Yesterday

When you work on a psychiatric rehab unit you begin to expect the unexpected, and then there's yesterday!

By 5:30pm I had:

...Passed meds.
...Broken up a fight.
...Assessed lungs.
...Gotten spit on (in the face).
...Made countless legal guardian calls.
...Helped plan halloween costumes.
...Charted.
...Broke up another fight.
...Assessed a skin lesion.
...Got spit on again.
...Passed meds.
...Been told I was beautiful.
...Defused another behavior.
...Crushed meds.
...Supervised in the dining room.
...Written Dr.'s orders.
...Oriented a new resident to the unit.
...Supervised the smokers.

Things calmed down after that.

an easy stick

I was once again working the holiday, Christmas Eve this time. As with any holiday we never had quite enough staff. I was the one and only pediatric nurse to be found. As I remember it I had 4 little kiddos that night.

I don't even remember 2 of them but the 2 brand new babies in neighboring rooms were quite sick. I write this about the little gal in room 227:

She had just been transfered to our hospital and her admission completed when I assumed her care. She was 3 months old but was born 3 months early...so she was virtually a new born. Her diagnosis was RSV, she was on oxygen and antibiotics. I took one look at her and knew that that treatment was not enough. She needed IV fluids, IV antibiotics. I called for the house pediatrician who agreed with my assessment (doesn't that make you feel good) and wrote the appropiate orders. I am personally very comfortable with sticking peds for IV's but in a perfect world I like to have a couple of other nurses either to assist or to back me up. Because of this little gals diagnosis I could not call on anyone from the nursery and ER was overflowing and it would be hours before one of their nurses had a chance to even get away. This little girl needed intervention right away, she was not eating, having difficulty breathing...she needed this IV.

My supervisor was scared to death to even be in the room so up close and personal with such a sick little girl. The parents were young, and a bit stand-offish...I'm assuming from having a premee and being hospitalized for so much of her young life. I began to prepare the needed supplies and pray for a first stick! Baby veins are tiny and when dehydrated they flatten out and it can be very difficult to achieve access. Then of course there's the misserable experience of holding a child down who doesn't understand what you are doing to them. But I knew this little girl needed it.

I insisted that my scared supervisor be on hand as my second set of hands and what should have been a difficult stick was one of the easiest I've ever had! Just getting the IV did nothing for this little girl. I needed to hook up the fluids, get the antibiotics and steroids... But that small victory made ME breathe easier. I was the one in those rubber gloves once again being used by the mighty God to begin this little girls journey to recovery.

that thanksgiving

Nobody likes to go to work on a holiday and here I found myself at work on Thanksgiving night. I was grumpy and didn't feel good as I had over eaten turkey, dressing, both sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes...... I receive my assignment and begin the night with the "make it through the shift" attitude, after all I've got shopping to do in the morning!

One of my patients was an emaciated and deformed cancer patient in his mid 50's, throat cancer had literally eaten away at his face and neck. He was unable to eat and had a feeding tube. He was in a huge amount of pain and general discomfort. I spent a few minutes with him and his wife describing my plan for keeping him comfortable through my shift and later met with his wife at the nurses station where she begged me to do my very best for him. We were a new hospital to him so this gave him another reason to be uncomfortable. She left with me promising some extra TLC and that I would call her if anything changed.

Off and on through the evening I was in his room for assessments, pain meds, tube feeding, etc. He said very little and appeared very withdrawn. As I prepared yet another round of pain medication I had a sudden realization....I know this man! I looked at his name on the computer screen and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my dad used to work with him, OVER 25 YEARS BEFORE!!! So many questions are running through my head: How in the world could I remember him; there's no way he would remember my dad; he would look at me like I was a crazy person if I were to tell him this....a fellow nurse is standing there as I process this and she insists that I say something to him! Here goes.....

(Did I tell you this is the middle of the night??)...

I walk in and say something like, "ahem...um, I, um, don't know how to, um, say this,I um but I, um, think I know you, um. ". I know you are all thinking that I sound like an idiot....that's pretty much how I felt! My patient begins to tear up and says, "You're Andrea HUNT! Your Dad is Paul, you have a ton of brothers...!" He sits up (which he hadn't done all night), there's a sparkle in his eyes...he knew exactly who I was! We talked for what seemed like forever, I eventually got around to giving him his meds. He asked me to call my dad. As I've already said it was a holiday so at this time my dad was still sound asleep so I promised I would call that morning. He settles back into bed begging me to promise to call dad as early as possible!

I rush to get off the clock and out the door the next morning because I'm already running really late for black Friday sales, I get to my car and I have a flat tire! Ok, deep breath, I can change my tire, no biggie! Problem was I couldn't get the lug nuts off, hospital maintenance actually BROKE my lug wrench when attempting to get them loose. So I make the embarrassing call to my dad and drag him out of bed but at least I got to share my great news!! He and Abe come down and get me up and running, make that rolling! As I'm pulling out of the parking lot he and Abe go in to see this old friend.

I'm sure that by this time the cancer has taken its course and that my patient has lost his battle. But that night was so very sweet. My dad was able to visit with him and to continue to share the gospel with him, my grandparents also came by as Grandpa had also worked with him.

I know it was God who had directed me to this man. There is no humanly way that I could remember a man I had only known as a small child let alone recognize with his distorted features but God used me, once again, to make a difference in this mans stay and I can only trust and believe that both my Grandpa's and Dad's testimony challenged him to surrender his life to Christ.

It's been too long.

I don't even know where to begin. My past few months have brought huge amounts of change and growth. I moved from my home town, the church I had belonged to for over 20 years and made a HUGE career change. Through that process I have learned to protect yet open my heart in a brand new way.

My new nursing job doesn't typically require those rubber gloves I'm so very used to sporting and has stretches and challenges me every single day. Instead of diagnoses such as pneumonia, CHF, pacreatitis, and RSV I'm hearing schizophrenia, bi-polar affective disorder, borderline personality disorder and impulse control on a daily basis. I go from being the favorite nurse to the evil one in a matter of seconds and that's just the response of any given resident on any given day. I have around 56 residents all in differing stages of recovery.

My real joy comes when I put on my youth leader cap. The youth sponsor role has drastically changed from what I have known in the past 12 years but that's for the good.

I will strive to share stories on here...I was reminded of a couple amazing nursing encounters just this morning.

Shouting from the roof top!

If you read back to some of my older blogs you would find me talking about my Grandpa's iminent death. Well it is today that I stand here today and want to shout from the roof top: GRANDPA IS BETTER!!!!!

We have been on an emotional rollar coaster for the past month and a half. Grandpa is sick...Grandpa is not getting better....Grandpa is dying...Grandpa is eating...Grandpa is no longer confused...Grandpa isn't eating anymore...Grandpa seems very weak...Grandpa is entertaining visitors... It has been a whirlwind couple of months.

I often attend to patient's who are in the last stages of life and offer words of support about God's timing but I don't think that I have ever had that truth challenged until now.

Even when Grandpa's health would take an up-hill swing I was the one being hesitant, not wanting the family to put too much hope in a recovery. I mean, all the signs were against him. He's old, he's not on what we have always believed was a life controling medication, he has had very little nutrition or excercise in a very long time.

My mom called me last week to say that Grandpa's doctor was going to make a HOUSE CALL... in case you haven't noticed, doctors don't do that anymore! He gave us really good news: Grandpa's infection was GONE! This is the same infection that his body was too weak to even work along with the antibiotics on just a month ago. We have since discontinued hospice and are working with home health therapy.

I got an email from Grandma last night that found me REJOICING....Grandpa is up walking, eating 3 meals a day. Seemingly back to his normal self!!!!!

Why has this great improvement occured? Because we serve an AWESOME God. I can't even put into words my joy.

Grandpa came home to die the first week of December. We knew it, he knew it. Everyone, in their own way had accepted that fact. I remember one day when Grandpa told me, "I don't understand it, I thought for sure I would have died yesterday."

The most amazing thing for me in this is that, as I wrote about in a previous blog, we were facing this expected loss with out any fear. For the believer their is no sting to death for the scripture tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. My Grandpa has lived, even in the face of death, with that complete assurance of his salvation.

Now what? I laugh when I think that my over planning uncle had even scheduled a tenitive date for Grandpa's memorial service! First off, WHO DOES THAT??? It made sense, Grandpa was dying, why not be prepared. Well, that date came and went over a month ago and my Grandpa is still living.

I praise the Lord that His timing is perfect. It makes me love Him more, knowing that He has the perfect time set for welcoming my Grandpa into His glorious presence and that that won't be a moment sooner than He is ready.

So yes, I'm shouting from the roof top: GRANDPA IS BETTER!!!!!!

I will cherish each new day that my Grandpa has been loaned to us. That is how I now see it, God has given him back to us.

Kleenex for Christmas

Christmas Eve is never a fun time to be in the hospital. Can you imagine being in the hospital while the world is celebrating? Let alone being on a restricted diet - it's just wrong!

This past Christmas Eve I admitted a woman who I was told was "very emotional". No story came along with this report so I wasn't really sure what I was going to face when I entered the room. So as I went in, I approached with caution.

As I was completing her admission her story pored out: She had recently gotten divorced from an abusive husband and was having issues with her oldest sons. They called their dad and he came 3 days before Christmas and moved them out of her home. She was so distraught, she could hardly carry on a conversation.

I didn't know how to respond, I got kleenex, it seemed like so little.

I stayed with her while she cried out all of her emotion and dried her eyes. And then she thanked me for being so nice!

I couldn't think what I had done... I mean really, kleenexes????

This patient has been readmitted at least 3 times since she spent the holiday in our care. I overheard her say to a coworker..."that's Andrea, she was my angel on Christmas Eve".

I seem to keep writing these blogs about the little things. I am begining to find this to be true in my life as well. Coffee ready when I get to work, a perfectly timed text or facebook post can change my world in an instant.

The small things...

I have been missing this...

I haven't posted something before today in just forever. I have had many things that I wanted to blog but have not had the opportunity until today.

I intend to write several posts, maybe lump several into one but sleep is more pressing now.

Enjoy reading and please, as always, leave comments... I LOVE THEM!!!

annointing feet

Feet are not my thing. I mean, come on, yuck! And don't let me get started on the feet I have encountered in my line of work. I have often wondered what would make someone decide to specialize in feet...podiatry, pedicurists... Again, not my thing!

So last night when I was asked to find time to wash my patients feet my first thought was to find the clinical partner assigned to that patient. I didn't really have an excuse so I, should I say "bucked up" and approached the duty of washing this man's feet.

On a side note, on my way to work last night, while driving in the snow, I made a conscious point in my prayer to ask God to let me touch at least one life during my shift.

Back to my story...

I grab soap, wash cloths, towels and new socks and put on that grin and bear it face. "This is just part of being a nurse", as you can guess I really was saying this to myself.

I turn the water on and begin to tackle this duty.

This patient was admitted due to breathing issues and I listen to him talk to his baby granddaughter on the phone thinking that I should encourage him to take a rest as he is visibly short of breath but his face is glowing with the love that he has for this little one so I weigh the benefits with the negatives and decide that he needs to have "Grandpa time".

I begin to wash his feet and I am reminded of a sermon I heard on Sunday about the woman who washed Jesus feet with her tears and anointed him with perfume. I begin to see my patient from a different aspect, or maybe it was me that I was looking at different. I began to see myself as a servant there to serve my patient. I tenderly began to soak and scrub his feet and the face of my patient faded away and I felt the Lord's presence begin to overpower me. What must it have been like to sit at The Master's feet, listening to Him teach and to provide Him such a service?

As I was drying my patient's feet he asked me if I had time to do one more thing for him...rub baby oil into his feet. I was so moved by his request, and though baby oil is I am sure very far removed from the bottle of perfume pored out of that broken alabaster box I couldn't imagine doing something more serving for my patient or for the Lord.


"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Matthew 25: 35-40

I know that my patient appreciated what I did for him, but for me I realized that though my hands and my words may be attending the sick I am really serving Jesus.

I left for work asking God to allow me to touch someones heart, I didn't realize I would be that person.