"No I don't use no alcohol"

We wondered why the patient was so concerned with where her purse is. It is kind of common that the older ladies are very concerned with where there purse is. To prevent anxiety, we usually give them their purse. This night was interesting. After wondering why her blood pressure was still so very low, we decided to go through the purse.
Things found in patient's purse:

• 1/5 of whiskey
• 4 different bottles of narcotics
• laxatives
• Extra strength tylenol

Needless to say, when she went into respiratory distress, Narcan became our best friend as she was over dosed.

Note to self: Remove belongings from patient's reach and monitor access.

Never underestimate the cute little old ladies

Go Vote!!

I voted in early voting today. There were already crowds, thus my suggestion is to vote early if you can.

I think this year it will be a hot election. I must say, the electronic voting let me a little wary. How do I know those electronics won't be tinkered with? How are votes counted if the electronic system goes awry?
I have to look up the systems and back up systems that are in place to ease my fears.

My civic duty, however is done!
Go Vote!!
Whatever your beliefs and thoughts are, at least express them!
Vote!!

The Taking of Pills

I have become increasingly interested in how people swallow pills. I know, I know, a weird topic, but one that is integral to every part of my working day.

Some people take one at a time or even require the pill be cut up. Others take the whole bucket at once and knock back the lot, and, with a upward jerk of the head and a large mouth full of beverage, down those pills go! It is as if their gullet just opens up!

There are also the ones in between (this is me as well) who can take about 2-3 at at time with enough beverage.

Do throats come in sizes?? Are some blessed with this pelican-like gullet that accepts anything? While others of us have narrow throats and can't swallow anything?

It is just interesting to watch how people take their meds. I am now trying to guess; is she a head jerker, take-all-at-once kinda gal or is he a "please cut it up into 4's" kinda guy. You just never know!

Anxiety

I found this interesting article at CNN.com on anxiety and its relation to the fluctuating economic times.
Really??
I know that anxiety and other psychological problems are real and valid, but have we become a nation that cannot withstand any imperfection or "bumps in the road" of life? Sometimes life is really hard. You have to figure out how to deal with it and get on with it.
So many people seem unable to do that.
Why?
On the same note, I worry so much about our current generation; they thing they have to have new cars and the top designer items right now. All the girls have expensive handbags and perfect, manicured nails - they are about 12 years old....

What happens when they don't get what they want later in life as so often happens in real life?
With no coping skills, it will be a hard fall.

I think that is a big part of the problem, no coping skills, no "life skills." So many turn to medication. Medication helps, helps you get through the tough part. Without truly addressing the problem - what caused you to need the meds in the first place - it will never improve.
The injury is still under the bandaid...
Our nation faces several problems, many of which are our own making (buying houses we knew we could not afford) and those that simply befall us. Bad things do happen to good people.
It's what we do with the bad things that makes the difference, makes us who we are.
Even as a nation.

Unexpected Neighbors

As I was putting boxes into the storage closet off my balcony, I saw a wasp on one of my patio chairs. As I have an unreasonable, unrealistic fear of things that fly and sting - a behavior learned from my mom- I was deeply concerned to find that 6 wasps have decided my balcony light fixture is now home.
As horrified as I am of these little neighbors, I have been watching them regularly through my patio sliding door.
They really are fascinating. Watching them communicate and groom their antennas is so very interesting.
What I should do is go out there and spray them with the most vile wasp spray I can find and yet all I seem to be able to do is stand and watch as they do their little wasp-y things.
The scientist in me seems to have won for the moment.
Question 1: It is soon to be too cold for them to do much, why are they re-homing now?
Question 2: What species are they as I do not recognize them? (pictures to follow when I get the nerve up to get that close)
Question 3: Why MY balcony?
Question 4: Is there some scent or olfactory mechanism I can use to make them go away? In light of the fact I don't want to kill them now that I have watched them for several days??

I will keep you posted on what the outcome is.

Home is where the heart is

I have finally moved into my place. When your stuff was in four places, it takes forever to move. Finally, I have most all my stuff here at the apt and unpacked. It was like Christmas---"I own that??!! Wow, I totally forgot I had that!!"
Home could not be nicer. Living alone is nice, I don't want to do it forever, but for now it is great. I can cook how I want, run around naked or whatever I decide to do. The fish tank is up and running but no fish as of yet. I will be off to the pond store soon for new fishy friends. Both the bike and the car are happily settled into the garage. I think my BF's bike is lonely, as my bike was living in his garage, but the bikes see each other often as do he and I!
I feel like an adult again!

Shift Change

My internship is officially over! Yippee! However, I was politely asked if I would be interested in night-shift as I was originally hired for days. I thought, why not - the money will be nice and let's see if I like it. If it really sucks I have a day position I can have back. We will see.

I start this Friday and Saturday night. I have always kinda been a night owl so maybe this will be better than I think. Having had to get up at 0500 for the last several months, I am trying to transition this week. Wish me luck. I will have to find things to do in the night time I am not at work!

A New Beginning

When I started martial arts almost 10 years ago, I was told the learning does not start until after the black belt. No statement could be more true.

I had my first sword lesson yesterday and wow, I know nothing. I am a little sore and very happy about adding an obsession! ;-)
As my living arrangements settle down, I hope to keep adding back to the exercise. Studying sword is something I have wanted for a long time. It will take a lifetime to not cut off my own arm while drawing, but I am willing to put in the time. It is obvious to me sword will encompass all aspects of the other arts I have studied.

I have to discover where I will train for empty hand. I will not be returning to my former school, I just have to decide where to go and what to do.
A completely new discipline?
Similar discipline, new school?
I don't know yet.
I will be trying to return to the weapons class as a whole, I love the weapons. The empty hand will take a bit of figuring out. I am sure the right thing will come along.

Lessons From the Green Channel

I was at my BF's house (he has cable and a TV - two things I don't have) and we watched the Green Channel. It is all about going green and how to do little things to reduce your environmental foot print.
One thing really hit home with me. Mail. Junk Mail.
It showed this one family how much junk mail they get in one year. Mostly this junk mail consisted of catalogs. It was staggering - a wall of catalogs about 6ft tall, 2ft wide and about 8 ft long. Amazing! The discussion illustrated how much trash and land fill you can reduce by discontinuing your junk mail.

I started to do just that. Every time I get a catalog in the mail, I call and D/C it being sent to me.
I realized that I use the catalogs as entertainment; to sit mindlessly and flip thru the pages. Why do I do that? And a better question, why was I a teeny bit sad that this catalog was no longer going to greet me from my mailbox?
The power of advertising. The power of getting something with your name on it! Remember when you were a kid and you got that first piece of mail that was addressed to you? That feeling? I think that is what keeps us wanting this extraneous mail to just keep showing up in the mail box.
Crazy...
Well, I am trying to cut down on the trash! No more catalogs for me.
It's not like I shop any way!
Do the environment a favor, get rid of the crap in your life. No more extra crap!

I still dislike house hunting

My strange gift continues to get houses sold, just not in my favor. I have bid on more houses, all to be sold or under contract or the sellers want to negotiate some other things not initially discussed. I know why that one was on the market for 160 days!!

I put a deposit on an apartment today and will be moving this Friday unless some unforeseen house miracle occurs.
Heavy sigh....

I guess the house buying will have to wait for a bit...

The Best Thing Since Harry Potter

I have just finished a series of books. I have to say, it is as if I have lost a best friend. These are the books by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. It has been a really long time since I have read anything so captivating (much less fiction) and just plain FUN to read. The last time I enjoyed anything so much was the Harry Potter series. Yes, these rank up there with Potter.

The four books chronicle a story about truest of true, soul-mate love, its obstacles, acceptance and vampires and shape-shifters (werewolves). It is not the blah same-old-same-old vampire and werewolf thing. The story boils down to standing up for those you love, what is right and what is wrong and accepting people as they are, knowing we all make mistakes. It is a beautiful story any way you slice and it is absolutely fun to read! Beware, once you open the cover, putting them down is incredibly difficult.
Happy reading!

The Lucky Charm

Apparently, I have a previously undiscovered gift. The gift of getting houses sold. I have now bid on four houses in the last month. A couple of them were uninteresting to the the public until I bid and then, there were several simultaneous offers. I will know tomorrow if this most current bid will hold. I really hope so.

I also accompanied my Realtor to a showing he had to schedule that was for a leasing. It was a large house and the lease was $2500 monthly. The people were very interested. I saw my Realtor today, and they did lease the house.

He now believes I am his lucky charm. There have been at least 4 other houses that I called to come sign papers for a bid but, alas, they too were instantly sold.

"What is it with you?" He asked last week. "Will you go look at my two listings I can't seem to sell and think of putting offers in, so that I can sell them please."
My "gift" is not working to my favor. I am hoping, once I start the real estate thing in earnest, this gift WILL work to my advantage!

Rain in August??

Since when does it rain in August? With this strange occurrence, people still don't believe there is a global climate change happening??!!
Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but does this mean in another couple decades we will be in a tropical rain forest? It is muggy enough!

I Dislike House Hunting

I did not win the bid on the house, not surprising, it was a deal! The hunt continues! I have found that house shopping is the same for me as all other shopping: I don't like it.

I don't care for any shopping unless it involves horses, cars or motorcycles. Houses do not fall into any other those categories.

I will either buy something in the next two months, or I fear I will be renting. My sanity is starting to fade with the level of disorganization that exists in my life. I lose stuff, I put things up and then can't remember where I put them up (the storage facility?? Under my bed? Is it at John's house?)
Heavy Sigh....

Yes, housing must be found and sooner rather than later.

Wish me Luck!

I actually bid on a house this weekend. My offer was pretty beneficial to me, so it may not be so tasty to the seller. Considering the seller is a bank, maybe they won't care...
We will see.

It needs updating, but is functional and intact. I can do lots of home repair things and work lots of power tools.
I really like power tools......(maniacal laugh)

The outside needs lots of grooming (Enter more power tools), but can be very pretty with not a whole lot of additions. Two mostly dead tress need to be turned into firewood that will be oh so nice this winter. Provided, of course, the 109F weather actually does ever cool off. The need of fire is but a distant dream....

The major stuff with the house is updating the kitchen (new counter tops, appliances, laying tile, painting cabinetry and new hardware), painting the house over all, and updating the bathrooms. New carpet is in order, but I can probably live with what is there for a bit. Eventually I will pull up the laminate and put down hardwoods in the front room and the hallway.

I could live in the house for a while or turn it next summer. It just depends on life and what the market is like. And that pesky thing of cash flow.

Real Estate is what I have wanted to get into for a long time. My nursing career will allow me to do that, and, house remodel will give me something to do on my days off!

I am dangerous when bored....
The question is; am I less dangerous turned loose with power tools...?

Popular but Unorthodox Drug Names

Levophed - Leave'em Dead: This is a vasocontrictor (tightens your blood vessels) and if overdosed, your extremities can necrose from no blood flow and lack of oxygen. It does its job very well. Use with caution!!

Milk of Amnesia: This is the slang for Diprivan (propofol). It is a milky white drug given IV that is used for sedation. It is VERY quickly metabolized so don't run out! By the time you get back from the drug room your patient will be waking up!

Vitamin A: This is for Ativan. Ativan is a wonderful anti-anxiety med that you give to your patients who are a pain in your neck and freaking out. Everything is better when everyone is calm.

MONA: This one is real: Morphine, Oxygen, Nitroglycerin, and Aspirin. This is the acronym for what the first line treatment for heart attack is.

Other interesting euphemisms....

Code Brown: This code occurs precisely after you have given your patient a bath and changed the linens...Yes, they crap everywhere!! Code Brown! Damn why don't we have a rectal tube on this guy??!??

First Hard Day

I had my first challenging day in the ICU. My patient who was on 7 different IV's tried to die...all day long.

It was a constant day of running, no lunch till 3PM and then you look up and see that it is already 5PM. Crap I still had lots to do! I feel as though I kept it together but it was oh so messy. My charting has a ways to go before it is good and knowing what drug to push when and how fast is a distant dream I hope to attain one day.

And FYI, when the monitor takes the blood pressure and it comes back with "unable to assess" that isn't a malfunction, that means there is no measurable blood pressure.

All...Day...Long....

Keep'em Alive Till Seven O Five!!

Motorcycles!!

I went to watch my friend ride his bike at the Eagle's Canyon track in Slidell, TX. Both cars and bikes race there. The track is about 3 miles long and has elevation changes as well as left and right turns.

It was great fun and definitely whetted my appetite to gear up and ride the curves there at the track. My friend rides in Level 3 and his wife goes for a while and watches thru her fingers as he zips around the track. ( He had a bad wreck on a country road last year) It looks like great fun! I am shooting for next year as a place to live is first priority. There were all kinds of bikes there, all fast of course, but I did see another Duc like mine in the beginner class. Lo and behold a woman was riding it too!

The track will wait for a while, but it is very close to the top of the list!! It looks like too much fun to avoid for very long!

House Hunting...

I have officially started house hunting. I am approved for a mortgage and am looking for a new residence. I have found some interesting places and am researching on in particular at the moment. All the ones I have looked at will need a little TLC, but I am good at the fixit thing and I like doing it.

Wish me luck in my searching!! It is kinda scary, but I think it will be just great in the long run.
You gotta live somewhere!

Shift Two on the Neuro-ICU Floor

In a nut shell:

• Busy as hell
• People ventilated
• More drugs than you ever imagined
  
• Keeping some people alive who should be happily dying at home

I know it's blunt and I know it is painful beyond words, but if I get to be 90+ and am in the ICU, will some one please unplug me.

'Cause I will be done by then.