by Megan O'Brian

Created on: November 11, 2008   Last Updated: November 16, 2008

I was born in 1943 and from a very young age ( age 5 to be exact ) have felt very strongly that the most important question to me is "why" ? It is the question that I have asked quite often thoughout my life when trying to make sense of situations that made no sense to me and I needed answers. To this day the answers I received never clarified any of the situations that I felt could have been avoided if common sense had been employed or in other situations someone had cared enough to intervene rather than walk away and not get involved .

I was five years old when my father was brutally beaten by union members because he refused to join the union in a factory where he worked. They had attacked him as he was walking home from work. I remember I was waiting for him to come home, sitting on the front stoop of our home in Brooklyn, New York and wondering why he was late. A car drove up and pulled in near our home - the door was pushed open by someone in the back seat and my father was pushed out onto the sidewalk bloodied and semi-conscious. My mother and I ran down the stairs, she went to my father but I ran to the car as it started to pull away and I grabbed the handle of the front door of that car . I don't know how I did it but I managed to get into the front seat where I smashed my fist into the face of the driver , screaming and yelling at him for hurting my father. My rage was so intense that I have no idea of how many times I was able to punch and scratch that man's face but he was bleeding profusely before the men who were in the back seat were able to drag me away and throw me out of the car. My childhood was lost that day. I grew up that day and it set the course of my life that I have followed ever since.

I became a nurse and became an advocate for patient's and their right to proper treatment. I questioned doctor's when they refused to order necessary treatments for acutely ill elderly patients. I also refused to accept the answer to my question "why" and their answer was - "they are old and they won't be helped by any treatment". I would go straight to the Administrator of the facility to report the doctor and would let the Administrator know that I was going to notify the patient's family as to what was NOT being done for their loved one. Treatment always began shortly after I would leave the Administrator's office and the patient's responded well and survived. I have made it my life's work to advise all patient's of their right to proper treatment no matter what their age and advised them to never hesitate to ask "why" of their doctor when they had concerns about a treatment for themselves or their loved ones.

I believe in treating people fairly and while life isn't always fair, no one should ever be afraid to ask "why" when they feel that anyone is treating them unfairly.

I also believe in "stepping in" to help anyone who is being abused and have often physically stepped between an abusive person and his victim, stoppimg the abuse and getting the victim to safety and to a safe haven after receiving medical treatment. No one should ever look the other way when they see a person in need of help but many people do just that leaving me with that age old question of "why" ?

The word "why" when put as a question might seem to many to be small and insignificant but it isn't. It can change the course of a person's life in a good way when they question a decision that seems out of place to them. I will continue to tell people to always ask "why" when they need to - it could save their life and to me that's the ultimate goal . A goal that everyone has the right to achieve and will achieve if they ask "why" when they have questions and need answers.

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