5 West Nursing

We just got hit by Dolly, a category 1 hurricane yesterday. Her center was located in Raymonville, about 50 miles north east of McAllen, TX, and although there were no major damages (at least around our neighborhood), thankfully there were no deaths reported as far as I can tell.

This was the first storm which hit land that we experienced ever since moving here to McAllen 3 years ago. I guess what makes this experience a bit “special” if you will, is that we were just blessed with a new home just recently… our first storm experience in our new home. Thankfully I was off the day before the storm hit so I was able to be with my family throughout the whole ordeal.

It wasn’t that bad, although the winds were particularly strong, with gusts up to 70 mph. You could hear the wind and rain beating on the house all night. Forrest Gump describes it best when he said it was raining “sideways”.  It reminded my of storms I experienced as a child back in the Philippines. We did have occasional black outs, however, nothing major. We had power practically the whole time… even Internet connection to our delight!

The storm has past, however, the clean up has just begun. We only suffered a broken fence which was actually on our neighbor’s side, so in essence, everything within our property was left intact.

This experience has opened my eyes to something that I’m sure you’ve experience yourself. Just like storms caused by the weather, there are storms that rage within us as we go through this journey we call life. Some storms are mild, like the stress caused by an upcoming test or exam. Others may be stronger, like the financial burden of an unexpected circumstance. Yet, others may be devastating, like the grief of divorce or a loss of a loved one. Regardless of the storm, it’s there. Sometimes we can avoid it, other time we can’t. Nevertheless, I made a few a few observations I hope you’ll find helpful as you go through a life storm. Here’s what hit me…

1. Storms come and go. It may sound cliche, however, no matter how bad it may seem, it will surely pass. Hurricane Dolly made landfall at 1200 noon on Wednesday, July 23. By 0600 the following day it was practially gone. It did leave some areas damaged and others without power, but just like everything else, it didn’t last forever. Some storms move slower than others, nevertheless it moves, and eventually it’ll be over. Just hang in there… the sun will shine soon!
2. Preparation is key. Don’t get caught unaware. I didn’t find out about the storm until 1 day before it was supposed to make landfall. By the time I arrived at the local Walmart to stock up on supplies, there wasn’t anything left… bottled water gone, canned goods gone. Fortunately we did have enough to spare from an earlier trip to the grocery store a couple of days before. We were also fortunate that this storm did not leave any lasting effects. Just like the storms of life, we need to be prepared. We need to build up our reserves so we can ride out the storm. Sometimes we go through tough times  in life that help build character so when the big storm comes, we are prepared. There is a passage in the Bible that states that we are not tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). I’d like to apply this to the storms of life as well.
3. Don’t go through a storm without Jesus in your boat. I’m not religious, only practical. I’m just a sinner in need of a Savior. Living life without Jesus is like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute… you won’t survive. As a young boy my mother would take me to Sabbath school every Saturday. We’d learn songs and listen to Bible stories. One particular song that I remember goes something like this… “With Christ in my vessel I can smile at the storm… until He takes me home.” Check out the rest of the song by clicking on this link. One particular Bible story that comes to mind was when Jesus and His disciples were crossing the sea in a storm. His disciples woke him up because they feared for their life. He commanded the sea to be still and the storm stopped. You can read the rest of this awesome story in the Bible (Mark 4: 36-41). Even if the storms of life hit you know, you’ll be safe having Jesus in your boat. He will never leave you, nor forsake you, and that my friend is the truth!

I’m grateful that the storm had passed without any major damage. I’m sure there will be many more storms to come. Just like Dolly, the storms of life will come too. Regarless of the storms, we know we can trust in Jesus to carry us through.

I wouldn’t say “I’ve seen them all” yet, however, my patient tonight was an interesting case. Here was a man in his 70’s who came in because of a bee sting.

According to the report, he was drinking his cup of coffee one morning several days ago when unbeknownst to him, a bee decided that a coffee bath would liven up the day. Unfortunately for  my patient, he didn’t realize that the bee was swimming in his cup of java when he took a sip, and you guessed it, swallowed the poor thing.

I wonder how far the bee went before it stung my patient. Needless to say, he ended up in the ED due to laryngospasms caused by the sting. An emergency tracheostomy was done and eventually he was put on a vent. Today they took the trach tube off and he is pending dismissal. Thankfully he survived the ordeal… I don’t think the bee was that fortunate.

Ah yes, that most awaited time of the year again… annual performance evaluations. I just got mine done recently and it’s been interesting. I didn’t think it was going to turn out the way it did, after all, I’ve been a “rebel” lately. It’s funny how the management expects you to perform according to their standards, however, you can’t expect management or administration to support you to do so. “Do as I say, and not as I do!”… What’s new?

I’m sure it doesn’t happen in you hospital… you know, on top of the staffing shortage, you got a chronic shortage of supplies such as linens, ice packs, medical tape, thermometers, and the like. Then, to add icing to the cake, they beat you up when you rack up some “incremental overtime” because you have to take in more patients than what is considered “safe” and reasonable. I keep wondering why we have managers in the first place since most of these so called problems are chronic.

I’ve worked at MMC 3.5 years now starting from 5 West (telemetry), and ending up in the ICU, and for those 3 years, frankly, nothing has changed… pharmacy is as slow as a snail, our supplies situation hasn’t improved, staffing is always short because of the high turn-over rate… the list goes on and on. You may say, “it’s the same wherever you go”, well, I beg to differ. I’ve seen other places do things better… I’ve been to places, I wasn’t born yesterday, and quite frankly, the people down here has never been anywhere else except here… they do not have the profound knowledge one would get from traveling and living elsewhere… sad. Talking to my director surely gave me an “insiders’” perspective on the problem… she even admits it herself… upper management, i.e., middle corporate management don’t listen. What’s the use of employee surveys then if nobody up there listens?

It’s sad how the powers that be, think they are doing a good job by keeping the numbers up. They are so focused on statistical data, compliance to JCAHO, and all these things, but forget about taking care of the company assets… the lowest of the low… ant workers like us. Don’t get me wrong, numbers are important, JCAHO is important, however, you cannot fix anything if your house is not in order. My director informs me that their requests for bigger and better things fall on deaf ears. I’m not surprised. No wonder we keep changing CNOs and CEOs. As far as I’m concerned, we can run the place without them… hey, it’s not like they are making a difference anyway. Incidentally, this may be a good way to cut down on “unnecessary expense”…. Here’s an idea… get rid of the CNO and CEO, get their potential salaries and divide that among the staff… I bet you productivity would increase!

Sad to say, things may be the way they are for a while…no surprises here, we’re just used to it by now. My director tells me that most of my co-workers perceive me as “not a team player” because I don’t “mingle” with them. First of all, I come to work to work… I don’t socialize, except with a few level headed people that are intelligent enough see behind the smoke screen. Secondly, I voice out my concerns if I see something wrong especially when it jeopardizes patient safety, unlike my co-workers who are to willing to bend over and take it up their *ss even if things don’t make any sense, or if they are being stretched out to a point that safety is compromised… brown nosing doesn’t run in my family you know. Finally, who cares? Corporate sure doesn’t, why should I? Besides, nobody cares about you except yourself, so who gives a sh*t! Regardless of the outcome, I still got a 2% raise…. For some, it doesn’t mean anything. For me, something is better than nothing… besides, this wasn’t a merit raise… it was company profit appropriation, so regardless of your so called performance, they would give it out anyway… who are they foolin?

There’s nothing better than spending the 4th of July at the hospital caring for the sick. Actually, we’d rather be home spending that time with family and friends on America’s birthday, however, duty calls.

As I left for work today I told my wife, “honey, I’m going out there to save the world…” (from myself that is) just kidding. At least my family was able to see the fireworks display from out of our bedroom window.

Well, wherever you are, I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July celebration!

Just as you thought the news of increasing gas prices couldn’t be any worse, you here something as bizzare as this one.

I’m sure you’ve heard about the “pregnancy pact” that’s been in the news this past week. I happened to be at work when it came on TV. Seventeen girls under the age of 17 at a high school, pregnant. Now that’s something you don’t get to see everyday! The obvious question is a big “Why?”

 I know the world isn’t getting any better… it’s just the signs of the times that the end is coming soon. I just didn’t expect it to be happening in my lifetime. What were these girls thinking if they were thinking at all? Can you blame them? After all, there’s that movie “Juno” which portrays the life of a fictional pregnant teenager, and that teen celebrity who just had a baby making it seem cool to be pregnant. Makes me wonder how these girls were brought up by their parents. Being pregnant and having a baby is a special thing, however, have it at the right time, you know, like after college and you have a good stable job… maybe a husband. Call me old fashioned, but there were a lot lesser problems and headaches back in the day.

Do I dare say, “what’s next?” Wake up America! I think it’s about time we took a deep look at ourselves and ask this question… “Is this the America I want?” I think we need to stop glamorizing the foolish and start featuring the ideal… like when that teen celebrity got pregnant, the networks should have chucked the show, or maybe stop making movies like “Juno”. What the heck, let’s just encourage our teenagers to get pregnant! NOT!

They (whoever “they” are) say things happen in threes. It’s usually experienced in a negative light, i.e., bad things happen in threes. Well, like “they” say, you get what you expect, so if you expect bad things to happen, guess what… eventually you’ll get it. I’m not superstitious, so I guess this idea doesn’t apply to me. Although I would say, the “comes in three” part is true…

You see, I was born today, 36 years ago! That in itself is a blessing. WOW, as my wife puts it “You’re getting old!”. I know, I feel it… some aches and pains here and there which unfortunately gets worse as the years go by. It’s just a sign that you’re alive. In 4 years I’ll be 40! Can you say “midlife crisis!” My thoughts on age… bring it on! Like wine, it just keeps getting better. And speaking of birthdays, we have three Juners in the family… myself (June 15), my daughter (June 17), and my son (June 25)… proof positive that good things happen in threes!

Today happens to be Father’s day too! It happened for me when my daughter Gabi was born 8 years ago on June 17. Then in 10 days, my son Jordan will be 7. What are the odds of celebrating your birthday and Father’s day on the same day?! Talk about a double blessing. But wait, there’s more…

We just closed on our first house three days ago (June 12). It couldn’t have come at a better time… the home we used to rent had gone into foreclosure and we were being evicted. We had to be out on the 26th of this month and we got the eviction notice on June 10… we didn’t know if we were closing in time, but like clockwork… God’s blessing and favor came shining through. Despite the sting of having bad credit (yes I’ll admit, I made some poor choices in the past ), we still closed on a house. It truly is a blessing, considering the house has about 2300 sq ft. of living space, a large backyard, priced down to 135K from the asking price of 147K. It’s not as fancy as most people would expect, however, it fits our needs as each of my kids have their own room (I have 4 kids). Then, to put icing on the cake, we just got our new refrigerator delivered, plus a washer and dryer that’s coming on Wednesday. What can I say… the Lord is really good, all the time, and all the time, the Lord is good!

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalms 34:8.

If there’s one thing that makes me really mad, it’s reading stories like this one which I came across while browsing the local newspaper’s website. The article talks about a 26 year old ex-marine who killed a 27-y/o female while he was driving under the influence. You can read the rest of the story by clicking on the link.

The sad part of this story was the fact that the 27 year old was a mother of two. The children also also lost their father after he died of a heart attack in the months after her death. Now the children are under the care of the grandmother… orphans, because of a string of events caused by a 26 year old ex-marine who is not man enough to take the responsibility of his actions, instead blaming “post traumatic stress” for this drinking problem. That infuriates me. I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Common Sense’s comment. Yes, nobody cares what you did in the past… what matters is the present. Like he said, who cares if you’re an ex-marine… you make a stupid decision, nothing else matters.

As an ICU nurse I see this all the time. Most of the time I get patients who are victims of their own doing. I’ve taken care of patients who ended up in our unit because of driving under the influence, and believe me, its tough taking care of patients like that, not because they are difficult, but because of the fact that they could have severly injured or killed someone while driving intoxicated. That someone could be one of your own.

I’m sure you don’t drink and drive. But if you do, just make sure you don’t hurt or kill someone except yourself. Hey, do us all a favor and just drive off a cliff!

It used to be when kids came home, they smell like sweat dried in the sun. I remember my mom would drag us to the bathroom after a long summer day’s workout as a kid… you know, running, biking, tree climbing, etc. These days are different, thanks to video games, TV, and the Internet, instead of smelly, sweaty, kids, we find them in the living room, motionless, eyes glued to the TV, thumbs busy pressing buttons, fingers clicking the mouse. It’s no wonder that we are experiencing a childhood obesity epidemic here in the United States. We have grown into a nation of couched potatoes. Fortunately at least, one game console manufacturer has thought of an ingenious way for us to enjoy a video game, as well as get active at the same time. Meet, the Wii!

You’ve probably heard about it when it first came out. Instead of using your thumbs and fingers to control the game, you actually use your whole body. For example, there is a game called Wii Sport, where you can actually play a round of tennis. You need to swing your arm as though you’re actually hitting a ball to control the game. The latest addition to this awesome console is called Wii Fit. The game comes with a balance board that tracks your body posture as well as measures your weight. It even measures your BMI like you see above. (That’s me by the way). Interestingly enough, the game takes baseline measurements such as BMI, posture, balancing ability, etc., then calculates your Wii age based on your physical ability. I’m proud to say my Wii age reflects my actual age.

There are four categories of physical activities you can actually engage in such as strength training, yoga, aerobics, and balancing games. Overall I can say that the game is worth the $89 we paid for. Eighty-nine dollars may seem a lot considering our current economy, however, I think its a small price to pay compared to the long term benefits it has to offer. 

I don’t usually endorse video games, however, if you’re in the market for a game console for your kids, I highly recommend that you consider getting a Wii. It may not be a replacement for good old outdoor fun, however, it would be a good start and a great investment on your family’s health.

I am your patient today. I’m 24 years old and lucky to be under your care. You see, I wouldn’t have ended up in the ICU if the cops we’re chasing me. I tried to rob a day care center, in the middle of the day, while the kids were still there. I threatened the owner’s life in the process, however, he managed to call the cops on me… so I ran.

On my way out I realized that my stash of cocaine would eventually be found so I had it for lunch. I’m not sure how much of it I ate, it would have probably lasted me for a week but I had no choice… been in jail too many times before because of this. Man what a trip… so high I passed out on my way to the police station. Ironically, it took 6 officers to subdue me during the chase… now I’m in a coma. I’m intubated, sedated, non-responsive and flaccid… talk about dead weight. Thanks for the bath by the way…I appreciate you breaking your back to give me quality care.

I don’t know how long I’ll be here. If I’m lucky and didn’t stroke out yet, I’ll probably be dismissed in a few days. Even so, I’m glad you’re my nurse because I know you’ll treat me well. You’ll turn me every 2 hours to keep me from developing pressure sores. You’ll monitor my vitals every hour. You’ll clean me up when I poop. You’ll give me my meds on time. You’ll do everything for me that I can’t do for myself to get me well soon so I can be in court and plead “not guilty”. Then after a few months of jail time, I’ll be out again, and when I’m out, I can go back doing what I do best… cocaine!

Thank you ICU nurse… I know I’ll be out of here soon. You’ll help me get my strength back. We might meet someday, but you may not recognize me. I hope not… it might be your house that I break into next. Thank you again!

Gratefully,

Your patient

I wish everyday was JCAHO day.

You might think I’m crazy. Afterall, who wants to be working with someone breathing down your neck? I’ve always wondered what the big deal was when the facility knows JCAHO is coming to town. As far as I know, it should be a day of rejoicing. “Why?”… here’s why…

First of all, everybody is on high alert. You should see the look on their faces… like dear in headlights. For some reason all the “good China” comes out… you know, perfect staffing, linen without holes, trash is picked up and emptied by housekeeping, urinals have labels on them, and you wouldn’t find gum stuck under the overbed table… it’s that clean! The list goes on, and on…

It’s like that old cliche, “When the cat’s away, the mice will play”. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for us, the cat comes about once a year (twice if we’re lucky). That leaves us with about 364 days of “fooling around”, then comes JCAHO day when everything seem to miraculously come in order. The only problem with this is another old cliche, “Practice makes perfect.”

Have you seen an orchestra perform? Flawless! How do you think they achieved such a performance? Practice, practice, practice. I think this should be the same with us in the health care field. We need to practice, practice, practice. It’s hard to practice when you don’t have the stuff you need to practice with… you know, linen, supplies, manpower, etc.

Despite all the hooplah, I’ve never heard of any hospital that’s been shut down by JCAHO. Maybe I’m just too naive. If you do know of one, shoot me a line. I’d like to know the circumstance behind the shutdown. Nevertheless I figured this much… they can’t shut MMC down. Why? Economics… we’re a level 3 trauma center… the only one in the Rio Grande Valley. I don’t think the other hospitals like DHR would like us to shut down either. After all,  who’s gonna take all the “drop ins”? (Which, by the way, is another story!)