When Palm Beach State University nursing student and Palm Health Foundation nursing scholarship recipient Elizabeth Lubin heard about Healers in the Gardens, a complimentary day of art and nature at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens for nurses, she jumped at the chance. It has been a challenging year for 34-year-old Lubin, a resident of Deerfield Beach. In addition to the stresses of COVID-19, Lubin was diagnosed with cancer just before the pandemic struck. To take advantage of a day of peace and respite, Lubin and her husband visited the West Palm Beach gardens on January 9.
“A peace came over me being there,” said Lubin. “Nurses should take advantage of this experience, especially if they are working during the pandemic and have stress. The garden will let them forget about it for a little while and given them peace.”
Lubin was especially struck by the “Seven Beings,” a group of colossal figures carved from huge blocks of Norwegian granite. To Lubin, the awe-inspiring sculptures had great meaning. “It inspired me to think that even though we all are facing different paths, directions, and challenges, we are in this together,” she said.
Lubin also thought of the many people who have come together to help her continue her nursing career path while fighting cancer. The diagnosis came just as Lubin was applying for a nursing scholarship from Palm Health Foundation through the George Snow Scholarship Fund to advance her career from an LPN to an RN. While she kept her illness hidden at the beginning of the application process, it was the urging of Palm Health Foundation nursing scholarship fund donor Debra Coffman Howe that kept Lubin looking forward and made it possible for her to continue working toward her goal of becoming a critical care nurse and eventually a nurse anesthesiologist.
Lubin now considers her cancer journey a benefit to her education and career. “I turned into the patient instead of the student,” she said. “I will be that nurse helping patients who are in the position I was once in.”
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