So glad

TGIF! A long weekend awaits with Dahey and Bubba. I can't wait. It's been far too long.

It was an exciting week. Dahey returned from TDY. Hallelujah! I have a backup for the soon-to-be teenager who needs a parent pal sometimes. I love Bubba, but Momma needs a break! The boys are already planning their next adventure to the movies for The Martian.

We survived the inspection, but maybe, after a few of these, I'm becoming jaded. Some of the things they asked us has very little bearing on nursing. I like to consider myself informed, but I had no idea about some of the stuff they asked. Happily, most of my other colleagues in the department felt the same.

Happily, we saw a few patients and got some work done. Since we've had a few exciting things happen lately, I've gotten to put on my research hat. One of our patients seemed sick but really had a anteroapical MI on our acute unit. Diagnosing an MI in a spinal cord injury patient, or one with diminshed sensation due to stroke, brain injury, etc., can be challenging.

I learn something new every day. Another one of our patients had issues being intubated so the doctors elected to do awake airway intubation for his/her surgery. It was very interesting to me to watch the staff who participated in this video below.

Hope you enjoy your weekend, long or short, wherever you may be!

Wheels of change

The construction still continues. Our administrative leader is optimistic it will be done early. It helps when our folks get early finish bonuses.

I run back and forth, round and round in the interim. I found out last week, when I went to get something ordered for a patient, that the item I was looking for wasn't available to order. It makes me wonder if I'll even be able to do the things my management wants, if I don't have equipment.

Dahey hopes his TDY duty will be done before Halloween. The fun aspect has worn off. He wants to come home. Bubba and I had a pretty good weekend. We roamed around town and even saw a hot air balloon land in one of the local parks. It was unscheduled, so all the kids in the neighborhood came out. (We were driving by, and went to look). We even fixed a fancy meal he planned and that went well, even though he could have done more work.

More motivation and fun this week. Stay tuned!

The agony and the ecstasy, part 31

These are themes I've seen over and over in my life and practice this week.

Agony:

• Breaking very expensive equipment. Fibre optic cables that get stuck, then shatter in your hand and cut you as you're trying to gently extricate them. Ugh! I just hope the boss doesn't have a cow. Reported it already. Still terribly sad.
• Rousing the troops to no avail. Really? Not ONE of you could come to check this out? Yes, I know it was last-minute, but  heaven forbid we do anything on a Friday. No one will show (unless it involves free food or money). Disclaimer: I did manage to grab two RNs from the floor wandering by, though. My remote site loved it.
• Get one thing fixed, break another. Thankfully, I'll be able to resolve this, but it will take a while.
• Dahey will be going on a TDY odyssey soon without Bubba and me. If we're lucky, we may be able to visit him before he leaves.

Ecstasy:

• Dr. EI will get his Christmas present (hopefully) by July. All the planets have aligned.
• I finally got into a pilot program which will get our site new, fancy equipment to take rehab and health care out to patients. YIPPEE! (Have waited a LONG time for this, too.)
• Things in this house are starting to come together. New paint adorns a few of the walls and will continue as Bubba and I get ready to tackle some of the easier rooms Dahey left for us.
• Planning a little vacation. Bubba will have another item on his "dreams come true" list complete this summer.

Stay tuned. It's never dull at the Hotel Rehab!