This past weekend, I took part in the 37th Annual Oncology Nursing Conference in New Orleans, LA.
Now that the conference is over and I’m back home, I can tell you that I spent three nights and four days in downtown New Orleans all by myself! :0) Aren’t I a big girl? Hah! My family wasn’t very happy that I was all alone, but my husband had to work. Ah well…I survived and that’s all that matters!
Onto Congress!
If I ever have the opportunity to attend Congress again, I will arrive the night before. I had to leave my house at 4:30 a.m. to make it in time for a 9 a.m. conference start time. I made it a little before 9 a.m., but still had to park, check in, and register, etc. Too much of a headache! So next time, I’m arriving the night before!
Opening ceremonies!
Thursday night was the Cure’s 2012 Extraordinary Healer Award Ceremony and Dinner!
A Jazz Band was there to greet the attendees!
Even though I forgot to take a picture of the “real” food, here’s a glimpse of our finger foods prior to the dinner!
Living in Louisiana, I wasn’t sure what to expect – but I do have to say that ONS did a VERY good job of giving the out of town-ers an authentic Louisiana experience. We had Mardi Gras beads, a Jazz Band, authentic food, samples of tabasco sauce, and a lot of good times! Laissez les bon temps rouler!
Another neat thing about the banquet….Diahanne Carroll was our guest speaker! She spoke about her own battle with breast cancer and it was really neat to hear her story!
It didn’t hurt that McDreamy was on the back of our programs, either! :0)
The following morning, I was snapped out of a deep sleep by a very loud fire alarm at 4:45 a.m.! I had my cell phone alarm set for 6:30 a.m. and wasn’t planning on waking up that early!
It took what seemed like forever for the fire company to arrive to clear the building – but they finally arrived, and by the time we were permitted back in our rooms, I wasn’t sleepy anymore!
I decided instead to get dressed and head over to the Hilton for one of the many breakfast programs.
I read our convention guide and decided that I would attend the Oncology Certified Nurse breakfast. What drew me to the breakfast was the write up description about the guest speaker, Kyle Garlett. Kyle is a 4-time cancer survivor, he’s had a heart transplant, a hip replacement, and he now competes in iron man competitions!
His story was truly amazing and touching! I cried through 90% of the breakfast. I was (and still am) very grateful for the fire alarm that went off at 4:45 that morning. Hearing Kyle’s story was incredibly moving and encouraging – and just what I needed to hear. I really truly believe that the fire alarm went off at 4:45 that morning just for me (kind of like God’s divine intervention – because He knew what I needed right when I needed it)! So, I apologize to everyone who had to wake up so early in the morning just for me! :0)
After the breakfast, I had a chance to speak with Kyle and purchase his book. I read the first chapter tonight and can tell that I’m going to have a hard time putting it down!
Night time in New Orleans was exciting – as I had my pepper spray in my hand everywhere I went! I made sure to stay aware of my surroundings and only stay in areas where I felt safe.
I had breakfast in the Expo hall a few mornings! The Millennium booth was offering Beignets! They were super yummy, too!
For lunch on Saturday, my new friends Joni, Vernon, and I headed to Coop’s place so Joni could have an authentic Cajun/Creole style meal! We both ordered the Cajun platter which included Gumbo, Red Beans and Rice, Shrimp Creole, and Jambalaya! Yummy!
On the last night of my trip (Saturday night), I decided to venture out to Pink berry for dessert! On the way back to my hotel, I passed in front of Harrah’s Casino. A well-dressed young man was standing in front of Harrah’s holding a beer in his hand. I attempted to stay aware of my surroundings and make eye contact with everyone I passed. The young man told me hi so I responded with a nice “Hi! How are you?” His answer? “Hey! Do you want to get married?” He was obviously drunk and had no idea what he was asking of me! Hah! I told him that I couldn’t marry him because I was already married and he said that he didn’t mind! Ah yes, fun times New Orleans, fun times!
You could tell it was the last day of the conference – the room was practically empty!
On my way out of town, I stopped at Mother’s for lunch!
Yum!!
I also participated in a 5K on Saturday, but there will be more on that in an upcoming post!
Overall, I had a great time at the conference and loved getting to network with other oncology nurses from all over the world! If I have the opportunity, I would love to go again! Next year’s conference is in DC and word on the street is the 2014 conference will be held in Anaheim (hello!!)! :0)
