"You're An Angel"

I heard those words repeated often this past week & you know what....it never gets old & I never get tired of hearing it.  If anything, it reminds me of just how much you can impact another person's life.  I think I was actually getting spoiled with all the compliments!  I also got plenty of hugs - probably the most ever since I got into nursing. 

It was a relatively simple week & you know what...I'm actually enjoying working the weekends...lol.  Who would've thought?  Of course I can't tell administration that because they don't want their staff happy.  They would probably ban me from working weekends if they knew I liked it...seriously!!!  What I enjoy most about the weekend nights.....absolutely no doctors & no administration around.  It's fantastic. 

Wednesday & Thursday nights were hectic - I don't think I actually sat down until after midnight to start my charting.  Friday & Saturday made up for it - I had everything done, charted & completed by 10 pm.  The only drawback to having everything done so early is that the time ticks by so slowly.  But the good thing about it - I actually got to spend some time with my patients taking care of them & not just zooming in & out of their rooms to catch up with everything. 

The patient that stands out the most for me was an older gentleman that came in with a hip fracture.  He had fallen out of bed at home & broke his hip.  Hopefully he'll fully recover & go on to live out the rest of his life...but the odds are against that at his age.  I read somewhere that something like 50% of the elderly pass away within 6 months of having hip or knee surgery.  I'm not quite sure why that is...blood clots maybe, I don't know.  He was pretty much out of it when I took over his care as he had received a strong dose of morphine right before shift change.  His wife stayed the night & I actually learned a pretty darn good tip from her...she had a muscle cramp in her calf in the middle of the night so she asked me for a packet of sugar.  She swallowed the sugar and within 60 seconds, her muscle cramp was gone.  She also told me about her doctor telling her that if she or her husband get a low blood pressure reading, to put some salt in their hand & a glass of water in the other hand...lick the salt (like doing a tequila shot) & then drink the water - it raises the blood pressure according to her.  Trust me - I'm not giving out medical advice here whatsoever, just sharing what she told me.  I don't know if this actually works or not.

The next morning the surgeon came in, scheduled surgery and by the time I came back Thursday night, he was just getting back from surgery.  He was pretty much out of it.  I reassured his wife I would keep a close eye on him, told her to call me anytime - even if it's 3 in the morning.  Which she did & I'd give her an update on how he was doing.  Little by little he was improving.  I think he must have thought I was a crazy nurse - practically everytime I interacted with him, it was to get him to take his pills that I had crushed & mixed with apple sauce.  I always had a spoonful of apple sauce to feed him...the poor guy had to wonder what was wrong with me.  I was either making him eat apple sauce or talk to me.  I don't think he minded though - I got a smile out of him every now & then.  Hopefully he's recovering well & maybe even out of the hospital by now - I hope. 

I think out of the 4 days, I only had to call a doctor one time & that was just for some Benadryl.  I almost had to call for my fractured hip patient.  His heart rate was constantly jumping up to the 140's - even on a Cardizem drip.  I'd wait it out because it would also drop right back down to 80 for no reason.  Every time I was about to give up waiting for it to drop & had my hands on the phone ready to dial - I'd look at the heart monitor screen one last time & his heart rate would be back in the 80's.  Every single time!  They ended up starting him on Digoxin & that did the trick. 

It's been a good weekend...Tony Stewart won the race on Sunday even though he had run out of gas.  He just coasted to the finish line to take 1st place...woo hoo.  That means I owe my niece a trip to Libby Lu's.  I told her at the beginning of the season that anytime Tony Stewart wins - she gets rewarded.  Lucky girl.  I played volleyball last night & we won again.  We're undefeated.  I am so glad I got back into playing.  It feels good.

My sleep schedule is still really screwed up - so I will go finish watching some movies I got from Netflix.  They have really good rates & the movies get to my house quick.  A lot better than Blockbuster. 

Hope everyone is having a good week.  I can't believe it's Tuesday - it feels like a Friday to me. :)