First day of Med...PASS!

Today was our 4th week of clinicals.  It was also the first time that we have been allowed to pass medication to our patients.  And its wayyy overrated. Given, passing meds is a HUGE safety risk. Everyday in hospitals everywhere patients swallow the wrong pill, take the wrong dose, and suffer severe hypertensive reactions. And that's from the hands of registered nurses!! So imagine the risk of a brand spankin new nursing student...yeah HUGE liability. And huge responsibility. And I dont take that for granted.

So, scanned my patients wristband, told her what i was giving her, she popped the pill and I went on my merry little way. I came back to help her get washed up and asked her if she wanted the TV on...and it was no surprise that she did. The elderly usually love daytime TV. Ya know, shows like The Price is Right or Golden Girls. But not her. She stopped at the Jerry Springer Show and immediately went into a elaborate story about Jerry being from cincinnati (which I didnt know) and how she had known him before he was famous. She also talked about his "checkered past" which, from the wink she gave me, I gathered she had a small appearance in. Then she talked about his mistake of buying a call girl with a credit card. Apparently, men should NEVER buy a call girl with a credit card or personal check. Cash only. Makes sense to me I guess. As I helped her put on a new gown she rivaled at the fabric saying it was very "Dior-like". I responded, "Dior as in Christain Dior?" And she responded "well yes...who else would I be talking about?" I just smiled and let her ramble on about how the hospital gowns silhouette was suggestive of an early Dior design.


Ahhhh I love the elderly. They can be quite the storyteller as they dive back into their youth with some truth and many exaggerations. But Im really just happy she took her medication
:-)
-Kelley 

Playtime needs to be Over

So...I  literally spent the entire day messing around with this here blog. Its been so long since I've been on here that I forgot how to do even the basic things. I took a self guided refesher course that sucked!!!! I spent like 3 hours trying to figure out how to post a youtube video...actually i know how to post it but I had to troubleshoot to get it to work. Wheew!!!! 

Now Im sitting here contemplating my next move. I really need to do some reading for my NUR 150 Unit 1 exam.  Ive got just over a week to finish preparing for it. However, that probably wont happen tonight because someone volunteered me to watch my niece, Amiya. I Love spending time with her but when I have her and Dinah at the same time by myself i really cannot focus on anything else. So maybe me and the girls will play...and listen to my lectures lol. 

I have to also fit Dinahs therapy and exercises into the few hours left of this night. She has had her braces on all day so her legs should be stretched enough to try some standing. It is our goal to at least have her self-standing by her 3rd birthday, on February 24.  Once she is standing on her own it is only a matter of time before she is walking...and then running.  I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

The bright side about having a special needs child is that I learn patience and tenacity. I have to focus on her future and not just what she can or cannot do at this present time. She will walk...its only a question of time.

I think me being a nursing student helps a lot as far as Dinahs care and vice versa. I thought I knew everything about her condition (Cerebral Palsy) but I'm always learning new things that gives me strategy for her care. I truly believe no patient is EVER a lost cause. Until they take their last breathe...it is not too late. Working in healthcare, I sometimes find that people give up on patients when the prognosis is grim. But my child is a miracle and there are thousands more out there.  Faith is the best seed u can give to get a miracle.  All we had was faith when Dinah was was struggling for her life...and each other.

I hope to one day form a support group for mothers of premature children. It is a VERY devastating and traumatic experience. Its unnatural for a woman to give birth prematurely and often the body still craves to give birth because it feels like it did not accomplish that goal. It sounds crazy, but to this day I STILL feel like I never gave birth. I know I have a daughter. But, by her being born when I was only 5 months preggo by c-section, psychologically I have no recollection of a FULL birth.  I still deal with this everyday. I had to have therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder...yeah it was that serious.  I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone but I am still thankful that God thought I was strong enough to handle it. It definitely takes special people to take care of children with special needs.  I KNEW I was special all along lol :-)

-Kelley 

Acceptance feels excpetionally GOOD

On Monday, June 1, 2009 at approximately 11:30 am I recieved a call from Connie at The Christ College of Nursing. I had just laid down for a quick nap but quickly perked up when she introduced herself. She asked me if i would like to accept a seat in their nursing program for this fall!!!! I can vaguely remember my response but I clearly remember thanking her over and over agian. "Hell yeah I want that seat," is kinda what was running through my mind. I got off the phone and literally started jumping up and down. I was accepted into what is known throughout the city as one of the best nursing programs in cincinnati. I told my sister and she was super excited with me...then I called Velte and he was estatic...then I told I told my brother Darren...then I went to work and told every person I felt would genuinely be happy for me!!
I truly have to thank God for his favor...so many people wanted in this program, over 800 hundred applied for the only 150 seats. I am so grateful.