funny...

I received this in an e-mail today and thought it was funny!

Hope you all are surviving the heat!

IV's

I have been getting lots and lots of practice with IV's lately and I have been having so much fun!  (I know...most of you are cringing)  I love a good challenge so I'm very please with myself when I get it on the first try!  which has been happening the last 5 or 6 times!!!

One patient had one that infiltrated (fluids oozing into the skin rather than into the vein) so I had to replace it.  It was inserted by the IV specialist team so I was a bit nervous trying her.  She said she was stuck multiple times before they got it and then it went bad.  So I tried and got it on the first try!!!!  Woohoo!

I even had a patient tell me this week that it was painless!  

Fantastic!

Back to reality =(

Vacation was so much fun and I'm sad to say that it's over!!!  We both went back to work this week.  Working 4 days in a row is not a good idea after being off *lol*  I had a Riverside specific orientation on Monday so that work day was great but then I had 2 twelves afterwards and then tonight I go in at 11pm for my last 8hrs of the week!  Boy am I ready for the weekend ;)  Going from a day schedule for a week and a half to be back into nights was a little bit exhausting but I am doing the best I can!

Tuesday was my first day on the floor and my goal was to take up to 6 patients.  I was doing great trying to get my assessments done and get everyone their meds and ready for bed until midnight.  I was admitting a person at the same time a "code blue" was happening.  (not my patient...thankfully!) but my preceptor sent me to the room (it was on OUR FLOOR!!!  yikes) so I could get experience with codes.  He was an older gentleman and we tried for over 45 minutes to save him.  There were so many Dr's, residents, nurses, respiratory therapists all crammed in the room!  We are lucky to have all private rooms on our floor!!!  I just stood with the nurse manager and was running to get some of the equipment while they were doing all the lifesaving measures.  I was watching the nurses do their job and learning how to run the code!  Fun but scary at the same time!

We kept saving him and then he would go back into a deadly rhythm and eventually after 45 minutes, we called his family and stopped!  That was hard to see us stop but at the same time, it was hard to keep harming his body with every needlestick, chest pump, and shock.  So, I helped clean him up for his family.

After that the night just spiraled out of control *lol*  I couldn't keep up with everything.  I had some "needy" patients and was having trouble controlling their pain.  But I did my best.  Amanda (my preceptor) and I got out 45 minutes later.  I got home and finally went to bed around 10:30am and had to be back at 7pm that same night!  So, I just gave myself a pep talk and was determined to have a better night and I did!!!!

I was on top of it all and was finished with everything and ready for the next shift to take over at 7am this morning!!!  My preceptor was so proud of how I handled all 6 patients and was ahead of the game all night!

So, tonight I'm going in at 11pm until 7:30am.  We'll see if I can manage everything that I have to do normally in 12 hrs in 8!  haha Luckily, by the time I get there, all the meds are passed so I'll probably just take a few admissions and pray that the night goes well!

I have 3 more weeks left of orientation!  They extended it a bit since some of those weeks in the beginning I was in a classroom training instead of on the floor!

Views of the drive home

It's so neat to drive through the mountain!

We're home!!!

Mt. Airy

On our way home from the beach, we stopped at the Hampton Inn in Dobson, NC again.

We went into Mt. Airy to visit some shops and the little town is Mayberry themed b/c Andy Griffith was born there.

This police car drove by =)

They had this one parked for everyone to view!

Such a cute little town!

Last day at the beach!

I'm so sad to say that we are leaving the beach life tomorrow!  I really wish we could have stayed a lot longer!  There is nothing better than waking up and sitting outside to see dolphins swim in the ocean!  Just the sound of the waves was amazing!

Oh, how I will miss you!

Our little daily set up!

Our beach buddies!

Doug and I

The waves were really strong today but we all decided to try them anyways!

Doug and his dad are like fish swimming.  Me, not so much.

Doug had to take me along because the waves were just too strong for me.

We couldn't catch a break from one big wave crashing down on us to the next.  Once we were past all the big waves, the water was above my head so I clung to Doug for my life!  (I can't swim!).  Once we were out there, Doug's dad saw something big in the water so I took the next wave as my ride into the beach.

I left the boys out there to fend for themselves!  Once I got to the shore, everyone was looking and pointing and there were 2 dolphins swimming just a few feet away from where we were!

How neat!  

No so much, when you are close and it's hard to tell if it's a shark or dolphin. 

After our swim, Doug and I showered and headed to Pawley's Island to visit the Hammock shops!

We had to pick up a few little gifts.  After we got back, we had dinner at Conch!

We sat on their patio facing the ocean!  

Perfect view, perfect dinner, and perfect company!

Until next year =)

Pawley's Island

On Thursday, we went to Pawley's Island!  One of our favorite places to go to swim and find sea shells.  Next to Sullivan's, one could find star fish, etc.

Upon arriving on the drive to the Island, you can see the most beautiful beach homes!

I'll take this one with a nice big bow!

One one side is the marsh and the other is the ocean!

And once you arrive on the beach, you can see the neatest beach homes in the distance!

You rarely see any life on the properties.  Such a shame!

I would surely love that house and add life to it!

Once we picked out our spots and unloaded all of our beach gear, Doug and I started walking the beach line for shells.  There were many but the tide wasn't out yet so we couldn't walk across to the other side.  So, then we sat and sun bathed for awhile.

Just in time for another storm to come through =(

Once it started to sprinkle, we packed everything tightly on the beach and ran to the car for shelter. We had a nice little storm with thunder and lightning!  

I took this opportunity to have a nice nap!  Nothing better than to sleep to the sound of rain!

After it stopped raining, we headed back to the beach for round 2!

This time, the tide was going out so we were able to find a lot more shells where the marsh and the ocean meet.  No star fish this year but we did find some really neat shells!

Fun in the sun and Brookgreen Gardens

Today was another hot one in SC!  We spent the morning on the beach.  It was a bit cloudy so the sun wasn't beating directly down on us so that was nice but a storm was heading this way and the waves were really rough!

Doug and his dad were brave enough to ride them but Kate and I sat on the beach and enjoyed our books!

Our condo!

Doug and his dad played with their balls a bit =)  

hehe

After dinner, we headed to Brookgreen Gardens!

This place is absolutely amazing!!

Of course we have to do photo hour!

Silly boys!

If you see the little black blob close to the water, that's an alligator!!!

The closest I'll ever get to one!

Scary!