The siege continues

The bad cold turned into some random infection, but from the bleeding, snotty sinuses, if this is a sinus infection, it's the worst I've ever had.

My teeth even hurt.

Hope those antibiotics kick in soon.

Stay tuned.

The joys of sinus headaches

And yes, indeed, I do have a doozy, since the cold remainders are still hanging out in my upper respiratory system and sinuses. Laughing (or breathing just right) leads to coughing which leads to rattling the remaining junk...ugh!

Too many things to do today, so it's gotta go away.

Stay tuned...

Summertime's a comin'!

Signs of summer at the Hotel Rehab: certain characters call up with life-threatening "illnesses".

Here's what my travelling partner, the NP, told me today.

"You'll never guess who called me today?" she says.
"Who?", I ask
"It's the month of May. Who always calls in the month of May?" NP asks.
"I have no idea." I say
"Hint" she says, (squirrely voice) "I think I have sinus drainage that's green".
"OMG! Not again. Where's the hole now?" I say. (patient has a history of doing nearly ANYTHING to get admitted, including puncturing him/herself.)
"No hole. He/she just called and got a Z-pack." she says.
"Nice. I should have known" I said "It's air conditioning season again. Just wait. He/she will be back."

More to come...summer's on it's way!

Christmas is now officially over

The decorations have finally been boxed and put away at the RehabRN household.

It's amazing how much you can get done when you don't feel like your head is going to explode.

That is all. Enjoy the remaining moments of your weekend.

I'm special and I know it

In nursing school I was a fine example in Assessment class of this anatomical trait.

I have had these since I was 8 years old, and one of these since 10. Now my ENT tells me I need this.

And just to add a little excitement to the mix, I think my cold is turning into this.

Okay! (lifting arms into air) I give up. Please stop the onslaught so I can get well and get my sinuses cleaned up before my favorite time of year: allergy season. I'm tired of being special.

Stay tuned for more excitement...

2012 in with a bang

Yes, I wasn't hallucinating when I heard that my windows rattling. Turns out the flight patterns are changing and even though we're not too close to any airports, I did hear a loud plane overhead.

Got to work and found out one of our patients didn't make it to 2012. Mr. X. died and was buried by the time I got back. It was sad really. We liked him. His trip to the Hotel seemed in vain at first, because we couldn't do exactly what he wanted, but we did get him some good ol' QOL. (Quality of Life).

One of the managers at Madison also passed away after a tragic accident right around Christmas. They thought he was fine after surgery, but was put on life support. He made it to 2012, but barely. The family let go just after the New Year, when they told them he would not live without the vent. Some of our staff took it harder than most. This manager had been on campus for many years, even though, he wasn't yet retirement age.

When I thought I'd finally dodged all the random GI bugs my friends and relatives seemed to have, I got caught with something equally ugly--the nasty sinus headache that literally made me sick. Nothing like telling your boss you'd love to come to work but can't in between running to the bathroom. I just may have to download this app for the New Year, or make a date with the surgeon to fix the messed up sinuses once and for all.

Stay tuned. It's never dull here...

Jo, I feel for you

Yes, I am feeling the effects of all the assorted pollens hanging out in the air this year. After seeing my niece demonstrate nasal irrigation and how it's helping her allergies, I thought I ought to get one of those sinus irrigators. And I read Jo's post on the necessity of using this in her situation.

Let me tell you, this is not for the faint of heart. There are a million instructions with my particular model irrigator, and of course, I read them first, but missed an important part.

"Contact your physician if you have ever had ear surgery."

I have always had problems with one particular ear, despite surgery (mostly stuffiness). Now I get to nag the ENT to find out if I can continue to use this cool tool, which sure flushed the pollen out yesterday.

Ears feel fine, but I'd like to keep them that way...the joys of fine print.

More to come...only mere days before my move to the SU for a lengthy holiday stay...yes!