Not for those with a weak stomach

I'm not kidding about that. I'm not gonna hold back here. It's gruesome but it's my way of dealing with the particular issue:
My biggest fear about nursing school or what I look forward to LEAST or however you want to put it is the dreaded encounter with pressure ulcers aka bed sores. Our test coming up involves the stages of bed sores and the pictures in my notes were so dark from the copying machine that you could barely make anything out but STILL I thought I was going to loose it. I'm not like this about most things, honestly I'm not. It's probably all in my head so I've decided to face it head on. I'm trying to prepare myself for that dreaded day when I have the first encounter, or even worse the semester when we actually study and practice wound care. The best strategy seems to be desensitization through forcing myself to look at pictures online. So far not so good. My first attempt was today and I was only going to look long enough to find a picture to demonstrate on the blog but I couldn't do it. Two or three and I was done. It's a start though.
Believe me it isn't for myself but rather for the sad, immobilized, probably elderly patient who unfortunately was/is under the care of some negligent someone who knew the risk but ignored the problem until it was absolutely exasperated. I definitely do not want to run out of the room with my hand over my mouth, etc. It's not so much the wound itself although that is totally disgusting alone but it's the smell I dread. Decomposing flesh. Rotting skin. Because this is in fact the process that is occurring. What a sad and terrible thing to happen. It gets even worse. They say that sometimes (but rarely) you'll unwrap a wound and there will be maggots in it and as if that's not enough they showed us a slide just in case you successfully blocked out the visual in your head. Dr. Davis said, "But at least if there are maggots you know the wound is clean b/c they eat out all the bacteria."
ENOUGH ALREADY! I'm starting to get sick again and anyone who has made it this far probably feels the same way. I just have to get this out. I really want to be a great nurse. I want to accomplish great things and, of course, the greatest achievement is the most basic: treating the sickest, weakest, smelliest, most infectious person like a human being. You and I and everyone else would like to think this is the general consensus among hospital staff but this is real life. Why do you think so many people want to work labor and delivery? It's really a shame but that's another day.

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded"
Ralph Waldo Emerson