I'm back!

Why is it that I always feel like I need a vacation when I get back from being on vacation? I am exhausted! Luckily I don't go back to work until Tuesday night.

I went to Orlando & Tampa with my brother, niece & nephew. I don't think I'll be doing that again until next summer. They drain me. Physically, mentally, emotionally......drain meeeeeee. There were some good times, fun times, relaxing times...those I cherish. What aggravates me is having to pay for everything & then have them complaining in the process. That's the reason this won't be happening again until next year. I would go insane.

We started out at my favorite hotel in Orlando. It's so casual, relaxing, nice pools, great outdoor restaurant and an ice cream shop that is soooooo yummy. Plus the discount I got was like 60% off the rooms. I'm already thinking of taking myself back there next month just to relax by the pool for a couple of days.

Thursday we went to Tampa & Busch Gardens. It was pretty empty there, which was nice...but the 101 degree weather was not. Hotttttttttttttttt!!! We checked into Embassy Suites after that & just relaxed for the next day. Friday night I took them all to Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens. Soooo many haunted houses. That was the fun part. It was so crowded with younger people though. I'm officially old...I know this because looking around & seeing all the younger people drinking alcohol & acting like morons was annoying rather than entertaining.

Saturday we went to Adventure Island...Busch Garden's water park. It was really nice. Not too crowded. Loved the wave pool. It's got me thinking about buying passes to one of the water parks in Orlando. I'll reconsider next year.

I'm back now...sunburnt on my back (ouch). I wish I had more time off. I'm actually thinking about going back to part-time status....just because this 40 hours a week is so repetitive (lol). I'll wait until next year to decide. If I can get my credit card bills paid off, then I'll probably definitely do it.

I need to get refocused.....back on me. I do so much for others...at work, at home.....that I put myself last. It's starting to take a toll. I need to change that. I want to be balanced, relaxed & happy...and that all begins with focusing on me.

I never did make it to Atlanta due to the flooding they were having. I saw pictures of the rollercoasters underwater & was amazed they were able to open this weekend. Maybe one day I'll get up there...but not anytime soon.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

I'm taking credit

As nurses, we mostly do our jobs without taking any real credit. We deal with ups & downs, chaos & calmness, outrageous & bizarre...and we do it all without blinking. This time though...I'm taking credit for saving a life.

Thursday night I had a diabetic patient whose blood sugar at bedtime was 85. That's normal, but I gave her a snack....call it women's intution or just knowledgeable nursing...but I didn't want it dropping below 85.

Fastforward to about 1 am & I'm walking down the hallway...checking on my patients when I hear some loud type snoring. Hmmm...that's odd. I don't remember my patients snoring loudly the night before. So I notice it's my diabetic patient's room that the sound is coming from. I peek in & notice her shaking.....her arms, her legs....shaking. For a moment I wonder if she is having a seizure. I go in to talk to her...notice that she's very sweaty & of course isn't waking up.

Some might panic at this situation...but I instantly knew it had to be low blood sugar. I calmly left the room & asked my tech to do an accucheck. I then went to the med room & got an amp of D50. Went back to my patient's room & waited.

Waited why........cause the darn accucheck meter needed controls run. Ugh, stupid! So I wait. When the meter is finally working, I get a reading of "low." Ugh, not good. No time to wait for lab to draw a stat lab confirming this. My eyes could confirm it with the symptoms I was noting. I push 1/2 amp of D50 & wait again. Gotta give it time to circulate. After about a minute, I shake my patient & her eyes open. Yay...success!

I explained to her what was going on & how I needed her to eat some food & drink some milk so her blood sugar wouldn't drop again. She kept apologizing for passing out...as if it were her fault. My charge nurse says she'll go get her some milk, peanut butter & crackers. She comes back with peanut butter & graham crackers & low-fat milk and leaves the room.

I go out to get regular milk & run into the charge & ask "low-fat milk? Why not sugar free crackers also?" She looked mad at me for even talking about it. She replies with "Well, we rechecked her blood sugar after the D50 & it was 165, I didn't want it to go any higher." Seriously? She had no clue that the D50 was just a temporary fix & would come crashing back down if we didn't get some carbs into her.

Anyways, I left work that morning feeling good & also thinking of the alternatives. What if I hadn't chosen that moment to do my rounds? Would she have survived much longer? I don't even want to really think about it now. For whatever reason, I was meant to find her & bring her back. I'm patting myself on the back for this one....job well done, Jen.

Vacation has officially begun. I still don't know what I'm doing or where I'm going. I've been told it's raining a lot in Atlanta...that was my plan. We'll see what happens. Have a good week everyone!

90 day eval

90 days gone already. Wow. That time went by so quickly. Not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing. It just is what it is. The amazing thing also...my eval was done. I'm impressed. Not just because they had good things to say about me, but because it was done on time.

Of course this 90 day mark means I can now be floated all over the hospital to wherever they need me. That started last night. I saw where I was being floated & I was happy....because it's a newer floor. The rooms are huge and they have 50" flat screen tv's which means the patients are spoiled & happy.

I started out the night with 3 patients. Then got an ER admit. Then was given the option to go home. I took it. Hence, the reason I am posting now at 4 am. I could have stayed, probably should have, but didn't. I was out of my comfort zone and my patients problems weren't the greatest. On top of that, I'm tired. I don't know why - I slept ALL day.

Oh well. No biggie. I'm home now & ready to watch a little tv & then sleep ALL day. Two more nights and I am on vacation for about 10 days or so. I think I'm going to go check out Atlanta.

I feel like this post is so boring...so I apologize. Not much is going on. The most exciting news I have had all week is the reminder that Dairy Queen will have their pumpkin pie blizzard soon. Lol...sad, huh?

Have a good week everyone!

p.s. RIP Patrick Swayze - you will be missed

Thanks, Dr. Grumpy!!!

I haven't written much because I have had a few uneventful (love that word) nights at work. Last week couldn't have been any easier. It's times like those that remind me that being a nurse isn't so bad. Last night changed all of that.

I started out with 5 patients, but somehow the planets aligned themselves & we got an extra nurse so I was able to give up one of my total cares. That left me with 3 walkie talkies and one lunatic. I mean lunatic in the best sense of the word. She was out of her mind & what's scary...it could happen to any of us at any time. She had been in a car accident a few years ago & it left her with permanent brain damage.

I am not kidding when I say she yelled all night long. No matter what I gave her, it did not work. I was actually afraid I might kill her with all that I gave her...so I stopped giving her anything by early morning. She had received before I got there....1 mg of Ativan IV. I added in a sleeping pill that was ordered, not PRN. By midnight she was still irate & driving the entire staff up the wall. So I gave her Benadryl IV. That slowed her down a little, but within a couple of hours, the yelling was getting louder & louder. I was shocked. I take Benadryl PO sometimes & am out for like 6 hours. I couldn't imagine it IV. She's a dialysis patient too, so I was a little worried all of these meds were staying in her system...that's why I stopped giving any more meds. They were having zero effect on her.

One time I walked in there & she was insisting on calling my mother. I tried to picture that scenario in my head. Don't think my mom would be too pleased. :)

So I did the next best thing...let her yell at herself & left the room. It seemed I agitated her more by trying to carry on a conversation with her. Instead I spent some time catching up on Dr. Grumpy's blog (he would be proud...lol). It was a quick reminder that I am not the only one that ends up with some bizarre situations. Thanks, Dr. Grumpy!

I work this week and next week...then I get a week off. I am not sure what my plans are for that week off. Part of me just wants time to myself...to relax, do nothing...that's paradise to me. The other part says get out & see the world...life is short.

So maybe I should actually leave my town & go somewhere. There's plenty of options.....starting with Orlando & all the theme parks. It's too hot, so that makes me weary of that. Then again, there are a lot of water parks. But being around a bunch of screaming kids/tourists reminds me too much of being at work. I could go to the beach....that image is looking good, but the thought of getting sunburnt & dealing with the Florida heat...once again, changes my mind. So I don't know. We'll see how I feel next week. Good thing about living in Florida...can plan things at a moment's notice as there are 9032490309340923490 hotels in this state.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!