Vacation

All I ever wanted. Free and escaped from the Hotel for more than seven days. That alone is enjoyment!

To start off this week of merriment, Bubba and I hopped in the Family Truckster (not an actual truck, we call it the big fat Silver Bullet) for a whirlwind trip to Memphis. Thanks to the fine Friendly Neighborhood Tire Store, the Truckster was cleared for takeoff, tires rotated and balanced and away we went.

Dahey got some important correspondence (aka the check the boss said was in the mail since the fourth of July) late Friday, so we left at 0800, since we had to visit our friends at the local bank. After that business was transacted, with our special mix of candy in hand (Swedish fish, saltwater taffy and Jolly Ranchers included), we took our time driving down the highway.

Some people used to count Slug Bugs when I was a kid, but not anymore. Bubba decided to bring the iPad along when he got tired of counting dead armadillos (still not too common in RehabLand) and use up all of my high speed data for the month (luckily, that message didn't come until we were nearly home). Sadly, we noticed 10 armadillos who died on their way to meet Elvis.

Our trip was uneventful and we made decent time, so we decided to head straight for the night's lodging. I decided to try something different, as the captain and chief hotel steward: we went for glamour and fun. As a result, since Bubba wanted to go to see Memphis's favorite pandas, Ya Ya and Le Le, we figured we'd better see some other famous critters while we are there. The Zoo has packages where you can stay at the famous Peabody Hotel downtown and see the ducks, in addition to tickets to see their zoo.

We took them up on it, and had a blast. Bubba was roaming around in the terry cloth robe looking like a Rockefeller wannabe. Thankfully, he didn't drink any of the expensive water in the room ($7) or take the rubber duck toy package home (a mere $9.95 plus tax). He wanted to keep the robe, but at $50, he didn't want to part with his allowance he had saved.  He was happy he had internet and the Travel Channel so he could watch Ghost Adventures.

However, we did leave the room. We are baseball fans, so who doesn't want to go out into a heat index of 106 and see Santa Claus? We did since it was Christmas in July at the ballpark. The players had an ugly sweater uniform (thankfully not wool), they played Christmas songs, and Kris Kringle himself was available for photos. Bubba looked funny and Santa had a good time holding his BBQ nachos (a park specialty). For a moment, I thought Santa might eat them.

The other bonus to the hotel proximity: no driving to and from the ballpark. This was especially appreciated, since I chose to indulge in a couple of cold frosties while I was there. Also, since it was so beastly hot, I made sure to have some iced water at the top of each inning. Bubba ate a huge snow cone, so that helped him, and neither of us got dehydrated. Thankfully, the home team won, and after the game was over, we had fireworks. It was a fun time, even though Bubba missed Dahey a lot.

On Sunday, we finally got to make one of  Bubba's longtime dreams come true: he got to meet a panda. It wasn't like we expected (only one of two showed up in view), but he was happy he got his selfie with Ya Ya while she was behind the glass. Ya Ya must have had one heck of a Saturday night, because she slept right through our visit. As the keepers who do some education outside the exhibit mentioned, pandas like to eat, sleep and poop.  We got a great view of the sleeping part. Maybe next time we'll see the rest.

Bubba was happy to hit the road, but he was hungry and nothing looked good at the zoo. Never fear, our kid loves barbecue and the sides that go with it. He has yet to find a place that doesn't have mac and cheese as a side, so we ordered that as a side for the trip. We got a slab of ribs plate for two to take home for our dinner. They were excellent!

All in all, we had a fun time on the road. Just wish Dahey could have been along for the ride. He was busy this weekend keeping an eye on a coworker wandering over the border in Tijuana.

Stay tuned. Vacation continues...

Yes, it's hot

Here in RehabLand, it's getting to be just like the rest of the country: downright hot. This is not terribly unusual for us in July.

However, why on earth is the crime rate going up?

Here are a few things on the local TV crime blotter this morning:

• Man kills his friend for spilling beer in his car around midnight
• Wife kills husband in upscale gated community with a knife

This is can be great for business (people end up in rehab hospitals if they survive) but terrible for society in general.

Just one more reason I really like fall...

More later.

Sometimes

I wonder about my faith in humanity when I see the world around me. Idiots and criminals get me rattled.

But today, I have flashbacks to my former lives.

JJ, one of our tech folks, took good care of one of my doctors, when her laptop when crazy.

His cohort, who made various sexist remarks when I brought the laptop over yesterday, had me wishing I had a beer bottle. (One, to drink and two, to smash over his head for his callousness.) Too bad it's verboten on our property and two, I'd have a hard time justifying giving him a beer bottle headache.

All in all, after a nice chat with my new manager, I think the Hotel may get where we need it to be.

Cross your fingers (toes, and other appendages) because I will be too.

More later.

After a rough day...

Sometimes you need a break, after walking all of your 10000 daily steps going up and down hills to meetings.

So glad the weather is finally nice in RehabLand!

More to come...with a nice German Kolsch. Tasty relief!

Not so sharp...

And I'm not talking about razors, either.

A recent admission: patient comes in for an evaluation by a specialist that he/she cannot get in his nearby hospital. Patient unpacks stuff and I notice three packs of smokes. Patient had a screaming fit when I advise him/her of our tobacco policy. Nevertheless, I had to do remove the smokes according to appropriate policies. Patient was counseled re: quitting. We offer appropriate support for those nicotine needs-- patches, gum, etc. Patient calms down and apologizes.

To assure his happiness, said patient also brings some snacks, and a few cans of soda. In addition to the soda, I notice the non-alcoholic beer. Another argument ensues (nicely of course), but I had to get one of our bosses to confiscate that. Patient just refused to part with the near beer without an authority present.

The ironic part: Admitting MD notes that patient would have come to us sooner had he/she not been busy cleaning up legal issues related to alcohol.

Ahh...sweetness!

The tang of the wheat beer and those darned barbecue potato chips...ahh!

I'm so glad it's Friday, I'm so glad it's Friday, I kept saying to myself today. I felt like I was constantly behind, even when I wasn't. Nevertheless, I made it through the day.

Lately, I've seen and felt a lot of emotions, as I've been running around the unit. Anger...that patient who just won't cooperate with his/her rehab goals. I finally capitulated to the coordinator, since the patient is stalling and just taking out frustrations on yours truly. The psych people took another tack...put the ball in his/her court and bring up discharge. Yes, this changed things some, but I still elected to work with another patient. It was hard to give up, but I felt in the interest of everyone, it made sense. So did the coordinator, which worked for me.

Anticipation...I'm getting ready for upcoming conferences and vacations. It's such a pleasant thought to think that in mere weeks, I'll be having fun outside the Hotel Rehab. I also got out of the GRE when I found out my grad program no longer requires it. I got my application in to the program just in the nick of time, so we'll see if I get accepted.

Excitement...Yesterday, I went to a training session on using our medication administration system. No one else showed up when I went, so basically, I had the person in charge all to myself for about an hour. It was great. I hope to someday end up in that department, and I got a whole lot of face time and plenty of information to boot...and a reference.

Outside of the emotions, there's always the physical aspect of the job. A whole lot of heaving and ho-ing. I had two patients that got up all three days. Neither of these two patients are lightweights (180+ lbs.). I did get both of them to help me. Almost all of our lifts have buttons on cords, so I could give them the cords to put themselves down in the chair as I pulled them into place with the handles on the sling. This was wonderful...and kept them busy. They got a charge out of having some control on how they transferred from their bed to the wheelchair.

I could kvetch and moan about the craziness some of the night folks left me with...full hampers, full urine bags and totally fsked up IVs, but I won't. I am celebrating the weekend. It won't be here forever, so I'm going to enjoy it, snow or no snow. I hope you do, too, wherever you are.

More to come...