A Professional Nurse Decides to Quit Drinking, Go on a Diet, Start Exercising, and Stop Smoking

For the past twenty-one years Natalie has been a licensed practical nurse at a local Catholic hospital. As a nurse practitioner, she obviously knew what to tell her patients when it came to their health concerns but in her off-duty life, nevertheless, she definitely didn’t practice what she preached. For example, she normally drank quite heavily, she made it a habit to stay away from exercising, she smoked two packs of cigarettes on a day-to-day basis, and she was approximately fifty-five pounds overweight.

Natalie Gets Into An Automobile Accident, Fails An Alcohol Test, and Goes to The Municipal Jail

One evening on her way to the hospital, Natalie got into a car accident. Since the accident was her fault and since her speech was garbled when she talked, the arresting policeman gave her a breathalyzer test. In concurrence with standard law enforcement operating procedures, when an individual gets involved in an automobile accident and tests positive for a breathalyzer test, the person has to spend at least six hours in the county jail.

In fact, Natalie should have known better than to drive after she had been drinking because she recently participated in an “alcohol awareness” class at the hospital that focused on issues, statistics, and information about alcohol facts such as the following: binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, DUIs, and the primary differences between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.

Natalie is Quite Embarrassed About Her Automobile Accident

Needless to say, Natalie was humiliated by her car accident. Moreover, she was feeling a lot of shame about the fact that the accident was her fault. And perhaps worst of all, she was embarrassed about the fact that she was driving after she had been drinking. As Natalie contemplated her situation, however, she knew that it could have been worse because at work, when a alcohol blood test is administered and failed, the individual has to go to obligatory alcohol treatment and is placed on non-pay status. This was in essence one of the alcohol facts that was a reality at the hospital and not much could change this fact.

Natalie’s Shame About Her Car Accident Helps Motivate Her To Reevaluate Her Life and Make Some Remarkable and Beneficial Modifications

At any rate, Natalie’s shame about her vehicle accident made her reexamine her life and make some substantial and beneficial changes. First, she was going to stop drinking in an irresponsible and hazardous manner. Second, she was going to stop smoking. Third, she was going to go on a weight-loss diet. And fourth, she was going to begin exercising.

As troubled as Natalie was about the entire car accident situation, she used this awful experience as a catalyst for healthy change. Not only this but, she used her awful experience as a wake up call that she had been failing to address her own health while she openly told other people how to live in a more healthy manner. At last, she eventually saw the pretense in her actions and came to a decision that she would live her life as a constructive source of hope for other individuals.

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