Blog Hiatus

Med/Surg has definitely lived up to its name and has been the craziest quarter yet.  I am literally holding on by a string and that string is beginning to unravel.  Hence, I will be on a hiatus for next TWO weeks until the quarter is over.  I just wanted to let everyone know so I don't get emails asking me why I haven't posted in a while.  Things are just super crazy and I am even foregoing a get together on my birthday weekend.  I would be devastated if I didn't pass my class by a couple percentage points.  I'm holding on strong till the end though!  

Another reason to hate cats...

I was going about my usual day at clinical on the transplant unit.  Just charting in the hall when a patient is rolled onto the floor in a wheelchair.  I had to do a double take, but it was my psych clinical instructor.  She had her hand all wrapped up and was telling me how dumb she was and that clinical was canceled for the week.  I was going to visit her, but the day got away from me so I stopped by her room the next morning.  While brushing her cat, her cat decided she was done and bit her hand.  She didn't think anything of it since it didn't even bleed.  The next morning she woke up and her hand was a balloon.  Her doctor instructed her to go straight to the emergency room, which at first she thought was crazy.  Apparently, though, cat bites are one of the worst kind because of all the bacteria in their mouth.  Worse than any dog or human bite.  It was like getting an injection of bacteria right into your body.  She was put on IV antibiotics for two days and was waiting for infection control to come and give her the okay to go home.  Such a small world that she was put on my unit.  While sad for her unfortunate event, I am ecstatic to have the day off so I can finish my psych paper, start studying for ATI next week and get all set for the weekend trip to Apple Canyon!  

Redemption

All was not lost the week I attempted to teach stress management to the women at Haymarket Center.  I was concerned that the ladies would not take us seriously and our next group session would be a total joke to them.  That morning one of the ladies came into our group room and was like oh I remember you from last week... you're the group that made me cry.  Great, my fears are reinforced!  I thought I had planned a group that would go more smoothly so I had my fingers crossed, especially because my instructor was observing us this time.

Before group I had gathered a bunch of inspirational quotes; quotes that I thought the ladies could turn to during hard times to fight against a potential relapse upon discharge.  Each woman picked a quote and was asked to explain what that quote meant to them and then others could add in.  It was an amazing discussion.  The ladies really opened up about their addiction, their life before rehab.  One woman talked about how she didn't leave this man's house for 6 months and just got high in Vegas everyday.  Another woman talked about how she would let people in and out of her house and do virtually anything to have money to live another day and get high.  We sat and talked for an hour and a half and I really appreciate the ladies sharing so openly with us.  With each quote someone read, the ladies would nod their head agreeably.  One lady said god made her pick that quote because it was perfect for her and quickly wrote her name on it to keep it.  I hope they were being honest in expressing their new perception of themselves and desire to change.  Yet I am aware that sometimes people just say what they think you want to hear.  Here are some of the quotes I picked....

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent

- Eleanor Roosevelt

Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right. – Aldous Huxley

If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else.

- Yogi Berra

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. – Helen Keller

Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing

in our own sunshine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Character and personal force are the only investments

that are worth anything. – Walt Whitman

Storms make oaks take roots. – Proverb

Men's best successes come after their disappointments. - Henry Ward Beecher

It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. 

- Theodore Roosevelt

Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still. 

- Chinese Proverb

The best way out is always through. – Robert Frost

I know it takes more than willpower alone to fight addiction.  It takes support, resources having a plan and having a backup plan.  While one lady expressed that she knows she can stay clean and she is worth more than she's given herself credit for in the past, I question her sobriety when she leaves.  Casually talking to her after group she shared that when she leaves in two days she has no where to go.  No family, no money, nothing.  She was in the process of finding a half way house.  How is someone expected to fight their addiction with that kind of stress so soon after discharge?     

Yes to the dress: bridesmaid edition

Slowly but surely my friends are getting engaged and married.  I am so excited for Carla's wedding and it's still about a year away.  Last weekend we went shopping for bridesmaid dresses.  I must say she's definitely been the anti-bridezilla, but I guess there is still time.  Since Carla said she just wanted the dresses to be pewter and didn't care what style, I literally pulled every short dress I could off the rack.  After trying on dress after dress we found a few possibilities.  Because we are big dorks we had to see what they dresses would look like in pictures since that's what we'll be doing at the wedding, including the quintessential jumping bridal party pose.  Hence the picture below.....  

I'm sure people thought we were crazy, but we were having a good time.  I like that you can see Carla taking the picture in the mirror too.  So, while we had free range to pick whatever dress, Angie and I both ended up liking the same one (the one she's wearing in the picture).  The dress was forwarded to the other bridemaids and, since uncontested, everyone now is wearing the same dress.  Only problem is it isn't in the color Carla wanted.  Most brides would be like, nope find a new dress.  Our bride was like, okay lets see if I like a color that it does come in.  After much discussion and contemplation we are getting the dress Angie is wearing in the picture in the color of the dress I am wearing in the picture.  Everyone is happy and now we just have to tackle our next obstacle.... yellow shoes.  Finding the dress was a cinch, finding shoes we all agree on will be the achilles' heel.