Nicholasville nurse uses baking to cope with pandemic, bring joy to others

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – A Nicholasville woman is finally home after nearly five years of working as a traveling nurse.

Now, Bobbie Janis is using her passion for baking to cope with the harsh realities she faced at the height of the pandemic.

Janis said she was almost done with her contract at a long-term care facility in Maine when the pandemic hit, and she knew she had to stay.

“I knew the destruction that COVID was going to bring with her, Janie said.

However, she didn’t expect the devastating number of deaths that came soon after.

“It was sitting with a resident and them actively dying and having their family standing at the window saying their final goodbyes,” Janis recalled. “You’re holding that resident’s hand and you’re whispering their words, their family’s words, into their ears, hoping that they can understand, hoping that they’re hearing, and honestly, hoping that they’ll pass quickly because that is death that nobody should have to experience.”

Janis needed to step back and regain joy in her life, so she turned to the one outlet that’s done the trick for years – baking.

“I started baking my heart out,” Janis said.

Though she lost many personal items over the years as a travel nurse, she managed to keep the tools she needed to perfect her sweet treats and started her business, ‘Mia’s Magical Treats.’

Her specialty is bouquets, and they may look like real flowers, but they’re a sugary treat.

“I still have nightmares about COVID coming in and kicking our butts, but the baking is an excellent distraction,” Janis said. “I went from watching people cry and die and suffer to being happy, and my spirit needed that.”

Now, that she’s back home, Janis said she might take another nursing job, but she’ll keep doing the other thing she loves – bringing people joy through her baked goods.

“And I promise, it is my pleasure,” Janis said. “It is always my pleasure.”

If you want to learn more about Janis’ work, click here.