Scary moment

This doesn't have to do with nursing, but I had a very scary moment around 3:30 this morning. My precious dog Shay ran away. I had let her out & when I went to call her back in, she was nowhere to be found. I called out for her over & over for 10 min. Nothing.

I grabbed a flashlight & some shoes & headed down this eery dirt road next to my house. I refer to it as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre type road. There are a couple of houses back there & one of them has dogs. I hoped she had maybe wandered over there. While I'm walking, I call my brother. No answer. I call one of my good friends. No answer. Ugh...I'm on my own at 3:30 in the morning to try to find my princess. I call her name repeatedly & get no response. As I got closer to the houses, I worried that one of the homeowner's might come out with a gun & shoot me...because I'm sure I'm the only person that has ever wandered down that scary looking road in the middle of the night.

So I walk back to my house with plans to drive around. I have no idea where to drive around as I live on the main road & other than the dirt road, there aren't many other roads to look on. There are plenty of woods though. I get home & walk in the door & see that Shay has returned. I was sooooooooo grateful. I have no idea where she was, but was glad she was smart enough to know how to come back.

In other news...I bought an iPad!!! I love it. I don't love the price, but I love the item. It is really handy & I'm definitely getting my money's worth.

Work has been ok. It was my orientee's last week & she was sick two of the three days. So I was back on my own. It wasn't bad. I had one quirky patient...when I went into his room, it had to be about 95 degrees. I asked "Why do you want it so hot in here?" He replied "I'm doing laundry." I look over at the air conditioner/heater & he has his socks & underwear sitting on top. Ok, gross. I'm sure that is a fire hazard too, but I got his vital signs & got out of there. I felt like I was in a sauna.

I also had a patient in his late 20's that was just diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. His ejection fraction was approx 32%. That is really poor for someone of that age. His doctor also informed him that he could drop dead at any time with this diagnosis. Then the doctor leaves and my patient is crying. Only he doesn't want me to see that he is crying...so he puts the bedspread over his head. Can you picture this? It was as bizarre as it sounds.

It was a wake up call for me though. I definitely don't treat my body the way I should.....rarely ever exercise or eat right. I'm joining the YMCA tomorrow & will make exercise a priority. The heart needs to be worked out in order to remain strong. I know this. I will do this. The eating...well, that won't be as easy to implement, but I plan to work towards eating better. Baby steps.