Seeing Abilities Before Disabilities with Sarah & Emily

Start with a laugh, stay for the truth. We sit down with Sarah, a psych nurse, and her sister Emily to explore what real inclusion in healthcare looks like when you move past labels and meet the person in front of you. Their story arcs from a pandemic-era TikTok experiment to a community of millions who come for the pranks and lunchbox notes, then stay for the hard-earned wisdom on dignity & communication.

Sarah opens up about struggling through clinicals until psych finally felt like home, pushing back on the myth that mental health units are “glorified babysitting.” She walks us through practical, bedside-level practices that change outcomes: greet and engage the patient first, explain every step, validate pain even when words are scarce, and escalate when first-line meds don’t touch obvious distress. Emily’s recent surgery becomes a case study in bias and advocacy, from a dismissive PACU moment to the relief that came when someone finally listened.

We also talk representation and identity with a powerful milestone: Emily finding a Barbie with Down syndrome after sixteen years without a doll that looked like her. That spark of recognition connects to better care—when people feel seen, anxiety drops and trust rises. Then we switch gears to their other passion: fostering hundreds of rescue cats using transferable nursing skills under veterinary guidance. It’s a joyful reminder that compassion is portable and clinical judgment adapts across settings.

If you’re a nurse, student, caregiver, or just someone who wants to treat people better, you’ll leave with concrete takeaways: speak to the person, assume comprehension, use plain language and teach-back, preserve autonomy, and look for abilities before limitations. Come for the humor, leave with a sharper clinical lens and a bigger heart. If this conversation moved you, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more listeners find us.

To submit your stories & comments, visit: https://simplenursing.com/podcast/

Transcript

Meet Sarah And Emily

SPEAKER_03 0:02

We got a code round. Welcome to Bedpan Banter with me, Nurse Mike. Can I get a Bedpan over here? Welcome to Bedpan Banter, the official podcast of Simple Nursing, where we bring the human side of healthcare. I'm your host, Nurse Mike, and today we have some very special guests, Sarah and Emily.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

That's all. That's all. Hi.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

So you guys may know these two from their very funny videos on TikTok. You guys have four million uh followers on social media.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 0:35

Which is incredible.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

It's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 0:37

And we can insert some funny clips to get everyone caught up here.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Oh yeah. We listen and we don't judge Sister Edition at night. Uh-huh. I have to lock the bathroom door because you will cut your bangs.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

I don't do that in the bathroom.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Do I always look like that when I get to break it out?

SPEAKER_03 1:16

You guys do a lot of funny thoughts stuff, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:18

I do, yes. Who's funnier? I was gonna say you. Really? Yes, you always messed up your lines.

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Oh, I mess up my lines. We have to take a lot of reshoots because I mess up. But you're perfect. Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:32

So you guys do a lot of day in the life, a lot of uh cat fostering um videos, but a lot of education um behind, you know, people with disabilities as well. And that's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

When did you guys actually start your your journey of documenting like social media wise?

Going Viral During The Pandemic

SPEAKER_01 1:50

So I think it was during the pandemic, honestly, in 2020. We were kind of just like, oh, this new app is here. Because it was transitioning from musically, I think. It was from like musically to TikTok. Yeah. And Emily and I were just like, you know what? We're kind of funny.

SPEAKER_02 2:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

What if we what if we just started making videos? And I just was like randomly posting stuff about us. And I'll never forget one day at work, I was in the middle of passing evening med, like evening meds, and I start getting hundreds of notifications.

SPEAKER_03 2:23

Whoa. I'm like, You just blew up.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

I'm like, what is this? What's going on? We literally like when they say kind of like that overnight sensation, that's kind of what happened. People fell in love with Emily. They fell in love with Emily. They were like, oh my gosh, she is the funniest person we've ever watched. So yeah, 2020 is when it started, and then we've kind of just been documenting our life ever since on there.

SPEAKER_02 2:49

That's beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 2:50

Yeah. Yeah. And then lots of funny things along the way.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:54

What is your favorite funny thing to do?

SPEAKER_00 2:56

My favorite funny thing to do is like I love being with my sister and like playing with her.

SPEAKER_01 3:04

You like, oh, when we make all the videos together. What's some of your favorite videos that we make?

SPEAKER_00 3:10

My um love this part. My sum of my favorite videos. See my somebody. What what what is it? What video?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

What video? You have this information, we don't know.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

The lunchbox ones? The lunchbox, yes. Yeah, the lunchbox. The lunchbox um and you put them on a wig.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

Oh sometimes I put them on wigs and I prank her that I get my hair done and yeah, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

Oh, pranks.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

We do a lot of pranks with calling you that I went to divorce camp or something. I had to call Santa on you. Oh, yeah, she has to call Santa on me. Oh yeah, yeah. I'm on the naughty list of shit.

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Oh, yes, naughty last year.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

I've been for the last 29 years.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

Well, since you're a nurse, you know, nurses are always on the naughty list for just being, you know. Always on the naughty list. Yes, yes. Yes. Wait, so how long actually have you been a nurse for?

SPEAKER_01 4:03

So I graduated in 2018. So this upcoming year it'll be seven years.

SPEAKER_03 4:07

And what'd you do for as a nurse? Or what do you still do, I guess?

SPEAKER_01 4:10

So uh that's there's a whole backstory.

SPEAKER_03 4:13

There's a whole okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 4:14

But I really didn't think that nursing was going to be the path for me. Really? I wow struggled immensely during nursing schools.

SPEAKER_03 4:23

During school schools, yeah, as everyone knows.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

And even well, I did okay with like the actual studying, like the book stuff. I was like, okay, I can do that. It was the clinicals that I struggled with. Because I was like, please keep me away from the ICU, please keep me away from the ED, please keep me away from med surge. And when all of my classmates were like, Yeah, I didn't really like the hospital.

SPEAKER_02 4:45

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

So I was like, what am I doing here? Am I on the right path? And then that's when I found psych. I was like, oh, this is my jam.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

So go this happens a lot because a lot of our listeners are nursing students, even nurses. But you get married to this idea, like what actually got you into nursing? Was it oh, I love that.

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Right here. I'm your nurse. No, no, no, you're not my nurse.

SPEAKER_01 5:10

Can you be?

SPEAKER_03 5:11

Do you want to be a nurse?

Pranks, Lunchbox Notes, And Sister Humor

SPEAKER_01 5:12

No. Wait, what when I'm older, can you be my nurse? No. No, why not? What if I pay you? Sarah. All right. No, no, no, okay. Sarah. She's like, no way.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

No, no, no, wait.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

Yeah, no. I think so. When our mom, our mom was going through cancer treatment. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

What did she get diagnosed with colon cancer when you were 15?

SPEAKER_01 5:33

Yeah, she had stage three colon cancer. She was given a very, very small chance to live. They were very honest with us. Yeah. And I started taking care of her.

SPEAKER_03 5:42

You were 15 old.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Oh gosh. She was five.

SPEAKER_03 5:45

Emily, you were five years old.

SPEAKER_00 5:47

Yes, I was.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Oh my gardens.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

What? Well, you can say it. Remember your bottle feed me.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Oh, yeah. She always tells us. I really didn't know how to take care of a kid. Like I didn't know how to be a mom. Yeah. And there were so many moments where I was feeding her and she was You squeezed, you squeezed it all the way in my mouth. I know. The juice and the bottle. There was, I know, I know. It's adorable.

SPEAKER_03 6:13

It was so But you had to step up in a big way at 15.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:16

And no one really gave you a roadmap. I was reading your story again.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

Oh, yeah, no, there's no roadmap how to be a parent, especially when you're a child yourself.

SPEAKER_03 6:23

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

You know? But I think realizing uh that I could take care of her, I said, Well, I could probably take care of patients. And watching my mother go through all of her treatment for years, like she was in treatment for years. I was like, that's something I kind of want to be a part of. That's amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:40

So did you have any interactions with um nursing staff that kind of impacted that?

SPEAKER_01 6:45

Or so our mom is actually a nurse.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

No way. Okay, that's the part I missed. I always missed something.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Yeah, well, she's actually she's amazing. She's in remission now, and she went back and got her NP degree. Wow. And then now she's actually going to be graduating with her DMP.

SPEAKER_03 7:00

Shut up. Congratulations to her. And you guys have a little crazy.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

She's an amazing woman.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Movers and shakers over here.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

I know. We love her. Yeah. Yeah, but she's what really inspired me to go down that path as well. The two of them. They are like my whole world. That's beautiful. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 7:17

And did you always know you wanted to be in psych or not really?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

So when I was probably like 14 or 13, our grandmother, she was the director at the Rochester Psychiatric Center. And I was a little bit of a troubled young teen. I was kind of not a very good listener. And as my punishment, she would take me to work at the Psych Center.

SPEAKER_03 7:42

Oh my gosh. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

And because she was the director, I volunteered there for years. And I was like, this isn't a punishment. I like these people. I was like, I actually like this. So that was another way that like fueled my passion. I was like, wait a minute. Why is no one working in this? These patients are amazing. And I love the acuity. And you know, it's a different kind of acuity than the medical world.

SPEAKER_02 8:08

Right.

Why Nursing And Finding Psych

SPEAKER_01 8:09

And I feel like so many people just think that it's glorified babysitting. Right. That's what I heard, right? I heard that my entire nursing career from everybody. Glorified babysitting. Glorified babysitting.

SPEAKER_03 8:21

I'm like, like it's not an actual department stuff. Right.

SPEAKER_01 8:24

And then I'd always be like, you come work in it.

SPEAKER_03 8:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:27

Because it is so complex.

SPEAKER_03 8:30

So yeah. So that's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:33

Billy Ray Cyrus, where did that come from?

SPEAKER_00 8:35

Um, where'd that come from? A spum a spum um a horrible spray temp. All right.

SPEAKER_03 8:42

A horrible spray temp.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 8:45

You look like a Cheeto or what?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

No, did I? I can't say that.

SPEAKER_03 8:49

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

But what was the food item I looked like? It was the it looks like a bird chicken party. And then I called her Bailey Ray Cyrus. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:58

Bailey Ray Cyrus.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

Yes. I was, I don't know how many years ago this was. I was, I thought I looked great after my spring. Okay, I get it. We see that.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

We see that.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

I was walking into the, you know, walking back from the salon. It was cold and my hair was blowing in the wind, so it looked like I had a beard.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

And I walk in the car and she literally goes like this to me. Like, like, I'm disgusting. She's like, You are disturbing. Okay. Emily.

SPEAKER_03 9:27

Disgusting and disturbing.

SPEAKER_01 9:28

She was like, you look like a burnt chicken patty. And in fact, Billy Ray Cyrus.

SPEAKER_03 9:35

Where did the Billy Ray Cyrus come from?

SPEAKER_01 9:37

I guess I just looked, I looked like him.

SPEAKER_03 9:39

Emily, yeah? Yes. Oh, you know, okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

I replicated him. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Is that your favorite thing about Sarah? She does just crazy stuff like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

What other things do you like about Sarah?

SPEAKER_00 9:49

Uh my favorite thing about Sarah that she's always beautiful. Oh, beautiful. Stop it. What about being up? Really? Yes. Aww, what else do you like with you? I like hanging out with you. Oh, I like hanging out with you too. And I mean never so much.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

I love you so much.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Yes. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:10

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 10:11

Me too.

SPEAKER_03 10:12

So, what do you want people to know about you, Emily? Who is Emily?

SPEAKER_00 10:16

Um, I kind of want to know that I'm a great person. And I've been a very brave person.

SPEAKER_03 10:24

Yeah, very brave.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And I'm very strong. You are. Yeah. I'm also really brave.

SPEAKER_03 10:31

And you're funny too. You have like a sense of shit.

SPEAKER_00 10:33

I'm funny. She always says that to me.

SPEAKER_03 10:35

You are. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

You're very funny. Yeah. And you know, nothing has stopped you at all. Yeah. Right? Yeah. Actually, having Down syndrome is is what?

SPEAKER_00 10:44

Having Down syndrome is pretty cool.

SPEAKER_03 10:46

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

It is pretty cool. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 10:49

Is there anything you wish people would uh understand better about Down syndrome?

SPEAKER_00 10:53

Um, I wish people did not scare at me. Oh, the staring.

SPEAKER_03 10:58

How does that affect you?

Caregiving At 15 And A Family Of Nurses

SPEAKER_00 10:59

It kind of gets me uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_03 11:02

Oh, okay, okay. How do you deal with that?

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Well, I find looking away. Okay. But I don't like that.

SPEAKER_03 11:08

That's fair. That's a good way to, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:11

And then just yeah, add some um, you know, comedy to it, maybe some TikTok stuff.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Yeah, you've gotten really good at also telling people, you know, that like, hey, that makes me uncomfortable. You've gotten really good at that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:25

Now we do have a clip about there's a Barbie now with Down syndrome. Yes. How do you feel about that?

SPEAKER_00 11:31

I f it feels kind of cool.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

You like that?

SPEAKER_00 11:33

You like the Barbie, right? I do like Barbie. You do.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

I think that was really amazing because I I think about how she went 16 years without seeing a doll that looked like her.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

That's kind of lonely.

SPEAKER_03 11:48

That's very lonely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Yeah. And then when you saw her, you were like, oh my gosh. There's a doll that looks like me. Yeah. And how did that make you feel? Happy. Happy it did. It made you cry too, huh? Yes. Yeah, here. Oh, I love that. It made me cry. It made me cry. Because I was like, oh my gosh, we're actually at a point now where there's more representation in dolls. There were baby dolls, right? That looked like they had Down syndrome, but at that point she's a teenager. We're not going to be infantilizing her. She doesn't need to be how having a baby doll. Yeah. But the Barbie was cool because it's like a collectible. Yeah, it's really cool. So it's so cool.

SPEAKER_03 12:27

And that's gonna be special. Like to see that as Emily, like Emily used to call um your sister mom sometimes growing up.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

Because you had to step into that role.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

It's cute. It's cute.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Now the roles are kind of reversing because we see some of your content is making lunches for your sister.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Yes. Yeah, you kind of you're kind of taking care of me.

SPEAKER_03 12:47

Yeah. So what do you like to pack for your sister? Okay. I'm like, here we go.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

Um, I'm about to pack a ketchup.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Ketchup. Just ketchup.

SPEAKER_01 12:58

A note. A note. Her notes are the best. She writes me very long, lengthy notes. A mustard. Yeah, they're just random items. They're random, like completely random items that make no sense, right? And mayonnaise.

SPEAKER_03 13:13

An ice cube somewhere. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Probably, honestly. Probably ice cubes. Yeah, see. Oh, that's gonna be the next thing. That's in the next lunch block.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

Put a little uh toy block in there, too.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

But the notes are funny. Like she will she will spend time writing those notes to make sure that I eat that lunch.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Yeah. What else? Um, unlike, unlike how I give you um like a dusting. Uh-huh. Yucky! Nervous, what? Disgusting yucky what? I give you keffer.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Oh, you gave me cat food. Yes. You gave me cat food. Yeah, hairball bites.

SPEAKER_03 13:54

Hairball bites?

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yes. Apparently I need those.

SPEAKER_03 13:58

A little hairball bite?

SPEAKER_01 13:59

I guess, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

Well, you know what?

SPEAKER_01 14:01

They kind of smell good.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

What do you what do you write in your notes here? What is yeah, what are the people? Yeah, and what else? And what else? May you love a burnt chicken patty? No, what what about the the you could say you could say it.

SPEAKER_01 14:15

The divorced lesbian stuff.

SPEAKER_00 14:17

Did I find you and lesbian? Yes. And you have no friends and cats. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 14:22

You got a whole list. Alright, we can slow down now. Chicken burnt chicken patty.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

Burnt chicken patty.

Falling In Love With Psych Nursing

SPEAKER_01 14:28

Billy Ray Cyrus. Okay. A divorced lesbian. Sometimes just the lesbian. And I have no friends, only cats.

SPEAKER_03 14:35

Very cool. How do you really feel about your sister? No, I'm good.

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Why don't you tell us how do you really feel? So that's all in the note. Just a list of everything that I am. And then at the end, my favorite is love, Emily San Francati. Always love, right? Yes.

SPEAKER_03 14:52

I love that.

SPEAKER_01 14:53

After insulting me.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Yes. It's always a good roast, you know. You roast the people you love.

SPEAKER_01 14:57

You roast the people you love.

SPEAKER_03 14:59

Yes. Something we talk about a lot on this podcast is the huge knowledge gap or basically a disconnect between the textbook knowledge and the real human experience. So the truth is, whether you live with, worked with, or even grown up with someone with a disability, you don't automatically know the best way to build rapport, support them, or even connect with that person. Which obviously makes new grad nurses and even students in their first clinical rotations just feel uncomfortable and really unsure how to care for the patient. And it's not because we don't care, it's because we simply lack that real-world life experience that's really not taught in the nursing program. So that being said, you've been on both sides of the train track. So you went through nursing school and knew all the clinical experience. Um and then you've also grown up with, you know, sister that's closest to you, basically your pseudo-daughter, because you call her mom, um, with developmental disabilities. What do you wish people would know, or nursing students or nurses would know more about?

SPEAKER_01 15:55

I think the biggest, biggest thing that I tell everybody now, and I even would advocate during clinicals, when someone with a disability comes in, please talk to them, not the caregiver. We have had so many experiences where we go to doctors, sorry, where we go to doctor's appointments and they're talking to me. I'm like, I I don't know what I'm saying. Yes, yes, and it doesn't matter if your patient is nonverbal, has limited communication, communicates with drawing pictures, they may understand completely. And I think that is where we are having this disconnect that we are seeing a person for their disabilities before we're actually seeing their abilities. I mean, she has so much comprehension that when we go to doctor's offices, I'm like, don't ask me. She will tell you exactly what she needs. And I think you know, another thing is the pain level. I can't even begin to tell you how many people underestimate her pain level.

SPEAKER_03 17:14

Really?

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Yes. And I have seen it countless times in the hospital, in clinical. People will come in, staff will come in and be like, oh, they're fine because they can't talk, right? They can't communicate. They can't communicate that they're in 10 out of 10 pain. So here we come with the ibuprofen Tylenol rotation. And it's like, no, she's actually going to have surgery. She had to have surgery recently, remember? Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:39

Pretty invasive about were you nervous?

Representation, Barbie, And Being Seen

SPEAKER_01 17:41

Yeah, yeah, it was invasive. They had to put her under. Oh my god, yeah, and your arm. And there it was, she was in very obvious physical pain, you know, grimacing, the you know, holding the bed rails. And uh, I was like, she needs something more than this. And she said that. She said, Can I please have something else? And it shouldn't be a fight, it shouldn't be a fight.

SPEAKER_03 18:05

You're going to surgery, come on.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Come on. It's be just because she looks different, right? And she, you know, has Down syndrome doesn't mean that she doesn't deserve to have pain management.

SPEAKER_03 18:16

Then that that must have probably just, you know, been a huge irritability for you. Being a nurse. Oh, it's like your daughter coming.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

It really, you know, in the most respectable way possible. I'm the first one to go right to the, you know, charge nurse or charge nurse or the resident or whoever is on staff. And I'm like, look, I I get I get that maybe I think people are scared. I don't know what it is. They, but as soon as she's admitted to the hospital, it's like, oh my gosh, what do we do? What do we do? Right? Yeah. You feel that way in the in the ED. Yeah. They're like, they're like, okay, I don't know what to do. I don't know what to I hate that place. Yeah. Treat her like any 20-year-old. Please. Because you will make your life easier and her life easier if you just treat her like any other 20-year-old.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

So I think that's that that's a really big takeaway for our audience.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 19:11

Treating patients. Um, and now we call them clients, but either way.

SPEAKER_01 19:15

Oh, we do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:17

On the new NCLEX, which is a whole nother topic. They're clients. They're they're clients now. But I think that's a beautiful transition. Because instead of being a patient where it's like, you know, we're practicing medicine, let's just say, you're an actual client. Like we we need to take care of you like we would anyone else. So like our own, you know, family.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Right.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

Tell me about your surgery where you let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

Well, um, I was out and uh it was really painful.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

Was it painful? Which part of the body was it on?

SPEAKER_00 19:45

Or was it this side right there? Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

Okay, the arm.

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Do you do you remember what it's called? I might feel like an abscess. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:55

Oh, that's Emily has hydrodynitis supertiva, okay, which is An autoimmune skin condition where the abscesses develop underneath the skin and they tunnel.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

And I take I take like medication for it.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:10

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 20:10

So sorry I interrupted you, but it's okay. It's okay. You had surgery. Surgery on it.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Do you remember any of the nurses that uh took care of you or no?

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Not some of them. I mean some of them still out. You're kinda out of it. Yeah. But I was there, right? Yeah, you were. Yes, you were. And and they put like a little band-aid to make it better. And then after you took me home, and uh when I got home I put the gauze in, and my mother took that out. I hurt it a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 20:49

Yeah.

unknown 20:49

I understand.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Yeah. After anesthesia, you remember when you after your surgery, anesthesia, you had a nurse that was kind of mean to you? Yeah. Do you remember that? We had a little bit of a a problem.

SPEAKER_03 21:02

But Oh, really?

SPEAKER_01 21:04

A little.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Yeah, a little confrontation or something.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

A l um little thing, the little scope thing. The ultrasound? Yeah, the ultrasound. Um that actually popped the upset.

SPEAKER_03 21:18

No, what? Really? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:21

Yes. And yeah, well I just think the nurse, the Packy nurse, wasn't really aware of, you know, what she needed per se. And it was a little you felt a little dismissed.

SPEAKER_00 21:35

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:36

Felt dismissed. Yeah. Because you were in a lot of pain. I mean, they they basically made a huge incision and drained it. I didn't move my arm. No, you didn't. She didn't move her arm at all. Oh, yeah. Yeah, she was very, yeah, you were in a lot of pain.

SPEAKER_03 21:53

So can you talk about a few mistakes that nurses make? I mean, not out of malice or inexperience, but just out of not knowing, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

Yeah, I think, you know, one of the biggest things is, like I said, not talking directly to the person that is there, talking to the client. Another big mistake. What do you think is another mistake that people do? Another mistake? Yeah, when it comes to people with disabilities. What what what do nurses do? They hurt me.

SPEAKER_03 22:20

Oh, not out of purpose, yes.

Lunchbox Bit Turns Into Real Talk

SPEAKER_01 22:25

I know. Can I tell them one funny story? Sure. Okay. When she came out of anesthesia, she she woke up and she was like, I'm suing this hospital. Because she was like, I hate needles. I hate these doctors. I'm suing this hospital. I'm like, okay, yeah. I did say that. You did say that. Um, yeah, so I think going back to, you know, what are some things that you know people do, not it's not out of malice or I scary overnight. Yes, you did. Not talking directly to them, underestimating their needs. That's another big thing. But talking not directly to them or engaging with them. That's the judge and I go to school. We're on two different conversations. Oh, fantastic. Sorry. And I I think also another big thing is not really taking into consideration that other people too.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Of course.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

And they have humor, they have sensitivities, they have every single thing that we as people feel when we are in the hospital, and they deserve a level of autonomy and dignity. And I think as nursing students, we need to make sure we're still preserving that. You know, knocking on the door when we come in, just even if they don't communicate, let them know that it's not. Right, not just taking your arm or shoveling medication down.

SPEAKER_03 23:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Tell them what you're doing step by step, just like any other patient. Hi, my name is Sarah. I'm gonna be your nurse today. Can I put an IV in you? Even if there's no communication, keep talking. Yeah, keep talking.

SPEAKER_03 24:00

Do you have any advice for nursing students or future nurses that want to do a better job?

SPEAKER_00 24:08

The um advice that I give to doctors that um I don't really I really don't like needles that much. Okay. They just need those hurt my skin.

SPEAKER_02 24:21

That's fair, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

And I didn't like it, like it it wasn't here. Oh, your IV. Yeah, but they had to put it right down here. Yes. And that was painful.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

But what would you what do you want nurses and doctors to do when they see you? Well, when they see me, they felt terrified. Okay, you're right. They do, they treat you differently. Yes. And you want them to treat you the same. Yes. Yeah. They want you to treat you like any other teenager. That's why I don't like doctors. That's valid. Fair enough. But we've got to teach people, right? Yes. We have to teach them that, like, hey, I I'm a teenager and I can speak for myself.

SPEAKER_03 25:01

Yeah. Yeah. Now, speaking of teaching, changing gears a little bit, uh, you also foster cats, which is amazing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

You love cats. We do. Oh, yes. Yeah, we love this. We love our cats.

SPEAKER_03 25:15

And you've often said that your nursing background kind of helps you care for them.

SPEAKER_01 25:19

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:19

So, how do those worlds overlap for you? I can see you're excited.

SPEAKER_00 25:23

Emily, you love our cats. I love cats.

Respect, Pain, And Talking To The Patient

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Really? Yes, yes. They, so I kind of realized that, oh my gosh, all of my nursing background, I'm able to transfer to animals. And, you know, I'm able to give fluids, I'm able to give, you know, Ivy medications and injections. You know, I've taken care of countless cats that had medical needs. And I realized, well, wait a minute. These skills that I've used on humans, I can also use them for animals that are really sick that no one else wants to take care of. So we have brought in, how many do you think? We have nine.

SPEAKER_03 26:03

What nine cats?

SPEAKER_01 26:04

Yes, we do have nine rescue cats.

SPEAKER_03 26:06

Okay, beautiful, nice.

SPEAKER_01 26:08

But we have probably taken care of a mock. Probably close to 600.

SPEAKER_03 26:12

No way. Yeah. Wait, what?

SPEAKER_01 26:14

Yeah, over the course of five years.

SPEAKER_03 26:15

How do you guys have the bandwidth for the wow?

SPEAKER_01 26:18

Yeah. We do. We we do I would not be able to do it without her.

SPEAKER_03 26:21

Oh, I love it. Yes. How do you feel when the cats get rehabilitated?

SPEAKER_01 26:25

I love them. Do you? I do. Yeah. Well, especially when they're in the little incubator. Yeah. We set up like little ICUs and we have them in the incubator and then we get fluids and you're so good at that.

SPEAKER_00 26:38

I am.

SPEAKER_03 26:39

And how do you help out with the cats?

SPEAKER_00 26:42

I love them so much. And what do you do? I love to squeeze them.

SPEAKER_02 26:48

Wait, what? To squeeze them.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

But what do you you feed them? I do feed them. Yeah. What else do you do? I like to kiss them. You yeah. You you supply all the love. I do.

SPEAKER_01 26:59

Yeah. I'm the bad guy with the meds.

SPEAKER_03 27:01

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

But I help you too. You do help me. You do amazing. Yes. You are so capable of doing all of that. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:13

Do you guys give IVs to the cats?

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Yeah, yeah. When they come in, they're hard. That's a hard thing. Extremely, yes. Extremely dehydrated. We'll we give bolus fluids.

SPEAKER_03 27:22

Wow. Yeah. Do you guys work with a veterinarian or anything? Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

So we have a vet who has pretty much kind of taken us under her wing and she's taught me so much. And I know a lot of people ask me, they're like, oh, well, would you ever want to go back to vet vet school? And I'm I'm honestly like, no, because I actually feel like my nursing background has given me enough knowledge.

SPEAKER_03 27:44

You're right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

It really has. So, right? Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Who's your favorite cat? I want to say Moo Moo. Oh, okay. Moo Moo. Moomo. That's Mellie. That's our cat in the diaper.

SPEAKER_03 27:57

Oh, diaper cat.

SPEAKER_01 27:58

Yeah, the cat who came to Miami with us.

SPEAKER_03 28:00

Oh. He's the one you guys brought a cat to Miami here in the studio.

SPEAKER_01 28:03

Yes, sweet.

SPEAKER_03 28:04

And we have a special surprise for you.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Oh my gosh, don't fool me like that. I really would. I really would take it. I'm like, wait, really? There's a cat?

SPEAKER_03 28:13

We have a cat.

SPEAKER_01 28:14

I told Emily I said, keep your eyes out. Keep your eyes peeled on the streets. What do you mean? With what? You're scared. There's a cat coming.

SPEAKER_03 28:23

Oh, yeah, I thought there was a.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

I gotta keep her on.

SPEAKER_03 28:25

Next guest is a cat. No, I was gonna. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

We'll say. We'll say the whole day.

SPEAKER_03 28:30

Counsel your plans. The last thing I wanted to ask you guys, is there anything that you want to share with the world? Or maybe a piece of advice? Anything at all?

SPEAKER_00 28:39

What do you want to share with the world? I wanna say that I'm happy that I like being my girl so much. That's about a time with our babies. Little baby cats. The baby cats. What else? You wanted to tell them about Oh yeah, and then I also have a boyfriend.

SPEAKER_03 28:58

Wait, what? Oh my gosh. Yep, we're gonna be including that in episode two.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

We gotta be part two, the tea dropping. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 29:06

Okay. What is his name?

SPEAKER_00 29:08

His name is Demetrius.

SPEAKER_03 29:09

Demetrius? Where'd you meet him at?

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Uh we met um my old school, Back Spry.

SPEAKER_03 29:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:16

And we dated like over six years now.

SPEAKER_03 29:18

Wait, what?

SPEAKER_00 29:19

Yeah, she's had a longer relationship than me.

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Oh my gosh. And we got you guys should be uh you know on a TV show, like that one dating show.

SPEAKER_01 29:27

They should. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:28

That is so good.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

They are adorable together. And he's he's what? He's artistic.

SPEAKER_03 29:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Yeah. You guys are so cute together. I love that. Yeah, I know. Well then what's one piece of advice I should give? Fucking a divorce. No! Oh my gosh! My piece of advice to the world is get that divorce. Get the divorce. Yeah, get the divorce.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Okay, yes, get the divorce.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Get that divorce.

SPEAKER_03 29:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

Okay, no. I already crashed out on the internet with that. We want to do that again.

SPEAKER_03 30:01

Take two. Take two.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

My piece of advice to the world from a nursing standpoint.

SPEAKER_02 30:07

Take care of me.

Surgery, Dismissal, And Advocacy

SPEAKER_01 30:08

As yeah, as well, I love taking care of you. You're my best friend. You're my soulmate. And I hope that everybody on social media can see that. And that we are here as a sister team to show the world how incredible people with disabilities are. I love it. And yeah, from a nursing perspective, I want people to treat people with disabilities for their abilities. That's my biggest thing. Look at them for all that they can do before you look at what they can't. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

And now where can people find you and follow you?

SPEAKER_01 30:44

So you can follow us on TikTok and Instagram. Okay. And YouTube. And YouTube. Everything is Sarah and Emily. And our TikTok and Instagram is my name, Sarah Carolyn. I gotta change that. I'm like the worst influencer ever. Like I'm a bad. And I have my own TikTok too. Yes, and Emily has her own TikTok. Okay, it's Emily. It's just Emily. Just Emily. And yeah, you can find us on TikTok and Instagram, Sarah Carolyn, and YouTube, Sarah and Emily.

SPEAKER_03 31:13

We'll leave the link in the description below, like this.

SPEAKER_01 31:15

Yeah. Oh, yeah, thank you doing that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

Subscribe.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

Can you say follow, subscribe?

SPEAKER_00 31:23

Follow, subscribe, and make sure to click that notification bell.

SPEAKER_03 31:27

Oh, click that notification bell.

SPEAKER_00 31:29

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 31:30

Yes. You got it, girl. Hey.

SPEAKER_03 31:33

Well, thank you guys so much for being here. You guys have been an inspiration to us. Um, and I really just hope that you guys keep on growing your followers and you know, growing your base of influence. Thank you so much, Emily. Thank you, Sarah.

SPEAKER_01 31:44

Of course. Thank you so much for having us. This has been such an incredible opportunity for us. We love what you are doing with simple nursing. No, seriously, we do. You have inspired so many nurses and nursing students. So it is a true honor for us to be here with you.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

Thank you so much. I do appreciate that.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

We'll be back for part two about the divorce. I'm kidding.

SPEAKER_03 32:05

That's right. And the boyfriend. All right, guys, that wraps it up here. Thank you so much for watching. And always remember don't let the bed pans bite.