Christmas in the air

Thanksgiving post and pics to come, I promise. Been a crazy busy but good week at school I don’t want to write much, but don’t want to forget my experiences. Thus bullets!

• Leadership is over and I think I got 100% in the class. woot. Also didn’t pass their ATI practice test – the first time this whole program. What does that tell us about the class?
• Tuesday in outpatient dialysis. Pretty boring on the whole, but I have a better understanding of renal function and got to help set-up dialysis, blood draws, and talked about transplants.
• Wed/Thur two GREAT clinical days. Cared for two kiddos both days.
• First an 11 month old, hepatoblastoma, here for fever and neutropenia (FN). Tiny kid, was twin-twin transfusion in utero (both survived, he’s the small one). Had necrotizing enterocolitis, has a J-tube in place. Been vomiting up all his feeds until today, when he kept down a lot of PO as well as gavage overnight. Yea!
• Second a 19 year old guy with ALL (a leukemia) also in for FN. Really skinny and malnourished as well. Had him eating more by the second day and doing a lot better
• Basic care for both: give antibiotics, pain meds (dronabinol for one, or as my nurse said “the ganja pill”), get food down, measure pee and poop, vitals, and gown-up every entrance since both were on droplet isolation.
• Also got to see a lumbar puncture – it’s like maple syrup dripping out of a tree!
• Worked with the same great nurse as last time. She and my instructor are so encouraging and I had many chances to shine. I feel like I got the adult equivelent of gold star stickers all day.
• It snowed today! White out conditions made my preceptor late – she lives in the mtns and it took her 3.5 hours to get here.
• I got to work with a non-floor nurse for a couple hours (more gold stars) and do more independent care. I felt like I took the lead!
• Kids get the coolest stuff. Marshmallow shooters that act as incentive spirometers. “Beads of Courage” that they collect for a necklace – a different colored bead for each type of procedure like transfusions, chemo treatment, etc. My nurse said while I was in my clinical conference she went in the OR to help place a broviac in a teddy bear! They let the little girl scrub-in and help the surgeon place a central line in the teddy’s chest along with a bag of fluid so she can flush and draw blood from her own toy. I told my preceptor that if the do one next week to make sure I get to assist.
• The snow was swirly outside the windows. When I walked out to my car at the end of my shift I could see it was the perfect picture-book crystals that sparkle like glitter in the parking lights.
• There are Christmas decorations all over the hospital and I love it! We gave one of our kids a stocking of cherry candy canes because he hates peppermint ones. A singer came to the floor and serenaded us with carols.
• I’m dead tired after three shifts in a row (8, 12, 12) but I’m on a high from it going so well. My back is pinched and I have so much homework that tomorrow won’t be a day off at all.

• But I came home to this:

• Ben is so fantastic. He had decorations up, dinner hot on the stove, and Christmas swing music playing when I walked in the door. I love my man. I’m getting so excited for break and for the holiday. One week to go!