Frances Byrd
PRN
Frances is a Bandera native, graduating from BHS in 1998. She became an EMT at 19 and worked for Bandera County EMS for several years (when it was still a volunteer system.) She has been an ARMY wife since 2000, having been stationed at Ft Campbell, Ky, Schweinfurt, Germany, and most recently Ft Sill, Oklahoma. She is a mom to 4 girls and 2 boys so most of her time is spent guiding them to (hopefully) be their most wonderful, authentic selves, and helpful, compassionate, and productive members of society.
She recently moved back to Bandera County to be closer to family now that her husband is retired from the military. She has been an LPN for quite a while, and is currently back in school to further her education. (LPN-to-RN so can I count this as “Green to Gold”? LOL!)
My Why:
With a sister who was a long time addict, who committed suicide in 2017, a husband who bravely and productively lives with PTSD, and a personal history of my own demons and PTSD, I am a huge advocate for holistic medical care, and bringing awareness to mental healthcare improvement. Psychiatric nursing is where my heart is drawn. I have a long history of personal experiences with the difficulties of chemical dependency and mental health disorders. I truly believe that we shouldn’t be conditioned to think that mental illness is a weakness, and that it is something to be looked down on. We need to be educating the world that everything is connected and our minds need to be treated with the same concern as the rest of our body.
My father was in the Navy. My bonus dad served in the ARMY. My sister was a wonderful, creative, compassionate human being. And I do this for them.
