medical family) and the heartbreak in his voice sometimes. He’s in the Atlanta area so has seen it all pretty much. His thing is the kids. Always has been. Gonna brag here for a second.....there have been two children thus far that he has rescued from horrific family situations. He has this inner instinct when it comes to the little ones. God bless everyone who is out there taking care of others no matter what your job is!!!!!
What I would like to know is, does Ashley's husband Cole have any male relatives like him that is single and elderly? Seriously, what a gem of a man. This truly is an example of unconditional love. Nurses don't usually get the credit they deserve. Some physicians would not be as affective without their nurses. Say thank you to the nurses. It would maybe make their day.
Wow! He is an amazing husband. I have never heard of a husband being that supportive. I was much more impressed with him then her even though she is amazing too. I hope they realize how lucky they are.
Not a nurse, but I am the daughter of a retired department of transportation worker and I know how taxing some jobs can be on people. He was working in all seasons, whether it was really hot or really cold. He had to do traffic control for accidents and in those situations people would get angry at him because they couldn't go the highway route they wanted to. I am also the daughter of a retired teacher and that job stayed with my mom even when she came home. She was always thinking about her kids and their home situations.
where are all the bootlickers when a 'Thank you for your service' is actually due ? F*****g stupid world we live in.
I worked as a unit clerk for 30 years and a unit clerk/nurse aide the last two of those 30 years prior to retirement five years ago. With only one exception, every nurse I worked with was amazing, and every one of them, male or female, gave their job their all. I don't miss the medical-hospital environment at all---the last 18 years of working in the large hospital I was employed in was in the ICU, and it lived up to its name 24/7---and I definitely do not miss that one nasty little witch who made life absolute hell for those of us she didn't like (which was any ICU staff member who wasn't a nurse, or wasn't in nursing school). I do, however, have a great deal of respect and admiration for the 99.999% of the other nurses with whom I worked, and for my three cousins who were all nurses for the majority of their working years. Nursing is a mighty tough job, and nobody anywhere should ever put a nurse down in any way at all.
To everyone at bored panda and all your followers. Thank you for all your support. To all our first responders and military. THANK YOU. Cole and Ashley George
I could never do that job. I've been in and out of hospitals for the past twelve years, and I appreciate the hard work that nurses put in each shift.
I'm guessing you have never really needed a nurse's care. It's not the same as other jobs, being on your feet all day. I worked at Target on my feet all day and I can bet it is no where near the same job as a nurse.
Load More Replies...
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