Second Wind

First of all, Marcie and Laurie, I got that asparagus recipe from allrecipes.com. I hope you and your families enjoy it...my friend and I did (but we were hungry and neither of us are "cooks"!). You'll have to let me know!

So, I was VERY annoyed this morning at work (and, I'm a bit ashamed to admit I said a few "choice words" that were not really necessary...). Of course, I got to work a bit later than the others, so my assignment was chosen for me. Now, I know that I have said that I have been willing to "go with it" because whatever happens is how it is supposed to be (I only have a couple patients that I'd put up a fight for). HOWEVER, it was REALLY unfair that my student and I ended up starting the day with one patient, meaning we could potentially take multiple admissions/transfers. I gave myself nearly an hour of complaining, but then pulled myself together :o) My student actually does most all of the work, so I probably shouldn't have complained to begin with, but some nurses just don't care about how anyone else's day will be and that is frustruating. Anyway, my student and I transferred a kid up from the PICU around 9:30 (we then sent her home at 4:30...she was a SUPER CUTE one-year-old with bright red hair and very nice parents, or that would have been EXTRA annoying!). We sent our other patient home at 1:30, and got an admission at 4:15. SO, it could have been a LOT worse because our busy times were spread out (and, again SHE was the one doing all the work!). I'm still a little annoyed at the way things happened, but the same kind of thing happened on the night shift, so I'm not alone in my frustruation :o)

The night shift was short a nurse, so they were looking for someone to come work extra (for an extra $10/hr). One nurse said she could come at 11:00, but no one else said yes. I decided (very early on in the day...before things really got going!) that I could stay until 11. Since I ended the first part of the shift with one patient, I picked up two more (so I wouldn't have to take another admission!). I probably haven't worked that part of the day (7-11) in nearly a year and it was CRAZY! I'm not even sure what kept me so busy, but I didn't even start the paperwork part of my job until after I had already handed my patients off to the next nurse. So, I clocked out a little after midnight...what a long day! However, I must have gotten a "second wind" because I don't feel "really tired" now and it is nearly 1:30 (my alarm went off 20 hours ago!). I'm thinking that I probably won't make it to work out tomorrow...my sister invited me to lunch with her and my mom. That would be fun, but I DO keep thinking about how far behind I am on my homework and reading for class. I also have some "chairperson" duties to do for my unit committee (like, approve the minutes from our last meeting and prepare for the next one!). I'll probably end up going because they are having Thai food and I like that a lot :o)

My friend's son got discharged today, but I never talked to her to find out what "the plan" is. The baby ended up going back into surgery today (to "fix a leak"). His mom called me a couple times to give me updates and she said it went well (leak seems to be fixed and they were able to move the organs around a little bit to take some of the pressure off his lungs...apparently the organs were from a four-year-old, so they were a little "squished" in his six-month-old body...). Everyone seems pleased with his progress, and they feel very blessed that he is still here with them. I am praying that he continues to do better each day. He remains critical, but the "hope" and "faith" is there and that makes a HUGE difference. I ended up asking her to bring me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and at 1000 at night, it tasted just as good as our "four course" meal from last night! (I think PB & J is ALWAYS better when someone else makes it, especially a MOM!).

Anyway, now it is 1:30...I'm too tired to fully enjoy "Medium", so I will have to wait until tomorrow. I'd better get some sleep so I have energy to be productive tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having three days off! Good night (morning...argh, I am NOT a night owl!)!