Julianna Paradisi, RN, OCN, is a multimedia artist who says she finds inspiration "where science, humanity, and art converge." Her work has appeared in numerous group and solo shows in Oregon and Washington. As a nurse she worked in pediatric ICUs for 15 years before transitioning to adult outpatient oncology nursing in 2001, a move prompted by her own treatment for breast cancer. That experience led her to "plan a new life-one that included being an artist."
About Love You to Death, Paradisi says, "I was dating a pharmacist, and things were getting serious. I worried about marriage. Would it interfere with my freedom to make art?
"At the outpatient clinic, I met a couple who'd been married for more than 50 years. They came several times a week for the wife's treatment. She was often confused and disoriented. Her husband, who had diabetes, was her caretaker. He sat at the bedside, tickling her polished toes during her infusions. I was surprised one day when, from her stupor, she called for a nurse. She said her husband was in trouble and asked me to check his blood sugar. He was slumped over, and his blood sugar was indeed low; he revived on orange juice.
"I learned that if I'm lucky to live long enough, in a happy marriage, I could experience something deeper than love: devotion. As for my fear that marriage might interfere with art making? The photographer of Love You to Death is my husband, David Forinash, RPh."
Sylvia Foley
AJN senior editor