And away we go!

The season of clinicals has begun. Tomorrow will be my last day without a clinical till the end of March (not counting spring break). So far, clinicals have been pretty good. The last few have been relatively slow, but the calls have been good ones, real head-scratchers, as it were. A diabetic with N/V/D who was extremely diaphoretic, whose 12-lead showed an inferior infarct. We gave him NTG, and it bottomed his BP from 170-ish/110-ish to 70-ish/40-ish. WOW! Yesterday I was at a station that was a block from the hospital, so we didn't do a whole lot of interventions, but we had 2 combative patients (one I had to put in an arm lock to keep him from punching me and the other providers), and an unresponsive.

So far the semester has been hectic. More papers, more homework, more quizes, etc have me running in circles. I'm actually kind of glad that the last few clinicals have been slow, since it gave me an opportunity to catch up on homework and get a little bit ahead. I almost feel like a single mother, what with the dogs and all, although I have the ability to leave a 1 year old and an 8 year old alone for 8 hours and the state won't lock me up. I have a whole new-found respect for my mother and Epi who worked, went to school, or both, with children who couldn't be left alone for hours on end. Luckily, I have a very good friend who works and lives not far, who is willing to swing by and let the dogs out and feed them when I am in class or clinical. Next week is EMS Today, which I will be at on Friday, and maybe Saturday morning. We have an assignment associated with the Exhibit Hall, so I won't be able to take any classes, but will be available for dinner and drinks after if anyone is interested.

In other news, the large amounts of snow we got are melting, and my yard has puddles all over it. The wind in the past few days has dried out a lot of it, especially since it came with a little bit of sun. The lilies are coming up, and I have to divide them as soon as they are up a bit more. C is planning a fence around the gardens, since Kaylee has found her way through the wire ones we put up last summer. The veggies that can be started inside are started, and the herbs are going as well. Most things are going in containers because we just don't have the space.

And now, I have to use the last few free hours I have today to go prune my roses and pull up some weeds. It's cold and windy outside, but the sun is a-shinin'.

And so it begins...

First off, I have survived the epic snows of DC. No crashes, no roof cave-ins, all is well here. See pictures of my dogs and neighborhood here. Look under the Weather gallery, under Snowmageddon 2010. I haven't minded all the snow as much as some people (it kind of reminds me of high school in NEPA, when the snow actually stayed on the ground for more than 2 days), though it's been hell on my schedule. I had just started getting into the swing of classes again after winter break, and then we had a week off. Though I did get in some good hours at the fire house.

Secondly, perhaps in reaction to the large amounts of snow in my yard, I have started my seedlings for the spring. We are trying to have a modified veggie garden, in containers on the porch. We don't have very good soil, and we don't have the money to build raised beds. So, the herbs go in the bed by the house which is the oldest and therefore has the best soil, and the veggies will go in the containers, and we are co-opping with a friend for use of her porch as well.

Thirdly, we have started clinicals. I have to have 200 hours by the end of April, essentially. Thankfully, due to my schedule, I didn't have to make any hours up because of all the snow days we've had this week (haven't been to school since last Thursday).

The most interesting thing I've experienced at clinical so far is the lack of plowed roads in the county I was in on Friday. There were a lot of unplowed roads, and therefore a lot of patients that had to come out by Hum Vee. I've never had to do that before, and it was an experience. It also netted me my first ride in a Hum Vee (the story of that call will be told in a different post). The hospital clinicals have been cool, since I'm at Johns Hopkins. WOW!!! That's all I have to say about that. The doctors let me watch them do all kinds of stuff. The first time I was there I 'assisted' (as in, I helped the patient stay on their side, and handed the doc stuff) while the doctor drained an abscess on someone's side. This week I watched some surgeons drain some seroma from a patient's abdomen. Rather than send the patient upstairs, the surgeons come down to do the minor things. Very cool.

So far my schedule isn't too bad. I'm short one hospital clinical shift, and 4 medic unit shifts, but I do have a few open days I can use. And I can pull a hospital shift during the week (since I'm practically guaranteed to be able to leave on time. So I've got some time.

And now, to print out my clinical journals, and go to bed.

Back to the Grind

Well, classes have started up again, and this semester looks to be a royal bitch. We have to do 200 clinical hours. The crappy part is that, due to the state furloughing the teachers, we cannot do ANY clinical time during our spring break, which, frankly, I was counting on to be able to make all my hours. So far, I've signed up for most of the shifts I need, though I'm still a few hours short. The fact that C is in NJ for the next 5 or 6 months means that I have to be home to take care of the dogs during the week. This makes it difficult to do clinicals during the week, since I have to be home for the dogs at night (I do have someone to let them out and feed them at night, but I can't leave them alone all night long). I could do clinicals after classes, but then I won't be home till midnight or later, and then to get up at 0500 for classes will be a bitch. This means that I have only Fridays (no class on Friday so we can do clinicals) and weekends to do my hours, which means I won't be able to see C when he is actually home. The original plan when I decided to go back to school was that he would be home to take care of the animals so I could crash at someone's place closer to school if I had to do clinicals or something late. But what are you going to do? At least he has a job. So far I'm only 4 or 5 shifts short, and worse comes to worse, I'll plan for a week of evening/night clinicals and C can take the dogs with him for the week so I can stay at a place up near school.

The snow they called for this weekend hit and we got a fair sight more than they said we would. Shock. It ruined our plans for Saturday, but we made new plans and cleaned the kitchen. The counter and backsplash behind the sink have a large gap between them and I worry about all the water getting up in there and making the drywall and such moldy. So we caulked that space and straightened up, and basically just cleaned up the house and put clutter in it's place.

I've been having sleeping issues recently, and I don't know why. I do have occasional bouts with insomnia, and I suspect it's just the change in my diet and exercise that is screwing up my system. I was doing well over most of the break, going to bed and waking up at a reasonable time, and since my surgery, I have not been doing well. Unable to sleep, staying up late to read and finish books, sleeping really late. I need to get back on a good schedule, and hoped that this weekend would help, since C goes to bed fairly early. Last night struck that one down though, as I was stressed after scheduling out clinical times, and went on a stress-related crying jag. To relax, I grabbed a book, and stayed up reading the whole damned thing.

On the good side, I'm taking a SAR management class this semester. I'm excited about it. In April, we take a 3-day SAREX for training. It should be fun. I'm hoping that after this semester is over, and Kaylee the nervous K-9 has had some obedience training, I can get back to SAR. I'm not sure yet if next semester's schedule will allow it, but I'm hoping.

One more week until I can ride again. I can't wait.

Twingy, yet alive...

This lack of gallbladder thing isn't so bad. All the steri-strips are gone, and there is minor stinging when the skin stretches a bit much, especially around the belly-button. Muscles aren't bad, aside from stiffness when I stand up from being in a sitting, bent-over position, much as if I had done too many sit-ups a few days ago at the gym.

I am on a 20-lb lifting restriction until Feb 8th, which means no medic clinicals until then (I figure ER rotations are ok, as I am less likely to need to lift people). No fencing or rock climbing for 6 weeks total (5 weeks now) and I'm figuring no heavy lifting at the gym (or sit-ups, for that matter) for the same amount of time. No need to get a hernia now. I can do cardio as soon as I feel I am able, so that'll be my work-outs for a while.

I've been experimenting with new recipes of late. Being at my mother's house (supposedly recuperating for the week) allowed us to try numerous things. We had chicken pesto with broccoli, lemon caper chicken, a very light, brothy asparagus soup, and some corn and crab fritters. Tonight I made a chicken with potatoes and celery, lots of garlic and spices. Tasty indeed.

Next week I have to get my pissed-off face on with financial aid at school. They pitched a fit last semester because I had only set up to pay for the fall semester, and was told to get the loan for both semesters. Then they sent a check for the amount of about half the total (one semesters worth), and now they are charging us for the amount for this semester. Someone is going to feel my wrath.

Now, I normally don't get into politics on my blog, because I don't generally express my opinions in words well enough to not piss someone off (and I have few enough readers as it is). But seriously...Pat Robertson? Dude needs to Go. Away. He's certifiably bat-shit crazy. I've thought so for a long time, but this one takes the cake. I'm pretty sure that God is not at all pleased with his 'prophet.'

And this guy tried to run for president? Sheesh. This is obviously why we just can't have nice things....

Post-surgery

It is now 0630 and I have been up since 0430. Guess Percocet only lasts 6 hours for me. Oh well.

The surgery went well, the gallbladder was removed (there were several stones with evidence of some slight inflammation and infection) and the surgeon could not eyeball the 'atypical' FNH's in my liver. So I will have to eventually see a GI specialist for that, since the radiologist was unwilling to conclusively say that the very slightly atypical nodules were FNH.

At any rate, I seem to have developed a slight sensitivity to latex. I have round itchy rash spots where the heart monitor electrodes were, and the bandaids are driving me to distraction. There is, in fact, very little pain. A bit of cramping, similar to the cramping I had during the gallbladder attack, and some muscular pain at the incision sites, but even that feels more like a few too many sit-ups at the gym than anything else. There is some pain on deep inspiration, but even that isn't too bad, and my fear of atelectatasis is greater than than the pain.

I have a warm dog curled up beside me, who refused to go to bed with C and the puppy. I suppose I should be flattered that he feels the need to protect me, or something.

I am hungry. But I will wait for C to get up. Poor guy. I think he was more worried than I was about the surgery, and didn't sleep well at all the night before. Add that to a bad week at work, and he was wiped out yesterday. Sunday I head to my mom's house for recovery. Mainly it's so that I don't have to get up every five minutes to let the dogs in and out of the house.

My feet are cold...

It is extremely cold here at the Home of the Gnome (relatively speaking, of course). I haven't experienced such low temps and wind chills since Antarctica. And no, that is not an exaggeration. Living in a townhouse on a concrete slab with 20 year old windows is not conducive to keeping a warm house. I'm reluctant to turn the heat up anymore, given the increase in energy prices, and so I am relegated to cuddling under blankets. Sadly, my other heat source is on his way to NJ for the week, and therefore is not here to help me warm up. I suppose it's all for the good...colder temperatures are supposed to be better for your metabolism...burning calories to stay warm and all. Though I'm not sure that the temps in the house are low enough to suffice for that.

The holidays are over, and for one I am grateful. I love the holidays, but this year just seemed to sneak up on my from out of nowhere, and before I knew it, it was a week before Christmas, I had no presents purchased, and I had to get the house ready because I had to head to St Louis, and Chris was not home (he had to work the weekend before Christmas, and was in NJ). The blizzard didn't help much, but overall didn't crimp my overall plans. The dogs loved it though...

I was supposed to have surgery this coming Friday, to remove my gallbladder (after one attack, and the confirmation of gallstones). Given the craziness of the past few weeks, I forgot to schedule my pre-op appointment, and therefore will likely have to reschedule the surgery. This leaves me with a timing issue, what with classes starting up on January 27th. Given the surgeon's indication that I will require at least 2-4 weeks for recovery, postponing surgery could push into the beginning of classes. Then there is the whole surgery thing overall. I have not had any problems since Labor Day, which was the only attack I have ever had. I have since tried (and mostly succeeded) in decreasing my overall fat intake, and I hope to continue doing so. So I wonder if I should go through with the surgery, when, if I watch my fat intake, I may not have another gallbladder attack for years, if ever again. Getting surgery will set me back at least one month, if not more, in several areas, such as fighting, the gym, and other things. Not to mention that the insurance company has not been making this easy at all. I am quickly reaching the point where I am going to crawl through the phone and confront people face-to-face on this issue, since evidently, sarcasm does not translate well through the phone lines.

At any rate, things are going to be boring for the next few weeks. I have to order books for classes, and determine if I want to add a class to my schedule for this semester. I will be severely lacking in human contact over the next few weeks, given that everyone is working, Chris is in NJ, and if the surgery is done, I'll be stuck in the house, unable to drive. You may get more posts then.

Nothing new here...

Nothing new has been going on recently. The end of the semester is coming up, and with it, the final push for, well, finals. Next week is the last full week, and then finals. So far, grades are ok..I'm holding steady at B's, and a few borderline A's, which isn't as good as I had hoped, but better than it could be. At least I understand the stuff.

We are finally learning 12 -leads. The guy goes a bit fast, but it's more than I learned in EMT-I all those years ago, so it's something. A few take-home tests are due next week, and then it's just the tests. I'm excited for break, even if I am getting my gallbladder out just after New Year's.

On the station front, I am working with the new membership committee to help revamp the probie program. I really like this department, but it has a lot of things that make me say "WTF" On the other hand, Rockville was the same way. One of the things that makes me twitch about this station is the long-time officers. They're nice guys, but they have a bit of a warped sense of things, in my opinion. While working with one of the newer EMS officers, we decided that perhaps a solution to the 'lack of pride' issue we see in some of the kids and newer members (mostly the younger ones) would be to add a bit of history to the new member orientation. Nothing really in depth, but just a sense of where we came from. Things like when the department was started, maybe some pictures of the early days, stuff like that. The fact that we we had an LODD last year would be added in too, just to make sure that the newer members know and understand, and don't forget. When I asked an officer for help on the history (there isn't anything on the website) I was asked why, and when I said it was for the new probie book, the reply was "Why would you want to bore them with that stuff?"

I was floored. Why is the history of the department such a taboo issue? No wonder there are issues with people showing up and taking care of the station (we have to have 'clean-up weeks' to make sure that the station gets cleaned on a regular basis, and there are no dishes left in the kitchen cause no one cleans up after themselves and people just throw the dirty dishes in the trash after a few days). The officers bitch and moan about the 'young kids' and how no one has station pride and all that, and yet their attitude isn't helping. If the kids knew where they came from and had a little history to have pride in, maybe they would take more responsibility (then again, maybe not).

Some of us on the EMS side have instituted a buy-in dinner for anyone who wants on drill nights (Tuesdays and Fridays). Someone makes dinner, and then it's a $5 buy-in to eat. IOU's are accepted. Not a single one of the officers has eaten that dinner. I've seen some of them come in and ignore the invitation to eat, not even bothering to ask what is for dinner, and go out and buy something. How is that a good role-model to the new people? If the officers won't even sit around the kitchen table and eat with everyone else, what signal does that send to the new people? This place has to be the most disfunctional firehouse I've ever been a part of.

On the other hand, they do some things really well, and the disfunctional-ness means that they aren't uber-concerned with a lot of the Mickey Mouse bullshit I had to put up with at the other place. No 4 hour meetings because everyone is arguing Robert's Rules of Order, or spouting off just to hear themselves talk. Still there is a lot of growing room. And I like it there.