Kierstin at the Fair.

When I should've been studying... I made this...

Ketchup...ing

(here's just a little picture of our doggie, Mabel during our vacation in N. CA. It makes me smile.)

So, i got my exam results and i was not real happy with them with a 76%. I know it's better than failing, but I felt like i had put a lot of time into it to be a C. But under the circumstances, ie my mom, I will be satisfied with it... like i have a choice, she bitterly replied. Actually I do have a choice, and I will choose to rejoice, and thank God.

Good news? My mom is off her respirator. The bad news is that she is very "lost". It is difficult enough for an alzheimers person to be moved to different places, but add all these changes, respirator, medications etc, and she's really lost. When I visited on Friday, I could tell she did not recognize me. This is the first time that has happened, and it about killed me. I am still reeling from it. Again, your prayers would be appreciated.

On the up side... Only 8 full wks of school left, whoooooooooooo hooooooooo. I will be in the ER this wk, and i have to say i am danged nervous. With my mind being elsewhere lately, I am hoping I will be able to focus that day. At least I will have Edmund (a class mate) in there with me.

And here is a home made peach pie I made a few wks ago. Which is another photo that makes me smile.

Well I must go back and hit the books somemore for my quiz tomorrow. Thanks for coming by.

i'm still here...eeek

well the first few wks back, have been a total whirlwind. Maybe a tornado... hurricane? Okay maybe i'm dramatizing just for effect.





We have a quiz and/or HW for each class meeting, and a 12.5 hr shift once a wk. Do I sound like i'm whining here? No? Let me try again... whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. All of the study groups from last semester (you know around the last exams and Final) started getting together on the FIRST wk! See? I wasn't the only one feeling danged overwhelmed. And then this last wknd, I must've put in 12 hrs to get my concept map done and emailed in. It ended up taking much more time filling out the bloody assessmt form on the computer instead of by hand. I learned my lessen though, next time I will hand it to her, even though she prefers it being e'd. Luckily, we only have 2 this semester instead of 3, and i did the tougher one first.





I have been on a med/surg floor, with the nicest nurses I have ever been around. It's odd, that they are not annoyed by us being there. Last wk I had 3 pts and it went okay, but I definitely need to step it up tomorrow when I'm supposed to take 4 pts! I have got to figure out how to keep up on the paperwork, AND the pt! Last semester I did it, but i feel darned rusty! That being said, I am much more confident with the IVPB's from last semester. I pushed my first IVP, that was fun. And I flushed some central lines. I absolutely adore my CI. The nurse I worked with last wk is a 32 yr vet, and totally amazing! Maybe I could request her for my preceptorship, because she was so supportive and teaching.





Okay, along with that new stress, my poor mommy started bleeding from her mouth, and her cold turned into pneumonia. We believe the bleeding came from suctioning. She was at one hospital, then moved to a longer term acute hospital. I was NOT, am NOT overly happy about this second hospital. I will not name it here, but she had MRSA, and never ONCE had any of my family suit up before visiting! Anyway, she took a turn for the worse when she began bleeding badly, and her blood pres crashed, so into ICU she went...within the same crappy place. We have all had a VERY difficult time communicating with the nurses because of a language barrier. Two of them kept trying to hang up with me, and telling me to come down because "they already told my brother". I talked to my brother, and he was just scared *#%#less, because they couldn't tell him anything other than "it's bad". So, I wouldn't hang up, so she(I figured out later, she couldn't because of language problem!) finally got the Dr. on the phone and got filled in. We all were told to come see mom, because it may be the last time. But after I spoke to the Dr. I was not so worried, though things were not great. Got there, spoke to my family who were soooo scared, and relieved a bit of fear for everyone. I have had to really be assertive/aggressive about what's going on. She has since then been sedated and intubated, but I saw her yesterday and she seems to be doing a bit better. Gee it just occurs to me that I might have gone into too much detail, sorry. I am still working through all this, I am definitely feeling a mess, and just on the edge of a bad depression. All prayers are appreciated, really.





So.. that has been my first 3 wks back to school. Eight full wks left. They cram all the work of 16 wks into 12, so we are on hyper-speed. Had first exam last wk, and 3 quizes so far. Still waiting for exam results. So... here's some bubble wrap for all of us who need a little stress relief!





How are you? Feel me in! God bless you all as you've headed back.