G's-Spot

Did this just the other day...someday I'll learn.

It's Okay to Snicker

Went to give a patient a breathing treatment and the patient said to me "I don't NEED a breathing treatment.  How many times do I have to tell the doctor?  I'm short of breath because I have too much water on me. I need a diuretic and then I won't wheeze anymore. I don't have asthma!"

Holy shit. I couldn't help but smile.

I asked "Are you, by chance, in the medical field?"

The answer was "No, but I know my body. I've told and told him and he still sent you in here."

Okay, you can laugh now.  The patient understands the relationship between fluid and wheezing but that particular doc and a lot of the nurses not on the cardiac/respiratory floors don't...how do you spell I-R-O-N-Y?

Happy Days are Here Again...I Hope

Since I always complain about my knee, thought I'd speak up when it's not hurting.  Today is a great day. I got up and could walk without too much pain at all which is a miracle. Usually the first hour after I get up sucks.  But today, not too bad. I almost feel normal and I do have more energy and a better outlook on the day than I have in weeks.

The weird thing is that I feel so good today after having one of the worst days yesterday since the surgery. Last night I worked and even though I had some strong non-narcotic pain killers on board, I could hardly walk and the pain was so bad I was on the verge of puking whenever I was on my feet.  It was so bad I wasn't sure how I was going to get to my car.

But this morning, after a good night's sleep, I feel almost normal.  Almost normal is the same as feeling fantastic to me at this point. I almost have hope that the damn thing is finally healing.

Update on Glenna Marie

Another pic of my namesake, Glenna Marie.  She's doing well; holds her own with the boys, loves to play, and has an oral fixation. Sher says she'll suck anything:  fingertips, her playmates' nipples, little squirrel penises...

Do I really need to comment further? Didn't the joke just write itself in the facts?

It's Getting Closer

It's getting closer to publication time.  They sent me this cover art for the volume my story will appear in along with a note saying it should be out December 7th of this year. 

YeehaW!

My Legacy Continues

A friend of mine out in northern California is a dedicated wildlife rehabber.  Right now she has six squirrels in her home, one of them a California gray she named Glenna Marie.  Ahhhhhhhhh...that's so sweet.  Hey, wait a minute! Is she calling me squirrely?

To watch the squirrels grow and see delicious food, go to www.whatdidyoueat.typepad.com

Respiratory Class 2006 Update

Ta-da!  In order of everyone sending letters back, Corey wins the prize. He and Becky and happy and healthy and having a blast out west.

COREY

To see all of Corey's online photos, click here (Corey):

Corey and Becky:

This is Corey and Becky's Fresno apartment:

Corey on the beach at Carmel. Rough life, dude.

From Corey:

"This next paragraph is going in our invites for the wedding party in Missouri and Iowa.

Hi,

Corey and I just wanted to say hello to everyone and let you know that we are still traveling and loving it. We are currently in California and working at Stanford, and have been here since April; all the staff want us to become permanent but it just isn't home. We miss everyone and as some know we are getting married in October. We are getting married in Oahu, Hawaii at Waikiki Beach. Corey and I can't wait it seems so far away, but I know that it is just around the corner. It seems that the destination wedding is going to work out well for everyone because it isn't only me and Corey getting a honeymoon, but also a lot of our family is getting a vacation too. My parents Walter and Marilyn along with my sister Courtney are going to jet from one island to another. While Corey parents Randy and Lori along with his sister Amamda are going to be spending time on Oahu. Corey grandparents Gib and Jennie and my aunt and uncle Sandra and Quient are also coming along. We are very lucky to have such great family's that support us in all of our decisions and it is an honor to us that they are able to go to our wedding. We are to be married on October 14, 2007 and enclosed is an invitation to our wedding reception which is going to be a whole lot closer then Hawaii. We hope that everyone will be able to make it because we are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family. After we are married we are planning on taking six weeks off so that we are able to visit with everyone and spend a little time at home before we go on the road again. We haven't decided where we are going yet after our wedding. I want to go to Florida and lay on the beach all winter and Corey thinks that we should head to Colorado to be a ski bum for three months; so it's still a toss up . We are looking forward to seeing everyone.

Love Becky and Corey

We are having the wedding on October 14 in Hawaii, with the wedding party to follow.  The wedding party is going to be in Ozark Missouri at the Christian Elks Lodge at 2400 North 18th Street on the 26th of October. I want everyone to know that they are welcome to join us. I would love to see everyone.  We are going to be home for about 6 weeks. 

I wish Everyone well!

Corey Paulsen & Becky Allen

P.S. I do miss the RT MAFIA (The RT Family together forever!) "

   

IBE

Ibe wrote back to let us know:

"I am actually doing wonderful.  I am currently working here in houston medical center to be exact Memorial Hermann. Working full time at the neuro trauma which is the level one trauma in houston.  I just bought my new 2007 Toyota camry. To be frank it is amazing. currently working on my bachelors just for education purpose and maybe do something else."

Ibe also says he'll be in town this weekend (25 & 26).

MECHELLE:

Along with working nights, seven on/seven off, for St. John's and getting to be in the middle of tons of interesting stuff like being in charge of the ER the night all the burn victims came in from that Anderson group home, Mechelle says:

" What am I up to? Well, Going to Eureka Springs at the end of Aug. for the bluegrass festival. Going to stay in a bed and breakfast for a couple of days. Jacuzzi time! Cagney took the ASSET test and got accepted to the police academy. He starts the Law enforcement program at Drury in September. Oh and most important of all, Sugar, my dog, has learned to......well....not really anything, but she's the tops!"

KEISHA

Besides getting married in July after we got out of school, Keisha is still with St. John's and writes:

"We moved to The Greens at I-44 and 65. It's great living on the golf course. Ummm...we celebrated our first anniversary this year....we went to Tunica. It was also our first time gambling. It was great and I learned that I'm a cheapie. I hardly spent any money. Work is still just work. I'm part time days and I love it. It's weird since Joe left and now with Ryan leaving too. It's just crazy. Other than that, we went camping a couple of times and that's about it. Hope everyone is doing well. "

JANA

Jana has written (can't find the original email itself, sorry!) that she's currently at MSU working on her bachelor's and wants to eventually get her master's to teach.  She works for both St. John's Aurora and Doctor's Hospital on the weekends and recently gained her RRT.  She's still happiest being mama to little Chris.

RYAN

Ryan is also leaving us to be a Traveler. He hasn't gotten his assignment yet but he's hoping to go east to either North or South Carolina first.  He'll be working at St. John's on evenings for a few weeks longer until that all comes through.

We'd talked about getting everyone together but with all of us spread out between hospitals and shifts, I'm not sure that's possible to do anything formal. But if you need Ryan's email or cell number, drop me a line.  --Glenna

TERRY J

Terry and Jamie got married last summer and have spent this summer building a beautiful new house in Pleasant Hope.  Terry did a lot of the work himself, including all the floors and cabinet tops out of concrete.  Guess what he used to form the sinks?  Beach balls.  As always, his creativity and work are amazing.  Anybody but me trying to line up to have him remodel their homes?  I think he's probably got a list started.

JESSICA

From Jessica:

"After graduation my then fiance and I bought a house off of Republic Road, past Golden. A little 3 bedroom, 2 bath house. Jeff and I were actually planning on getting married September or October of 2007 but being done with school, finding this house, and just being together for 4 1/2 years, on September 16th 2006 much to his parents surprise and dislike we decided to get married October 20th of 2006 hehe. My parents were thrilled and said it's about time. Jeff's parents thought we were pregnant. I'm not and was not. We got married at Stonegate Glass Chapel. It was a small wedding with 6 family members and our 2  best friends-also boyfriend and girlfriend. It was a beautiful day-sunny and 72 degrees. That night we all got together at my parents house for dinner and I moved into the house Jeff and I had bought that weekend. Sunday we went to a Carrie Underwood concert. Since then we've just been working on our house-painting, putting up new fixtures, and buying furniture and pictures.  Jeff and I got a little rat terrier puppy that we named Lexi just a little over a month ago and we are getting ready to have our wedding reception on September 2nd. Friends and family are invited and it is just going to be a casual dinner and games in our backyard. Anyone is more than welcome to come-just let me know.

        In October over our 1 year anniversary we are going to the beach for our honeymoon to Gulf Shores and we are so excited!!! For 5 years now I have tried to get Jeff to go down there. All of my mom' s side of the family lives down there. Well, that is pretty much it. It doesn’t sound like much, but we have been so busy. Learning to live together, and me not thinking I have to ask my parents for permission. A big change. "

SUMMER

Summer writes that:

"I am doing fine I am working full time at Presbyterian hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico I also work part time at rehab hospital in town and no it is not another Mt. Vernon place.  The hopital I work at is only a level two so I dont get very many tramas but I like the pace that we go.  I have really not done much since school I just work alot.  I have passed my written registry but I have not taken my SIMS so I am little behind but I am taken them soon so maybe I will be an RRT but for right now I am just a CRT."

TERRY G

Terry G says that he's happy and healthy and working hard for St. John's.  He looks forward to maybe doing some PRN work in in St. Louis at the children's hospital, riding co-pilot with Jana after she graduates with her Bachelor's.

CARRIANNE

Carrianne is working hard, still at Cox, and had the opportunity this summer to go see her husband, Adam, in his final week of Apache helicopter training out in Arizona.  Unfortunately, there was an engine malfunction and Adam's chopper bit the dust, leaving Carrianne in the stands with the other spouses, worried and wondering.  Adam is fine, although it was a close call, and he's home, making Carrianne a happy wife. 

She's taking up painting again, and the last I heard, I think I'm in line after David to get a piece from her.  Yeeeeeeessss! She's also running marathons which impresses the hell out of me.

BRIAN

Brian has been the biggest drama queen of us all:  heart attack, pffftt...I'm sure it was just a bid for attention.  Okay, really, Brian did have bypass surgery in May but is back at work and doing really well.  His sons told me they actually loved having Dad home for the summer because once he felt better they went fishing a lot.  Brian says he's honestly feeling much better than he did for months leading up to surgery.  For example, when we all went to Vegas and didn't see much of Brian it was because he was having trouble with all the walking but had no idea it was blockages zapping his energy levels.  He still works at Cox South, North, and Walnut Lawn.

CHRIS

Chris, as usual, lives in alternate realities.  His own and the ones we make up for him so he's either currently (as Joe used to envision him) running around like a little kid writing curse words with permanent makers on the bathroom walls at work, OR, he's happily living a boring grown up life, living with Kristina and looking at houses of their own and engagement rings.  Currently, he and Kristina are living in his mom's house (she moved to Florida) and they've been doing tons of great remodeling for her:  tiling, painting, etc.  Chris is also busy in the NICU at South and is applying for a peds team leader position this fall.

DAVID

David got married this past July. Sorry for this being the only pic but I had to steal it off his Facebook profile. 

Congratulations, David and Kendra!

Other than that "little" change, he's working hard picking up all the hours he can and living happily ever after. 

ADRIAN

Rumor has it that Adrian moved to Aurora and is working at Cox Monett.

RACHEL

Along with raising five kids and being happy to be around her and Matt's families again, Rachel makes the rest of us look basically retarded when she writes about her work and experiences:

"I'm still working with the kids at Akron Children's and also working prn at the adult hospital.

I've already started Christmas shopping. I know it seems early, but it means I won't have to charge anything and I'll be all done when everyone else is just starting. It's called no stress shopping.

Anyhow, I'm still working with the kids, seeing some of the strangest diseases and conditions that you would never see in an adult hospital. Our main vents are the Servo i and the Oscillator. There's never a dull moment though. The other night we were short and I ended up with 2 assignments and 2 pagers,#1- the floors ( 6th and 7th floor)and #2 5th floor(which is Hemoc), burn center which is on the 3rd floor and ER which is on the ground floor. Well we had transport out which means no back up for me and wouldn't you know it I had 2 traumas that came in. First one was a 16yo with multiple stab wounds. Mom's young boyfriend got into anarguement with this kid on the phone and then decided to come over and slice and dice him. Then about 45 minutes later the 2nd trauma an 8yo hanging with petichiae on the face and ligature marks on her neck. My stomach was in knots before they arrived into ER because I was the sole RT,but I got through. I was praying for myself!!

The nice thing about working in a children's hospital is that there a lot of residents and with that there is a lot of rounding and a lot of teaching, so as they learn you can learn to as the attending talk about the different diseases and conditions. Also, they is an intensivist in-house 24-7. They go to bed and leave the residents to man the fort. So, if you want an order just ask the resident and 9/10 you'll get it.

We do a lot of heart surgeries, work with a lot of subambient, nitric, cool cap studies, we do ecmo. But, with all this there's also a price. It's nothing for a therapist to be in a unit and have 16 vents. Everyone is usually pretty good about pitching in and helping out, but when transport is out and you're short it can be quite overwhelming, especially when you add all the treatments on top of it. You work for your money that's for sure. When I work at my prn job it's a nice break. I was supposed to start transport, but I have to wait because CAMT which credentials transport changed how they do things and all transport personel have to have 2 years critical care experience and since I hadn't started orienting to transport I was put on hold. I already have my patch that goes on my flight suit and my boots. I sure hope they don't dry rot by then, BUMMER!!!!! Oh well. I could go on and on, but I really should be heading off to bed. I hope to be able to see you sometime soon.

Love ya, Rachel"

KEITH

Keith is on my MIA list. Anyone seen or heard from him?

ASHLEY

Ashley and Corey had a baby girl named Addie. Isn't she adorable?  That's about all I know. Haven't heard from Ashley but I did steal this pic off Facebooks.

JOE

Anyone heard anything from Joe?

DOUG

To this day, Doug is sitting on the floor in a corner of his office with his arms wrapped around his knees, rocking, and muttering "It was the spring of 2006 when I lost control..."

AARON

Aaron is still working on plugging all the holes in the system from where we broke the rules with abandon and big grins.

ANGIE

Loves teaching again because none of the other classes interrupt her with nasty jokes she doesn't understand.

Well, that's the wrap-up, my friends.  The former RT Mafia still alive and torturing patients and bosses, with occasional jaunts back to OTC when the opportunity for a good practical jokes floats along.  Wishing everyone all the best and keep me updated with addresses and emails so I know where to find you when we figure out a time for a reunion!

Boston Legal fans

Does anyone know what show/movie the clip of William Shatner and Ralph Bellamy was from on Boston Legal tonight. I've said it before and I'll say it again, as much as Shatner annoyed me as Captain Kirk, he was born to play Denny Crane. I love him in that show.  He gets a hard time for being two dimensional in Star Trek but he shows his true chops in Boston Legal and tonight was no exception.  Anybody??????

If I'm Ever in the Hospital Again....

...I'm going to be very nice to the people who take care of me. Not that I wasn't the first time around but working there really puts in perspective how nice you should be to the people who take care of you.

Had this patient tonight who, during the first breathing treatment, simultaneously ran me and the nurse's aide all over kingdom come for washrags, water, paper towels, kleenexes, more ice for the water, coffee, more ice for the water, bigger towels, another pillow, less ice for the water,  a soda, etc., and all in a very demanding, hateful tone.  As the treatment ended, the aide and I couldn't get out of the room fast enough and the guy said, to our backs, "I don't know why everyone's in such an all-fired hurry to get out of here.  It's not like I ask for much." 

Thank God, we made it down the hall a room or two before we collapsed against each other giggling.

Just the moon, sir.

On second rounds, I couldn't wait to see what he wanted.

You'll NEVER guess. I should make you guess and wait until tomorrow to answer but I can't keep it in that long.  I walked into the room and said "I'm with respiratory. I have your breathing treatments."  And I showed him the two vials of liquid in my hand.

He yelled, "Well, goddammit, why aren't you the girl with the suppositories? I've been waiting for an hour!"

I cross my heart I promise I only thought about it for a minute.

Okay, it was a long minute.

TOP 16 LIES SOONER FAN AND MCDOOGAL TOLD US IN RESPIRATORY SCHOOL

         by Terry Jones

(Put down anything you're drinking before you start reading, unless you want to be cleaning your monitor. G)

16.  LUNCH IS SUPPOSED TO CONSIST OF A LOT OF FOOD AND A LITTLE BEVERAGE, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

15.  TANTARA PROVIDES A FORUM FOR THE HONING AND MAINTENANCE OF RESPIRATORY SKILLS.

14.  HENDERSON/HASSELBACK FORMULA STILL CORNERSTONE OF MODERN RESPIRATORY PRACTICE.

13. IPPB

12.  MT. VERNON HOSPITAL UNIVERSALLY CONSIDERED TO BE VALUABLE LEARNING OPPORTUNITY.

11.  BLAME IS SPREAD EVENLY AMOUNG NURSING, PHYSICIAN AND RESPIRATORY STAFF.
   
10.  OVERCONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL IN LAS VEGAS WILL NOT RESULT IN VOMITING.

9.   PHYSICIANS WILL ORDER CHEST COMPRESSIONS TO BE HALTED WITHIN A REASONABLE  AMOUNT OF TIME AFTER DEATH.

8.  HIGHLY SKILLED RT'S ARE RESPECTED BY PHYSICIANS AND STAFF.

7.  CRITICAL CARE ALARMS ARE RESPONDED TO IN A QUICK AND EFFICIENT MANNER.

6.  MAXIMYST TREATMENTS ARE SOMETIMES GIVEN AT A FLOW RATE OF 6 L/M.

5.  NAKED OLD PEOPLE LOOK VERY SIMILAR TO NAKED YOUNG PEOPLE.

4.  TOTAL FACE MASKS WILL SEAL AT HIGH PRESSURES IF PROPERLY ADJUSTED.

3.  RRT LISCENSURE MEANS POSSIBLE ADOPTION BY ANGELINA JOLIE (OR VIGGO MORTENSON, DEPENDING ON YOUR PERSUASION....G).

2.  TUSK MASK UTILIZATION EQUALS INSTANT RESPECT FROM COLLEAGUES.

1.  APPLICANTS TO THE RESPIRATORY PROGRAM ARE SOMETIMES REJECTED ON THE BASIS OF CHARACTER. 

(Lucky for us, or none of us would have gotten in. G)