Every day on the way to work I pass a billboard for a hospital that features a new person every month. This month they are featuring a person that works in Central Service. (where all supplies for the hospital are kept) In quotes is the person saying "Everyone in the hospital is integral" I would agree with this wholeheartedly. Sometimes I wonder if the physicians realize how much goes into carrying out their orders. It might seem like the nurses just snap their fingers and its done, but it often takes a combined effort from a variety of people to carry out the order to completion.
Even the people I have never met, help me care for my patients. For example, Diane* in Central Service. I have never met her, but there is something that gets me super excited and relieved when I call down to central service for something (espeially when I'm not sure what it is exactly called) and I hear Diane 's raspy, most-likely a smoker voice answer. Our conversation always starts out the same.
"Central service, this is Diana, how may I help you"
I say "Hi, its Angi from 48. I need the thingee for the thingamajig that goes on the end of the whatchyamacalit. I'm not sure what it's called"
"you mean the..."
"yes, that's it"
"what room, hon?"
"4806 bed 1"
99% of the time, she knows exactly what I am talking about. If I don't realize something comes in multiple sizes, she knows exactly what sizes are available.
One of these days, I need to go down and introduce myself to Diane so I can see how accurate the picture in my head is.
*name has been changed
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
It's the Season
Signs of warm weather are all around. Last night, I turned on the air conditioner for the first time this season. Today Nathan showed me doves that have taken residence under our patio roof. Then, we went to our neighbor's garage sale and passed several garage sale/moving sale signs in the neighborhood. We also drove through our neighborhood and saw a group of teenagers out in the yard taking pictures before heading off to the prom. Then, this afternoon, the air and sky filled with smoke as we could smell a fire that was nearby. One of the pictures is ash that had fallen onto our concrete patio. I haven't seen the doves this afteroon and I hope the fire didn't drive them away forever.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Multitastking
I'm not really sure why I always share my silly moments with people, but when I'm still chuckling at myself the next day, it's worth telling.
Yesterday at work I had 3 patients. They were stable patients, but between the 3 of them, I had 4 procedures. These always take a lot of coordination to get everyone together at the right time, prepare for sedation and give sedation,etc. Anyway, there was about an hour left in my shift and I was told to give up one of my patients so I could admit a very sick little girl. We needed to move another one of my patients out of the room they were in to make room for this one girl. So, hurrying along, we moved my patient to another room and realized the phone in the new room didn't work. So I went to get the phone from the old room. As I walked into the room, the phone rang. I figured it was the father of my patient I just moved, so I answered the phone to give him the new number. Now... multitasking is not always the best choice, especially when just as you answer the phone and start to explain that the patient has moved to a new room, you start to do what you origianally went into the room to do and you reach over and unplug the phone from the wall cutting off the person on the other end. Oops!
Yesterday at work I had 3 patients. They were stable patients, but between the 3 of them, I had 4 procedures. These always take a lot of coordination to get everyone together at the right time, prepare for sedation and give sedation,etc. Anyway, there was about an hour left in my shift and I was told to give up one of my patients so I could admit a very sick little girl. We needed to move another one of my patients out of the room they were in to make room for this one girl. So, hurrying along, we moved my patient to another room and realized the phone in the new room didn't work. So I went to get the phone from the old room. As I walked into the room, the phone rang. I figured it was the father of my patient I just moved, so I answered the phone to give him the new number. Now... multitasking is not always the best choice, especially when just as you answer the phone and start to explain that the patient has moved to a new room, you start to do what you origianally went into the room to do and you reach over and unplug the phone from the wall cutting off the person on the other end. Oops!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Backyard...Again
I realize that a majority of my posting is revolving around the backyard these days, but this is very exciting. Note the pictures in my previous post before the grass was planted. It was very brown, dark and depressing. Over the weekend and especially this morning, the grass has just popped up and while looking out my patio window, it really is starting to look green. There are some patches where we are hoping it is just behind due to lack of sunshine. There is also a patch that we knew would be a problem where the sprinklers don't quite reach. There are also a few patches where there isn't much growth, but that's where we always found the birds eating the seed. I cannot wait until a few weeks from now when it keeps growing and needs to be mown? mowed? Whatever the proper word is.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Backyard
Yeah! We finally have grass planted in the backyard. We have spent many hours the last few weeks preparing the backyard to have grass planted and we just spent the entire weekend finishing it. The pictures are kind of backward. The bottom one shows the rough shape the yard was in when we started. We had to rake all of the debris and junk off the surface. Then, we leveled it out. Then we laid compost. There is a picture of the mound of compost. Nathan put in the garden planter last weekend and it looks fantastic. I will be sure to show you once we have green grass growing. I am super excited to have grass back there finally. However, I won't be as excited when the next water bill arrives.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Hijacked by an elevator
The last couple of days at work were busy! Especially for a weekend. It was nearing the end of my shift yesterday and I had been waiting a few hours for some platelets that a patient desperately needed. When the platelets were ready, to make things faster, I decided to go down and pick them up myself. On my way down to the lobby level, I realized I needed an extra IV pump to run the platelets since I was already using the other 2 pumps. I took the 5 flights of stairs down to central service to get a pump, then I decided to take the elevator up to the blood bank (those pumps are heavy) As I'm waiting for the elevator, a couple of workers arrive with a gurney, when the elevator arrives, we get in. One of the workers puts his "magic key" in the key hole in the elevator and we start to go up. Then he says "sorry we're going all the way up to the 9th floor then we're keeping the elevator" I put two and two together and realized that they are headed for the heliport on top of the hospital. There is a trauma coming in.
When we got to the 9th floor, I got out of that elevator and headed around the corner to another one. I got in along with a guy with a wheelchair, a guy with a linen bin and a couple transport nurses with roller carts. We make our trek back down, of course stopping at every floor (keep in mind I'm starting on the 9th floor) since the other elevator is "occupied" everyone is trying to use this one, except no one else will fit. Finally, we get back to the lobby level floor. I pick up the platelets and take the children's hospital elevator back up to the 4th floor. When my co-workers said they were wondering what took so long. I said I was "hijacked by an elevator" We all agreed it was worth it. We needed that little laugh to finish off our shift.
When we got to the 9th floor, I got out of that elevator and headed around the corner to another one. I got in along with a guy with a wheelchair, a guy with a linen bin and a couple transport nurses with roller carts. We make our trek back down, of course stopping at every floor (keep in mind I'm starting on the 9th floor) since the other elevator is "occupied" everyone is trying to use this one, except no one else will fit. Finally, we get back to the lobby level floor. I pick up the platelets and take the children's hospital elevator back up to the 4th floor. When my co-workers said they were wondering what took so long. I said I was "hijacked by an elevator" We all agreed it was worth it. We needed that little laugh to finish off our shift.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Full circle
Never have laundry and gardening been so closely intwined. We have been working on our backyard everyday for the last 2-3 weeks. This weekend was no exception, we were out there all day yesterday and again today. This morning I asked Nathan where the clippers were so I could trim some of the calla lilies. He wasn't sure. We searched the garage, even searched the house. Nathan was stumped. I gave up. After a hard day outside, I realized Nathan was almost out of jeans for the week, so I put a load in the washer. A few minutes later, I heard a clang, clang that didn't sound good. I went to investigate. What did I find in the washer? ... The clippers.
I wonder who left those in their pants pocket? You know how I know it wasn't me? I didn't have a single pair of jeans in that load :-)
I wonder who left those in their pants pocket? You know how I know it wasn't me? I didn't have a single pair of jeans in that load :-)
Friday, March 02, 2007
House Update
It's been awhile since I've shown a picutre of the house lately. We finally got the stone put on the wall and columns. They still need to finish the rest of the columns, and go around the garage door. The front yard is finally in the final stages. This weekend we have some friends coming over to help us clean up the back yard so we can at least start getting grass to grow back there. Anything is better than dirt at this point. Notice the large dark cloud in the picture. That cloud passes us by as usual:-)
Monday, February 19, 2007
I really shouldn't complain
Do you ever feel like something is passing you by? I feel very blessed and fortunate for everything I have. For my husband, my family, my friends, my home, my entire life situation, I cannot (or shouldn't) complain.
I am even blessed to live in Sunny California where I never have to worry about weather ruining my plans for the day. But sometimes, I just want it to rain. I want my plans to be ruined because of rain. All day today it teased me making wish and pray that it would rain. I'm not asking for much. I just want a steady rain. Maybe even some sprinkles. I was excited to wake up and see a cloudy sky and learn that it had rained lightly through the night. Some parts of the sky were darker than others, but then I realized that the sky right above us was always the least likely to rain. It seems that the 2 mile radius around our house is the last place to get any rain. All around were dark, rain looking clouds, but right above us was pretty blue or light overcast grey. The rain clouds never came and just passed us by. Grrr!
Now watch, it will be raining on my way to work tomorrow and I won't be able to enjoy the rain. There is something about the hospital that feels like a vacuum. The world could be ending outside and the only way I would know is if they were sending the overflow of wounded to my floor and I wouldn't be able to get any of my patients to CT or MRI. So I don't count it as a successful rain if it rains on the days I work or at night when I can't hear it.
I am even blessed to live in Sunny California where I never have to worry about weather ruining my plans for the day. But sometimes, I just want it to rain. I want my plans to be ruined because of rain. All day today it teased me making wish and pray that it would rain. I'm not asking for much. I just want a steady rain. Maybe even some sprinkles. I was excited to wake up and see a cloudy sky and learn that it had rained lightly through the night. Some parts of the sky were darker than others, but then I realized that the sky right above us was always the least likely to rain. It seems that the 2 mile radius around our house is the last place to get any rain. All around were dark, rain looking clouds, but right above us was pretty blue or light overcast grey. The rain clouds never came and just passed us by. Grrr!
Now watch, it will be raining on my way to work tomorrow and I won't be able to enjoy the rain. There is something about the hospital that feels like a vacuum. The world could be ending outside and the only way I would know is if they were sending the overflow of wounded to my floor and I wouldn't be able to get any of my patients to CT or MRI. So I don't count it as a successful rain if it rains on the days I work or at night when I can't hear it.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Initiative 957
Have you heard about initiative 957 in Washington? This article explains it pretty well:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003558717_nokids06m.html
At first I thought, "Whose crazy idea is it to make it a law that you must have children after 3 years of marriage or your marriage would no longer be valid?" Then I looked into it and realized that they aren't as serious about the initiative being passed as they are serious about proving a point. They are trying to prove that a court ruling saying homosexual couples could not be married because they are unable to procreate. Therefore they are saying that procreation is the only reason for a marriage and therefore anyone not having children within 3 years of marriage, would no longer be married. Who decided on three years? I guess its because, as if the initiative isn't crazy enough, 3 years is even more of a crazy statement. Based on this initiative, our almost 5 year marriage would be invalid. Crazy!
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003558717_nokids06m.html
At first I thought, "Whose crazy idea is it to make it a law that you must have children after 3 years of marriage or your marriage would no longer be valid?" Then I looked into it and realized that they aren't as serious about the initiative being passed as they are serious about proving a point. They are trying to prove that a court ruling saying homosexual couples could not be married because they are unable to procreate. Therefore they are saying that procreation is the only reason for a marriage and therefore anyone not having children within 3 years of marriage, would no longer be married. Who decided on three years? I guess its because, as if the initiative isn't crazy enough, 3 years is even more of a crazy statement. Based on this initiative, our almost 5 year marriage would be invalid. Crazy!
Happy Valentine's Day
Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow (Valentine's Day). The nice thing is we've been celebrating Valentine's Day for a few weeks now thanks to me. Let me explain...
Nathan told me at the end of January that he was excited about the gift he had gotten me for Valentine's and said it would be coming in the mail in the next week. About a week later, a package arrived from thinkgeek.com. I was curious to see what Nathan had gotten off of this geeky website. So I opened it. Inside was the shirt shown above. As soon as I saw the pink chocolate molecule, I knew it was for me. I thought, "How cute, Nathan randomly bought me a gift." So, I decided to wash it and put it on so I would be wearing it when he came home. He walks in the door, chuckles and says "I see you found your Valentine's Day gift" Oops.
Friday, February 09, 2007
An Inconvenient Truth
We finally saw "The Inconvenient Truth." If you are confused about global warming and the effects it can have and has already had, I highly recommend it. I have never seen anything that puts it into a more simple, yet intellectual explanation.
Instead of plugging in my laptop to make this a most perfect post, I will keep this post short and save energy by letting the battery die.
You Get What You Pay For
We have been wanting to purchase a new toaster oven for awhile. We finally decided this week to get one. This way Nathan could take our old one to work and have more options for lunch. We searched around and found one at Target that was on clearance. The price was extremely good, it was larger, had two racks inside, was deeper, and had a timer. It seemed too good to be true, but because it was what we wanted and half of what we wanted to pay, we went for it.
We got it home, plugged it in, and gave it a whirl. Then we figured out why it was on clearance. There is a power light that obviously tells you when it is on and working. Above that power light are the letters "poewr." Love it!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
The Small Stuff
Working as a pediatric oncology nurse, I have big things to get excited about; Someone goes into remission. Another one completes their treatment. Someone finds a bone marrow transplant donor. These are the obviously big, exciting things. Then there are the little things that are just as exciting in the moment. For example, when a patient the other day was having abdominal pain. I knew he hadn't stooled in 2 days, so I convinced him to sit on the toilet and try. He had a HUGE success (if you know what I mean). I was excited because it was a basic thing that made the discomfort go away.
Then yesterday, I admitted a little baby for anemia, fevers and vomiting. They ordered a nasopharyngeal wash (flushing your nasal passage with saline and aspirating it back out to send it for a culture) They also ordered a urine culture by placing a urinary catheter to collect a sterile specimen since a little baby can't do a "clean catch" in a cup. These are two of my least favorite things to do, so I was neither excited nor eager to get them done. However, I wanted to get them done before night shift arrived because I would not want this passed on to me. So, I had two nurses help hold. The nasopharyngeal wash went smoothly. Then came the catheter. I set up my sterile field, the other two were holding her in position. I cleaned the area, and as I'm reaching for the catheter, she starts to urinate in a perfect, beautiful arch. So, we placed the specimen cup under the stream and we got our "clean catch" sample without needing to put the catheter in!! This seriously made my day. And even though she isn't aware, she made her own day being that she didn't have to go through the trauma of having a catheter! I love getting excited over the small stuff.
Then yesterday, I admitted a little baby for anemia, fevers and vomiting. They ordered a nasopharyngeal wash (flushing your nasal passage with saline and aspirating it back out to send it for a culture) They also ordered a urine culture by placing a urinary catheter to collect a sterile specimen since a little baby can't do a "clean catch" in a cup. These are two of my least favorite things to do, so I was neither excited nor eager to get them done. However, I wanted to get them done before night shift arrived because I would not want this passed on to me. So, I had two nurses help hold. The nasopharyngeal wash went smoothly. Then came the catheter. I set up my sterile field, the other two were holding her in position. I cleaned the area, and as I'm reaching for the catheter, she starts to urinate in a perfect, beautiful arch. So, we placed the specimen cup under the stream and we got our "clean catch" sample without needing to put the catheter in!! This seriously made my day. And even though she isn't aware, she made her own day being that she didn't have to go through the trauma of having a catheter! I love getting excited over the small stuff.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Flannel
It has been cold here (for California, anyway.) Our house has tile and wood floor throughout, so it is always just a little chillier than you would expect. So, Nathan convinced me to try flannel sheets. I laughed at him saying flannel sheets are completely unnecessary where we live. However, I found some that were on sale and put them on our bed last night.
Now I will admit to everyone. I was wrong. Flannel sheets are necessary. I pulled back the covers to get in last night and the sheets were warm. I didn't have to stay in one spot to warm them up. When I turned in the middle of the night, I didn't have to warm my new spot. Then, this morning, I didn't want to get out of bed. I can't wait to go to bed tonight!
Now I will admit to everyone. I was wrong. Flannel sheets are necessary. I pulled back the covers to get in last night and the sheets were warm. I didn't have to stay in one spot to warm them up. When I turned in the middle of the night, I didn't have to warm my new spot. Then, this morning, I didn't want to get out of bed. I can't wait to go to bed tonight!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Life is a Highway
I took care of a 3 year old the last couple days. I asked her this afternoon if she wanted to go to the playroom because they would be closing in an hour and I knew she liked being in there. She started to get off her bed, when she said "wait, let me hear my song first" She was watching the movie Cars and started to sing along to "Life is a Highway" Except, she did that cute little kid thing, (I occassionally do this as well) where they mumble the entire sentence and then the last couple words of the phrase are all you understand. ie. " Li isa iway, aw wanari ial night long" I don't need to tell you that it was absolutely adorable.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
A good drive thru story
Some things I just can't keep to myself. Things like this make me chuckle and I have to share. It's these kinds of stories that I love and will probably always remember.
I freely admit that I am a dork. Sometimes more than others, but I am a dork. Nathan and I both wanted different things for dinner. I wanted Rubios fish tacoes and Nathan was happy with something from Del Taco. They are both in the same shopping center. Nathan stayed home and I went to get the food. I went into Rubios and was feeling lucky that there was a parking spot nearby. I went in and went straight to the register and ordered, my food was ready by the time I gathered my salsas. This was going quickly and I was excited because I just wanted to get back home and spend some time with Nathan. I went back to the car and got in the Drive thru for Del Taco. I ordered as I was the only one in line once again. Paid the lady at the window. Said "thank you" and drove off. As I turned right onto the street, I put my hand over for the bag of food as I always do to make sure it doesn't tip over and it wasn't there! Crazy me, I drove off without Nathan's food!! So, in all the traffic, I drove around the block and went back.
Cold food is a small price to pay for a good story.
I freely admit that I am a dork. Sometimes more than others, but I am a dork. Nathan and I both wanted different things for dinner. I wanted Rubios fish tacoes and Nathan was happy with something from Del Taco. They are both in the same shopping center. Nathan stayed home and I went to get the food. I went into Rubios and was feeling lucky that there was a parking spot nearby. I went in and went straight to the register and ordered, my food was ready by the time I gathered my salsas. This was going quickly and I was excited because I just wanted to get back home and spend some time with Nathan. I went back to the car and got in the Drive thru for Del Taco. I ordered as I was the only one in line once again. Paid the lady at the window. Said "thank you" and drove off. As I turned right onto the street, I put my hand over for the bag of food as I always do to make sure it doesn't tip over and it wasn't there! Crazy me, I drove off without Nathan's food!! So, in all the traffic, I drove around the block and went back.
Cold food is a small price to pay for a good story.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Weather or not?
I have been in California now for seven years. I wonder when there won't be a trace of "Minnesota girl" left. There must be plenty left in me because in the last week, I have had a lot of reminders.
One of our Drs. received a page, looked at the number, and said where is 507? Everyone else is looking at each other confused as to what he is asking. I said the first thing that came to my mind: "That's the area code for Rochester, MN" He still looked puzzled. I said "the Mayo Clinic is there." Then it clicked for him.
At work most everyone knows I am not originally from California. The only people that remember exactly what state I'm from are from another state themselves. (i.e. Illinois, South Dakota) Everyone else (that would be all the native Californians) always say, "where are you from again? Somewhere back east, right?"
So it came as no surprise to me at lunch the other day when the conversation turned to how cold it's been. Someone talked about an ice storm "back east" They couldn't imagine how in the world it could rain ice. Of course, I had to tell the "Angi story" of a rain storm we had one year where the bus actually slid right past our house and couldn't stop. We didn't go to school that day. I also tried to explain what its like to have your car sitting outside in an ice storm causing the locks, doors and windows to be iced shut, having to litterally break into your car.
Then, I could not have been more excited this morning. I almost slipped on a sheet of ice! (I almost wish I had, it would have made a better story) The rest of the sidewalk was clear (as always) except for a large part of a driveway where water had frozen and still hadn't melted. I had forgotten what it was like to really watch your step.
I cannot believe I created a post talking about weather. I guess there will always a part of me that is Minnesota.
One of our Drs. received a page, looked at the number, and said where is 507? Everyone else is looking at each other confused as to what he is asking. I said the first thing that came to my mind: "That's the area code for Rochester, MN" He still looked puzzled. I said "the Mayo Clinic is there." Then it clicked for him.
At work most everyone knows I am not originally from California. The only people that remember exactly what state I'm from are from another state themselves. (i.e. Illinois, South Dakota) Everyone else (that would be all the native Californians) always say, "where are you from again? Somewhere back east, right?"
So it came as no surprise to me at lunch the other day when the conversation turned to how cold it's been. Someone talked about an ice storm "back east" They couldn't imagine how in the world it could rain ice. Of course, I had to tell the "Angi story" of a rain storm we had one year where the bus actually slid right past our house and couldn't stop. We didn't go to school that day. I also tried to explain what its like to have your car sitting outside in an ice storm causing the locks, doors and windows to be iced shut, having to litterally break into your car.
Then, I could not have been more excited this morning. I almost slipped on a sheet of ice! (I almost wish I had, it would have made a better story) The rest of the sidewalk was clear (as always) except for a large part of a driveway where water had frozen and still hadn't melted. I had forgotten what it was like to really watch your step.
I cannot believe I created a post talking about weather. I guess there will always a part of me that is Minnesota.
Friday, December 29, 2006
We should have gone to LA
Clear your calendars for the next hour, this is going to be a long one.
We have had a great week of relaxng around the house. We have not been very productive at all, but that is not what I want to write about. Today we felt like we should get out of the house, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. We were going to drive to LA and see the movie "Children of Men." For various reasons, we decided not to.
One of the things we've been doing this week is watching the first season of the tv show "Arrested Development." We wanted to watch the second season and instead of buying it, we decided to rent just the first disk. We went to Blockbuster, discovered that our account hasn't been used in so long that it doesn't exist. So, the worker led us over to the counter where you can apply for a Blockbuster card, we fill out the form, go back over to the cash register to turn in the form. He takes us back over to the "application registration" counter, enters our information in to the computer, then he says we can go over to the register to rent the movie. We go over there and 10 seconds later, the same guy appears behind the counter and helps us. Nathan and I gave eachother a look and tried to hide our smiles because it reminded us of something you would see in an episode of Seinfeld.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to go see the moive "Blood Diamond" We parked our car and are walk through the parking lot. A man riding his bike turns toward us and no joke, spits right at us!! (He apologized on his way by) But still...nasty!!
Maybe we should have gone to LA afterall.
We have had a great week of relaxng around the house. We have not been very productive at all, but that is not what I want to write about. Today we felt like we should get out of the house, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. We were going to drive to LA and see the movie "Children of Men." For various reasons, we decided not to.
One of the things we've been doing this week is watching the first season of the tv show "Arrested Development." We wanted to watch the second season and instead of buying it, we decided to rent just the first disk. We went to Blockbuster, discovered that our account hasn't been used in so long that it doesn't exist. So, the worker led us over to the counter where you can apply for a Blockbuster card, we fill out the form, go back over to the cash register to turn in the form. He takes us back over to the "application registration" counter, enters our information in to the computer, then he says we can go over to the register to rent the movie. We go over there and 10 seconds later, the same guy appears behind the counter and helps us. Nathan and I gave eachother a look and tried to hide our smiles because it reminded us of something you would see in an episode of Seinfeld.
Later in the afternoon, we decided to go see the moive "Blood Diamond" We parked our car and are walk through the parking lot. A man riding his bike turns toward us and no joke, spits right at us!! (He apologized on his way by) But still...nasty!!
Maybe we should have gone to LA afterall.
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