This and that

     Well my last night is over and I didn't escape unscathed.  Helping a patient to the commode who was less then stable I managed to twist my knee badly.  Felt like something tore.  It promptly swelled up and is very painful.  Ouch.  I iced it but am having trouble walking because it hurts so much.  So this morning I get to go to the workmans comp office getting tests.  But I'm tired. (Whine)  And work comp always will make you feel like you are faking it.  Even with my knee swollen twice it normal size they will make me feel bad.  I remember when I broke my back.  You could see the broken bones on my x-rays.  They still insinuated I was making more out of it then was necessary.  Sigh.  Hopefully it is just a nasty sprain.

   Now on to my MIL.  She aced her treadmill.  Impressed them all and shocked herself even.  Her echo was good.   The doctor says she has a blockage, but it is in a difficult place to get to by cath and  they feel she is too old for open heart to do a bypass.  So they are going to treat her medically if they can.  They increased all her meds and put her on some new ones.  Cost her over $300.00.  On top of her other meds that makes around $400.00 a month on medication.  She about had a heart attack on the spot.  No way will she be able to afford that.  So I am going to be making some calls today to see if she can get them cheaper somehow and if they come in generic.  She is home and in a complete panic about this.  I would be also.  I would just have to die, I would not be able to afford that every month.  I also am going to bring her the bean and beef soup for supper.  Except for the small blockage she is in remarkable shape for her age.

   We had 2 rapid responses and a code blue last night.  A rapid response is like a code except the patient hasn't died yet, but is very close and if you don't do something quick they will try to die.  Well we try very hard not to let that happen so we have a special team that comes and they help us stabilize the patient.  We had 2 newer nurses on and they each had one.  It is great experience for them, especially when there are experienced nurses on to walk them through it.  They both did great and kept their cool well.  You have to keep a level head and not panic and they did great.  Oh, we saved all the patients also, Yah for us.  I love a good code.

   Sound strange I know but I love the excitement.  Helping a patient who is so sick and moments from death recover, or one who has stopped breathing and their hearts have stopped getting them breathing and beating again.  Working as a team and doing the correct things to bring the patients back makes you feel good. 

    There are good codes and bad codes.  Good ones where the entire team does it alot and feel very comfortable in their rolls.  I have been in hundreds of codes and they don't scare me or throw me in a panic anymore.  When the whole team is like that it is like a well rehearsed play.  Every player has a role and knows exactly when and how to do it.  Some though are with people who don't have many codes.  They panic and don't know what to do next.  The code team is still there to run it, but it is more chaotic, less smooth.  Still exciting though.  Not that I am morbid but I like to see a job done well.

   We had a big plane crash here about 10 years ago.  You always wonder how you would handle a big disaster like that.  Could you hold up.  When it happened years of training takes over and you do your job automatically.  Afterwards it hits you but not at the time.  Makes you feel good.

   Well, I decide I am going to sleep for awhile and then go to the doctors and to my MIL.  I will hold up better is I have some sleep.    Night all.