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Teresa L. Velzy Bowers Ferguson

Biography

Teresa L. Velzy Bowers, 35, has cared for paraplegics and quadriplegics in her job as a home health nurse in rural Georgia. She commutes for more than two hours each way to attend Floyd College in Rome, GA, to become a registered nurse rather than a licensed practical nurse. She started caring for elderly patients as a nursing assistant at the age of 16 and hopes to specialize in geriatrics after graduation. She not only earned all A's, but also spent endless hours helping fellow students through demanding courses.

Teresa Velzy Bowers provides home health care for quadriplegics and paraplegics in rural Georgia. After working with elderly persons for most of her nursing career, she was not sure what to expect. To her surprise, she discovered that one of her patients, a 55-year-old man paralyzed from the neck down for 35 years, coached Little League and high school baseball and worked full-time from his wheelchair. Although he had been diagnosed with cancer, went through several operations, and is now receiving chemotherapy, he is still on the job and baby-sits his granddaughter in the afternoon. "He has certainly changed my perspective of quadriplegics, as well as strengthened my faith in the human spirit," Ms. Bowers wrote.

Teresa's career reflects her desire to provide ever better care. She worked through high school as a nursing assistant in a long-term care facility, then studied to become a licensed practical nurse and worked in nursing homes. She seized the opportunity to return to school again to qualify as a registered nurse. Ms. Bowers recorded a perfect 4.0 grade point average at Floyd College, despite commuting more than two hours a day to attend classes. In addition, she spent many hours of her time to help other students, who were struggling, to pass the nursing courses.

She hopes to become a nurse practitioner in rural Georgia, owning her own home health care agency with 100 clients and a large staff of nurses and nursing assistants, all specializing in the care of the elderly. "With age, health is likely to deteriorate, but that doesn't mean that the quality of life cannot be maintained as long as possible," she wrote. "The quality of life is far more important than the length of it."

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