Are they listening?

I've been working some overtime lately on purpose. ER has been slower than usual. I have had more time to actually spend at the bedside with my patients. I really enjoy that.

I talked with a German lady and found myself mesmerized by her accent. She told me stories of her travels and compared things with living in Germany.

One thing she talked most about was getting around in the different cities. In Germany, you don't really need a car. You just get on a bus and go anywhere you want.

Freedom means going where you want without having to drive there.

This lady was very sick when she came in. And much better when we had our conversation. I saw her color get healthier and her eyes brighten as she told me stories of her travels. This is my favorite kind of nursing. The human kind.

Listening is cheep medicine.

Flu Season

We are all being bullied to get the flu shot. If we don't, we have to wear a mask during our shift. How crazy is that. I'm a nurse taking care of sick people and I have to wear a mask. I think we are going to frighten people walking around all masked up.

If we really "care" about our patients, lets keep children under 12 out of the hospital. And make the visitors wear masks too.

Here's the funny part. We ran out of flu shots the second day they were offered. We are so far behind the ball now it makes no sense to even get the shot.

Can you imagine a true Pandemic? We could never make enough vaccine to take care of everyone.

Some more stupid stuff: We have monitors that you can print out your patient's vital signs. We are being told that we have to chart every vital sign because the print outs are being lost. Now that makes sense right? Lets not fix the problem of medical records losing a legal part of a chart. Lets punish the nurses and make them spend time charting five minute vital signs in the computer.

So if you have the flu or anything else wrong with you come on in to the ER. Your nurse will not infect you because she or he will be wearing a mask. But you will be exposed to other patients with viruses galore.

Junk Food Taxing

While I don't care if they tax junk food, I think the real money is in religion.

We could do a lot with the money we would get taxing churches and religious organizations.
They influence a lot of people regarding who to vote for and what they believe is good and bad in the world.

I think anyone who spreads so much hate and discrimination should have to pay for it.
They push their way into our schools and government facilities, blatantly stand up and pray to Jesus at football games and put the nativity scene on the court house lawn.

The Christians forget what separation of church and state was created to protect us from.
The very thing that Christians are doing now. . . .Proclaiming that their God is the only one and everybody else is going to hell.

Give me freedom from religion. And make the churches pay taxes and turn off all those lights in Andice Texas where the Baptist and the Catholic church across from each other battle to see who can light up the sky more.

And let me introduce you to my God, The Flying Spaghetti Monster. May his pastaness lift you up and carry you through a happy day.

Cleopatra is alive and well.

While she is known for so much more, Cleopatra is also the Queen of "Denial".

Nurse to elderly man--I see that you are a Diabetic.

Elderly man to nurse--What makes you say that?

Nurse--You are taking Metformin.

Elderly man--Oh, I don't have Diabetes. I just take that to keep my blood sugar down.

Coffin corner

I read in my time magazine an article on the recent plane crash in the ocean. It was said they were flying in their "coffin corner". Too low, too slow. It sure gave me a creepy feeling and made me think about, what else, my job.

It is very hard for me to think about making money off people who are sick or injured, although I couldn't live without my paycheck. But the pressure is on when my health care organization sees fit to cut "corners" to save money in this bad economy.

This is our "coffin corner"-----

The first to be canceled or cut are the very people who save lives. Nurses.
The next are our clerks, who if they aren't around, the nurses left have to answer phones, put in orders, make calls for DR's. and answer call lights. (One less nurse out there taking care of patients)

We do not have a shortage of nurses in this country yet. We have them knocking on our door to be hired. There are no openings. Productivity, patient numbers, steers the need. What we have are older (45 to 60 year old nurses) however experienced and skillful, who are "flying lower and slower" than we used to.

Expected to do more with less, I struggle as a charge nurse to pick up where others need help and take care of my own patient load while staying prepared for the one coming in who may need all we have available to save their life. And that person deserves nothing less.

May we never be caught flying too slow, too low.

My daughter lost her pregnancy at 10 weeks. We all felt helpless and sad. At least we know she can get pregnant after her cancer battle. It seems the women in this family do best when we have something we can fight against. It is having to accept the things we cannot change that pisses us off.

Tread lightly over the skunk under the porch.

I was watching the birds out my living room window one morning when something caught my eye coming towards the house.

Oh No!!!! All I could do was sit and watch with horror as a hugh skunk crawled under the porch.

I said, "No. That is not a good place to sleep today buddy. We are very noisy around here. We clomp on that deck all day long. Well maybe we could be a little quieter.

The skunk camped out with us for about a week. Caught a whiff of him once or twice but who doesn't have a guest that smells after a few days.

I am going to be a grammy again. My youngest, Marsha is pregnant. I've been missing having a baby in my arms.

I had an emotional break down recently. I am losing another tree. It has to come down because it is falling down and might do some damage on the way down. It surprises me how much love I feel for my trees.

I saw a dead skunk down the road last night. Skunks come, skunks go. It's all that happens in between that keeps life interesting.

Needing Mom

"Our achievements are measured by the people who need us."

It will be another mother's day soon.

When I think of my mother, my continued need for her at my age is so strong. She is always there at the end of my phone and she always knows just what I mean no matter what I'm talking about.

May my need for her only bring her a great sense of achievement.

For in being needed we always have something to do, someone to love, and much to look forward to.

I love you Mom