Sheri Dungan
Episode 203

Narrator: Welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. Join your host, Japhet De Oliveira with his guest today and discover the moments that shape us, our families and communities.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, welcome friends to another episode of The Story and Experience podcast. I'm delighted to be able to sit across the table with our guest today, and if you're brand new to the podcast, we have 100 questions. They cover a series of experiences and stories of this individual that shaped them into the leader that they are today. I'm going to ask the first 10, and then they get to pick between 11 and 100 and closer you get to 100 the more vulnerable and more open they are. So let's dive in and I'll ask the first one. Could you tell us your name and does anybody ever mispronounce it?

Sheri Dungan: So Sheri Dungan and I mispronounced my last name when I got married, consistently.

Japhet De Oliveira: What?

Sheri Dungan: So Duncan Donuts, Dungan.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, that's good.

Sheri Dungan: A little confusing, but they always spell Sheri wrong.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, I can imagine. Yours is SH instead of CH. Yeah. All right.

Sheri Dungan: Correct.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. Sheri, what do you do for work?

Sheri Dungan: I am the system clinical specialist for the emergency department.

Japhet De Oliveira: For Adventist Health, right? So tell us a little bit what that means.

Sheri Dungan: That's a good question.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: I think it means we do a little bit of everything, but primarily focusing with our emergency departments on bringing best practices together. So getting our amazing leaders all working together instead of us working separately and sharing best ideas, best practices, and what's working well.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow. Wow. That's actually really good. That's exciting. You enjoy it?

Sheri Dungan: I really do enjoy it.

Japhet De Oliveira: You love it.

Sheri Dungan: I love working with our leader. The emergency department leaders are so amazing and brings so much to our community.

Japhet De Oliveira: I've got to ask the bonus question here. Have you watched this TV series, The Pitt?

Sheri Dungan: Yes, my gosh, so good.

Japhet De Oliveira: So good.

Sheri Dungan: Sorry. I really like it.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. All right. Anybody who's in the emergency department, like I've got to ask.

Sheri Dungan: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Hey, that's fantastic. Now Sheri, where were you born?

Sheri Dungan: I was born in Southern California down in Los Angeles. Born-

Japhet De Oliveira: Did you grow up there?

Sheri Dungan: I was born and raised in Simi, so born in Los Angeles, but just that's where the Kaiser was.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. That's fantastic. Now, you work in Simi right now?

Sheri Dungan: Yes, that's where my home base is.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, all right. Hey, that's fantastic. When you were a child growing up, what did you imagine you would grow up to be?

Sheri Dungan: So I always thought I was going to be a doctor.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really?

Sheri Dungan: Since the age of five, I wanted to be a doctor.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. Where did that come from?

Sheri Dungan: I was sitting, it was a physician we had and after she did the normal little physical, she would bring us into her room and she would talk to us and talk to ... when I say us, me and my mom, and talk to us about the visit and I just thought it was so nice the time she would take with us and it was just, I don't know, I'm like, I'm going to be here one day. I didn't realize the grades you needed to have.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's fantastic. Well, hey, look at you now working in hospital system and ED and helping everybody get the best practices. It's great.

Sheri Dungan: I love what I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: How did it end up from ... tell us a little bit about the journey from how you ended up in this way, because you were a nurse first, right?

Sheri Dungan: Still a nurse.

Japhet De Oliveira: Still a nurse. All right, all right. Okay.

Sheri Dungan: Plans had to change. Life changed. So I went ahead and decided I'm going to go into nursing school so that way I can eventually become a doctor. And I did all my schooling in Moorpark, which is a community college close to Simi Valley, which led for all my backgrounds and all of my training to be actually at Simi Hospital.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Sheri Dungan: So I did all my training, I started working there as a floor nurse in med-surg. From med-surg, I went into home health with some pediatric oncology and then, went into the ER and said, I will never go back to school. I want to be a nurse forever.

Japhet De Oliveira: You love it too much.

Sheri Dungan: Love being at the bedside, caring for the nurses and went from being bedside nurse to preceptor, helping train new nurses to charge nurse. Then we implemented this thing called Cerner and they asked for help, so I offered to help. Ended up getting into an education role, then went into clinical informatics. Always stayed on the floor though a couple of days a week while all doing that. And then got asked to be the manager, was working as the manager and then ... but was part-time manager, which was really weird.

And then, started here part-time as the clinical specialist and then, was faced with the challenge and that was during COVID, right when COVID started. And then with the challenge of where we need you full-time in both places, so we need you to pick one.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Sheri Dungan: And it was really hard, but with the changes that was coming from corporate with wanting us to unite and just really wanting to help us all unite together, I went ahead and took the corporate position

Japhet De Oliveira: And build a better patient experience.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's great. Hey, that's fantastic. That's fantastic. Now, some practical questions. Are you an early riser or late night owl?

Sheri Dungan: Early.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, what's early?

Sheri Dungan: Early, maybe not quite too early, but I like ... I set my alarm for six, so I don't sleep past six, but usually I'll wake up between five and six on my own.

Japhet De Oliveira: Do you beat the alarm always?

Sheri Dungan: Not always, but most of the time, I try.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, and when you wake up in the morning, do you have a ... I see you've got water or something in front of you here. Do you have liquid green smoothie, a tea, coffee, what's your first drink of the day?

Sheri Dungan: Water.

Japhet De Oliveira: Water.

Sheri Dungan: I keep this by my bedside.

Japhet De Oliveira: Really? Okay.

Sheri Dungan: I like it very cold.

Japhet De Oliveira: Very cold, okay.

Sheri Dungan: So that's why I'm using the thermos and so I just always have cold water with me.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. All right, that's good. That's good. If people describe your personality, would they say you are an introvert or an extrovert?

Sheri Dungan: I think more of an extrovert.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. You think-

Sheri Dungan: Just more. Just a little. I love just talking with people, meeting with people, hearing their stories.

Japhet De Oliveira: I've got to ask you, you know about ... this is again, bonus question. In an ER, ED, is there a certain type of personality that is more contracted to work at that heightened level of pressure?

Sheri Dungan: I think more extroverts.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: We do have some amazing introverts who will just hide out and they're your secret little superstars that come out.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay, okay, okay.

Sheri Dungan: But the extroverts just needing to be in there because when patients come in, this isn't normal for us and for them, this is the biggest emergency ever.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. Always.

Sheri Dungan: No matter what it is. This isn't normal for them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah, that's true. That's true. Yes. That's good. Hey, I like that a lot. All right, let me ask you this, this morning, what was the first thought that went through your mind?

Sheri Dungan: So it was between, did I order all the Christmas pajamas and how was today going to go?

Japhet De Oliveira: Christmas pajamas, that's good. Is this the Christmas gift like Christmas Eve?

Sheri Dungan: So every year, we have four children, so we buy all of them matching Christmas outfits and then now, we have three significant others and four grandchildren. And so, it just keeps expanding. I got to make sure I get them all.

Japhet De Oliveira: I do the same thing.

Sheri Dungan: That's so awesome.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm ordering mine next week. Same thing with my kids. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: That is the best.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, no, it's good. It's good. That's fantastic. It's great that you do do that as well. All right, so I'm glad you checked that out. All right, here's a leadership question. Are you a backseat driver?

Sheri Dungan: No.

Japhet De Oliveira: No.

Sheri Dungan: I don't think I'm a backseat driver. If we have somebody that's leading, I'm really good to follow the lead, but if not, I will jump in as the leader. And I really think my strength is a facilitator. So bringing, like I said, all of our leaders together and helping facilitate their knowledge and share what they've learned.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. Good, good. All right, the floor is open. Which number would you like to go to first? This is exciting.

Sheri Dungan: Boy. Yes, this is exciting.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's exciting. That's exciting.

Sheri Dungan: Okay, let's see. Let's go with 12.

Japhet De Oliveira: Twelve, all right. What is your favorite movie or book of all time?

Sheri Dungan: Let's talk about it just a little bit. It's not a simple answer.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sheri Dungan: It's Small Little Things and it's a fiction book, but to my embarrassment, I thought it was going to be a non-fiction book and I was going to learn ... I like to research and learn a little bit more about bias and it was referred to me at a conference that I went to. And so, I was listening to this book and I thought, this is amazing. How is this ... I'm like, "Oh, I'm learning through fiction." It was a great way to learn more about bias, but it was a fiction book.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great. That's great. That's good. Are you an audiobook person or a-

Sheri Dungan: 100% audio, especially when I go to visit the sites. Some of our sites are pretty far away from ... so I just listen to a book and enjoy. I used to always be self-help and learning books, so I try to rotate one of those in between the fun enjoyable books.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. And one speed, 1.5, two speed.

Sheri Dungan: 1.2.

Japhet De Oliveira: 1.2. All right, these are very important questions. All right, here we go. From number 12, where do you want to go next?

Sheri Dungan: Let's just rotate those to 21.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. All right. Share the best compliment you've ever received.

Sheri Dungan: Just for disclosure, we do have a waiver from this patient that I'm going to share a little bit about.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sheri Dungan: And so patient came in with his family and chest pain and ended up quoting on us while we were in the ER, as we were walking down to the cath lab. It was just one of those, wow, it's those things that not you're really ... you're prepared for. And he's like, "This is why I go with the monitor." And we did CPR on him for about 50 minutes and then got down to the cath lab, got everything he needed. Where it comes to, where I thought it was a compliment is I happened to run into him in the post office, and saw him there.

And he was just so grateful, and I'm like, it's doing my job. And again, kind of going back to that for emergency, this is our normal life, this is theirs. And he was just so grateful he wanted to give back. And so, we actually started a heart patient support group together at the hospital. He was a marriage family therapist. And so, we started the support group and to me, that was the biggest compliment ever that somebody would want to give back for me doing my job.

Japhet De Oliveira: What an amazing moment. That's good.

Sheri Dungan: Wonderful.

Japhet De Oliveira: I love that story. Thank you for sharing that. All right, good. That was 21. Next now.

Sheri Dungan: Let's pick something in the 30s, I guess, 32.

Japhet De Oliveira: Thirty-two. All right. If you were featured, Sheri, on the local news, what would the news story likely be?

Sheri Dungan: I would like it to be about what a wonderful grandmother I am but some of the news things I think is service. I'm out there in the community quite a bit volunteering. So I'll see me teaching hands-only CPR as one of my passions. And so, I kind of see that throughout news articles.

Japhet De Oliveira: You love the education side, don't you?

Sheri Dungan: I do a little bit.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah. I love teaching patients a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. That's great. Good. All right, that was 32. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: Let's go to 42.

Japhet De Oliveira: Forty-two. All right. Thinking about your phone, what's the photo on your phone, could you tell us the photo and the story behind it?

Sheri Dungan: Yes. I got to show you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. It's beautiful. Yes. Is that in Venice.

Sheri Dungan: Yes, it was a photo in Venice.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's a good photo.

Sheri Dungan: My husband loves to take photos and he takes the most amazing photos ever.

Japhet De Oliveira: It's amazing. You guys-

Sheri Dungan: That one was mine.

Japhet De Oliveira: That was yours.

Sheri Dungan: That's why I love it so much.

Japhet De Oliveira: You need to describe it.

Sheri Dungan: Okay. So we were on one of those boats that you see in the James Bond movies. It wasn't the gondola, it was like the James Bond's fast ones. And it has the Italian flag in the back. And we were looking back at one of the bridges that go across one of the channels. Really colorful and vibrant. And it was for my 40th birthday. We had gone down there and it was just such a wonderful trip, and all the photos are always his because they're so perfect and this one was actually mine.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good. Hey, well done. It's good to have one photo.

Sheri Dungan: Yes. One. I get one.

Japhet De Oliveira: You get one. All right, where next now? That was 42.

Sheri Dungan: Let's just go down to 43.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. Tell us about the best gift you've ever received.

Sheri Dungan: Sometimes if I store it right, they're not short. That's a little bit ... I got to give you-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's okay. I love the context.

Sheri Dungan: Okay.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes. And we love it. We love it.

Sheri Dungan: I always feel as we get older, I always put gifts, I love giving gifts and stuff, and I spend a lot of time, what does this person really like? And for me, I buy what I want. I don't know if I need something, I go buy it. And so, when we come to Christmas, so I constantly tell my kids I want service, give service and take a photo for me for service. So one year they went out and they did different volunteering from donating blood to picking up trash at the beach to everything around the moon.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's great.

Sheri Dungan: I have a frame in my kitchen and it says just serve. And the kids all see who can do the next service project, so there are photos on the front of this frame.

Japhet De Oliveira: Wow.

Sheri Dungan: For my birthday this last year ... I don't want to get teary-eyed. I work here local, I work at a corporate office. And my daughter is actually on our team and she worked with everybody and everybody from my whole team went out and did service. And she put together a PowerPoint of ... And I think our team is close, but because we're virtual, we all work in different areas. And so not only that, but my friends, my family, extended friends from our church, so many different people went out and gave service and then, she put it together in a PowerPoint and-

Japhet De Oliveira: That's beautiful.

Sheri Dungan: It was just, yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's okay. That's beautiful.

Sheri Dungan: So it was the most amazing gift ever.

Japhet De Oliveira: I wonder if she knows you-

Sheri Dungan: Just a little.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. What a thoughtful gift. That's great. All right, good. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: Let's try 47.

Japhet De Oliveira: Forty-seven. You just met someone, what do you want them to know about you and why?

Sheri Dungan: I want them to know that sometimes I jump ahead and I very want to help and sometimes the help can come back, like just stop and listen. I'm like, how can I fix it? How can I fix it? And my intention is always to be helpful, not to overstep or be rude. I just want to help, and sometimes I just need ... helping is listening.

Japhet De Oliveira: You're quick.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah, and you need to settle down and listen sometimes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Where did the quickness come from? Is it something you were born that way?

Sheri Dungan: I don't know if it was always just go, go, go. If you ask my mom from day one, she had to put locks everywhere on doors, because I would just escape and just have to go and move, which fit really well into the ER.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: Eat and go and constantly moving.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, that's great. All right, that's good. You know what I'm going to ask next?

Sheri Dungan: You want one of those numbers?

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, I do.

Sheri Dungan: Let's skip down to 52.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fifty-two. All right. Share what motivates you.

Sheri Dungan: Between my faith and family. Both of those are just strong motivators.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: Having the family be part of the faith.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Sheri Dungan: But those little grandchildren, I never thought I could have the ... You love your children so much and then all of a sudden-

Japhet De Oliveira: And then, the capacity.

Sheri Dungan: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes.

Sheri Dungan: That amazing capacity.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. And you get to hand them back.

Sheri Dungan: That's how it works. Thank you. Bye.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's fantastic. I'm looking forward to being a grandparent. I really am. Can't wait. That's great.

Sheri Dungan: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right, so that was 52. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: Let's try 55.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fifty-five. Share about something that actually frightens you.

Sheri Dungan: I think not being there when my family or somebody needs me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, I can see that.

Sheri Dungan: I just always worry about not being available or not being there.

Japhet De Oliveira: Well you work in an area where you are there for everyone, so not being able to be there. That makes sense.

Sheri Dungan: That scares me.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, yeah. No, I hear you. I hear you. All right. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 57?

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. If you had to endorse a brand, like Sheri says, "Oh I approve of this, what brand would it be and why?"

Sheri Dungan: These questions. I am really not a name-brand person.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, this is going to be fun then.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah. I am not into superstars or actresses. I'm not into ... it's-

Japhet De Oliveira: Is there a product or idea or ...

Sheri Dungan: You know what, I'd probably have to ... if I had to pick something, I'd probably go with Mac or Apple, like Apple products.

Japhet De Oliveira: You answered so well. All our listeners, we finally have somebody answered the question correctly. All right, so an Apple device.

Sheri Dungan: I appreciate that.

Japhet De Oliveira: And why?

Sheri Dungan: Just the multiple uses. So going a little personal, again, not the simple answer. I was recently diagnosed with a heart condition of HL fib.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sheri Dungan: And my watch is the one who told me. I thought for-

Japhet De Oliveira: It's amazing, isn't it?

Sheri Dungan: Several years I was just having panic attacks and I was getting tacky and finally looked at my little watch and saw Afib. I'm like, "Oh, you're so wrong." So I went to work and I'm short of breath. I'm like, "Oh, it's still Afib."

Japhet De Oliveira: It's amazing what it can do.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah, and so I ended up having surgery and yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Fantastic.

Sheri Dungan: So I just think it's a great little tool to help.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yes, it's really good. Love that. Good, good. All right. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 61.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sixty-one. All right. Tell us about a time in your life that required incredible courage.

Sheri Dungan: I'm going to say I had my first child, very young. Very, very young. And it took courage to make some of the decisions I made and to the love. And it was a scary time, but it took a lot.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Who was your strongest support at that time? This is 61-A.

Sheri Dungan: We like the A questions.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: Actually my mom. My mom was by my side. There was ups and downs of course.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sure.

Sheri Dungan: But she was there supporting me and loving me and helped give me the courage that I needed.

Japhet De Oliveira: And she knows that today.

Sheri Dungan: I hope so.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. That's really good. That's really good. I hope she listens to this and gets to hear this moment. All right, good. All right, that was 61. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 64.

Japhet De Oliveira: All right. When you look back in your life, could you tell us about a moment where it was like, what was I thinking?

Sheri Dungan: You know what, not to go back on stories, but almost the time of becoming a nurse and working as a nurse and working at the bedside and what was I thinking, wanting to be doctor. The doctors are in and out so quick. Amazing. And we have amazing doctors throughout our system, but I think it takes different personalities for each and everything. And to be the nurse, to be at the bedside, to be able to compassion and care. I also work as a forensic nurse in our community. And so the fact that I ever wanted to be a doctor is why there was no ... and just loving what I do.

Japhet De Oliveira: What is a forensic nurse?

Sheri Dungan: So a forensic nurse is a nurse that collects evidence for the court.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay.

Sheri Dungan: So, I do all the child abuse, child sexual assault, and adult sexual assault cases.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's intense.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. Yeah. Well, thank you for doing that.

Sheri Dungan: Thank you.

Japhet De Oliveira: Delicate and difficult area. So it takes a unique personality. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: It does.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, it does. Yeah. How do you replenish yourself?

Sheri Dungan: Family. I know I keep going to my family.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, that's good.

Sheri Dungan: I love hiking. So hiking is a good ... get outdoors. It's something I've really enjoyed with hiking, but just being around the family. We do family dinner every Sunday. We are up to 13 in our immediate, my parents live in the back house and so it's just ... The family really just gives back to me, it gives me my purpose.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's really good. I love that they're all together. It's good.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah, it's nice.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good. All right. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 66?

Japhet De Oliveira: Sixty-six. All right. Tell us about one of your favorite songs and what do you love about it?

Sheri Dungan: So I have two favorite songs.

Japhet De Oliveira: Good. All right.

Sheri Dungan: So first one, just Honey, I'm Home by Shania Twain.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Shania Twain is good.

Sheri Dungan: I just love the upbeat, jumping around, but one of my favorite parts about it was when my kids had to go to school and they had to do a lip-syncing for something. I don't remember all the details of it. I just remember hearing the stories from them. And then my older son just belted it out and knew every word to it. And they're looking at him like, "Wait, what are you singing?"

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's good.

Sheri Dungan: And then my other favorite one is, I'm a Child of God and it's a song that we sing to the ... A song we sing to the kids, and now, we sing them and my one granddaughter who's two, I'll be rocking her to sing her to sleep and she starts singing it with me and just brings tears to my eyes.

Japhet De Oliveira: That would bring tears to mine too. Yeah. Great songs. Love them both. Love them both. All right. Hey, good. Where next now?

Sheri Dungan: How about 72?

Japhet De Oliveira: Seventy-two. All right. Tell us about what you want to do when you retire, and then why are you waiting?

Sheri Dungan: That's a good question. Maybe I could ask my husband when I'm waiting. He just got to retire in October.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right.

Sheri Dungan: I've been told I need to work a little harder and make a little more money so before I can retire. And so we're just trying to get that financial security before I retire. And when I do travel and spend time with the grandchildren. I just-

Japhet De Oliveira: Those are two great things.

Sheri Dungan: Only two of them have kids and we have two more to go. So hopefully we'll get lots of time with them.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good.

Sheri Dungan: But spending time with them and traveling and seeing the rest of the world.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, family is amazing isn't it?

Sheri Dungan: It really is.

Japhet De Oliveira: And the world's just so interesting. Yeah. That's good. Love it. Love it. All right, good. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 74?

Japhet De Oliveira: Seventy-four. What gives you hope?

Sheri Dungan: So since I've said a lot about my grandchildren, let's go with the ... Something a little different because grandchildren would be my number one, but there is more. And it's seeing the new talent we have come in. So I do have the opportunity with working with the new ED nurses that come in and knowing that one day they're going to be there taking care of me and there's some scaries, but some hope on where we're building them and we're growing them.

We have a great program here where we're building them up and just hoping to give them that knowledge to be able to care for me one day.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah. So do you ever think about when you were their age?

Sheri Dungan: I do, and I always said, I would never say back in my day.

Japhet De Oliveira: I do that a lot of-

Sheri Dungan: Yes.

Japhet De Oliveira: I'm like, what was I like at their age? Yeah. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: I really do, and just that excitement. And it's ... One thing I do remember, I did have a preceptor or somebody training me and they said, look, you get us older nurses, we have that gut instinct, that lifetime knowledge, but we need the newer nurses who have that evidence-based practice, that bed. No, they didn't say evidence-based practice. That is a newer word. So I want to make sure anybody is going to call me out on that. But that new training, that new knowledge, and so combining that together makes it the best department ever.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey, it's good. I like this. I like that combination of the two. Where next?

Sheri Dungan: How about 82?

Japhet De Oliveira: Eighty-two. All right. If you could keep three possessions, what would they be and why, Sheri?

Sheri Dungan: Okay. I'm going to go with my family.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. All right. Okay. That would be one.

Sheri Dungan: I don't know if that's necessarily a possession.

Japhet De Oliveira: I was going to say, since you own them. Okay. Yeah, I'm with you.

Sheri Dungan: And definitely my faith. Faith in Heavenly Father, the build of the ... And we're going to go really materialistic and say my laptop.

Japhet De Oliveira: Okay. The Apple laptop. This is not a sponsored episode.

Sheri Dungan: It's not.

Japhet De Oliveira: Hey. Very practical. All right, that's great. I'll love all three of those. Good. All right, where next.

Sheri Dungan: How about 82?

Japhet De Oliveira: That was 82. Sorry.

Sheri Dungan: That was. Darn.

Japhet De Oliveira: My bad. My bad. That was 82. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: I'll stick with my twos. How about 83?

Japhet De Oliveira: Eighty-three. All right. Think about your childhood. A favorite childhood memory. What was it?

Sheri Dungan: It was our last camping trip before my father passed away and we always went camping on a regular basis when I was a child and he passed away at a very young age and he had planned this trip and we went to Yellowstone. I don't remember all the different places. I just remember being in the camper for what seemed like forever, but meeting with friends, because I had friends in different areas and stuff. And we went all the way up to Utah, I think, and drove back down.

But it was over two weeks in our camper and just with my mom, my brother and my dad. And then, that was during the summer and he had passed away in October.

Japhet De Oliveira: Sheri, I have to ask. Thank you for sharing that, but I would like to ... What would you say to somebody who has lost that parent at an early age?

Sheri Dungan: So if a parent is already lost, the memories. One of my favorite things recently has been in the Hispanic culture, Dia de los Muertos. Sorry, my Spanish is not good.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it's great. It's great.

Sheri Dungan: But it's for the day of the dead and it's taking that time to remember them because it's been for me over 40 years and still you can tell, still emotional.

Japhet De Oliveira: I know. He clearly loved you. You loved him. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: But where that love comes from was my mom. My mom never said anything bad about my dad. I know he wasn't perfect. I'm sure he wasn't.

Japhet De Oliveira: He didn't.

Sheri Dungan: Yeah. But she let him be perfect in my eyes.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: And so even when I wasn't the best daughter and might not think she was the best mom, she always let me think my dad was perfect. As I get older, I'm like, "Hmm, I've seen some of those pictures and those memories," but just always holding onto those memories. So my daughter-in-law has gone and I haven't even done it yet, and she has set up on her Credenza for the Day of the Dead and she has pictures of our parents and our grandparents and anyone who's passed. And then she tells the story to our grandchildren so they can remember them because they're not here to be with them.

Japhet De Oliveira: Yeah, that's beautiful. That's how they live on, we tell the stories, we remember ourselves. That's good. Sheri, Crazy, but we only have time for two more. So where would you like to go with your last two numbers? Thank you for sharing that as well. Yeah.

Sheri Dungan: How about 92?

Japhet De Oliveira: Ninety-two. All right. How would you like to be remembered?

Sheri Dungan: As someone who really cared? Someone that would be there if you needed them? I might not be there every day, but if you really needed me, I'd be there.

Japhet De Oliveira: That's good. That's really good. I like that. That's very strong. That's good. All right, last number.

Sheri Dungan: How about 97?

Japhet De Oliveira: Ninety-seven. All right. Tell us about a time when you did the right thing.

Sheri Dungan: I had some choices to make with my first child and I really think that I 100% made the right choice. And that's a hard personal one, so-

Japhet De Oliveira: I hear you. I hear you. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Sheri, thank you for your courage, your honesty, transparency and vulnerability. Yeah, it's an inspiration to others as well, to be remembered as somebody who cared. That's actually ... Wow, what a great fitting way that we should all be, right? That we actually are all known to be caring people. That'd be lovely. I appreciate it so much.

Sheri Dungan: Thank you so much for having me on an opportunity to share my story.

Japhet De Oliveira: No, it's fantastic. I am sure your family is going to enjoy listening to it and hearing about it. Hey, God bless you. And for everybody else, I just want to encourage them to do the same thing. Sit down with a friend, ask them good questions. We learn things about each other and we are better for it. Our stories actually shape each other, so God bless you. Thank you.

Sheri Dungan: Thank you.

Narrator: Thank you for joining us for The Story and Experience podcast. We invite you to read, watch, and submit your story and experience at adventisthealth.org/story. The Story and Experience podcast was brought to you by Adventist Health through the Office of Culture.