I rode a school bus for nine years and seven of those years, I was driven by a fantastic guy by the name of Mike Clark. Since I was one of the last kids to be let off the bus each afternoon, I got to know Mike well as we would move to the front and visit with him after the large group of kids got off in Harwood.
Our bus was outfitted in a stereo and speakers in the front, middle and back of the bus. I rode a lot of miles listening to WHB out of Kansas City. All of the kids knew each other well, but sometimes fights would begin and Mike would dole out his punishments to the offenders.
One year, I gave Mike a Garfield poster for Christmas. It was Garfield and Odie in a padded room with the phrase "Welcome to the Funny Farm" written on the bottom. Mike put that poster up in the front of the bus and it was still hanging there the last day he took me home on the bus before I transferred to Nevada for high school.
I've been thinking about that poster. I think I'm going to be placed in my own funny farm before school starts. With Jake feeling better, he's able to talk, talk, talk and complain about not being able to do everything he wishes to do... like play with his construction vehicles in his compost pile. My sanity might be iffy as it is and I'm not sure I'll survive until he's fully recovered. :O
Friday, July 16, 2010
IV's
From the hospital, we arrived home with a PICC line inserted in Jake's right arm.
It's my job once a day to infuse my son with two medications via the PICC line.
Day One was nightmarish. My training occurred 30 minutes after I arrived home from St. John's (and after 6 days there... and several days of a sick kid... and 12 days in Europe... and 18 hours of trans-Atlantic flight). It was a blur as our home health nurse ran thru the instructions. She left him hooked to the machine and I got to disconnect and cleanse.
Day Two and it's my turn to do this solo. I had several questions and no luck calling the support staff. Thankfully, I have the cell number of an RN in my phone and he was able to answer my questions and reassure me that I could get the job done. (He's always been one of my best cheerleaders! :) )
Day Three went smoothly as I felt more confident in what I was doing.
Day Four had the nurse visiting while Jake was doing his infusion. Jake's vitals were great, the PICC line looks great, and she told me I was doing a great job with the IVs. If only the patient were not feeling so spirited!!! It's getting hard to keep him slowed down!
Only four more days to go! It takes nearly 3 hours for the entire process from start to finish. The nurse gave me permission to speed up the IV a tad and we are going to start earlier each day so the patient won't be as restless as the time wears on...
I'm praying that his blood work will be terrific on the 21st... otherwise I have another week to look forward to of infusions. School is going to start soon and Jake hasn't even been in the water... pool, lake, White Water, anything!!! Poor kid!
It's my job once a day to infuse my son with two medications via the PICC line.
Day One was nightmarish. My training occurred 30 minutes after I arrived home from St. John's (and after 6 days there... and several days of a sick kid... and 12 days in Europe... and 18 hours of trans-Atlantic flight). It was a blur as our home health nurse ran thru the instructions. She left him hooked to the machine and I got to disconnect and cleanse.
Day Two and it's my turn to do this solo. I had several questions and no luck calling the support staff. Thankfully, I have the cell number of an RN in my phone and he was able to answer my questions and reassure me that I could get the job done. (He's always been one of my best cheerleaders! :) )
Day Three went smoothly as I felt more confident in what I was doing.
Day Four had the nurse visiting while Jake was doing his infusion. Jake's vitals were great, the PICC line looks great, and she told me I was doing a great job with the IVs. If only the patient were not feeling so spirited!!! It's getting hard to keep him slowed down!
Only four more days to go! It takes nearly 3 hours for the entire process from start to finish. The nurse gave me permission to speed up the IV a tad and we are going to start earlier each day so the patient won't be as restless as the time wears on...
I'm praying that his blood work will be terrific on the 21st... otherwise I have another week to look forward to of infusions. School is going to start soon and Jake hasn't even been in the water... pool, lake, White Water, anything!!! Poor kid!
Nurses
Jake was so sick. After the appendectomy, an abcess grew in his lower pelvis. That 5 cm nightmare made our baby feverish - 103.5 degrees at one point - and I found myself growing frustrated as I tried to make him comfortable.
One shift of nurses promised pain relief. The next shift also promised. The third shift explained that a decision had been made not to medicate him so that the procedure to remove the abcess could be performed ASAP.
These women were only doing what they had been told to do. They didn't realize that I didn't know the doctor's decision. But, they worked hard to help me take care of him and they worked hard to keep me calm and patient.
I cannot believe the working conditions they endure. One of our nurses was there every day that we were so she worked 6 days in a row, either 8 or 12 hours per day. She was running back and forth between the pediatric floor and the PICU. The census (number of patients) was low, so the two floors were sharing nurses. (????!!!!!!????) At one point, they were caring for a 10-day old baby on the pediatric floor. He stopped breathing and they rushed him to the PICU, 3 floors down. His nurse had to go with him but she was still responsible for the other patients back on the 7th floor. (That baby was eventually intubated, still did poorly and was flown to St. Louis.)
Another of our nurses worked a 3-11 shift one afternoon/night. I wandered out to the nurses' station at 2 am and she was still there. She didn't have time to do reports on her shift, so she had to stay and complete them after her shift "ended".
I didn't hear a single nurse complain about anything. AND, every single time they came in our room, they not only asked Jake what they could do for him, they asked me and anyone who was visiting us, if they could help us or get us anything.
They let Jake scream and cry (without telling him he had to stop disturbing others), they encouraged him when he wasn't feeling well, and they thrilled in the fact he was feeling sooooo much better after the procedure was complete and the drain tube was doing it's job.
I was so impressed! I appreciate their dedication to their jobs and their love of the children for which they care each day.
Thank you to the St. John's Pediatric Staff!!
One shift of nurses promised pain relief. The next shift also promised. The third shift explained that a decision had been made not to medicate him so that the procedure to remove the abcess could be performed ASAP.
These women were only doing what they had been told to do. They didn't realize that I didn't know the doctor's decision. But, they worked hard to help me take care of him and they worked hard to keep me calm and patient.
I cannot believe the working conditions they endure. One of our nurses was there every day that we were so she worked 6 days in a row, either 8 or 12 hours per day. She was running back and forth between the pediatric floor and the PICU. The census (number of patients) was low, so the two floors were sharing nurses. (????!!!!!!????) At one point, they were caring for a 10-day old baby on the pediatric floor. He stopped breathing and they rushed him to the PICU, 3 floors down. His nurse had to go with him but she was still responsible for the other patients back on the 7th floor. (That baby was eventually intubated, still did poorly and was flown to St. Louis.)
Another of our nurses worked a 3-11 shift one afternoon/night. I wandered out to the nurses' station at 2 am and she was still there. She didn't have time to do reports on her shift, so she had to stay and complete them after her shift "ended".
I didn't hear a single nurse complain about anything. AND, every single time they came in our room, they not only asked Jake what they could do for him, they asked me and anyone who was visiting us, if they could help us or get us anything.
They let Jake scream and cry (without telling him he had to stop disturbing others), they encouraged him when he wasn't feeling well, and they thrilled in the fact he was feeling sooooo much better after the procedure was complete and the drain tube was doing it's job.
I was so impressed! I appreciate their dedication to their jobs and their love of the children for which they care each day.
Thank you to the St. John's Pediatric Staff!!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Richie Sambora
I forgot to include in my Top 10 UNFORGETTABLE:
We now know what Richie Sambora does when he's not touring with Bon Jovi... he drives a tour bus in Italy. (I know that was him!!!)
We now know what Richie Sambora does when he's not touring with Bon Jovi... he drives a tour bus in Italy. (I know that was him!!!)
Jetlag
What's jetlag???
I woke up Monday in Rome at 6 am (their time), rode a bus to the Rome airport, had my carry-on searched and was frisked, boarded the jet, sat in the middle seat of the middle row in the row directly in front of the bathrooms/attendant service area (no leaning back for us!), endured that for 10 hours, landed in Chicago to experience Customs and another security check (set off the alarm with the belt I forgot I was wearing), ran to our gate, flew to KCI, retrieved our luggage, shuttled back to the Expedition, and drove home. I then showered and got myself to the hospital about 11 pm (our time).
Of course, you don't sleep in hospitals. So after only sleeping a couple of hours on the Rome-Chicago flight and a couple of hours in the chair next to Jake's hospital bed, Jake and I both made it home about noon on Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon, Jake and I both took a three hour nap, but that's been about it. He wakes up every couple of hours to go to the potty or just to moan pitifully "my tummy hurts!" Eric took pity on me last night (Saturday) and let me sleep upstairs while he took Jake patrol.
(Another fun aspect of the appendectomy is the flushing of wound. I get to flush a saline solution into the wound openings. Apparently this is a chilly experience and Jake hates it.)
So... back to the original topic... what is jetlag? I'm still not sure. I feel like I did after I had the babies. I can't think clearly, I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing, and my eyelids droop... a lot. Sleep is a valued commodity and I can't get enough of it.
Perhaps b/c of an appendectomy and my mommy duties, I didn't experience a true sense of jetlag??? Maybe I've been experiencing it for the last 17 years :P
I woke up Monday in Rome at 6 am (their time), rode a bus to the Rome airport, had my carry-on searched and was frisked, boarded the jet, sat in the middle seat of the middle row in the row directly in front of the bathrooms/attendant service area (no leaning back for us!), endured that for 10 hours, landed in Chicago to experience Customs and another security check (set off the alarm with the belt I forgot I was wearing), ran to our gate, flew to KCI, retrieved our luggage, shuttled back to the Expedition, and drove home. I then showered and got myself to the hospital about 11 pm (our time).
Of course, you don't sleep in hospitals. So after only sleeping a couple of hours on the Rome-Chicago flight and a couple of hours in the chair next to Jake's hospital bed, Jake and I both made it home about noon on Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon, Jake and I both took a three hour nap, but that's been about it. He wakes up every couple of hours to go to the potty or just to moan pitifully "my tummy hurts!" Eric took pity on me last night (Saturday) and let me sleep upstairs while he took Jake patrol.
(Another fun aspect of the appendectomy is the flushing of wound. I get to flush a saline solution into the wound openings. Apparently this is a chilly experience and Jake hates it.)
So... back to the original topic... what is jetlag? I'm still not sure. I feel like I did after I had the babies. I can't think clearly, I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing, and my eyelids droop... a lot. Sleep is a valued commodity and I can't get enough of it.
Perhaps b/c of an appendectomy and my mommy duties, I didn't experience a true sense of jetlag??? Maybe I've been experiencing it for the last 17 years :P
Not National Lampoon's European Vacation, But Darn Close
Ahhh... back from the European vacation! A few stressful situations were certainly overshadowed by having a great time seeing the sites and enjoying the traveling!
Of course, having your younger son undergo an appendectomy while you are 7,000+ miles away can be a little stressful on your psyche, but I knew he was in good hands and I just gave it over to God's control. That helped to make the last couple of days enjoyable!
My top 10 list of forgettable things:
10. traveling by bus
9. European electricity
8. European showers
7. breakfasts of hard rolls and cereal with warm milk
6. Pasta... served at every dinner (and I love pasta, but there is overkill)
5. the shoving Parisians (I was thankful for having previously played a contact sport!)
4. trying to sleep in the non-AC hotels
3. being frisked in the Rome airport
2. the stench of urine in the Paris subway stations
and...
1. European women's bathroom "facilities" or what we in the USA call a hole in the ground (we only experienced that one time... but still FORGETTABLE)
My top ten list of unforgettable:
10. Watching the Eiffel Tower's lights come on while standing below the Tower
9. being overwhelmed by the history of the Colosseum and the Ruins
8. watching my son experience the Mediterranean Sea... the waves, the salt water, the beaches
7. the Tuscany countryside
6. Leather :)
5. Gelato :)
4. having these experiences with my son and one of my oldest friends
3. photographing these experiences
2. Monaco (wow!)
1. this new feeling of knowing I've been to a part of the world where history is so much more than the BRIEF history of our country, appreciating that history/culture and yet appreciating even more, my rights and freedoms as an American citizen. (Happy Birthday #234 USA!)
Of course, having your younger son undergo an appendectomy while you are 7,000+ miles away can be a little stressful on your psyche, but I knew he was in good hands and I just gave it over to God's control. That helped to make the last couple of days enjoyable!
My top 10 list of forgettable things:
10. traveling by bus
9. European electricity
8. European showers
7. breakfasts of hard rolls and cereal with warm milk
6. Pasta... served at every dinner (and I love pasta, but there is overkill)
5. the shoving Parisians (I was thankful for having previously played a contact sport!)
4. trying to sleep in the non-AC hotels
3. being frisked in the Rome airport
2. the stench of urine in the Paris subway stations
and...
1. European women's bathroom "facilities" or what we in the USA call a hole in the ground (we only experienced that one time... but still FORGETTABLE)
My top ten list of unforgettable:
10. Watching the Eiffel Tower's lights come on while standing below the Tower
9. being overwhelmed by the history of the Colosseum and the Ruins
8. watching my son experience the Mediterranean Sea... the waves, the salt water, the beaches
7. the Tuscany countryside
6. Leather :)
5. Gelato :)
4. having these experiences with my son and one of my oldest friends
3. photographing these experiences
2. Monaco (wow!)
1. this new feeling of knowing I've been to a part of the world where history is so much more than the BRIEF history of our country, appreciating that history/culture and yet appreciating even more, my rights and freedoms as an American citizen. (Happy Birthday #234 USA!)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Loyalty
My best friend recently experienced a break-up in a relationship. The reality? Her pain hurts me as much today as it did when we were teens going through those patterns for the first time.
She reminded me that I've been thinking about the word "loyalty"... what it means to be loyal to someone, to something... what loyalty means in our everyday world... and what happens when you have NO loyalty, to anything or anyone.
I teach teenagers who have no sense of loyalty. I watch as they talk to a "friend" during the time between classes, exchanging "secrets". Then I watch as they walk in the classroom and tell the entire room full of kids what their "friend" just told them "not to tell!!!"
But I also teach some who understand loyalty. They are the ones that I have to pick up off the floor (sometimes literally) after their "friend" has destroyed that security of loyalty and friendship. They are the ones who either cry or become completely silenced by the betrayal.
Somewhere in my early days, it was embedded/ingrained into my mind that friendship requires loyalty... that sense that requires a deep attachment of your own feelings to theirs... that sense that requires you to overlook their shortcomings and still call them your friend... that sense that says your history together makes your friendship that much more intriguing and challenging... in other words, you know everything to know about that person and vice versa, and you STILL treasure their friendship.
Some of my friendships and the subsequent loyalty have been tested. I've felt that loyalty tested when a person I thought was a friend lied to me (while swearing up and down that he was "telling me the truth!!!"). I've felt that when you discovered that your friendship was built only on whatever the other person could use their friendship to create a profit/advantage for themselves.
Some of my "friendships" have fizzled when that loyalty was destroyed. It's simply a block I cannot pass. I will be loyal to you to the end but if you do anything to destory my sense of loyalty, it's over!
My true friends are the ones I made years and years ago. Their loyalty to me, having accepted me for years, have glued my own loyalty right back to them. I make new friends along life's journey, but I have to wait a while, test the waters of that loyalty, before I can truly call someone "my friend".
The friend experiencing the break-up sat by me in kindergarten and has ridden the roller coaster of joys and heartbreaks, happiness and sorrows, with me for over 35 years. Not many people can say that!!! We are going to Europe together in a few days for an adventure we never dreamed about while studying those countries together while in grade school!!!
Thank you to those whose loyalty has been something I could count on during this lifetime :)
She reminded me that I've been thinking about the word "loyalty"... what it means to be loyal to someone, to something... what loyalty means in our everyday world... and what happens when you have NO loyalty, to anything or anyone.
I teach teenagers who have no sense of loyalty. I watch as they talk to a "friend" during the time between classes, exchanging "secrets". Then I watch as they walk in the classroom and tell the entire room full of kids what their "friend" just told them "not to tell!!!"
But I also teach some who understand loyalty. They are the ones that I have to pick up off the floor (sometimes literally) after their "friend" has destroyed that security of loyalty and friendship. They are the ones who either cry or become completely silenced by the betrayal.
Somewhere in my early days, it was embedded/ingrained into my mind that friendship requires loyalty... that sense that requires a deep attachment of your own feelings to theirs... that sense that requires you to overlook their shortcomings and still call them your friend... that sense that says your history together makes your friendship that much more intriguing and challenging... in other words, you know everything to know about that person and vice versa, and you STILL treasure their friendship.
Some of my friendships and the subsequent loyalty have been tested. I've felt that loyalty tested when a person I thought was a friend lied to me (while swearing up and down that he was "telling me the truth!!!"). I've felt that when you discovered that your friendship was built only on whatever the other person could use their friendship to create a profit/advantage for themselves.
Some of my "friendships" have fizzled when that loyalty was destroyed. It's simply a block I cannot pass. I will be loyal to you to the end but if you do anything to destory my sense of loyalty, it's over!
My true friends are the ones I made years and years ago. Their loyalty to me, having accepted me for years, have glued my own loyalty right back to them. I make new friends along life's journey, but I have to wait a while, test the waters of that loyalty, before I can truly call someone "my friend".
The friend experiencing the break-up sat by me in kindergarten and has ridden the roller coaster of joys and heartbreaks, happiness and sorrows, with me for over 35 years. Not many people can say that!!! We are going to Europe together in a few days for an adventure we never dreamed about while studying those countries together while in grade school!!!
Thank you to those whose loyalty has been something I could count on during this lifetime :)
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