Still...

Silent waters run deep, and since the flood waters are still about in RehabLand, we're paying attention.

No unnecessary water use and water conservation is the status almost a week into all this neighboring excitement. We are doing our part, which Bubba loves, since he thinks he'll melt if he takes too many baths. I've cut down laundry to one load as needed (when someone panicked because he thought he was out of underwear and socks) and I only do dishes when I fill up the dishwasher, then on eco or one hour mode.

We'll live reusing most of the towels and sheets. We are lucky. We are dry. Many of our neighbors a few miles away are not.

It is so much to be grateful for today.

More later.

New Year's resolutions

Raise your hand if you hate them. (raising hand)

If we can't get them to stick in January, will they ever? Probably not. Experts claim habits form in about three weeks.

Anyway, here goes. I'm going to try to hit the ones on this BuzzFeed list and my own.

1. Exercise more. Yes, I do need to get up and move around more, even when I don't feel like it.

2. Eat less sugar. Those candies and cupcakes really messed me up on the scale.

3. Drink more water.

4. Keep a gratitude log. I even found one for my phone: Gratitude365.

5. Develop a career resolution list for 2016. I have to work on goals for my review at work, so I might just start early.

Hope you enjoy your year wherever you are.

Stay tuned...

Ah, flashbacks

I remember in a previous life that one of my professors said "Always take a glass of water to meetings in case they start talking about price fixing. Spill it in your lap and politely excuse yourself so you won't be able to vote on anything."

I doubt any water was spilled when "cooking the books" was discussed. Recently, there has been much talk of this phenomenon in health care.

However, I was not particularly disturbed until I read this article. A great way to cap off Nurses' Week...NOT!

Disgusting...

War on the summer cold

Wake up off and on all night. Get sleep in small chunks of time.

Wage war on congestion with:

• 2 pots of herbal tea with honey
• Multiple, multiple cups of every kind of coffee
• 3.5 liters of cold water
• Two Mucinex DMs (takes 16 oz of water all by itself!)
• Four Aleves
• Liberal amounts of Vicks Vapo-Rub (I'm old school)
• One nap before dinner (refreshing!)
• Ate three light, but vitamin rich meals.

If I don't flush it out, I'm going to make things very inhospitable with a veritable flood.

That is all. Back to sleep and thinking good thoughts. Hopefully, all the barking dogs will go in for the night soon!

Rain, hail, tornadoes

Dear Mother Nature:

Who says our Friday night wasn't exciting? I thank my lucky stars that I have a finished basement in which to hide from the rousing storms that were going through RehabLand.

Yes, we missed some fun Friday night stuff at baseball and the mall, because it got windy and spooked a lot of people, but there are bonuses. As I already mentioned the basement, I was thrilled that we still had electric and cold beer.

So let me just say thanks for avoiding my neighborhood. My nerves were frayed, WildDog was stressed, but happy with us.

At least, with a cold Hefeweizen, I could watch the storm reports and chill in a safe area.

Please send the next set of storms somewhere else. We (and all the folks in Oklahoma) have had enough water, hail and wind for quite a long time.

Sincerely (really, if it works...),

RehabRN

Murphy was here...

Yes, Murphy's Law was in force today at the Hotel.

1. We thought the TVs were firmly attached when they renovated the Hotel. Until one fell off and hit a patient and a staff member.

2. We thought the roof was fixed, until recently, when it rained and leaked all over in the break room and in the SU.

3. Today, the plumbers made it rain in another hallway. Some water pipe thing.

I am so glad I'm going to a seminar tomorrow. I just hope I come back to an office intact.

Stay tuned...

Points to ponder

Yes, it seems far away from nursing to talk about insider trading, but it's not really if you read this article.

Sure, those investment types are NOT supposed to take the advice of a doctor and go sell stocks, but they did. They made huge profits.

And it just reminds me what one of my old professors said eons ago. "Take a glass of water with you to every meeting. If they start to discuss insider trading or price fixing, accidentally spill said glass of water on yourself and walk out. Make sure this is recorded in the meeting minutes, or make a note to self."

Just in case the SEC and other sundry law enforcement folks come calling...

It could have been worse...

I could have had a whole lot of meetings today. Two big ones were cancelled, so I HAD to do my required education at my desk and close the door to keep the rabble out all afternoon

But, never fear, friends, I still had lots of other entertainment at the meetings I did attend.

I got to hear about Dr. R's trip to the Big Ditch and the ride on the mule. In some spots, you can't see the bottom. Good thing for that sure footed creature!

We got to discuss our patients in our weekly meeting (that's what rehab centers have to do on a regular basis). I got to discuss my interventions from my office to keep some patients out of trouble. (Always fun.)
I couldn't do anything about the character offering to "help" another patient with his stash of marijuana.
No matter what we do, some of these folks just don't get it that we are not in a state that allows Mary Jane for medicinal purposes (keep driving west, please!)

And for a finale to my day, I heard rain outside my window. It was only S, the rec therapist with the patients watering the garden below. Everything was fine and dandy, and S. went back to her office and brought patients inside. Well, we thought they all came in...Mr. G., a particular character decided he was going to move the sprinkler. When he did that and started rolling in the front door, he started dragging the hose inside underneath his electric wheelchair.

A man in the lobby saw Mr. G. coming in and helped him get the hose out from under the chair, just as he was dragging the sprinkler inside. Thankfully, only Mr. G. got wet. A Good Samaritan turned off the hose, so Mr. G. wouldn't flood the whole front entrance.

All in all, it was a pretty good day. One (or even two) less meetings in life is a very good thing.

More later...

Just do it!

The Nike slogan was my mantra the last night I worked, and thankfully, most people got it.

Everyone got an equal assignment (myself included.) I don't mind taking an extra load, but tonight I needed an equitable assignment!

The nurse who decided his/her feet were swelling and he/she needed a different assignment so he/she could sit down, talked to another nurse and they traded (he/she got more people until relief came, he/she got a lesser assignment for part of the night).

I got to do multiple suctionings on one of my antsy trach patients, clean his/her wheelchair from seat down in the shower due to an accident, scrub him/her up,  wash his/her clothes, and change a catheter, in addition to the dressings this patient has.

Next, I got to do an emergency scramble when one family member breezes by the nurses station and says, "Oh, I tried to wake up, Bob, my brother, and he's not waking up." Run down hall with blood pressure machine and oxygen sat. Brother is sleeping, but easily roused. Nice. People just don't get saying something like that will get a nurse's dander up. Sheesh!


Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled that my other patients were not so needy. My only exception: Mr. Bottled Water. Since he's run out, we can only get him water from the ice machine, since it's filtered, "and tastes so much better."

Too bad the honchos won't just buy filtered pitchers for all of them. Maybe I'll suggest that to his family for their next visit.

More to come...