Honeymooners! July 6, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.add a comment
The wedding went off without a hitch. It was better than a dream wedding- it was perfect. I was shaking before walking down the aisle though. SO FANCY. The room looked gorgeous. We had a small army of people helping us set up- all of whom I am SO incredibly grateful towards.
Isaac looked so handsome in his tux. my sisters and Dash looked amazing and so did Isaac’s brothers.
We finished with the wedding and were home around 1030-1100. Had some last minute things to do and ended up staying up the whole night since we had to leave at 0330 to stop by the bank before picking up my friends Kevin and Sarah who had flown all the way out here from CA. we shared a taxi back to the airport which was scary as all get out. The driver was going 75-85 in the rain and….it wasn’t pretty.
We got our boarding passes and made it through security ending up at our gate at 5:20 or so. It was slightly nervewracking since it was the first time flying without a parent AND it was my first time leaving the country.
After a quick layover in Houston, TX we made it to Cancun at 1100. There were some forms to fill out and whatnot but then we were free! We exchanged some cash into pesos and avoided the timeshare/taxi people and made it to our shuttle outside. GORGEOUS. Sky so blue, trees so green- Cancun is beautiful.
We got to our hotel and were greeted with someone taking our luggage to our room while we checked in. We were given towels for our hands and complimentary glasses of champagne as well. After getting our key cards, we were walked to our room while given a tour of the facilities. The view is amazing and the water is warm and PERFECT.
Dinner is uber-fancy. Both lunch and dinner were delicious. The meat just falls apart, the guacamole and pico de gallo is superb. We were also given free sample appetizers as “compliments of the chef.”
Lounge chairs under tree-type umbrella huts are the most comfy things ever. The sand is white, the water is clear enough to see my red toenail polish. It’s also warm and perfect for floating. Picture the Corona commercials and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what it looks like.
Pictures to come!!
Group of Five June 28, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in The Work..Tags: death, HUC, NA, nursing student, pediatric intensive care unit, PICU, sad, work
2 comments
They say when a death occurs, it always comes in groups of three or five.
Whoever said that got it right on the money. I’ve always seen this to be true…at least when working in the PICU.
We’ve lost 4 in the last 15 hours. Two were expected and the families withdrew. Two were unexpected. One was a staple in the unit and we were all hoping for her to leave. This onehad been here for the full 3 months of their life and just needed one more month to get big enough for her operation. One had an operation and was supposed to walk away from it.
Another passed a couple of days ago from heart defects.
That makes a total of 5.
In this last week, I’ve seen more and done more than before. I acted as NA on the overnight shift a few days ago running between procedure carts, code carts, storage rooms, and the patient’s room itself.
Today, I recorded everything that happened during the code. Every med pushed in and every stop or start of compressions. Every shock given, every vital noted.
That went on for an hour. I was okay untill the family came in.
They screamed and screamed and screamed. And when I say screamed, I truly mean hands raised yelling at all of us from one while the other was yelling at God and beating his fists on the floor.
That’s the second family they’ve lost in 8 months.
So many children. God. We can go for months without losing one and then when death finally hits, it hits oh-so-hard.
Today, I am overwhelmed.
Today was hard.
No Doubt. June 11, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Yep. Isaac and I saw No Doubt and Paramore in Raleigh Monday night. It was pretty sweet. I particularly enjoyed hiking back to our car barefoot. And the older couple next to us rocking out to Paramore. They were really into it. Like, REALLY into it.
And 5 women who looked like stay-at-home mom’s ran by laughing with their beers and fist pumping at one point. Isaac said that was gonna be me after 5 kids. I said that they looked like 5 Auntie Jamies running by.
I also got a sweet hat in the mail, homemade. Thanks!!
You can check her out here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5285398
She makes other stuff too and is a photographer.
Anyhoo, hung out with my sister today and baked up some samples of my wedding cupcakes. Delicious!!
See?
I’m very excited.
That’s all for today. Work tomorrow. Ho HUM!
And the number of the day is…. June 9, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.1 comment so far
Summer means back to working night shifts. Alas. I have to say though, Friday went by quite well.
Saturday night? Not so much.
My CRNA-friend-in-training is one of my favorite RNs to work with (when he’s not an asshole, jayplay) and I will call him Al since the other name has gotten to be quite long and I don’t feel like typing it that much for this post.
Anyways, I was counting on him to make the night go by quickly and just the opposite happened. TIME STOPPED.
Not literally, but that’s really what it felt like. Unfortunately. So how did we pass time? Teasing people of course!
And before you get all in a huff, you have to realize that joking around is what gets you through the shift in what could be a potentially depressing and upsetting environment. Cause, sick babies are not cool. And without humor, half of the family members would make you an angry alcoholic.
I digress.
So half my job is crowd control. And I often have to repeat myself till my voice goes hoarse b/c some family members either (1.) really do not get it or (2.) think they are above the system.
Usually the latter.
Family came in and I see them on the monitor with over 4 adults and over 4 children. The phone rings to be let in and I explain the unit’s policy for no children under 12 at this time and 2 adults may enter at one time ONLY.
They say okay, doors swing open. In walk 3 adults and 3 children.
Let’s try this from the top.
2 adults, no children.
Hours later, the phone rings again (around 2 in the morning). I say that TWO adults may switch out the the TWO that are in the room.
“Uh-huh”, says the phone.
In walk 3.
Al says: “2-2+3….that does not equal two.” My sentiments exactly!
Before I can go to the other side to talk to the family, the phone rings again. Seriously, not even 30 seconds later. I explain that I need to let them know to switch out.
“But I’m Grandma”
Picture a really angry person yelling loudly with no teeth. That’s how she sounded a little while later.
I also had a father from another room comparing the unit to a prison (have you been??) and playing rap and RnB music in the public hallway bathrooms at around 4:15AM.
Oh the life of the PICU…overnight!
Parting advice for today:
And the number of the day is.....
Woah nelly. That’s rough. June 8, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.Tags: fail.
add a comment
Man. I am still irrational. Just as ever. It’s just been hidden for two years. I got into an argument with Ishaq today. Not really an argument. And…not really today.
It was on the drive home.
A conversation turned into a debate turned into anxiousness and defensiveness (on my part).
Woah nelly. Haven’t felt like that in two years. After 10 minutes or so, I sorted myself out. I used to get into debates and each time I made a point I would get cut off or told why that point was wrong.
That was in the works of happening tonight and it stirred up a panic and…well, I realized that I’m still weird inside sometimes.
But everyone has their something, right?
Setback. May 6, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.Tags: life is hard, setbacks, unfair
add a comment
So, we found out that Isaac can’t get into nursing school until UNCG releases his transcripts.
His financial aid was dropped the semester we went since his dad messed up and gave wrong numbers on the application. We’ve been in the process of paying it off since then in monthly installments but still have five grand left.
UNCG wont release his transcript until we pay it off. And we haven’t got enough credit to get another loan to pay it off.
Definitely a crushing blow and the cherry on top of an already crappy week.
Seriously? Seriously.
We also got this information on my way to Skills Check Off. Needless to say, my head was not in school so I have to go back next week to make it up.
This has been a really hard week and I’m almost at a loss as to what to do.
Balls.
No sweat? Sure! May 2, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in The Clinicals, The School..Tags: awful patient, clinicals, my patients, never again., not funny, nursing school, nursing student, struggling
add a comment
My teacher walks into the patient’s room to this sight:
S.R on one side, myself on the other, L.O in the front…and our amputeed patient with one leg sprawled sitting on the floor with his shorts around his knee yelling “awww now. shoulda helped me!!”
Let me back up to the beginning.
S.R and I were sharing a patient. He had meds at 10 and 12 plus a high maintenance wife, so I guess he needed all hands on deck. He was also extreme high risk for falls and had a sitter at all times. His sitter was Naiya who happens to be one of the best NAs I have ever come across.
We come in to greet him only to find the curtain pulled and Naiya giving him a bath. So, after going back in the hall to finish up our pre-emptive paperwork, we come across an LPN who asked us who we had. After telling him it was JP, he said “Oh bless your soul. He will try to put you through the ringer. He’ll pretend he can’t do stuff when he really can. You just gotta keep pushing him. Good luck!!”
After a few minutes we go in and greet ourselves. We struggled getting through his assessment since he complained the whole way. Then the blood pressure machine wouldn’t work so S.R tried to take it manually. She couldn’t hear the bottom number however so I went to give it a go. Before I could get the cuff on his arm he complained loudly, “Awww now! How many nurses does it take to get a blood pressure??” It sounded like the opening line to a bad joke.
I got his blood pressure and continued along the assessment with many “Aww now”’s along the way. Luckily, his wife had come in and was telling him to be nicer to us and lecturing him. She also told us about how she was taking him home this weekend regardless of the fact that doctors had told him he would be in long term care the rest of his life. It was concerning however b/c there were doubts about how well his care could be at home. I digress.
He had to go to the bathroom. So with Naiya in the back, myself on one side, SR on the other, and his wife in the front, we got him from his wheelchair to his potty chair so that he could have a bowel movement. Throughout the transfer, Naiya and his wife were telling him to stand on his leg and move. “Stand up! All the way up! Stand!”
Fast forward to noon. My patient had just come back from lunch and was sitting in the hall. I finished my paperwork and gave my first sub-q injection (insulin to the LUQ). It went without a hitch! Lunch is at one so I felt on my A-game. Another resident wheeled up and parked right in front of him and (bless his advanced dementia self) started singing at the top of his lungs. JP looked at me and said he wanted to go back to his room. I told him okay and went to look for my partner, SR, to help. I came back and he told me had to go to have another bowel movement…bad. He added the “bad” after taking a glance at the other singing patient. I told him that was fine but I was going to have to get more help. He kept yelling at me to hurry.
When we couldn’t find any NAs to help, my instructor suggested using some classmates. S.R on one side, myself on the other, L.O in the front, KR in the back. “1, 2, 3, go!” The patient lifted himself a quarter of the way up before sinking to floor yelling “HELP ME! HELP ME!” We were pushing and lifting but it was 199 lbs. of dead weight on us. KR was trapped behind the wheelchair saying “should I get help? What should I do??”
“STAND UP JP!” I panted struggling to keep him off the floor. “Come on, stand up! All the way up!” SR said, struggling.
He kept putting all his dead weight down, not standing at all. We tried pushing him over the edge of the potty chair but his butt kept hitting the rim and pushing the seat up.
Finally, I told KR to go get help. LO stated that we should just ease him to floor. “I’m..so sorry about this JP”, LO added.
That’s when my teacher walked in to see 3 sweating nursing students and a patient sprawled on the floor with his shorts a-dangling.
So clinicals last week was….interesting to say the least.
Rest in Peace. April 30, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in Uncategorized.add a comment
My great-grandmother passed last night.
A truly beautiful lady. She will be missed.
RIP
loz-what? April 28, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in The Husband..add a comment
My husband is great. He is also a great teaser.
I am gullible. Sometimes. Especially when he tells me stuff.
Proof of this?
The other night, I was studying for school. The topic was medications. Isaac was trying to help me study and asked me about lozenges.
“Loh-zen-gee.” he said.
I had never heard the word before so I looked at it confused on the paper. He kept saying, “yeah, what about the loh-zen-gees.”
I replied honestly that I didn’t know what loh-zen-gees were- I hadn’t read that section yet.
His response? Laughter. Gutteral laughter.
“What? What’s so funny?” I asked, pouting.
He explained how they were really pronounced “lah-zenges” and that he thought I would correct him. He also said something about the confusion on my face being funny.
I guess it was ironic since he was pretending to be confused and ended up confusing me.
Totally rude.
I suck? Yeah, I know. April 27, 2009
Posted by mindexplosion in The Clinicals, The School..Tags: blah!, nursing school, nursing student, upset patient
add a comment
I had kept visiting here meaning and simply hadn’t had the time or energy. Lame. But my friend Kev mentioned it today so I’m back!!
And I’ve got a story or two.
I gave medications for the first time on Tuesday the 7th (not last week, but the week before) and I’m proud to announce that he’s still alive!! Very nervewracking since, prior to administering them, you have to talk about each medication in depth with the instructor. Lucky me had 12 so it took about an hour. Bleh.
I DID however, get out of giving him the hydrocortisone/pramoxine cream!! Why so excited? Because I would have had to apply it directly to the hemorrhoids on his anus. Mmm.
Luckily he had already showered and had bowel movements so I didn’t have to do that.
Last week I went home from clinicals early because I wasn’t feeling well. I did have a pt. who was a little paranoid accusing me of breaking doctor-patient confidentiality since I had to talk to his Nurse Practitioner (NP) about his condition.
It’s like, you don’t want to hurt or upset your patient at all but you still have to stand by what you think is right and advocate for them. This pt. had been diagnosed with a new/rare disease and wanted me and the girl I was training to our floor to find information out for him secretly. He thought his NP was trying to keep info. from him. Very dramatic.
