North Haven resident Gwen Ostrinski is in a great place in her life, having found happiness in a job that many wouldn't associate with happiness.

A native of Texas, Gwen worked in the computer business for many years before becoming a registered nurse working at Connecticut Hospice, and she speaks passionately about hospice and palliative care.

Gwen describes the work with patients and their families as "rewarding, yet emotionally and mentally taxing.

"Rewarding because at the end of the day, I can walk out the door and know that I've done something to help this family or patient," says Gwen.

The nursing journey began when a boss told Gwen 11 years ago that her computer job was changing and would now require 75 percent travel.

Gwen laughingly refers to that time as her, "midlife crisis."

Her youngest daughter was four at the time and Gwen went home thinking there was no way she could continue in this job.

Gwen says it was a hardship but she talked to her husband, Walter, and decided "to follow my lifelong dream of becoming a nurse."

She got accepted into Quinnipiac University's accelerated program and, in one calendar year, was able to complete her bachelor's degree in nursing.

"I always wanted to be a nurse, but when I was younger and supporting myself, paying for college and trying to be a teenager," Gwen says she couldn't see herself going through all the necessary steps to achieve it.

Gwen went into computer work and says, "I liked the work, but I didn't feel it was my innate skill.

"I feel that in this world you are born with innate skills. We're meant to find it in this lifetime and capitalize on it, which will then prove to be our true happiness in life," Gwen says.

Gwen admits, "I wish I had known that 20 years ago, but things are meant to happen the way they happen for a reason."

Gwen quickly found nursing work upon graduation and got her first taste of hospice care.

Gwen recalls a life-changing moment when she was a brand new nurse, meeting an elderly gentleman who was seriously ill.

"The first thing he said to me was, 'I'm going to die, aren't I?' I told him, 'I can't tell you if you're going to die, but I bet you can tell me.' We had a heart-to-heart talk where he decided he wanted to go to hospice care and wanted me to talk with his family," says Gwen.

"Hospice care is so important, and people need to know from their relatives if they want that specialized hospice palliative care, and if they do, do they then want it in a facility or at their home?"

Some patients are unsure of what hospice care is, says Gwen.

She describes it as the care provided for "life-ending illness where a doctor has told a patient that their life will be ending within a year.

"The patient is still fighting to live, but with palliative care experts in pain management keeping them comfortable while spiritual care, dieticians, and other experts on staff assist them," says Gwen.

Studies show that those in palliative care live longer because of the quality of life. It also eliminates the stress of rushing to the hospital on a regular basis.

For Gwen, she knows she's done her job when "I make a patient smile or laugh and make their last days as precious as possible."

The love of her life, Walter, has been completely supportive through Gwen's career change process right along with their three kids.

The journey continues as Gwen now considers going back to school yet again for her Ph.D. in nursing.

"You can never stop learning," Gwen said. "When you stop learning, you start dying."

To nominate a Person of the Week, contact Jaki Lauper at j.lauper@shorepublishing.com.