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.