The summer's dwindling

Soon, Bubba will go back to school. It will be a new one and a new grade, so it should be interesting.

After a year of trying, I finally figured out how the school information system works.

More to come...

Love the stranger

Always give a word or sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, or even a stranger, if in a lonely place. ~ Tecumseh 

If I were not a rehab nurse, I'd want to be a transplant nurse. I've enjoyed working with transplant patients and learning about how to care for them, particularly while they stayed at Saintarama or at the Hotel.

Lately, I've enjoyed reading the articles in the news about transplant chains. This BBC article describes how one chain brought together 30 patients and 30 kidney donors. Another NY Times article discusses how the system isn't perfect. I even found one on a complication: CMV infection, which I could have used when I took care of a patient who got CMV post-transplant.

Always lots to learn...more to come.

Things you learn at a conference

1. There are long lines for any good free stuff.
2. Occasionally someone you know will win a raffle.
3. Some conferences feed you exceptionally well (meals and snacks), and others, not so much.
4. Your boss,will get up and dance,if some nurses from another hospital pick him up under the arms and drag him.
5. One of your coworkers will document #4  for posterity.
6. You will volunteer someone else to babysit the boss and entertain him/her, so you can escape.
7. Some people can speak before hundreds of people, and others, not so much.
8.  You find that lots of people have problems similar to those on your unit.
9. When you work for a large healthcare system, everyone knows everyone in one way or another. Six degrees of separation? Nope. It's more like two.
10. Finally, enjoy your old and new friends whenever you get the chance. You never know when it will be the last time you see them.