I'm watching The State of The Union Address, and health care has come up several times. Health care is close to my heart, as I am a nurse. Since it is on my mind, I'm going to use this space today to post some journal entries of mine from the past about my experiences. If you are snacking while reading this, you may want to put your food down...
*It has officially begun... my dinner conversation tonite was all about the massive leg ulcers I dealt with today on my patient... every gangrenous, ozzing, flesh eating detail all over pizza. It was nice to have a receptive listener with a strong stomach. This is the first time he hasn't abruptly stopped me and reminded me he was trying to eat. :) We're making progress. There's something about packing leg ulcers that look more like infected moon craters all day that really urges you to share the details with the ones you love. Not to make light of my patients horrific condition. I did almost cry for her when I removed the bandages to find what was beneath them. I know my hands were a bit shakey as the wounds were becoming exposed... I suppose I was waiting for a scream or a cry... the thing is... these wounds occur when feeling is lost in the extremities and patients cannot feel things rubbing against their legs, creating the ulcers... so there are no screams, no crying. The only thing I heard was what must've been the sound of my own heart sinking. I wonder if I'll ever lose that extra sense... the feeling I get when I see someone who must or should be in pain due to some awful disease or wound. A part of me hopes I don't lose that because that is what makes my hands steady and strong in the face of illness, but soft and present in my patient's hand..
*Today I had a patient that was a lot like a firecracker in church. (or really any place serious and quiet). She's complaining about her medication... of course she is doing so even though she doesn't really TAKE her medicine. But for some reason just it's simple existance pisses her off. Anyway... She decides to ask me if I'm taking any medication. Well I am honest and tell her I do not take anything except for multivitamins and calcium. Well in her apparent shock she decides to be more specific ( I guess in case she thought I omitted something...) She asks if I take birth control pills. I tell her I do not, thinking the conversation will end there. But oh no... she decides she's intrigued. "Oh you leave it up to your husband!" she hollers and laughs this evil little laugh. So she starts talking about how some women just leave it up to their men and how you can abstain and that will help. "That's what the catholics do you know. They abstain. Well some don't. That must be why they have all those kids. Buckets of 'em. Buckets of kids. Maybe you'll have a bucket load too." Fabulous (I'm thinking).... now about your blood sugar....
*I had a little 4 year old boy for a patient who every time it was time to take his meds would say "I'm gonna fro up!" Yep, fro up, and at which point he would then heave enough times that he'd gag himself until he spit something up in hopes that I wouldn't make him take his medicine. And I always made him take it anyway. (He surprisingly wouldn't throw the medicine back up or throw up at any other time... just do this little performance every time I told him it was time to take his medicine). This week , week two there was another charming little fellow down the hall from one of my patients who asked in the loudest fashion "Who farted?!?!?!?" approximately every 2-4 minutes. So I looked down at my imaginary puppy Toto and said "I don't think we're in cardiology anymore".
Okay, so there are 3 goodies. A little bit gross, a little bit crazy, and a little bit funny. :) Typical nursing. And, in honor of flu season being in full swing I'll end with one line from a journal entry of mine from 2006....
"Wash your damn hands!"
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