Well Amanda

You wanted to know what happened with the patient...the doc came in, ordered Benadryl & 2 hours she woke up perfectly fine. Makes absolutely no sense to me as that was not an allergic reaction I was witnessing. 2 days later she drove herself home. Weird!!!!!

I've got some more peculiar situations, but I have one more shift tonight. So I've got to get to bed & I'll catch up this weekend.

Like Nothing I'd Ever Seen Before

Last Tues night/early Wed morning a patient was admitted...she was in her late 30's...she had a panic attack. She wasn't my patient, but my orientee jumped in to help because this pt's nurse was helping another nurse's pt who was in bad shape. We put the heart monitor on & took vitals...she seemed totally alert & oriented & normal. Since insurance companies don't really like people being admitted with a diagnosis of panic attack, she was admitted with chest pain. Plus she had an abnormal EKG. Regardless, I figured she'd be discharged by the time we got back the next night as most walkie-talkie chest painers usually are.

Well, we end up getting her as our patient on Wednesday night & I was like "Why is she still here?" The report I got was crappy......day nurse was like "I don't know why she's still here." Doesn't give us much info at all. Not only turns out they had a stress test scheduled for her the next morning, but when we went to assess her at 1930...she is sitting in bed shaking, looking scared to death, but not saying a word....even when we'd speak to her. Weird!! I asked her "What's wrong?" No response. Day nurse had given her a Xanax at 1900 (never told us she did or why she did!!!!) We took her vitals & left to discuss this weirdness.

We came back 10 min later to her vomiting all over the floor. Ok, doubt the Xanax ever really got in her system, so we call the psych MD (yep, psych was on the case) & he orders THORAZINE........old psych med, not really recommended these days, much less IV. So we give that to her & she falls asleep. I think ok...she'll sleep the rest of the night, no problem. Still bugs me though that her behavior was so beyond anything I'd ever seen before.

Nope, 2 hours later she's awake, still silent, but now her arms are all flexed & she's staring at the wall. She can say her name & year, etc when urged to do so, but otherwise silent. Her one arm is all twisted & her legs are doing funky things. She vomited a few more times that night...just green bile as she hadn't had much to eat or drink in the last 5 days. Ok, weird, but she falls asleep again.

I had no idea what to do for her. Us nurses like to fix things & this was not fixable. I even had four very experienced nurses assess her. Like myself...they had never seen anything like that. I said how would I even describe that over the phone to the MD? The charge nurse told me not to call...the pt wasn't in distress & this was something they would have to see with their own eyes. Ok, no prob. Last thing I wanted was to give her something that would just make her sleep during the day when the MD's rounded. They definitely had to see this peculiar behavior with their own eyes.

Now it's 6 am (yay = almost time for me to go home) & she has had no urine output the entire shift....so we call her primary doc at 0645 (didn't want to wake him up with this news, so waited until the last minute...figuring he'd order fluids & we could hang them before we left). He tells my orientee (hey ,she needs to get used to calling md's) there is nothing more he can do for this pt, it's all a psych issue & he will not be ordering anything for her. Ummmm...what?? She has no urine output in over 12 hours. We can't give her fluids? Nope, nothing. Did I mention that the psych doctor had signed off? What a mess!

Two minutes later the stress lab is calling for report on her. I told them "ummm, I doubt she will be able to have a stress test today." They said they would still come & get her & if she refused...then she wouldn't have it done. I just don't think they were comprehending just how bizarre this patient was. Oh well, soon enough they would see.

So before we left, we repositioned her in bed as she now had the pillow over her head & her legs sticking out on the side of the bed...not exactly the way I like to leave my patients. She was all sweaty & still not speaking. Gave report to the lucky day nurse & wished her luck. She had seen this patient yesterday as her partner was the pt's nurse. I told her I'll be asking her next week what the doctors had to say regarding the pt's condition...because it was so not normal.

All I can think is that according to her history...she ran out of Celexa & just stopped taking it. I know you aren't supposed to do that with antidepressants........so maybe that was causing the reaction we got. I don't know. Maybe the Thorazine just made it worse...with all those twisted arms and weird body positions. It was just very bizarre!!!!!!!!!

I'm curious to see how it all turned out.

I spent another weekend in Orlando. I pricelined it again (I need help!). I got Embassy Suites for $53 a night. Usually it's $123. Good deal, but lousy hotel. I usually like Embassy Suites, but this one was kinda trashy...which somehow got rated a 3.5 stars on Priceline. I have no idea how! It was cloudy & all rainy the entire weekend, so no sun for me. I did see The Other Guys...I found it amusing. Will Ferrell & Marky Mark are funny. If you don't like them, you probably won't like the movie.

Commit me now!

Yes, that's right...commit me now. Dare I say it...I am actually looking forward to going back to work later tonight! What is wrong with me??? Lol...seriously, this is so not me. Usually I am the one counting the days down until I am off again (which I am already doing for this week). I've been on vacation for nearly 2 weeks & it feels like it's been 6 months. You don't really need to commit me...because around 10:30 earlier tonight, my hospital called asking if I wanted to work 11 to 7 and me being the reliable person I am...didn't answer the phone. :)

Everyone else is doing them, so I will too...bullet time!

**Why is it that when I go to a restaurant & they ask what I would like to drink & I say "Dr. Pepper"....I get a reply of "We don't have Dr. Pepper, but we do have root beer." Ummm, I don't know about the rest of you...but in my experience, root beer isn't anything like Dr. Pepper.

**I just got done eating some pumpkin seeds & every time I do this, afterwards I am left wondering why I even bothered. They are too salty, too much work goes into getting them out of the shell & in the back of my mind...I see a future diagnosis of diverticulosis because I don't always get all of the shell off & end up eating it. Sigh.

**I am way more easy-going than I ever thought possible. My niece & I played this brain-wave game at Wonder Works...where it somehow measured the stress in your mind & would show it on a screen measured thru your brain wave activity. We watched people ahead of us & their activity was all over the place. Then we sat down & practically nothing. Like the lowest line possible on the monitor showed up for both of us. We thought maybe it wasn't working right, but they brought some other people in & bam...it was all over the place again. So either we are both very easy-going or we're brain-dead. Hey...maybe both!

**I am anticipating the next time I can plan a vacation strictly for the chance to bid on priceline again...lol.

**I saw the movie Salt tonight - was way better than I expected, however I had no expectations at all...so figure that one out!

**I stayed up until 6 am yesterday rearranging & reorganizing room...because I can!!! (and just maybe it needed to be done)

**I watched a new show called Last Chance Highway...and started crying profusely...tears of happiness. It's an 8 episode show about a lady that goes to dog pounds & saves dogs. It shows how she picks them out, how she takes them into her home & how she gets them adopted. The crying began when the saved dogs met their future families. What can I say...I have a weak spot for doggies. Google it if interested.

**I had a lady come up to me in a parking lot asking for money. Hmmm...that sounds like she was robbing me...she definitely wasn't doing that. She was just asking for a handout. I felt bad, but at the same time I just wondered how legit she was. I've got no problem donating to shelters or causes or co-workers, etc....but I don't like strangers approaching me in parking lots.

**My last entry will be a reminder to those in the dating pool.....DO NOT get drunk on a first date & gross out the people sitting at the next table over. I took my niece & nephew to Applebee's for dinner after the movie. We had the pleasure of sitting next to this scary looking couple of characters on their first date. I swear they had 6 drinks each & had yet to order dinner. He was really loud, but suddenly it went quiet so I made the mistake of glancing their way only to find them making out at the table. Uhhh....gross!!!!! I'm trying to eat here. Needless to say, we skipped dessert & got out of there as quickly as possible.

OMG

How is it possible that it is August 1st right now & the only thing I posted in the last month was a few sentences about going on vacation? OMG...I am really slacking.

I wish I could blame it on overworking or having such an exciting, busy life that I haven't had time to post...but umm, no, that's not it. In fact, I've been off of work for nearly 2 weeks now. I go back Monday night. I guess I've just gotten super lazy. Sorry.

My latest orientee just took her NCLEX board exam & passed. Yay! So that means she'll still be on orientation until the end of September....again Yay! I'm getting really used to teaching new nurses. I hope I'm doing a good job. My first orientee is doing wonderfully for a new nurse. My second one seems to have conflict everywhere, that even I don't understand. And my latest one...it's like having a puppy. New nurses are so eager to learn, so eager to do stuff. I looked back on one of the sayings I read back when I was a new nurse. It basically compared experienced nurses to new nurses & it cracks me up cause it's 100% true.

Anyways...let's see...I can't really say much about work. Nothing outstanding really comes to mind. My oldest niece has decided to go to nursing school though. She was in college to become a dental hygienist, but after 2 yrs of working towards it....I guess she found it boring. I don't think she has any idea what she's getting into with nursing, but boring would not be one of the words I used to describe it!

My vacation was wonderful. I went to the exciting city of Orlando. Yep....about a 30 min drive from my house...lol. For those that don't know....the south is experiencing an unbearable heat wave. It started in June & just does not seem to be letting up. At 7 pm this evening it was 92 degrees out. And it feels like I'm stepping into a sauna whenever I go outside. I should just sit out there...I swear I could lose 5 lbs just from being outside for about 20 min.

Anyways, I searched & searched & searched every hotel room from Daytona to Fort Lauderdale...looking for something nice, but not too pricey because I needed 2 rooms....my brother & his kids were tagging along & while I don't mind sharing a room with my niece...no way was I going to have my brother & nephew in the room with us. So for a good 2 weeks I looked at nearly every hotel room online. I'm sure I set some type of world record!

The day BEFORE we were set to begin the vacation, I started to panic as I still had yet to make a decision on where to stay. I somehow stumbled across a message board regarding Priceline.com. I am soooooooooo glad I did. It showed me the hotels that are "usually" chosen when you bid. I decided to take a chance. I figured anything rated 4 stars (highest ranking) would be a decent place to stay & secretly hoped for the Hyatt Grand Cypress. The usual rate is around $200 or higher. Hotels.com was offering it for $159. Nope...I wanted a better deal. Soooooo I took a chance & tried priceline. My first attempt at $62 was rejected....grrrr. So I upped it a little & put in $80 & it was accepted!!!!!!!!!! How awesome is that??? It wasn't a bargain...it was a steal!!!!!!!! I reserved it for 2 nights.

Next I attempted to bid on a hotel near Wet n Wild water park...figuring my brother & his children could walk over there while I do a little R&R at the pool. Low & behold, I got my favorite hotel (the one I usually always stay at while in Orlando) for $30 a night. Usually it's $75 & that is with a Florida resident discount. Usually the rooms are like $125. Needless to say...I love priceline. I will attempt more future vacations using it.

We pretty much took it easy. One day of shopping. A night of Wonder Works and the Fun Spot Amusement place. Nothing big....but I am happy as long as I have some sun & a pool.

Hope everyone is doing well. Congratulations to my friend Amanda...she delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl a few days ago!!