Sara (Sally) Conkle, a 40-year Aultman employee and graduate of Aultman Hospital School of Nursing, grew up with a love for writing. But after high school, she traded her pen for a career in nursing. Years later, after nursing stints on 4 South, 6 East, Emergency, Home Care, Hospice and finally Palliative Care, she picked up writing again. Through the years, her work in health care brought laughter, heartache and many patient stories – and writing became therapeutic for Sara.

Since the early 90s, Sara has shared her heart on paper. More recently, she decided to share her stories with others. She’s written and published stories in “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” “Pulse Voice for the Heart of Medicine” and a handful of devotionals.

This past year, Sara’s submission to “Chicken Soup for the Soul” allowed her to share a heartwarming, personal story that spanned her nursing career. When Sara became a Hospice nurse, little did she know that she would be taking care of the experienced, no-nonsense nurse that had kept her on her toes as a new grad. 25 years earlier, Fran Stentz wore an all-white uniform, a white cap and had no tolerance for mistakes. Sara was fearful and working those first few months with Mrs. Stentz was stressful.

The story tells of their uneasy beginning, their unlikely friendship and how Sara’s early training from Fran came full circle. Life is funny. Sometimes, when we are fortunate, our co-workers become our friends - almost our family. To read this heartfelt story, look for Sara’s story, Fran on Facebook, in the most recent Chicken Soup publication, “Messages from Heaven and Other Miracles.”