Wuz good world?
I’m “MaddHadda”
I am a 38 year old RN (Registered Nurse) living in the Northwest. I was born and raised in Southern California. I refer to it that way since I moved around a lot as a child. I am a mixed-race human with an African American father, and a Caucasian mother. My brother and I were raised by our Dad, as our mother passed away when I was around four years old. I can hear some of you thinking, “Aww, he never knew his mother.” Unfortunately, an absent parent is a common challenge for those of us raised in the hood. Since I was raised by a single parent, to say the least, we were impecunious (that’s a fancy way of saying “broke”).
As a youngin’ I was always getting into something. Either I was out gettin’ into trouble with my older brother and my friends, or I was on a solo mission doing something that would definitely earn me a good ole’ fashioned whoopin’. Considering that I was a rambunctious teenager, with very little focus, I quit all efforts of academics in the 9th grade. A decision that had its benefits and detriments. I quickly acquired a job working with my dad at an auto body repair shop; another decision that had its perks and downfalls. Let me explain; I was 15 years old going through puberty in a major way, working with my dad, doing a job I truly loathed. Certainly a winning combination wouldn’t ya say? On top of the fact that I was failing in school and was spending most of my time pursuing the girls; (My dad must have held his head high with pride…LOL!) The benefit is I learned to fix cars in and out, I actually know more about cars than I really want to know. I wound up working in the auto body repair industry for 15 years and became quite a skilled craftsman.
At the age of 17, my dad decided to move to the rain inundated Northwest, away from the sunny skies of Southern California. I can tell you for certain I felt all kinds shock; from culture shock down to hypothermic shock. I have now lived in the Northwest for 20 years and I still have not adjusted to everything here. Little did I know, I moved here to met my future wife. She has been a true God send for me! She, and my future mother-in-law, convinced me to earn my GED. After several months of badgering me to take the test, I registered at the local community college and earned my GED. Guess what ya’ll? I passed the first time I took the test! That’s right! The high school dropout banged that out no sweat. (Pats self on the back!)
During the time of working at the body shop and doubling as a part time Hip-Hop artist, (which I will discuss further at a later time), led to a series of events that caused me to pursue a career as a nurse. The decision to become a nurse has been one of enormous challenges. From returning to school as a previous dropout, to living in a 1984 RV with my wife and two kids. During this time I found that my family and I were really tight and full of love for each other…aw! But, in all seriousness, I was able to maintain a 3.7 GPA through all the challenges. Not too bad for a brotha who had a strong disdain for school.
So, I graduated college in May of 2015 with a bachelors degree of science in nursing. Fa Sho! Ya boy is a nurse now. The transition from working on cars to helping people when they are at a critical point in their life is quite humbling. I love my new job! I cannot believe I get paid to do this. My job is scary because I help people who are really sick; but my job is rewarding because I get to actually see people recover from terrible illnesses.
This brings me to what this blog/website is going to be about. I want to share my perspective of the medical world through the eyes of someone from the hood. I want to help decipher the mysteries of medical jargon for the average person, and make it a little more easy to understand. Of course, I will never reveal names, or any other personal information. My aim is to bring a little comedy relief and understanding to an otherwise scary and mysterious industry. I am also going to share different facets of who I am. From the music I create, to my opinions of current events, and my view of life. I hope to learn from and share what I know with the world!
So here I am world, “MaddHadda the Hood Nurse”. Let’s have some fun!!!
Stay tuned. I will be adding to the website/blog on a regular basis with new music I have made and short videos about the events of the day. Enjoy!!