Ms. Brenda Johnson (oldest daughter of city councilman,
Joseph "Sunny" Vickers and Jackie Vickers) was born and raised in
Valdosta, Georgia, where she started her nursing career as a CNA. Brenda
completed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) School in 1983 at Fort Leonard
Wood, Missouri. Brenda then furthered her education by attending Valdosta
Technical Institute (VTI), completing a diploma for LVN (licensed vocational
nurse). In 1989 Brenda honorably placed 2nd in the State Nursing Competition.
Years later she returned to VTI as an adjunct instructor where she taught both
CNAs and LPN/LVNs. In an attempt to further her education towards an RN, Brenda
took prerequisite classes at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) and
Valdosta State University for a total of two years. Brenda relocated to Dallas,
Texas, in 2000, where she began caring for the actively dying patient in
twelve-hour shifts at bedside and has personally witnessed over 1,500 deaths
and counting.
In 2004, Brenda began documenting her observations concerning how to care about and manage the signs and symptoms a dying patient encounters. Other writings soon to be published will include: "Can a Dying Patient Really Hear?"; "How Do Pets React to Death?"; "Do Demonic Spirits Influence the Time of Death?"; "How Families Can Make their Loved One's Death Peaceful," and others. Another book to be published by the author will give the reader a glimpse of what it is like on the "death bed"-what to expect when your time comes and what you can do to help manage your own symptoms while lying in bed appearing helpless to everyone else.
Brenda's main goal is to educate the world on the natural process of dying in hopes that each individual person might feel comfortable with his/her own mortality enough to discuss it openly with family members-a subject that's "taboo" in most families all the way to the very end, resulting in no one truly having closure, especially the person dying. Since residing in Texas, in 2006 Brenda returned to teaching CNAs and PCTs (patient care techs) in the classroom at PCI Health Training Institute, while working as a hospice nurse.
