Saturday, November 22, 2008

It's perfect!

Our kitchen looks AMAZING! I am so so so so pleased with it. It's exactly what I pictured. This whole process has been so nerve-wracking. I didn't want to regret it. I certainly don't now! Pics to come soon.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Yeah. Now both of my ears hurt. Thanks, sinus douche. And no, that is not something I made up. I read the FAQ part of the little kit and it is frequently referred to as a sinus douche. All the more appealing. You KNOW you want one.

Stupid nose

So I saw an ear, nose, and throat doctor. Why? Because only one of my nostrils functions. (Work with me, it's a slow news day, so to speak)

Yes, you heard right. I can only breath out of one side of my nose. Normal? No. I've known I had a deviated septum for quite a while. I mean, it's kind of obvious, no? So the doctor gives me this numbing nasal spray and dose this scope of my nose. The right side is tight, but doable. The left side? He couldn't' even fit the scope in. He told me my nose is narrow. I laughed. Apparently a deviated septum combined with inflamed, uh, nose innards due to allergies I've had all my life = difficulty breathing.

So he mentions surgery, which for me and my narrow nose won't be as successful as it would be on all of you with wide, gaping noses (hey, it makes me feel better), so we decide that won't be choice #1. Instead, he gives me this thing called "Sinus Rinse". Sounds simple, right? It can be bought over the counter, so if, after my story you decide you want to experience it, too, then by all means, pick one of the things up. He tells me I am going to hate him after my first time using it because I will feel like I am drowning. Oh goody! I can't wait to get home and try!

So it took me a couple days, but I decided today was the day. The instructions seemed simple...fill the bottle with sterile water, add this little packet of nasal seasonings, if you will, and squirt it in your nose. My eyes got big at the part where it said to "squeeze until the solution either comes out your other nostril or out your mouth." Wait, what? What it FAILS to mention is the force in which the bottle must be squeezed. In my mind, I'm thinking nasal spray...spray HARD and FAST. What I also failed to do is to give it a trial squeeze to see the force behind this little thing.

Long story short, I was gasping for air, drooling like crazy, and my eyes watered so bad, I had tears STREAMING down my face. Yes, the solution came out the other side. It DEFINITELY works! But a little hint that this thing was like a mini-garden hose would have been nice!

So yeah. Sinuses? They are clear.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Work has been CRAZY! Let me take you back to Monday.

So I get to work. I see my assignment. The charge nurse informs me that my entire group is going home. Now when I was a new intern, I thought this was FABULOUS! I mean, come on! Everyone is gone = no work! But then I realized that this was bad. Bad, bad, bad. Because the way it works on my floor is the rooms are claimed before you even get your patient out the door. It's horrible. And new patients = TONS of paperwork. To put it bluntly...it blows.

So yeah. My group was pretty much gone. Out of 6 available beds, I had 4 that were empty. Fortunately, they weren't claimed yet. Patient number one seemed cool. He was youngish and friendly. Patient number two was...eh. His doc wanted to send him home. He came up with this really far-fetched reason as to why he couldn't. Something about someone wanting to stab him. Or something. You know how it is. Anyhow, the doctor reluctantly let him stay "just one more night!" but tomorrow he WOULD be getting the boot. He was pleased. So the first three hours are freakishly easy. It was a dream. If someone had told me that after my break all hell would break lose, I would NOT have gone. That #4 sub from Jimmy Johns was totally not worth it. I'll go step by step from my break on:

-Leave for break with a really awesome coworker. We note an IV pole with a bag of .9 normal saline in front of the elevator. No patient attached. We say "huh, that's weird" and go about our gossip as we step around the pole and enter the elevator

-Come back from break and the IV pole is still there. Still, no patient attached. We decide we'll clue the other nurses in...someones patient lost their IV pole

- Jokingly, I say "I better check my patients, too!"

- Cool youngish dude? Yeah...he's gone. And all his stuff is gone, too

- Damn!

- Notify the others "Uh, my guy left, I think" . Call his house, no answer.

- Call his doctor... his doctor laughed. I immediately notify housekeeping. If this guy wants to pull some crazy crap...fine, be my guest...but I was NOT going to make it easy for him to come back. He could have signed himself out, no questions asked. It's NOT cool to just disappear. His room is cleaned out and back on the market. I am now down to 1 patient and 5 empty beds

- Or not

- My lone patient claims he is LEAVING and he is LEAVING NOW...or in his words "I waited an HOUR while you are on break...get me my stuff cause I am outta here"

- "But sir...someone is going to stab you, I thought" Oh no..they apparently worked their little disagreement out. Whatev. He's an adult. He left. AMA.

-Down to 0 patients, 6 empties

-Or not

-Two new ERs are coming, and they are on their way, stat.

-I am in with new patient number 1. Sweet little man, very confused. "Hi, I'll be your nurse tonight, my name is Laura" New patient: "I'm itchy!" Me: I will check your chart to see if I can get you anything, and if nothing is ordered, I will call your doctor. Are you having any pain?" New patient: "I'm itchy!" Me: (grabs a washcloth, some gloves, and I scratch his back) New patient: "Ahhhhhhhhhh! A little to the left. Oooooooooh right there"

-Nurse aide comes to get me. She informs me my other new patient has a heart rate of 150. Uh. Not good. I go to tend to her. Her daughter tells me she has a fib. In other words, instead of beating in a steady rhythm, her heart is just fluttering away. I call her doc. He says he will be there in a few minutes, order a stat EKG.

-I stay with her...she is obviously my priority right now

-Nurse aide comes to get me again. "Um, Laura? Your new guy across the hall...I think his itchiness might be from scabies."

-Say wha?! Scabies? Why are my hands itchy all of a sudden?

-Doc comes for lady with fluttery heart. He says she's fine. "Doctor, I can't keep her here if her heart is that high." Give her Lopressor. I do. It goes to normal within 30 minutes. We decide to keep her.

-Dermatologist calls. I talk to him as I scratch my head and GOD my hands are itching! SCABIES???!???!

-"I'm itchy!"

-Dermatologist says "I think it's an allergic reaction. I'll see him tomorrow."

-SCABIES!!!!!!!!!!

-Nurse secretary: "Laura, you are getting a new patient. He's coming from OR. They just put a device in him that will remove the fluid that is building up around his lungs. You just suck it out whenever he starts having trouble breathing."

- Me: "Uhhh..."

- ER calls. I'm getting ANOTHER new patient. They call report. "She has a complex psych history. She is very demanding and difficult. I'm just warning you, she will take up A LOT of your time"

- Shoot me now.

This could go on and on and on. Seriously. Full moon? I don't know. But yeah. I didn't leave on time that night. Hellooooooooooo OT! In the end (meaning, tonight, my last night on in a row) my crazy heart lady was a doll and I adored her. Her heart would go fast, but I could always get it to slow down. Unfortunately, because of her heart, she got transferred to ICU today. It was NOT scabies, merely a reaction to a drug. He ALSO was a dear and I enjoyed him a lot. He gave me a sucker! The guy with the new, uh, vacuum or whatever was super nice. I never had to use his new device and he ended up going home the next day. And my psych lady was exactly as ER described her.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Blah. I have a horrible headache today. It's not enough for me to consider myself 'sick', but it's enough to make me feel yucky.



I had a really nice evening. Scratch that. The whole day was good. Ethan had pajama day at school today and he was SO excited. He thought it was really cool that he didn't even have to get dressed today. Jay got off work early, too, so we all just hung out this afternoon.



We were a bit panicked yesterday about the layout of our new kitchen because one corner of it just didn't seem to fit right. The "kitchen guy" as we so fondly refer to him, assured us that it would all work out in the end. I wasn't so sure, but he REALLY impressed me with how he custom designed the unit around our fridge. It looks awesome, and it's not even finished yet.



I have become a total Twilight junkie. Never in a gazillion years did I think I would like books about vampires but I am in looooooove with them. I promise you, if you haven't read them yet, GET THEM. You won't be disappointed. Unless you are a guy. It's a little too lovey-dovey for a guy, and really, the best part about the book is Edward Cullen. *sigh*



I was in a serious funk at the beginning of the week. I was really down about stupid stuff. STUPID. Stuff I shouldn't' even think twice about. But my lovely husband has heard me vent and has made it all seem so insignificant.



That's all for now. I am about to take my Tylenol and chill out on the couch and read.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I really don't feel like making an actual post, so I'll just throw out some random stuff.

Our new kitchen is in the works. I am super excited for a new kitchen, but I really hate having strangers in my house. I always have. It makes me really uncomfortable.

I am on the second book in the Twilight series. I really like them and I didn't think I would. Jay is taking me to the movie that is coming out next Friday.

I got my blood work results back and my bilirubin level was normal. This is the first time I ever recall getting a call and saying everything was NORMAL! Yay!

Ethan is fascinated with the kitchen guy and his tools.

My cell phone is missing and our land line isn't working right now. We had to have it cut because there is a cabinet there instead. It sucks!

I'm getting my hair done next week and I can't wait.

Just as I predicted in my last post, work SUCKED Sunday night. I hope it's better tomorrow. I want to stay 12 hours. But I refuse if the first 8 hours are bad.

Thursday is pajama day at Ethan's school and he thinks this is the coolest thing EVER.

That's all.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Work has been blissful. And I hesitate to even THINK that, because as soon as I do, it goes crazy. So now watch. Tonight will be terrible.

As I was getting report at the beginning of my shift, the CSP (nurse aide) goes into one of my rooms where I have a hospice patient. She comes out and shows me her blood pressure. It was something ridiculous like 60/30. I think to myself "hm. I might have my first death tonight." But in the back of my mind, I was praying I wouldn't. There's a lot of paperwork and phone calls that go along with deaths, and since I had never done it before, I knew it would take forever. So I decided I would assess that patient first, just in case. I go in, and I notice the patient take a breath. Whew! She's still with us. And then I wait. Uh... where's the next breath? Yeah...she died. Right before my eyes. And not the way I wanted to start my shift. Other than that, it was a perfect night.

Last night was good, too. The only bad part was that one of my patients was a retired nurse and her daughter (who never left her side) was a practicing nurse. Talk about pressure! And I had to do 3 skin tests on her (TB included!) and was really nervous about getting the needle just under those that first layer of skin. Not to mention old people skin is really...wiggly. I did it, though. I also had to start a new IV on her, and IV's are not my cup of tea. Old people veins are wiggly, too. I am proud to say I did it, but her daughter helped me find the perfect vein, so I guess I didn't do it ALL by myself.

Right now we are cleaning out our kitchen because first thing tomorrow morning, we'll begin the remodeling process. It's exciting but EXHAUSTING! You never realize how much stuff you have in your kitchen until you have to empty it.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I caught up on sleep in a big way last night! 13+ hours! Considering I was running on less than 6 hours over two days, I needed it bad.

Ethan's preschool teacher informed me today that while they were having the children give them examples of words that started with B, Ethan contributed "butt" and "beer". Nice one, kid. She said all she could say when he said that was "Why yes, Ethan, you are absolutely right!"

Anyone blog savvy? I want it to be prettier.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Yay! It's the first post in my brand new blog. I have to figure out how to make it fancy. I wasn't going to use it until I figured it out, but then I remembered how tech savvy I am NOT, and realized I better just start posting.

So yesterday, I showed up at work. Normally I get there about 20 minutes before I am due to start, but yesterday I was running behind and I got there right at 3. So I punch in and the day charge nurse always does a little meeting with us pre-shift to just give us a quick idea of how the day went. At the very end she says "..oh, and Laura will be in charge this afternoon." No joke, my jaw hit the floor. I. was. stunned. I asked her if she was kidding about 5 times. She said that the regular afternoon charge nurse, herself, and my boss discussed it, and thought that I would do a good job and wanted me to try it out. At first I was freaked out, but I ended up LOVING it. It was awesome. And I hope I can do it again. I walked on cloud 9 the entire shift. It was really surreal. Oh, I am also taking classes in January to be chemo certified. And to think that all this time I have been wondering about what path I would choose...I don't think I have to worry about it! My job is choosing it for me.

Ethan is doing wonderful and our kitchen remodel starts next Monday. I already have the scary "before" pictures. I'll be sure to post them soon.