One woman silenced doubters on graduation day

Page 19

Linda Wesley has a message for the people who told her she wasn't smart enough to be a nurse.

"Tell them they were wrong."

If there is one word the describes Wesley it is survivor. What's so fascinating about this cheerful, determined woman is that she refuses to let the adversity in her life keep her down.

Born in Quebec, Wesley moved at an early age to Moose Factory with her family.

"My parents went away in winter to trap and anybody old enough went to the residential school in Moose Factory. I was the first in my family to go to school. I remember that the first week I got a strap for talking in the shower.

Wesley remembers the language problems of having "Quebec Cree" and changing from one dialect to another to try to fit in.

"Once we reached a certain grade, we went to Sault Ste. Marie and thing were better, except I got separated from my brothers and sisters who went to Brantford. I also went to high school boarding with non-Native families."

In the meantime, her family had relocated to Hurst. Wesley's life took a big turn with a return to high school, facing a teen pregnancy. She quit in Grade 12 and moved to Ottawa where she took a keypunch course but couldn't get a job. She finally found work in Toronto with the Royal Bank, got married and three more children followed. But they moved frequently and soon Wesley was a single mom with four small children.

She moved back to Moose Factory to be near her grandparents. She realizes now that perhaps those experiences - dressing sores, coping with the effects of senility - were the beginning of her interest in health care.

Wesley found a job at the local hospital as a cleaner and soon decided to go back to school. She upgraded courses and applied to a nursing program at Timmins College. "I wanted to be an RN. I had an interview and that's when one of the men told me I didn't have the intellect to complete the course."

They recommend Wesley take the RNA course, which she did and graduated with honors.

On the death of her father, Wesley went home to be with her mother at the Constance Lake Reserve near Hurst. But she soon returned to school, this time a two year college program for developmental service worker, winning an award for proficiency.

The college program wasn't enough for this driven woman, who at one time held down three jobs to support her family.

"I clearly remember the day my daughter came home from high school and said she wanted to apply to a special program at Lakehead University called Native Nurse Entry Program. But she wasn't old enough so guess who got excited and decided to apply?"

In 1989 Wesley started the program. Year one was a transition year, an academic upgrading year preparing students for the four year BScN program.

"I've managed two part-time jobs while going to school. It's true I got some support from the band but I assure you it's not enough to live on. My grades would have been a lot better if I didn't have to work." Wesley has a contract as a cleaner at Matawa and works with the Fort William band.

"My kids keep asking me the same thing. 'Why do you do it Mom?' I think it's my need to succeed, to prove that I can do it. Lots of times I wanted to quite. I had my stress moments just like other students. Maybe I could still hear those voices telling me I couldn't do it."