random ramblings

(Sorry about the length but I really got to thinking on this one.)

Ok so I was catching up on my fav blogs when this post got me to thinking about my friends. I left a comment on her post but I wanted to expound a little more here.

I have had many friends over the course of my life. (and I know that I am not that old but a over a quarter of a century has passed since I graced the world with my presence.) I won't list them all for fear of forgetting one or two of the great ones but I would like to talk a little about some anyway.

In grade school I was really close to a couple of girls. We were like 3 peas in a pod. We went to birthday parties and had sleepovers and everything. However when I made choices in my life that were different than the ones that they were making we kinda drifted apart. I miss the good times we had and am grateful for facebook in that I can catch up on their lives. However I also am reminded of why I am grateful for the choices I did make.

In high school, I was really close to Jeni and Hannah. We were the three musketeers. For a long time I thought the friendship was Jeni and Hannah and I was tagging along a lot. I found it funny (and an interesting commentary on our friendship) when I discovered that Jeni had always felt that it was Hannah and I and she tagged along. She also enlightened me that sometimes Hannah felt that she was the tag along to us!! If you put us in a room today we will pick right up where we left off. No matter how much time or distance has been between us.

Now I have a friend that is so much like a sister to me that in fact I refer to her as such. I am aunt to her kids and she is another daughter to my mother. I would NOT have made it to this point in my life without her. The choices that I have made to put me where I am today would have not been the same without her as a sounding board. Love ya Kristie.

Also my parents are among this group as well. My father adopted me when I was a young child and was a stabilizing influence to show me what to look for in a father for my children. My mother taught me good values and always knew that I could do whatever I set out to do. We may not always see eye to eye and sometimes I am a typical daughter and make choices that she wouldn't have me make, but I do love her and will always value her opinion (even if I don't agree with it ;).

All through this life however there have been others to get me where I am. They all helped to shape me to who I am today. From teachers to church youth leaders to members of the church who watched over me growing up. And many other friends that have come and gone. I only hope that you know who you are and how much you really have shaped me into who I am.

As I stated on Amy's post:
As our lives change and rearrange, sometimes our friends do too. They were what we needed then (or maybe they needed us, or both we never know how God works) and as time has moved on and circumstances have changed our life paths seperate. This is not always bad or caused by a falling out. Life just happens, I have noticed however that we never lose those people in our hearts. The stamp that they left on our life will forever be remembered and will shine through. Years after we last spent time with that person we can still identify that little bit of ourselves that refers back to them. And when we see them again, our hearts will warm with the memory.

She didn't know how right she was...

Ok here is another story from my many (hehe) years on the floor.


Our telemetries are monitored by ICU and if there is anything abnormal they call down to us immediately.  Usually it is a simple thing such as the battery needs to be replaced or the leads are off.  Sometimes they say they can't get a reading.  One night at about 0230 the nurse monitoring the tele screen called to say that the pt in the last room of a long hallway was asystole.  Not normally hearing those words we took off at a run.  I was the second nurse to the room.  As I rounded the door I heard the first nurse calmly telling the pt that she needed to check her leads. So I knew the pt was ok.  As I approached the end of the bed the pt (a bit startled from having been awoken from a deep sleep) said "Oh I am sorry, I was just dead to the world!"  This of course struck me funny as for about a minute we thought she was! So then we had to explain why I was doubled over in laughter at the foot of the bed.  She promptly stated "Oh I wouldn't do that to you girls!"


I will respond to a call with an outcome like that any night of the week.

Story time!!!!!

From time to time I will try to tell an amusing story or two. One of my favorite "downtime" activities is story time. This is where everyone gathers at the station or in the breakroom and one after another we tell those stories that have stuck in our minds over time. And when the veteren nurses are there it is even better. There have been nights when I have to explain to more that one patient why I had tears in my eyes as I ansered the call light. And after more than six years, I now have a few of my own stories to tell.
Here is one from a couple years ago that still makes me smile.

One night after a horrible code (many things went wrong that time). We had an elderly confused pt decide she was not going back to bed. She was leaving. I was working with two good friends that night Kathy and Brian. (Brian had floated from another floor.) Kathy and I were walking the confused lady up and down the hall. She was yelling and screaming and trying to walk into other rooms. We were closing doors and blocking doorways, at one such door we explained that she couldn't enter this room for there were two men in there trying to sleep. Her response without missing a beat was "Well, I like men!!" Finally, Brian was able to call the doc and we were again going up and down the hallway. This time after 1mg of ativan IV. Needless to say, we were one on each side of her and she was doing ok. After a while, as the ativan really started to work, she was high-stepping trying to fight the medication. As we got to her room once again she didn't want to go to bed and we gave haldol IM. She was still fighting us but the meds were really starting to overpower her. We had her near the bed and this time it was Brian who was holding her up. She was facing him and was trying to push me away. As she reached up to touch the sleeve of his shirt I realized what was happening. Brian didn't but motioned me to step back, so I decided to watch the show. Sure enough, as soon as I was behind her, she attempted to undress the nice man in front of her. The look on Brian's face was well worth it. At that point we put her in the bed and another dose of Haldol was given. From then on we had to take turns to sit with her. Constantly trying to keep her in bed. As one would get caught up on her stuff, we would switch. I ended up with the last watch. As one day nurse came in to give her med, she took it just fine (wouldn't for me 30 min earlier but oh well). As that nurse left she again tried to climb out of bed. She stated "I need to get my medicine." What medicine you ask (like I did)? "My pregnancy pill." She was 85 and well past child bearing age. As the other day shift nurse came to give her the next pill (just ordered by doc), she tried to fight her off. After the pill was finally given, she sighed loudly and stated "I just wanted to take a nap!" I was glad when that night was finally OVER!!!