As Hurricane Helene’s water rose to engulf Ballad Health’s Unicoi Hospital last year, Cherie Davis found herself working together with her colleagues to get their patients onto the roof and out of harm’s way.
This past summer (2024), StoryCollab teamed up with Ballad Health, The Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), and ETSU’s Research Corporation to launch the Nurse Narratives Initiative. The initiative brings together nurses, patients, students, and faculty into digital storytelling workshops to share their stories with each other and the regional community. Cherie’s story reflects the honesty, courage, and empathy expressed in so many of these stories. Watch her story here. StoryCollab facilitator, Ryan Trauman, asked her to share her experience of taking the workshop and to reflect on the story she created. Their conversation is below.
What was it like watching your story for the first time after you finished making it?
You know, after the flood, I had not been able to cry. I hadn't been able to just cry over any of it. And it kind of concerned me a little. I thought, “Why am I not able to cry?” People would talk about the flood and other things, and even being out in the community, it's like, this breaks my heart. Why am I not able to cry?
And the first time I watched my story, I cried. I felt like it was very healing for me to be able to open up that avenue of emotional outlet, just to be able to cry.
So what is it like to now have a story that you can actually share with people?
I enjoy sharing it. This is my story. I want to share my experience. Instead of calling it my story, I say I'd like to share my experience with you.
The first people that I sent the finished product to were my two brothers, because their reaction was probably the most important to me. So, you know, I just remember being excited to share it. They both said, “We're very proud of you.” That's one thing about this story. The memories that it evoked, the past memories that it brought up. So having validation from my brothers saying, “You did a good job on this”, like they basically approved of me.
Yesterday I went into another hospital and I was in the gift shop, and the lady that was there actually used to volunteer at our hospital gift shop. I reminded her and she said, “That's where I know you from! Oh, my goodness, were you there that day?”
“Yes.”
“Were you on the roof?”
“Yes I was.” And I said something about sharing my experience.
And she said, “Oh! My daughter forwarded me a little video of that. Was that you? Was that your story?”
“Well, was it called ‘Through the Waters?’”
And she said “Ha! It was! Oh, I can't believe I'm getting to meet you. That was just so tremendous!” And so that was kind of fun to see somebody that I really didn't know by name had been sent the story by someone else I didn’t even know.
What do you hope people take away from the story once they watch it?
That no matter what storm you're going through in life, whether it's something at work, something at home, whether it's mental, physical, whether you're literally being surrounded by your biggest fear – that God can be there, will be there with you and give you peace and see you through it.
Did anything about the workshop surprise you?
I think what I found most surprising was the fact that I was able to tell the story in my own words and that it wasn't changed. I like the fact that I was able to just share my experience, how I felt about it. I was given the liberty to do that.
Were you a little bit worried that we were going to ask you to tell your story in a certain way or say certain things?
Yes. A lot of these stories are about nursing being a collaborative thing. And I feel like the background of my story had a lot to do with nursing, but I really felt like the whole bottom line of my story—what I wanted people to take away from it—was God's faithfulness and how He's with you through storms, and just that He took the greatest fear of my entire life, surrounded me with it, yet gave me peace to go through it. I love the fact that it's called “Through the Waters.”
Were you a little worried that we weren't going to be interested in you sharing your faith as part of your story?
Exactly. I never felt like anybody was taking over my story. I felt like I was being helped to enhance my story because I didn't want my story to be just about me. You know, “Look what I went through. Look what I did!” I didn't want my story to be about that. I wanted my story to be about my faith. So I never at any point felt like my story was being taken over.
And I really didn't want to put in the parts of why I was afraid of floods. I really didn't even want to go there. And then, you know, Allison [workshop facilitator] just very gently explained that those things are kind of important to understand the magnitude of my fear.
What was it like going through the workshop with other nurses?
It was very important when we first started. When I first wrote my story, it was many pages. I needed to narrow it way down. It helped so much having the story circle with everybody else to listen to each other's stories and give feedback to see how they were honing their story. It helped tremendously to hear other people's stories because we were all kind of a cohort going through this together.
It was also nice between the weekly sessions to have other people that were going through the same process. If I had a question on something, I could reach out, and someone was always good to jump in and help answer.
What was it like hearing the stories of the other nurses in the workshop?
Honestly, when I heard some of the stories, I thought, “Well, that's a tough act to follow!” because it was just really tremendous. I love the fact that in our group, each story was so incredibly different. It wasn't like, you know, five or six people getting together and telling their perception of the same event. They were totally different experiences. And it was just incredible to hear other people's stories.
Do you have any advice for somebody thinking about signing up for one of these Nurse Narrative workshops?
I would strongly encourage anybody that is given the opportunity or can seek out the opportunity to share their story. Never think, “Well, my story doesn't matter. My story's not about a flood. My story is not about a heroic nursing event.” Never, ever think that your story doesn't matter because you never know who's on the other side of hearing your story, what that's going to do for somebody.
I can't encourage people enough to participate in an opportunity to share your story, because you don't know what it's going to do for you, but you also don't know who else it's going to affect or impact. Never, ever underestimate the power or the strength of your story.
That's beautifully said. Thank you.
This Nurse Narratives Initiative is a collaboration among Ballad Health, The Tennessee Center for Nursing Advancement at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), and StoryCollab. Do you have any thoughts on the value that this initiative brings to Ballad Health or to ETSU or to the regional community?
I feel like the value can't be measured for the program and the people that participate in it. I've met so many people and I've heard them talk about their experience with different patients in the past, or things that have happened to them. And I'm just like, “Oh my gosh, you need to tell that story!” So I just don't think you can put a value on it.
It’s very important for the community to see Ballad Health put out good stories, positive things. I feel like people need to know that what really makes up Ballad Health [or any healthcare system] is all these people who are telling these stories.
This is what Ballad's made up of. And it's not just corporate. It's not just decisions they make in the community. I just wish more of these stories could be told.
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You can learn more about the challenges and successes of nurses in the region, as well as the Nurse Narratives Initiative in an upcoming documentary from Plan A Films to be released in 2025. The documentary follows a day in the life of several nurses from the area, as they care for patients, support their colleagues, and reflect on the vital role they play in their community. Cherie will be one of the nurses profiled in the film. Please send us a note at our StoryCollab contact page, and we’ll notify you about the premiere!.
If you are a nurse in the Ballad Health system, we know you have a story to share. Maybe an unexpected moment when a patient taught you something about empathy. Maybe one of your colleagues knew exactly what you needed when you couldn’t ask for it yourself. Or maybe you advocated for a patient when no one else thought to do so.
Sign up now for one of our remaining Nurse Narratives 90-Minute Story Sessions (via Zoom). They are free and there’s nothing you need to do to prepare. We would love to hear your story!
