Sunday, August 21, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Finding time to breathe...
The last two weeks have been insane. A total roller coaster of emotion. Memorial Day weekend, we had planned on going down to see our parents. Thursday night, Abby woke up throwing up at around midnight. It continued almost every half hour until morning. She then put herself on the couch and wouldn't leave. She had periods of almost delirium....we ended up in the ER. They gave her Zofran and she perked up so we went home. She started drinking fluids again. We ended up going down for the weekend after all. My brother and sister in law made it up as well. Aside from Abby being sick, it was a really good weekend of seeing everyone. And...I'm so glad we did. That leads up to this past weekend.
I had agreed to captain a team for our Susan B Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. Friday, I get a call from my mom saying that my grandma went into the hospital by ambulance. She had pneumonia. She said she was doing okay at the hospital and that I didn't need to come down. I went on with the Race the next day. I called grandma after the Race and talked to her. She sounded tired, but okay. Well....that night, she went into respiratory distress and at 4 in the morning, Mom and Grandpa decided to have her intubated. I got that call at 5:30 and had my bags packed by 6. Grandma was very sick, she had very low blood pressure and things seemed to be shutting down. She was septic with a staph infection in her blood. She had an E Coli infection in her urine, and the germ causing her pneumonia wasn't determined yet. They wanted to put in a central line and an arterial line to give her meds and watch pressures. Mom wanted to hear my opinion first. I said to go ahead with both.
I went into Grandma's room....and was thinking her telemetry looked abnormal, but I was trying to be family and out of nurse mode....so I put it to the back of my head. Turns out, she did have a heart attack during the night as well. She wasn't producing much urine and it looked like her kidneys were shutting down. Grandpa would just sit in the waiting room, staring ahead, saying "I just can't fathom what's happening." His last sight of Grandma was her struggling for air.
We were sitting in the waiting room, talking. It was uncanny how almost everyone that Grandma and Grandpa don't see very often had seen them within the last week. My brother was up here. They had seen Grandma's sisters and brother. They had seen Grandpa's sisters. (God-sight number one)
Fast forward to the night. I told Mom that I'd stay with Grandpa and she could go home. My aunt was on her way from Milwaukee too. My aunt and I stayed the night at the hospital. We couldn't get Grandpa to go home and get sleep. My aunt ran into Grandma's nurse from the general care unit that was taking care of her the night she went downhill. The nurse had tears in her eyes and told my aunt "I tried so hard. I didn't know what else to do for her. I prayed over her and ask the Holy Spirit to come upon her and comfort her." (God-sight number two)
In the middle of the night (while sedated), Grandma got wide eyed and started trying to mouth words. We finally figured out she was asking for Grandpa. When we finally asked her did she want to see him, she nodded her head so hard I thought she was going to extubate herself. My aunt somehow got Grandpa to come into the room. He started bawling and holding her hand. She kept mouthing "go home." We started talking about their house, and she'd shake her head "no." We realized she was talking about Heaven. Grandpa asked her if she meant she was ready to meet Jesus, and she nodded yes. He asked if she was scared. She shook her head "no." He asked if she was in any pain. She shook her head "no." (God-sight number three) Now, the nurse, nursing assistant and respiratory therapist were all in the room. Everyone was crying. (Grandma was the only patient in the ICU). Grandpa took Grandma's hand and told her it was okay to go. He started apologizing for anything bad he'd ever said or done. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him. We got my other aunt and my mom there too. We really thought she wasn't going to make it through the night. But she did. They even weaned her off the ventilator that next day. After they extubated her, I noticed she wasn't moving her left side very well. She was restrained before, so I hadn't noticed anything. She hasn't been diagnosed with a scan, but we're sure she had a stroke the same time she had the heart attack. She had a TTE done on Monday as well. She has an EF of 35-45%. She stayed in ICU for three more days.
When I left Monday night, Grandpa was at the hospital. He had gone home for a few hours in the middle of the day to rest. My aunt was going to stay at his house that night. When she got to the house, he must have just woken up, but he was drenched in sweat and kept saying "I'm so confused..." My aunt couldn't find his blood glucometer so she got him to the ER. Tests were coming back fine....and then he mentions "I'm sure glad I got the lawn mowed." It was almost 80 degrees that night and he went home and mowed his lawn. Explains the sweat, but he had an elevated WBC so they admitted him. He was on the second floor, grandma was on the fourth floor. My brother made it up from Indiana yesterday. Grandpa got discharged yesterday. They think he was just dehydrated.
Yesterday, I dropped my cell phone and it broke. (just a minor minor detail of my week, but it still stunk!) Luckily, I still had my OLD phone and they reactivated it so I can use it until Monday when my contract is up and I can get a new phone.
Today I find out that my dad just got diagnosed with diabetes. He had a preop physical with a new primary care physician, and they ran all sorts of labs. His hemoglobin A1C came back today at 6.1. He and Mom have an appointment on Monday with a diabetes educator.
Like I said. What a strange, exhausting, draining week. I've actually looked at work as being a break. Yeah.
I had agreed to captain a team for our Susan B Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. Friday, I get a call from my mom saying that my grandma went into the hospital by ambulance. She had pneumonia. She said she was doing okay at the hospital and that I didn't need to come down. I went on with the Race the next day. I called grandma after the Race and talked to her. She sounded tired, but okay. Well....that night, she went into respiratory distress and at 4 in the morning, Mom and Grandpa decided to have her intubated. I got that call at 5:30 and had my bags packed by 6. Grandma was very sick, she had very low blood pressure and things seemed to be shutting down. She was septic with a staph infection in her blood. She had an E Coli infection in her urine, and the germ causing her pneumonia wasn't determined yet. They wanted to put in a central line and an arterial line to give her meds and watch pressures. Mom wanted to hear my opinion first. I said to go ahead with both.
I went into Grandma's room....and was thinking her telemetry looked abnormal, but I was trying to be family and out of nurse mode....so I put it to the back of my head. Turns out, she did have a heart attack during the night as well. She wasn't producing much urine and it looked like her kidneys were shutting down. Grandpa would just sit in the waiting room, staring ahead, saying "I just can't fathom what's happening." His last sight of Grandma was her struggling for air.
We were sitting in the waiting room, talking. It was uncanny how almost everyone that Grandma and Grandpa don't see very often had seen them within the last week. My brother was up here. They had seen Grandma's sisters and brother. They had seen Grandpa's sisters. (God-sight number one)
Fast forward to the night. I told Mom that I'd stay with Grandpa and she could go home. My aunt was on her way from Milwaukee too. My aunt and I stayed the night at the hospital. We couldn't get Grandpa to go home and get sleep. My aunt ran into Grandma's nurse from the general care unit that was taking care of her the night she went downhill. The nurse had tears in her eyes and told my aunt "I tried so hard. I didn't know what else to do for her. I prayed over her and ask the Holy Spirit to come upon her and comfort her." (God-sight number two)
In the middle of the night (while sedated), Grandma got wide eyed and started trying to mouth words. We finally figured out she was asking for Grandpa. When we finally asked her did she want to see him, she nodded her head so hard I thought she was going to extubate herself. My aunt somehow got Grandpa to come into the room. He started bawling and holding her hand. She kept mouthing "go home." We started talking about their house, and she'd shake her head "no." We realized she was talking about Heaven. Grandpa asked her if she meant she was ready to meet Jesus, and she nodded yes. He asked if she was scared. She shook her head "no." He asked if she was in any pain. She shook her head "no." (God-sight number three) Now, the nurse, nursing assistant and respiratory therapist were all in the room. Everyone was crying. (Grandma was the only patient in the ICU). Grandpa took Grandma's hand and told her it was okay to go. He started apologizing for anything bad he'd ever said or done. She wouldn't take her eyes off of him. We got my other aunt and my mom there too. We really thought she wasn't going to make it through the night. But she did. They even weaned her off the ventilator that next day. After they extubated her, I noticed she wasn't moving her left side very well. She was restrained before, so I hadn't noticed anything. She hasn't been diagnosed with a scan, but we're sure she had a stroke the same time she had the heart attack. She had a TTE done on Monday as well. She has an EF of 35-45%. She stayed in ICU for three more days.
When I left Monday night, Grandpa was at the hospital. He had gone home for a few hours in the middle of the day to rest. My aunt was going to stay at his house that night. When she got to the house, he must have just woken up, but he was drenched in sweat and kept saying "I'm so confused..." My aunt couldn't find his blood glucometer so she got him to the ER. Tests were coming back fine....and then he mentions "I'm sure glad I got the lawn mowed." It was almost 80 degrees that night and he went home and mowed his lawn. Explains the sweat, but he had an elevated WBC so they admitted him. He was on the second floor, grandma was on the fourth floor. My brother made it up from Indiana yesterday. Grandpa got discharged yesterday. They think he was just dehydrated.
Yesterday, I dropped my cell phone and it broke. (just a minor minor detail of my week, but it still stunk!) Luckily, I still had my OLD phone and they reactivated it so I can use it until Monday when my contract is up and I can get a new phone.
Today I find out that my dad just got diagnosed with diabetes. He had a preop physical with a new primary care physician, and they ran all sorts of labs. His hemoglobin A1C came back today at 6.1. He and Mom have an appointment on Monday with a diabetes educator.
Like I said. What a strange, exhausting, draining week. I've actually looked at work as being a break. Yeah.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Updating
Wow. It's been since February since I've updated! Here's the quick low-down:
The budget mess in Wisconsin continues. There's no way to not make the cuts, but it's a little crazy thinking about what it will mean. There is currently a judicial order to not enact the bill that passed because the legitimacy of the voting process that passed the bill is in question.
Caleb is registered for kindergarten!! The registration day didn't go so well for him. He had a melt-down/anxiety episode. They've recommended summer school to get him better acquainted and help him adjust. We're going to try that.
In better news, Caleb is reading!! He was able to read some books from the library to me. The were the easy reader "I Can Read" series books. He was so excited when he realized that he knew how to read sentences! He's even been reading to Abby sometimes.
Abby is signed up for ballet lessons and is very excited to start them. Caleb is signed up for T-Ball. He's extremely excited and I hope that the excitement helps him to overcome the anxiety that he struggles with with so many things.
That's about up to speed for now. I hope I keep updates better than I've been doing!
The budget mess in Wisconsin continues. There's no way to not make the cuts, but it's a little crazy thinking about what it will mean. There is currently a judicial order to not enact the bill that passed because the legitimacy of the voting process that passed the bill is in question.
Caleb is registered for kindergarten!! The registration day didn't go so well for him. He had a melt-down/anxiety episode. They've recommended summer school to get him better acquainted and help him adjust. We're going to try that.
In better news, Caleb is reading!! He was able to read some books from the library to me. The were the easy reader "I Can Read" series books. He was so excited when he realized that he knew how to read sentences! He's even been reading to Abby sometimes.
Abby is signed up for ballet lessons and is very excited to start them. Caleb is signed up for T-Ball. He's extremely excited and I hope that the excitement helps him to overcome the anxiety that he struggles with with so many things.
That's about up to speed for now. I hope I keep updates better than I've been doing!
Recharging...
It's amazing how you don't realize that you're run down until you have a chance to recharge the batteries! I'm in Cedar Rapids visiting my roommate from college and today we had the opportunity to see Bebo Norman sing and listened to Angela Thomas speak at a women's conference. Wow. I needed that! I'm missing my fam tons, but it was worth the time in fellowship. I knew I was running, running, running, but didn't realize how low the batteries had gotten. I'm not saying I'm well rested, but definitely refilled. Does that make sense? I think we too often loose sight of the focus. I find myself pulled in so many directions and leave God out of the equation. That needs to change.
Monday, February 28, 2011
I'm tired!
I'm tired of a lot of things right now. I'm tired of not sleeping well. It's draining! I haven't slept through the night in like 3 or 4 weeks.
I'm tired of all the political unrest here in Wisconsin. I'm tired of people not understanding what's going on and jumping to judgement without being informed. I'm tired of my elected officials acting like children (both sides). Makes me want to put them in a time-out. Just kidding.
No really. This mess at the capitol and the upcoming budget "repair" bill is dividing friendships. People are so uncaring about those they've known for years. There is no perfect system. The elected officials are in power, whether we agree with them or not. We can voice our discontent. It's not worth losing friendships over. I am very thankful and grateful that my friends have been able to have civil discussions about what's going on without taking it out on each other. I can't say the same for the people around us.
If you don't know what's going on, our Governor has proposed major budget cuts in his new bill. In addition to budget cuts, he wants to put a stop to collective bargaining of unions. The unions and the democratic representatives/senators have agreed to the healthcare changes and the pension changes. The problem is, the bill calls for no bargaining rights except for wages. This would take away the right to bargain about workplace conditions. That's right. It takes away the right to fight for 8 hr shifts, mandatory breaks during your shift, for nursing- our union had stopped mandatory overtime (being forced over to 16-20 hr shifts to cover sick holes), and we currently are guaranteed 12 hrs between shifts. We currently have guaranteed patient to nurse ratios, thanks to our union. In our public school system, the unions have fought for teacher to student ratios. It is estimated that once this bill passes, the student to teacher ratios will hit 40:1 in some areas. Private school is a luxury and not a realistic option for a majority of the population. So, that means kids get the short end of the stick.
In addition to that, Wisconsin will lose $70 million dollars in federal aid for public transportation. They only send aid to public transportation systems that use unionized workers. That will literally shut down the bus systems in some towns.
I'm in full agreement that unions have problems. I think merit-based wages are a good idea. I disagree with some other things too. BUT you can't deny that unions have done a lot of good as well.
All the demonstrations have so far, been peaceful....but I worry that people already struggling to make ends meet are going to find this added burden too much and someone is going to snap. Where does that leave us?
I'm tired of all the political unrest here in Wisconsin. I'm tired of people not understanding what's going on and jumping to judgement without being informed. I'm tired of my elected officials acting like children (both sides). Makes me want to put them in a time-out. Just kidding.
No really. This mess at the capitol and the upcoming budget "repair" bill is dividing friendships. People are so uncaring about those they've known for years. There is no perfect system. The elected officials are in power, whether we agree with them or not. We can voice our discontent. It's not worth losing friendships over. I am very thankful and grateful that my friends have been able to have civil discussions about what's going on without taking it out on each other. I can't say the same for the people around us.
If you don't know what's going on, our Governor has proposed major budget cuts in his new bill. In addition to budget cuts, he wants to put a stop to collective bargaining of unions. The unions and the democratic representatives/senators have agreed to the healthcare changes and the pension changes. The problem is, the bill calls for no bargaining rights except for wages. This would take away the right to bargain about workplace conditions. That's right. It takes away the right to fight for 8 hr shifts, mandatory breaks during your shift, for nursing- our union had stopped mandatory overtime (being forced over to 16-20 hr shifts to cover sick holes), and we currently are guaranteed 12 hrs between shifts. We currently have guaranteed patient to nurse ratios, thanks to our union. In our public school system, the unions have fought for teacher to student ratios. It is estimated that once this bill passes, the student to teacher ratios will hit 40:1 in some areas. Private school is a luxury and not a realistic option for a majority of the population. So, that means kids get the short end of the stick.
In addition to that, Wisconsin will lose $70 million dollars in federal aid for public transportation. They only send aid to public transportation systems that use unionized workers. That will literally shut down the bus systems in some towns.
I'm in full agreement that unions have problems. I think merit-based wages are a good idea. I disagree with some other things too. BUT you can't deny that unions have done a lot of good as well.
All the demonstrations have so far, been peaceful....but I worry that people already struggling to make ends meet are going to find this added burden too much and someone is going to snap. Where does that leave us?
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wow.
That's kind of all I can think of to sum up what is going on right now at the capitol. Just like the entire nation, Wisconsin has a gigantic budget deficit. Everyone has ideas on how to cut down on the deficit. Our governor has proposed cutting healthcare benefits and retirement plans of state workers. Unionized state workers. Not completely getting rid of pensions and healthcare, but decreasing state contributions dramatically. Yes, this may decrease the state deficit, but it will also put thousands of struggling working class families at more of a financial burden. The bigger problem....he did this while saying that unions will not have bargaining rights regarding the changes. This leads to setting a dangerous precedent regarding unions and their ability to fight for their members' rights. Almost all area schools are closed today because the teachers are on a "sick-out." There are thousands of people at the capitol. By thousands, I mean estimated over 15,000.
Brent and I made it a point to not rely on our employers for retirement. We've been working hard to set up retirement options regardless of where we work. Healthcare costs aren't as bad for us either because we can just go off of Brent's benefits. However, as a nurse, the union is extremely important. Our union is what fought for safe staffing ratios and putting an end to mandatory overtime, just to name a few. We used to be able to take 6-7 patients per nurse. This pretty much turns into pill pushing. Especially on a neuro unit with MANY confused patients, that ratio is just plain not safe. We used to also have mandated overtime. This means that if there was a staffing hole and we were a nurse (or more) short for the next shift, we were forced to stay over to cover the hole or be reprimanded for patient abandonment. While we still had the mandated overtime, the hospital did very little to cover holes in the staffing schedule with float staff.
Governor Walker also said that by stopping unions, we'd "save" money on not being required to pay monthly dues. It could "save" us $500 a year. $500 a year. That's like spitting in the wind. This is all completely frustrating, worrisome, etc.
Brent and I made it a point to not rely on our employers for retirement. We've been working hard to set up retirement options regardless of where we work. Healthcare costs aren't as bad for us either because we can just go off of Brent's benefits. However, as a nurse, the union is extremely important. Our union is what fought for safe staffing ratios and putting an end to mandatory overtime, just to name a few. We used to be able to take 6-7 patients per nurse. This pretty much turns into pill pushing. Especially on a neuro unit with MANY confused patients, that ratio is just plain not safe. We used to also have mandated overtime. This means that if there was a staffing hole and we were a nurse (or more) short for the next shift, we were forced to stay over to cover the hole or be reprimanded for patient abandonment. While we still had the mandated overtime, the hospital did very little to cover holes in the staffing schedule with float staff.
Governor Walker also said that by stopping unions, we'd "save" money on not being required to pay monthly dues. It could "save" us $500 a year. $500 a year. That's like spitting in the wind. This is all completely frustrating, worrisome, etc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)