Last day of clinicals, FOREVER.

I finished up my hospital clinicals about a month ago, and have had community clinicals since then. Last week I went to an STD clinic, and it was awesome. Okay, I know that sounds completely weird, but I have so much respect for those nurses. I guess I should say that THEY were awesome. I saw some nasty stuff, too, but I won't go into that.

This week I was at Gatesville prison. I broke the number 1 rule. I ate the food. Oh.my.gosh. I've had some bad food before, and I consider myself to be a pretty tough person when it comes to things like that--but this was horrible. The type of horrible where you have to close your eyes and pinch your nose to take a bite. It was a "hamburger," "macaroni," and corn. Oh, and a biscuit! Even though it came across with the Mayflower, that was my saving grace.

The nurses there were awesome, too. I wouldn't say that prison nursing is for me right now, but I also wouldn't toss it out the window for later down the road. The nurse I was helping said that 90% of the women there were in for drugs. There were two women prisoners in particular that I sat in with that were so sweet...I don't know how they would be capable of doing anything to deserve prison--to be taken out of "the free world," as they call it. I was very impressed at how polite they all were. Also, I didn't know this, but all of their medications are paid for by the state. They only pay $3 for the visit, and often times they can get that fee waived. They get treated very well in that regard. On the other hand, if they need any tests done, it is free, but it could also take anywhere from 1-4 months to get the results...

The first day it was kind of creepy--all of the buildings were white, all of the prisoners were in white, everything was white. And I was in purple, head to toe. haha. Today I felt as at home as you can feel in prison. My friend Katie and I got out early, so we celebrated our LAST CLINICAL DAY IN ALL OF NURSING SCHOOL, EVER at Taco Bell.

The next time I step into a hospital, it will be at my job as a real nurse. I can't believe it!!!

For my own memory...

I'd like to jot a few things down so I don't forget.

I took care of an OLD, OLD man (I wanted to ask him how old he was because that's all I could think about) one week on STC 5, and he couldn't feed himself...so I did. He was so hungry b/c he'd been NPO...we'd already gone through iced tea, mashed potatoes, 3 cups of pudding, 2 cups of water, and then we made it to the chocolate milk. He was drinking it and began coughing. I asked him if he was alright and he said yes, so I just figured it went down the wrong tube. All of a sudden my nurse rushed in and asked if he was okay because his pulse was 18!!! (Normal is around 60.) So all these doctors rushed in to try to get his pulse back up. They suspected that he had a heart attack (he'd already had several), so they were going to check his troponin levels. A HEART ATTACK, right there and then while he was drinkin CHOCOLATE MILK! He was such a nice guy...he kept saying, "Boy that's good..." any time he took a bite. Well, I think that's what he said, but he didn't have any teeth and his voice was really low, so it was kind of hard to understand.

As for today, I went to Ft. Hood to work with the Public Health Nurse. She was way cool. We gave alot of flu shots and flumist. There were so many people, I lost count of how many I gave. I'm surprised because most folks said they couldn't even feel it...but it's an IM injection! I would think that would hurt a little bit. We had lunch at the mall food court and it was weird/cool seeing everyone dressed identically. Except for me and my buddy who were in head to toe purple : ) It's a whole new world there....

A Small Victory, Why I Do This.

I had three patients once again this week. Similar to last week, two were easy and one required a little more attention. She is 40 years old, chronic drug abuser, six kids, and has been in the hospital for over 70 days, and generally has a daily seizure.

My nurse and I got her into a special chair to give her a shower, because it had been QUITE some time. Out of fear (of seizing), she was hollering the whole time. People in the hall were wondering about us, no doubt! Her hair had been in a bun, but when we took it down to wash it we found that it was completely matted. The nurse director went and bought her a special conditioner and a comb. I worked on her hair for about 1 1/2 hours. Didn't get very much accomplished, so they are going to bring someone in to cut it for her.

We wheeled her around the floor to see people and look out the windows before I combed out her hair. She shielded her eyes from the light and sat there limp--she has lost all muscle control (from laying in a bed for two months straight). The nurse director came over and said, "April and Lauren are treating you really well, huh Ms. ____?" She mumbled, "Yeah, and this one is my favorite," and grabbed my hand. That's why I do this. Not to be a favorite, but to make an impact and do what I can to make someone's life or experience a little better. It is so satisfying to love doing something so much and to know that you are right where you should be...I just love this...

First time in a long time!

Wow, today was my first day back at the hospital since April! I will be on the same floor for the whole semester and will be shadowing the Charge Nurse to learn her roles. The Charge Nurse I worked with today was awesome and really helpful. It's weird because normally the nurses haven't liked students particularly, but now that I'm close to getting my RN BSN they have made an exception. : )

My 3 patients were all sweet today. One guy was discharged around noon, so then it was down to 2. Then my old lady fell asleep...down to 1. So I hung out in my other patient's room because he was pretty chatty.

26 years old, has AIDS. It's been progressing quickly. He talked about how his life has changed since he was diagnosed with HIV--before, he was focused on his own happiness and making money and traveling the world. Now he sees people as his first priority, he doesn't care about money. He said, "I don't believe in coincidences though, someone has this all worked out," he glanced upwards. I asked him if he believed in God and he enthusiastically said "Yes!" I asked him how he would describe himself spiritually, and he said "Spiritual." He has all sorts of different beliefs. I felt like I was talking to Arnold, my Yosemite tourist friend from Amsterdam.

On great thing about hospitals--they are FILLED with seeking people. Usually, when a 'crisis' occurs, people wonder, "Why is this happening to me? Where's the purpose in this?" And they wonder where this all fits in the plan for their life.

Anyway, I was so happy to be back in the hospital. Of course, I was nervous as all get out last night and this morning, but on the floor today it felt so right. I hope I didn't freak people out due to smiling so much. I just couldn't help it.

Last day of clinicals, S1 (a follow up post)

It is a good thing, being done with clinicals. I like them--it's what I'll be doing the rest of my life--but I don't like doing paperwork and things like that.

When I got to the hospital, my 23 y.o. patient had been taken to the operating room. His younger brother and sister had decided to donate his liver and kidneys. I guess their reasoning might have been that heart and lungs keeps him whole, still a person. I don't know.

My other patient, the 25 y.o., was extubated yesterday after I left. So today when I walked in, I said, "Hi I'm Lauren. Remember flipping me off yesterday?" He grinned and said, "Yeah." Boy, he has a dirty mouth and was demanding, but sometimes he'd try to make up for it by saying "thanks," or mentioning that he thought we must be pretty tough to be nurses. His parents and girlfriend were there all day. His mom mentioned to me in the hall that she hopes this is a wake-up call for him, because he shouldn't be alive...but she knows that there's a reason for him living.

I forgot to give you his background yesterday--he was driving drunk with his girlfriend and got T-boned by another car. He had multiple injuries from it, the biggest being that his heart was torn away from his aorta...not something you want to mess with. That was Sunday. He's made a pretty remarkable recovery since then.

Surgical ICU

Golly, reading over the last few posts I realized that writing things down in a hurry probably isn't the best thing. I tend to be very factual when doing so. Sorry, makes for a pretty boring read. I'm making some time right now!

Today I was in surgical ICU. The nurse I was shadowing--not helpful at all. Lame. One of my patients was conscious and intubated, and kept on trying to communicate with one hand that was restrained to the bed. He kept asking for water and ice. Then he motioned that he wanted a pen and paper, so after I fetched it he wrote, "You have to take this out." I was impressed because the pen/paper thing usually doesn't work (the patients are too sedated). One time I couldn't guess what he was saying, so he very kindly gave me the birdie. And I very kindly chuckled, said sorry, and left. : ) It would be so frustrating not being able to communicate...poor guy. 25 years old.

My other patient is a very sad story. His dad died earlier this week...I'm not sure if it was natural death or suicide. The patient was distraught so he went to a bar, got drunk, and called a friend to pick him up. When his friend got there he parked across the street, motioned at the patient to come to his car. As the patient was crossing the street he got hit by an oncoming car. He was pronounced brain dead 3 days ago. His mom is already institutionalized, so it was up to his younger brother and sister to make the decisions regarding organ donations. His body could save 7 lives. Right now he's still hooked up to machines that are keeping his body (not brain) alive, so to the family it may appear that he's still alive, but without those things his heart would stop beating in minutes--maybe seconds. It was the saddest thing to see the nurse shine a flashlight in his eyes and there be no reaction. He was 23. He had just gotten out of the military less than a month ago, so all of his buddies were coming in and leaving their patches at his bedside.

I learned alot about organ donations today. In case you are interested, you have to go online and register to be an official organ donor. Having a sticker on your license doesn't do it. If you're not registered online, the choice is up to the family, and it's usually a very hard choice considering the circumstances. As for me, I think I want to donate everything--if it ever came to that.

It was a hard day.

Never too late?

I feel like if I don't post now, I never will--because there's so much to tell!!
In my last Critical Care rotation (the last one I wrote about) I got to insert and IV and do other nursely things. It was cool.

Then I went to my last 3 week rotation on the Psych floor. It was pretty neat. Basically, patients check themselves in to get re-medicated or to have their prescriptions altered a tad. Sometimes something will happen in their lives that sends them over the edge so they'll check themselves in. At the hospital, there's group activities all day to participate in. There's a recreational therapy group, where they play games and team-building activities; there's art therapy; and there's a couple group sessions with the therapist. It's pretty neat to sit in on group sessions because the patients help each other out so much. We didn't really get to do a whole lot on the psych floor; mainly observe and have a couple short conversations with patients.

This week I was in the Emergency Room! The first day I was there it was pretty slow...nothing too exciting. The second day I got to see some traumas, and one from the very beginning admission. The guy couldn't breathe because he had pericardial effusion, where fluid leaks out and builds up around the heart, causing it to not be able to squeeze efficiently. So they intubated him, got him hooked up to all the machines (where they made their discovery), and stuck a needle into the sack covering the heart to get the fluid out. It was cool because I've read about it in our books, but it's a rare thing to be able to see. Even after that his heart was having some problems and they had to cardiovert him.

Other than that I saw a lady with the flu, a guy with a super swollen eye for no apparent reason (nice, nice guy), girl with an abcess (sick but cool), alot of 'drug seekers' and a few failed suicides. Drug seekers are interesting. They come in complaining of pain, but they end of being 'allergic' to everything except for the drug they want. One guy had been in 7 times in March alone. The doctor walked in knowing the history and said, "So how much cocaine have you had today?"

I liked the ER alot better than I thought it would. It's kind of neat to have quick rotation of patients, close and frequent communication with the doctors, and great variety of presenting problems.

Wrap up of Critical Care

So. It's been a long time! My rotation in ICU was good. It was different than I thought it would be....generally speaking, the nurses aren't very busy, but they are working with much higher risk patients so that makes up the difference. I didn't know this before, but there's about 5 different ICU floors at S&W all with their own specialties. I got to work in the Cardiac ICU and Medical ICU.

My first patient was in because she used cocaine. When presented in the ER, her blood pressure was 250/160 (ish). Considering normal BP is 120/80, "her head should have blown off," as my nurse put it. The nurse didn't really have sympathy for the patient...I can see why, because there are other people on the unit who take care of themselves and still have major problems, and here this lady is abusing the good body that she has.

The first day of my rotation, a code was called on a room down the hall from mine. When codes are called, EVERYONE on the unit goes to help. My friend and I stood outside the room and watched for about 25 minutes while nurse traded out doing CPR and administering meds on a woman. It was...I don't even know how to describe it. Intense and emotional, I guess. After 25 minutes, everyone just started walking out of the room...they couldn't get her back.

The patient's nurse had grown really close with her, because she had seemingly made huge leaps of progress in the past few days. My instructor volunteered herself and me to clean up the body, seeing how the nurse was emotionally distraught. I thought I was up for it. My teacher gave me the instructions: Take everything out of the body (IVs and stuff) and make her look pretty so the family can have a good last memory. We walked into the room and all I could do was stare at the IV pump stand. I started to cry a little. After collecting myself, we gently took care of her. It was an honor. It was hard. I never imagined I would have to do something like that. I'm so thankful that my teacher was sensitive and helping me--it would have been so difficult to do that on my own for the first time.

After that, I thought I was fine and that it didn't really affect me. It did. Life is just so short. I mean, I imagine myself getting a job, finding a man :D, and growing old and happy, but in reality it could be me in the bed tomorrow. Our futures are so...up in the air. It made me wonder if I'm living my life in such a way that I would be satisfied to go tomorrow. I'm not. I've been living for the future instead of for today.

The rest of my experience seemed a little less great after that. It was a good experience.
Now I'm on the Psych unit at S&W, which I'll document later : ) So far, it's been hopeful.

Two weeks worth!

I've fallen behind. I want to hit the high points of my last two weeks at the psych ward so I can remember later.

On our unit most of the patients are 'older' and in their early fifties or a little younger, so it really made one patient stick out who was only 26. We saw him on our first week and he seemed really sad and pretty lonely, but generally okay--compared to some other patients. He looked relaxed, his gait was even, ate well and conversed with others during meal time. Well, when we went back on the last week (only two weeks after we saw him initially) he had changed so much. We came on the unit at about 6:45am and he greeted us with a warm 'hello' while he was walking around the floor. We took that as a good sign. He never stopped pacing around the halls. All day. And he had "The Walk" of the other patients who have been on meds for a really long time. It's kind of like a Frankenstein walk; very stiff and slow, and the arms are lifted off the body a little like he was wearing a puffy winter coat. It was so sad. Every time he passed us, I felt just as sad as the first time I saw him all over again. One of the patients even said, "Hey, don't you get tired of walking up and down the halls or somethin?" They young man looked up slowly and said, "Not really." and he kept on walking.


To celebrate the time we had spent there, on the last day we played charades with the patients and ended with fruit salad. Boy, they loved that fruit salad(!) cause they never get fresh fruit...or if they do get fruit it's always yucky. It was so cool to see that patients play the game. The things they were acting out were easy, like surfing, brushing your teeth, dancing, painting, etc. but to see them succeed and feel good and happy about it was so cool. Just to forget about everything and have fun. My favorite character on Lost is Hurley--mainly because he has alot of 'freeing' moments. He often puts problems, gloom, and doom aside and just relaxes and enjoys what is good in the moment. This is one of those moments



I feel like the patients had one of those moments on our last day. The funny thing is, later on the show "Lost," it turns out that Hurley gets put in a mental institution.

My patients were interesting. One woman was in with paranoid schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and she always thought that people were trying to steal from her or that she was being treated unfairly. Her mood was bizarre because she would be happy and optimistic on moment and fifteen seconds later she would be severely unhappy and depressed.
A guy I had who was 26 was being discharged that same day. He had rage problems and had been having thoughts of hurting people. He also "self medicated" himself with marijuana and alcohol. I'm not sure if he had really improved any, but they needed to get him out to make room for new patients.

One thing that disgusts me about the VA is that they are so concerned with getting people in, that they just shove people out--whether they're ready or not. Also, the nurses sit behind the nurses station at their computers and have NO therapeutic interaction with the patients whatsoever. They basically give meds and chart. What they chart I have no idea, because they don't communicate with or listen to the patients. *stepping off my soap box* : ) It just takes one person who really cares about people to make a difference and set a new standard.

I guess that's about all for the VA. I'll try to update about Cardiac ICU soon!

This ain't no Flinstone Age.

What a week! Going to a psych ward is a very intimidating, daunting thing. All 9 of us woke up bright and early (6:30!) to carpool to Waco. It was really cold and rainy, and driving up to the place we were all overwhelmed. I think any building, no matter how beautiful, can be nerve racking in such an uncertain time. We weren't sure what was being held behind those doors.

After much discussion and advice, our instructor finally led us up to the floor we would be working. Immediately after we stepped off the elevator a large man walked up to the nurse's station and yelled about how he didn't get his shot. Our teacher quickly moved us aside and down the hall to dodge the action. By that time we were all wide eyed, I'm sure!

On this floor all of the patients have quite a bit of freedom. They can watch TV in the TV room, sit in the dining area, stay in their rooms, or just walk around. Alot of them just walk around. Our teacher gave us our assignments and introduced us to our patients so that we could set up a time to meet with them. Before our meeting, we had the opportunity to just stand back and watch as they interacted with their fellow patients during lunch. Immediately a fight broke out over some Ensure. Most of them didn't really talk to each other, but they ate their food quickly and turned in their tray. A couple folks hollered, "Welcome to the VA!" And one guy showed me his dentures (apparently they fit really good and he doesn't even need to use the denture glue!) and told me all about how he got one of his teeth knocked out as a kid. Most everyone was really friendly and curious about us. A few thought that we had come to invade or conspire.

After lunchtime I got to meet with my patient. I asked him a question and it became quite apparent that his thought process was not linear at all. He jumped from one topic to the next. He was so nice and friendly, though. He also informed me that he is George W. Bush, Bill & Hillary Clinton are his parents, Obama is his cousin, and he is currently dating Oprah Winfrey. David Letterman does not approve of their relationship. : ) He was not lying, or trying to convince me of anything. He really believed it. You know, if I had heard the effects of his disease in class (which, I haven't yet, because we just started lectures) I don't know if I would have really believed it. But seeing it in real life is, well, crazy. (I have to be careful about saying "crazy" in the hospital. I didn't realize how much my vocabulary is dependent upon it!) He also told me that he ordered a new tricked out Nissan that can fly. I replied, "Really? I have never seen a flying car." To which he declared, "Girl, this ain't no Flinstone Age, this is 2008!" Anyway, he was really dear and full of expression and passion--plus, he's a mighty good dominoes player! It was quite the experience.

I am really surprised at how much I loved it, taking into account how freaked out I was to go in the first place. I don't know if I could actually work there for a long time, though. It could be really frustrating (and sad/depressing) to never see any progress being made. For most of the patients, the medications only stop the disease where it's at and there is no cure. So, they're kind of just stuck. I don't know how I feel about that either. They are on drugs that take away the person's personality and turn them into a zombie-like state, but if they were released back to their homes (if they have one) they would be much worse off. So it seems like there is no winning. However, our professor was telling us that there are some houses that take in the mentally ill (about 5-8 patients). Just ordinary people who want to help. They aren't trained at all. I think that is pretty cool. We need more places like that.

Next week will be exciting, now that we are all feeling more comfortable in our new atmosphere. I'm excited! :D

Community

This week I had a community rotation. Man, I love them. It's a nice break to have amidst the normal hospital routine. Today I worked with an RN from ECI, or Early Child Intervention. She basically makes home visits and plays with the child for about 30 minutes and then talks with the parents to identify needs and coordinate care...because these people are usually receiving support from more than one organization.
She is great at what she does. At the first home we visited, CPS was investigating, and the dad was really mad at them. He also had frustrations with WIC, and numerous other people. She gently pointed out that while he may all of these people as threats, they are really good because they want what's best for the child. She said it in a really good way to where he couldn't argue.
The next house we went to was really sad. It made me mad. There was a cute, chatty, smart, controlling 2 y.o. that was next door to my patient's room last week in the hospital who, apparently, is in the hospital all of the time. In fact, I saw her earlier in the semester, too. The whole staff of nurses at S & W loves her to pieces, and understandably so. Anyway, it was her house we went to today. She is in foster care, and all of her foster brothers and sisters (probably about 8 total) have serious medical problems. They each have their own nurse. There were 5 cribs in one room and three or four in another. It was a mini hospital. The RN I was with mentioned that some of these foster parents treat having kids like it's a little business. It's hard to see such a promising kid in a place like that, instead of a normal family...whatever that is.

A gift

The past two days have by far been the best and most rewarding. I took care of a Vietnamese woman and her newborn son, the miracle baby. He had a transverse fetal lie and a nuchal chord x4....meaning, laying sideways in momma and the chord wrapped around his throat 4 times. (Rare and crazy!) He was so cute, and every time I touched him he would get fussy--even if I was only taking his temp! His face would get all scrunched up and red...still adorable.

Anyway, there was a man in the room during everything, even the things that the husband usually leaves for. However, he wasn't the husband or father. He was her boss. After hearing the nurses talking about the woman's history--being a prostitute to support her family, becoming pregnant and then moving to the states to work for this guy--immediately I started assuming things.

These people were *so* sweet. The man spoke broken English, and the woman close to none. But every time I left they room they would smile and say thank you. As I was leaving tonight, I went in to tell them goodbye and thank you for letting me take care of them. He thanked me for helping and then said, "You'll make lot of money. You lucky." All of a sudden he began to talk.

He told me of how he grew up in Vietnam during communism, had ten brothers and sisters, escaped by boat and after three days and nights ended up in Malaysia, where he was put in a refugee camp--for seven years. Now he works 7 days a week, 12 hours a day to make money. He goes back to Vietnam once a year and gives his family money and also money to the church or temple.
There are tons of pregnant girls there that get abortions because their partner leaves them. The churches and/or temples try to aide these girls so that they have another option. He said he makes more money than he needs personally, but not enough to help all of these girls, so he gives what he can and then goes to schools to educate and talk to people. The government doesn't help at all, and if people see the bad and try to change things, they are shut down and they get in trouble.

He said, you only live once. You can't take anything with you when you go see God. We don't know what tomorrow will bring--if we will live or die. Right now we must live, love, laugh and help. He told me to take a vacation to another country. That when I came back to the U.S. I would love my country and realize how lucky I was...and how needy others are.

His passion for helping others was so encouraging. After listening to him speak I then understood why he was there, with this girl. He has grasped the fragility of life. And I couldn't help but reminded that, "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

What a blessing.

Now I know why they call it a See Section

Back at the hospital today! My friend, Liz, and I haven't been in the hospital for 2 weeks, so we were both a little rusty. I'm glad that I have her to go through things with! My patient was dilated to a 5 at 2:30 this afternoon and didn't progress at all, so they did a C section at about 8:00. I *never* want to have a C section. Well, I guess unless my life or the baby's life was in danger I could make an exception. But otherwise...no way!

My hat is off to the person who discovered/invented anesthesia. Seriously. I won't go into details, but the procedure is rough. The outcome, however, is the same--one cute baby! And the way we had her all wrapped up made her look like a little eskimo. Just precious. I love the labor and delivery floor.

Mrs. Emmerson mentioned in class the other day that the stories aren't always happy. Bad things happen, too. A bad thing happened today on the floor. I was standing by the computers listening to the charge nurse talk about a patient. I looked down at some papers nearby and could see a picture of a baby...it looked really, really bad. She saw me looking at it and handed it and a few others to me. It was one that they lost today--only 19 weeks gestation. You can imagine what the family and even the nurse were going through.

It's hard to remember that everything that happens, happens for the glory of the Lord. It's a little easier, looking in from the outside. But if I were the mother, would that be something that I would think about? If I were the nurse? What could I do or say to comfort? How could I make that conversation intentional enough to relay God's mercy and love? It made me think about how, when I AM a nurse, I would handle that kind of thing.

I hate to end this on a low note, but sometimes, that's just the way it is...
Despite the good or bad, there's always the....good or bad.
It's just life. And we are carried through.

PREP

Today I went with three other girls to the "PREP" program. I think it stands for "Preparing responsible and educated parents," or something. It's actually a really, really great thing. Pregnant teenagers can go there and get their high school diploma in 2 years. During those 2 years, they also have free childcare for their babies in the same facility. Granted, the girls have to have a good attendance record and also stay out of trouble...which is hard for some of them. When two newborns from different moms share the same dad, there can be a little tension in the room. Generally all of the girls tease each other and give each other a hard time.

While we were there today we taught a short exercise class, gave general assessments on toddlers, and observed (played with) them to see if they were developmentally where they should be. Man, kids are so cute. Always. My little guy had lots of earwax and snot, but he was still cute, and sweet as can be. It was really eye opening to see girls as young as 13 with skinny little legs and big 'ole bellies. Really sad that they have to grow up so fast...or think that they are all grown up.

It was also good to see the women who ran the show. There were other teachers and helpers there, too, but one R.N. was pretty much in charge of the whole sha-bang. It kind of reminded me of Mama Lupita at Casa Hogar Elim, in Mexico. She has to be tough and strict with them to get the job done...to earn their respect...to be heard. But the love she has for the girls is all over her face. Cool woman, and quite admirable.

Tomorrow I get to draw blood! I forgot where we're going, though...

Bowling and WIC

Today was a really fun day. For the first half, I was at Temple High School working with special needs kids and we went to the bowling alley. At first I was really scared and unsure, mainly because I didn't know what to expect. Some of the kids are so smart! One girl, Erica, is able to remember everyone's birthday...a coach came in and said, "Erica--what's my sister's name? What's my mommas name? What's my sister's birthday?" She answered them all correctly. The teacher was telling me that one time there was a visitor that Erica had briefly met 3 years prior and Erica still remembered her birthday, too! Some of my favorite lines,
"Miss Lauren, I'm a woman. What are you?"
"Who's your brother? Does he like stickers?"
"Who's your pastor? Don't tear up his Bible!"

There was also one kid named Sergei that seemed really smart, too. He told me all about how he was from Russia but his mom died. Now he's adopted and his dad is a pediatrician at Scott and White. A really kind kid. The teacher told me that he always comes to her upset because he thinks he doesn't have enough faith.

I could picture myself working with those kids someday. Maybe not right after school, and maybe not for a real long time, but at least for a little while. Today was an eye opening blessing.

After going to the school, I went with my friend, Liz, to WIC. I really liked it. Definitely another things I can picture myself doing someday. Well, community work, at least. It's really relaxed and you get to know the clients pretty well for the time that they're there. It's a good environment. Oh, and I saw the same baby whose birth I witnessed a few weeks ago! That was pretty cool : )

Last week in NICU was a blast, too! I took care of a 1 lb 12 oz baby who had a twin brother next to him. Previously I thought that all NICU babies were doomed (or something) but a nurse told me that S&W usually only has 5-6 deaths a year...so the survival rate is really high! That kind of made me look at things differently--like the work that I do there will actually make a difference in the baby's future...I could also picture myself there someday.

Oh dear, I like everything I do this semester...this could be a bad thing! ; )

Until next week....

Catch Up!

Oh, I didn't write last week...time for a catch up!!!

Last week I was working on the postpartum unit in couplet care. My patient was born the day after me, so that was pretty cool. She was really nice, had lots of good questions, and her baby had the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen in my life! This was this young woman's second baby in the past two years...eek! Glad it's not me :)
I finally felt more comfortable working with my patient as far as walking in, assessing, asking questions to get info, etc. It felt good. I even got to do discharge teaching when they left! So now they know all I know about what the mom should be feeling physiologically (vague enough? :D), how to bottle feed so the baby can tolerate it better, side effects of meds, how to get a birth certificate, who to call if they have problems or questions, and all that fun stuff. I felt useful. The nurses all seem really happy and like they enjoy there jobs. However on the other end of the spectrum...........

there's the Pediatrics floor. Not quite filled with as much life. My patient on Wednesday had a really interesting disease process (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpus)--a hemorrhagic disorder where his blood doesn't clot effectively. These kids are supposed to take it easy and stay away from the rough physical contact that comes along with sports (because they take forever to stop bleeding), however, the dad insisted that he continue playing "PeeWee Football" so he could be a normal kid. How normal is it if you get a paper cut and have massive blood loss? Anyway, he was in the hospital to get loaded up on meds so he could play football. A 7-year-old.
My patient yesterday was really sad. She was 9-years-old and suffered from Cerebral Palsy. She's a Foster Care kid, but didn't have any visitors all day. She laid in her net-covered-crib flopping around a foam puzzle, listening to hospital music for most of the time. I read her a book and talked to her...she looked at me occasionally, but I couldn't tell if she understood anything. I told her she had pretty hair and put my hand on her head, and she moved her hand to her head also. Maybe she understood? I found out that alot of the pedi kids on the floor are in foster care.
On a brighter note, I did go into the Child Life center (the playroom) and met these two boys playing video games. They were sitting in front of the TV, both in blue gowns, both with IV stands behind them. : ) They had just become friends and were going to go in one of the boys' room to continue their party after the playroom closed. That was pretty cool--seeing kids being friends with kids who had some of the same things going on.

I got my paper work done at 4:25...it was due at 4:30. I was so glad to get that out of my hands! :D

Next week I go to Nicu. My impression from classmates is that these babies take your heart. I'm a little nervous...I'm sure there will be sad stories.

What to expect:

"Parents devote the majority of their time to the care and comfort of the hospitalized child, which causes siblings to feel left out of the parent-sick child relationship. Siblings may become resentful of their sick sibling and begin to feel guilty or ashamed about such feelings." page 970

"Parents instensify attention toward the sick child. The other siblings may regard this as unfair and interpret the parents' attitude toward them as rejection and abandonment." page 1056
Wong's Nursing Care of Infants and Children

Today we learned about alot of things to expect. It's good to know normals.
This is hard.

L&D

We had clinicals last week, but I don't remember much except that I was in 'couplet care' (taking care of a mom and baby together) and that I was still really nervous to walk into the patient's room.

This week, however, I will never forget. Today I worked on the labor and delivery unit....and I got to see a baby being born! It was different than I expected--the baby came so quickly I could barely get my gloves on. It was the woman's 5th child, so it was a pretty easy labor. She pushed once and the head (it was SO wrinlky!) came out, and on the second push the rest of the body popped out! Then my teacher and I dried her off, did a few tests, and gave it it's vitamin K shot and eye ointment. It happened so fast!

It's crazy to think of everything that can happen in a lifetime...and it all just started for this little girl. The mom was so happy. And the baby was so curious, opening her eyes every now and then to take a stretch. For such a neat day, I don't think I could say enough. It was just good.

Rose-colored

This week was my first week on the new floor with Ms. Fix. She is famous for giving students really hard patients, which I appreciate. I mean, we'll have to have them eventually anyway.
My first patient had a really supportive family, and one person was in the room with him 24/7. Really cool (and rare). Well the patient's nephew was talking about how he should have died 5 times--he's been shot, stabbed, run over, you name it. And basically gave glory to God for giving him life and for having a plan for his life. He said he didn't know why he was still alive, but there was a reason.
Well, I went out to the nurses station and was sharing with a friend how encouraging it was to hear this guy, and a resident that was at a nearby computer turned around and said, "Ah, to be young and see through rose-colored glasses," almost as if he's lived longer and knows better. I replied, "I think it has very little to do with age." He said, "Well, I'm not even that old but I wish I still thought that way," (or something along those lines). Then I left. He made me mad.
The next day my original patient was discharged to rehab, so I got a new patient. He was pretty out of it...both of these guys had already had craniotomies. Intense! I was feeding him sausage for breakfast, and in between each bite he would fall back asleep. And, as it turns out, he wasn't actually swallowing the sausage...only keeping it in his cheek. He was really nice and appreciative. He'll be going back to surgery this week. I feel really bad for him.
The bad thing about nursing is that you see alot of really bad things. Alot of patients who are in much pain and have little hope. It's important to remember that I can't actually heal anyone, only God can. I can only perform duties, but He is the healer. My first patient's nephew reminded me how important it is to intercede on their behalf.

Peach Cobbler

This story is from last week, but I still wanted to write about it for my own recollection.

Last week a nurse asked me to help feed one of her patients. When I got in the room it was freezing. The woman (about 45 y.o.) had on no blanket and the fan was turned on high, she was shaking alot due to her disease. She had a tracheotomy. I asked her a few questions about herself, and then she wouldn't stop talking...you could tell she was really lonely.

Mainly, she spoke of how much she loved her husband for caring for her and putting up with her during all this time. She also has two daughters, who are my age. In between words she would take bites of the mystery meat, mashed potatoes, and the peach cobbler--she loved the peach cobbler. She and her husband had built a new blue house about 3 years ago. He works during the week and can only come visit her on the weekends, and she had been in there for a long time.

She was telling me about her disease when she said, "Once the symptoms start showing up, you have about 3 years to live...I'm at the end of my 3rd year." She started crying. I was about to lose it, but I knew I couldn't because being the nurse you have to be the steady one. At least that's what my teacher said. I didn't feel very steady. So, I just rubbed her arm and looked towards the blowing fan so it would dry the water from eyes.

She had a tattoo of a rose on her wrist that she got when she turned 18. She said, "People just have to get to know me to know that I'm a Christian." She referred to "what the Bible says" alot, but none of it sounded familiar to me. :) I told her, "Ya know, the Bible also says that God won't give us more than we can bear, so he has a purpose for you today." She nodded in agreement.

She kept on apologizing for talking so much, but I'm really happy that God just used me as a listener for that day. For that hour. I'm also happy that I have a peach cobbler loving sister in Christ that is probably praising Jesus in person (or spirit, or somethin) right now. Pray for strength for her husband and two girls.