Spring Senior Year

Jun. 8th, 2010 08:05 pm
February (when I last wrote) seems like forever ago! In that time I completed my final semester of nursing school, fought through my Preceptor, walking acrossed the graduation stage in the Tacoma Dome and watched Sara and Matt get married! Everything seems like a whirlwind. As though it almost didn't happen.

Feb. 2nd, 2010 10:32 pm Demonic Child
So it was another night in the emergency department. I got to care for a cute little girl who had a broken arm and was getting a blue cast (pink was just not her!) :) She kept having me guess the answers to questions like her name, types of pets, and even what was on the TV behind me! Luckily I recognized Miley Cyrus' voice and was correct guessing Hannah Montana! I finished up the cast and learned that I "possessed teenageer" was expected in the ED in 10mins. The kiddo showed up strapped to a back board but seemed pretty calm. I guess he had been running around outside, beat up an officer, and spit at the EMTs...I seemed to gain the 14yo boy's trust pretty quick and we were able to take of his restraints. He explained to me that he didn't remember anything other than waking up in the ambulance. He knew who and where he was, yet nothing before that evening.
Before I knew it, a pastor and another man came in and explained that the boy had been taken out of school a few months ago for some situation and the family was trying to perform an exsorcism that evening. When the cleanse really got going, the boy supposedly ran out of the house sreaming and possessed....When the kid's mom and grandma showed up and rushed to the bedside, the boy looked at me confused and seemed scared. I asked him if he recognized them and he said no. The mom kept waving her hands in front of him and touching his forehead which was freaking him out.
Next thing I know the pastor and family asked to pray over the poor, terrified kid...Since I had to stay in the room to watch the kid, I just stood there as they chanted and let the kid know that "Jesus would bring him peace." I don't know how helpful that was but it calmed the family a bit.
He was definately confused but I don't know about demonic. I will say that it was weird how he was talking to me one second, and then mid sentence, he stopped and locked his eyes on his foot. He became nonverbal for a good hour and didn't seem to recognize me anymore but then all of a sudden regonized his mom and grandma. He still couldn't remember a thing and couldn't believe he hadn't known his parents but it seems after three hours at the ED he spell subsided....With no drugs in his system or history of mental illness, the doctor explained the episode as an axiety spell. Who knows! Nice kid though and I guess I scared that demon right out of him!

Jan. 24th, 2010 12:55 pm Family Ailments
Words can't describe the amount of stress this Christmas and New Year brought for me, but now that things are slowing down and are getting back to normal I figured it's be a good thing to reflect and take what I can from the experiences.....
First there's Aunt Teresa. I knew all of her chemo and the bone marrow treatment to fight her Multiple Myeloma would be hard, but I never considered the impact it would put on my tiny family. As relative after relative bailed out on her leaving more and more care responsiblities for my mom I realized just how amazing my mom is. How genuine and selfless of a woman I was raised by, and maybe that kind of explaining my nursing kick! :) The resentment I have come to feel towards those that refused to help as taught me patience and reminded me that karma comes around and its not my place to judge. As time went on and Auntie Teresa needed more help, I think it started to wear physically on my mom, who a few days after Thanksgiving started feeling the back pain. Mom sure waited long enough to find out that she had a herniated disc and before we knew it she couldn't even stand long enough to care for herself let alone the house, dogs, and Auntie Teresa. That's when I had to really step up. Luckily Christmas break started went all hell broke lose but I don't think I knew how bad it was until I came home and saw mom lying on the couch unable to walk for too long or sit upright.
For two weeks, we waited for mom's doctor's appointments and although we were pretty sure she needed surgery, she wanted a secondf opinion. I balanced taking care of the house, helping mom, and driving Auntie Teresa down to Seattle. I couldn't believe that mom was still fighting through work to make sure we kept our health insurance....I realized how string she is while at the same time realizing how she struggles with sitting still and accepting that she needs to take care of herself. Seems like it was forever along now but there were times I wanted to pull my hair out, but then other times where I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
As I got ready to head back to school, mom found out she was having back surgery the day after I heading back to school. I had to help in South so my option was to drive up from Tacoma to visit her at Northwest. You'd think with how many people I have seen in a hospital bed I'd have been fine visiting but it true that when it's your family member emotions are higher and reason seems to fly out the window. Mom was fine. Drugged but otherwise good and the surgereon said that he repaired her disc without complications. She still had the numbness is her leg but the pain was gone.
Mom went home and things were fine for a few days but then she got pain in her legs. Dad rushed her to the ED and we found out she had a blood clot in her leg. She was prescribed anticoags but before we knew it she had new pain in her other leg to accompany the pain still in the other. We figured she had another clot but the hospital wouldn't do anything different than give her meds so she stayed at home. I felt terrible being at school. Mandy was calling upset that dad was calling her names and she was falling behind in school due to caring for mom. Mom felt helpless and called upset, while dad supposedly was sick of caring for the house and was done with it all. I think it was all stress but I can say that I felt the world was spliting apart!
One thing lead to another, and mom called my in terrible pain. She said her shoulder hurt and she thought she had slept on it wrong. I could tell in her voice that something was wrong and she could barely tolerate it. I guess she waited a bit but then dad drove her to the ED. I woke up to dad calling to tell me that mom was in the ER because one of the clots in her leg moved to her lung. I can't explain how I felt when I heard that and to be honest I never want to recall that sensation.
The second I got off the phone, I cleared my schedule. I called who I needed to call and jumped in the car to get to that hospital as fast as I could. Mom didn't have to say anything, I could tell in her eyes how happy she was to see me the second I walked in. She was in alot of pain and the nausea was getting to her. I convinced the nurse to get her more meds and I think that's when I realized that the family really has to advocate for their loved one. As a future nurse, it has inspired me to care for my patient to the best and highest quality I can, and gathered a better understanding of the patient's family's perspective. Although I knew how many people the nurse was juggling, I expect my mom to be the center of that nurse's world.
Mom ended up being okay although the doctors all said she was super lucky that she recognized the signs of the PE. After a 4 days hospital stay and realizing she has a clotting disorder, mom got to go home and started finally recovering! It was crazy being down at school and wanting to be at home caring for everyone. Mandy was so stressed trying to do school and care for mom while dad took his stress out on everyone else...The whole expereince has made me apprecaite the people I have around me and I learned that my family really does come together and care for each other in times of need. I hope I never have this type of thing again but somehow I doubt that...At least things are okay now!

Jan. 24th, 2010 12:46 pm MBED - Burns
Another night in the ED. Considering recently most patients are simply cough and fever babies with little for me to do, this night was super eventful. I have lots of hold for IVs, a cast, and trauma in the few hours I was there. We had two wacky kids....The first was a 12yo boy who had been playing with gasoline and matches in his garage. The gas ended up exploding, giving the kiddo 1st and 2nd degree burns on his arms, face, and chest. His hair was burnt (which reeked) and his burns were oozing. The worst burn was on his right hip which was peeling off. Once our patient was stable, we dressed his wounds with dry bandages and sent him off to Harborview where they have a burn center. It was crazy to see those kinds of burns.

The other crazy kiddo I never actually saw in person...I simply saw the xrays. It was a 8mo baby girl who came in with a cough and difficulty breathing. Dr. Kravatz ordered a chest xray to make sure is wasn't pneumonia, only to find out that the baby had a hernia! About 8-10in of intestine could be seen pushing up those the diaphragm, compressing the baby's lung. The baby was scheduled for immediate surgery and should be okay. That xray however was messed up! :)

Nov. 24th, 2009 11:25 pm Turkey Baskets
I realized that I only have 6 months until graduation!!! I am registered for my last semester of classes and only have 3 weeks of Senior I to go!! This morning I helped out with the Delta Thanksgiving Baskets. Three years now helping out and I love it! My job this year was to go around campus and pick up the baskets for donation. Boy were there some biggies!! The Business Office had decorated the baskets with garland and everyone that gave was so awesome and supportive of what us nurses were trying to accomplish! Janet quized me to make sure I knew how to truly sound/show appreciation as I picked up the baskets..... =) It was quite funny and I gave here a hard time about it! I acted out what I'd say in a skit to make sure I had her approval. Overall it was a great day and we ended up having over 200 turkey baskets. The whole room in facilities was lined from wall to wall! I am going to miss all of this!!

Nov. 6th, 2009 10:54 am Time
How does time fly like is does? When you're doing something you absolutely hate is drags on.....while things you enjoy fly by. But how does time feel when there's things you hate and love about your task your doing? Right now I am excited that nursing school is almost over! I feel like the day couldn't have come fast enough! No more projects and tests and clinical at the butt crack of dawn! But at the same time I am realizing how little time I have left with all my buddies before we split. I don't want to move on into the real world.....It's already November and I'm filling out my app to graduate.....I am torn between happy and sad.

Oct. 31st, 2009 08:04 pm Sexing Babies! =)
Heard the cutest idea ever that I want to remember. I ran into this pregnant woman and when I asked if she knew whether she was having a boy or a girl, she told me how she planned to find out.....when she got the results at the doctors office, she had them place it in an envelop so she couldn't see. Then she gave the envelope to her friend who looked but swore not to tell either way. Then in a few weeks, the woman's whole family is getting together for a celebration, were the friend is going to bring a cake. The cake will be completely frosted with white frosting but the inside color will either by blue or pink to surprise everyone with the baby's gender!! I love it!!

Oct. 31st, 2009 04:11 pm Halloween!
It's Halloween!!! I would love to say I'm out having fun but I am working in the ED....I thought alot more fo the staff and kids would be dressed up but I'm the only one walking around with antennas on my head!

I worked a bunch this last weekend at MB and got to do my first enema. Shoved that bottle right up the kiddo's rear and gave it a squeeze. Laura Cain, let me know this week that she's leaving to work in an office....I am bummed cause she's definitely one of my favs! I am happy for her though! I did have a cool abscess that I got to see. It was around baseball size and was a pus-y one!

Today is boring....nothing so far worth mentioning. Everyone is bringing in their kids with coughs and fevers because they are scared to death that their kids joining to drop dead from the swine flu....People have been getting mad that we won't test the kids for the specific type of flu they have but they just don't understand that it doesn't matter! Either way, they have the flu and we treat them the same way. All of us in the dept. get so excited to have something different like an abscess!

Tonight after I get off, I am going to go over for Britt's Halloween bash which should be fun! Last night we went to Stephanies house which was decked out! Mice Crispies, blood on the counter tops, even the family pics on the wall had been drawn on so the kids looked decayed! We had alot of fun and danced to swing music all night!

So that's life at the moment. Class, homework, work, and some fun!