When you sit down to chat with 74-year-old Rewa Purdie you very quickly get a sense of what a cherished member of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) team she is.
Barely a minute goes by without Rewa acknowledging a friendly wave or receiving a big hug from a colleague.
ICU is her family, and the decision to retire has not come easily for this lifelong carer.
As The Beatles rocketed up the charts, 15-year-old Rewa ¨C one of 11 children ¨C didn¡¯t covet the daring short skirts and go-go boots in the magazines. She dreamed of proudly donning the fancy red cape and white hat worn by nurses at Belverdale Hospital in Whanganui, where she worked as a Hospital Aide.
¡°All I could think was how nice (my older sister) looked in her uniform, and I thought ¡®Yes, I want to be a nurse too!¡± Rewa said.
¡°I was never uncertain. I was going to be a nurse. Full stop.¡±
And so began 27 years of ICU weekend night shifts in hospitals including Palmerston North; decades she recalls with great fondness.
¡°I would go to bed with my babies and children in the early evening,¡± Rewa said. (She had three children at the time, with a fourth child arriving some years later). ¡°Then I would get up for my 11pm shift and work through the night while my husband stayed with our children,¡± she said.
¡°It was a very quiet ICU, compared to here. There were only seven beds. All our most seriously ill patients, including major trauma and head injuries, went to Wellington Hospital.
¡°I like the continuity of care in ICU, seeing the same patient each day and building a connection with them and their family. I like seeing them getting better and seeing how grateful their family members are for the care you give them.
¡°I love it when a patient comes back to see you and sometimes you can¡¯t even recognise them ¨C they look so good, so healthy!¡±
When three of her children flew the nest, across the Tasman, Rewa returned to study to become a Registered Nurse and fulfilled her dream of moving to Australia to join them.
In 2004, Rewa found herself in a new country, and daunted by a very different world inside the busy ICU at Gold Coast Hospital¡¯s old campus.
¡°Oh, my goodness, I was terrified!¡± she recalled.
With the support of an amazing team Rewa settled in and found her happy place.
¡°It was fabulous, I absolutely loved the old unit. Everybody helped each other, as they do now, but we were all in a line, not in single rooms as we are now,¡± she said.
¡°I remember my first time on night duty. I had never cared for a head trauma patient before. I was terrified. But I had a male nurse beside me, who was also from New Zealand, and he helped me get through that first night.¡±
After 46 years in ICU nursing, it is that same sense of camaraderie Rewa will miss most.
¡°You not only have patients to care for, but you must also look out for each other as well,¡± she said.
¡°Even in this huge, beautiful new hospital, the staff are still here to help you through anything.
¡°I have stayed here so long because all my friends are at work, and I just love work.¡±
Finally, this grandmother to six has come to accept there is more to life, like walking in the sand with her sister in Palm Springs and eating gelato in Roma, Italy ¨C adventures at the top of her retirement to-do list.
From the bottom of our hearts, we thank Rewa for her tireless service, her warm friendship, and for embodying the 6 Cs of nursing: Care, Compassion, Courage, Communication, Commitment and Competence.