Not THAT Way!

So, I may have mentioned that part of my "Lenten Deal" was to do a little more fasting/eating healthier/losing weight/whatever you want to call it. And, it was a tiny bit upsetting when I weighed myself on Monday after going weeks without my Diet Coke, candy, chocolate, snacks, you know, all the stuff that tastes REALLY good. Well, Wednesday I couldn't eat dinner because I was sick. Yesterday, I still didn't feel "quite right" and didn't feel like taking my chances with puking up anything besides bread and water/coffee. Today, well, I didn't get breakfast besides my Carnation Instant Breakfast at 7:00 and a cup of coffee around 10. And, I was SO busy that I didn't get to eat "lunch" until 5:30. Um, this is definitely NOT the fun way to "be healthy" (from what I know, throwing up and starving are not exactly "healthy" no matter how you look at it...). Now, it WOULD have made for an even better story if I had said that the 5:30 lunch/dinner was enough to tide me over until breakfast...ha ha, now THAT would have been some good will power! Anyway, I'm thinking this weekend I may may "splurge" considering I got a box of Tastefully Simple stuff in the mail on Wednesday...including salsa. Oh how much I LOVE chips and salsa...and microwave popcorn, but that didn't come in my box.

So, work was crazy busy for me. While I love ALL three of the patients I had, they were not a very good combination. All of them were busy/"needy"/sick and required lots of extra care. Usually, we try to split up those kinds of patients, but it didn't work out like that today. As busy as it was, though, my co-workers helped as much as they could. There wasn't much they could have done to help me get to lunch at a decent hour (although, come 4:30, I finally called the lead nurse and had her come give me an extra set of hands).

My manager went and talked to the mom of the patient I wrote about yesterday. That mom expressed how much of a difference she had seen in her child since transferring to our institution. They had been in another local hospital for a couple weeks and she said that within three hours, she knew they were in the right place. Apparently, it was the first time since diagnoses that caregivers actually talked to her child when they entered the room and they have seen a glimmer of hope. Today, that child even cracked a huge smile when I was in the midst of making fun of myself, signed "I love you", showed thumbs up, gave me high five, and blew a kiss...such amazing progress in a short time. It truly is the little things that can go a long way. Aesthetically, my hospital is anything but stellar, but that mom said “I would not care if your hospital was in a cardboard box, as long as I had the nursing staff and physicians...that is all we need”. Wow! And, I suppose the REAL point of this story is that my manager emailed this story to the hospital "high ups" as well as to all of the staff. Even though we KNOW we do a good job, and do not do it for validation or recognition. However, when it comes back in a way like this, it definitely helps lift your spirits. (Even though it was a slightly different situation, Kristy's post about A Servant's Heart really spoke to me.--"God calls us to serve. Not just when it is convenient, not just when someone else might notice, not for what we may get in return, but always."--it is definitely hard work at times, but the rewards are priceless, whether they are only in my heart or shared with the CNO...)

I spent all day yesterday watching basketball and have had it on ever since I got home from work tonight. Yesterday, I got 14/16 in my bracket. Today wasn't quite as good, and there are still four games in progress...still fun though :o)

Good night!