Dionetta Hudzinski -- Clowns to the Rescue

Q – First, let’s clear up a mistake. While ‘editing’ in some missing information from some of the stories of To the Rescue a mistake was made that said you lived in Marston Mills, MS. It is actually Renee Berke (Holding Hands with Clara Barton) who lives in Marston Mills. Tell us where you live. (And please accept my apology for this mistake.)
Dionetta: I live in Yakima WA which is at the opposite end of the country from Massachusetts. But perhaps my Clown is from there, who knows what Diddlie Squat is up to when she is not with me…
Q – I understand you are a nurse. Tell us some of the different healthcare settings you have worked in.
Dionetta: In the past 40 years I have worked in about every healthcare setting, from Acute Medical Surgical units to long term care Nursing homes. I have also worked maternity – labor and delivery and the nursery (in the days when there were Nurseries with 10 or more babies to care for at any given time, I love babies so I opted for the nursery every chance I could, can you believe they paid me to sit and rock and feed babies for 8 hour shifts 11pm – 7am? Of course there where diapers to change and other duties as well but what an awesome job!) I have worked ICU, Emergency Nursing, Home Healthcare and Hospice care…I helped establish a Hospice program in Chehalis WA which I believe is still in operation today. I have also worked with Women recovering from Drug and Alcohol addiction in Seattle WA, worked with the Red Cross in the Pacific Northwest on the traveling blood mobiles which was great fun and gave me the opportunity to see what the great Northwest had to offer. I did a short stint at the Matt Talbot Center in Portland OR where I helped at the Medical dispensary for Homeless men. I currently teach at Washington State University, College of Nursing part time and have my own consulting business Comfort Care Unlimited providing hope, advocacy, education and interventions for pain and palliative care. I also volunteer with Wellness House as a chronic pain education and resource facilitator and for the Alliance of State Pain initiatives and the American Pain Foundation ensuring access to effective and appropriate pain care for all citizens in WA State.
Q – And you are a CLOWN! Tell us how that role began and how you presently are using this talent. Can we expect to see more of Diddly Squat in the future? Will there be more stories?
Dionetta: My clowning came as a legacy passed on to me by one of my Hospice patients before he died. Bob Bennett was a Shriner clown and was dying of cancer. He was in a great deal of pain when I first was sent out to see him. He was in a very dark room and curled in fetal position hanging on by a thread of hope. I was able to get his pain under control and in just 24 hours he was dressed and sitting in his living room and he said to his wife…well, I am dying but I feel better, so now what? So we asked him if he had any unfinished business or a wish to fulfill and he responded “I always wanted to form a clown alley” (a clown alley is a group of clowns with a common purpose) So 4 of our hospice team (myself, 2 hospice nurses, and our chaplain) met at his home every Monday from about 6 -9 pm for the next 2-3 months and he and his wife Betty taught us everything they knew about clowning to get us started. Everything from makeup application, creating our costumes from the thrift store treasures we found, and the ethics and etiquette of the caring clown. We called ourselves “Bob’s Benevolent Bozos” in honor of Bob. The Alley was later renamed the Clown Ambassadors of Yakima. We have regular Clown classes to teach others and pass on the legacy of clowning that Bob left to us…it is a gift that keeps on giving.
I have traveled to Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Mexico and Ground Zero in NYC. Bob never realized just what an impact he would have on me or the world. I have several clown characters but my favorite is Diddlie Squat…she has been the most fun and fits my own personality. (other characters are Polkie Dottie, my very first clown who grew from an awkward adolescent into a refined feminine clown; Checquers, who has gotten me in more trouble than I ever imagined…Checquers just thinks he can do anything and Dionetta lets him and then regrets it later. Dr Never-there, who is never there but when he is here has no idea where he is. And of course Diddlie Squat who was born in NYC and has been my favorite character ever since.
I like to visit Nursing homes and assisted living and Senior Retirement communities. I love to see the elderly come to life as we interact and play together…it gives me such pleasure and joy to see the expressions on their faces, see them go from a stooped over position to sitting up straight and smiling. To hear them giggle like a young child is priceless.
I have used my clowning in the classroom but the problem is…the students do not seem to take me seriously…go figure!!!
Q – Have you written other stories besides, Clowns to the Rescue? Do you have any plans for more writing in the future?
Dionetta: My writing up to this point has been mostly around Palliative care Nursing and Pain management and Simulation for the classroom. But I think there is a book in the making with stories around my work with people who are dying, and also some more on my experiences as a clown. The Ideas are swarming in my head and I need to start getting them down on paper…before they fly away.
Q – Will you be doing any presentations on Clowns to the Rescue? If so, where and where?Dionetta: I will be doing a book signing at Borders on Oct 17th. I will show up as Diddlie Squat, so if you are in the neighborhood please stop by and see us and have some fun. At this point I do not have any other plans for presentations but would be open to any opportunities to share my story and experiences. A friend in PA is going to see if we can plan a time in the summer of 2010 when I go out to visit to do a book signing and presentation in her little town of Walnut B