My Need to Rant

Okay why do people who don't really work think they can make the best decisions for the Department. I don't think they really do. The ED isn't like the rest of the departments in the hospital. We function and are designed differently--for a reason. Because we are the ER we get everything everyone doesn't want to deal with. As a result we aren't the big money makers of the hospital and get treated as such. I understand the economy is down and people are struggling but come on! We are severely understaffed right now and we have only began to see trauma season. I mean they even cut the Oreos from us. Rude--I mean I use oreos as a bribe for my kiddos. I laugh because they wonder why our patient satisfaction scores are down and the number of people are leaving. hmmmm think hard about that one!!

I would love one day for management to come down and work a night shift being 3 nurses and 2 techs short and see how much fun that is. This summer is going to be miserable. Not excited for the staff burn out, onery doctors, or frustrated patients.

Happy Birthday Dani!!

Today is the Birthday of one of my best friends

Danielle Millecam!

I met Dani my first day of college when I moved into Barnes Hall in Rexburg, Idaho. We've been best friends ever since. I love this girl and the crazy adventures we've had. I've seen her get married, have her first baby, start a buisness, and still maintain her sanity.

I love how sweet, kind, loving, and devoted this girl. Even though we are in different stages in life I can still talk to her and goof off with her like nothing has changed since freshman year.

You name it and we have done it together. Shaving cream fights, mouse attacks, bubble wars, giggling and talking til 4am when we both had class at 7am, dating boys that we didn't marry (thank goodness), have the most impressive closet in college history, laugh at how many shoes boxes this girl can pack into her closet, screaming at a Jericho road concert, married off our other roommates, danced around in the mornings to blasting music, and me flying down to Arizona as I handed her over to a new best friend --todd. I still talk to her about everyday in one form or another and I don't think that will ever change.









Happy Birthday Dani Duke!
I still can't think you as Millecam for some reason ;)
Like your card said I hope when you turn 88 I am there to compare orthopedic shoes with you

Phone Calls

Its amazing what people call the ER for!! Everything from drug orders to belly pain to I have a zit on my forehead. Here are a few things to remember about ther ER.

1: I can't give medical advice over the phone.
2: Go-lytley is supposed to make you empty out your system. You might feel weak or dizzy or funny. You've had diarrhea on purpose for hours. Breath and go to your appointment in the morning. You will be fine!!
3: Calling to say you have a pain in your stomahc doesn't give us anything!
4: Please give your children tylenol or Motrin when they have a fever. And please check, with a thermometer--they felt warm doesn't count!
5: We don't call drugs into pharmacys. We had one person try and convince us that a nurse (who didn't even work here) called in a presciprtion for over 100 lortab by one of our doctors. Yeah I would at least check your sources next time buddy. I am pretty sure they were arrested.
6: Please call your doctor first and if you aren't dying don't call to ask if you are, I don't have clue!
7: Trust me 9 times out of ten if you don't feel like you are dying it can wait until the morning!

Gotta love the phone calls I get at 1:00am in the ER!

How To Prepare for a Month Long Boat Excersion

In 10 days I will be leaving for one month. Where will I be? On a navy ship working with many other medical volunteers to care for people in a number of countries. I think they plan to complete over 90,000 thousand surgeries as well as building schools and educating the local doctors for long term care. I'm so excited to go. I have been wanting to go a mission like this for some time and have patiently been waiting for the right opportunity. Well Heavenly Father knows me and knows just when to put something good in my path. I got an email from a nurse in my homeward telling me about the mission the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is teaming up with the navy for. A million emails and a trip up to Salt Lake later, I leave on May 1st and return on June 2nd. The whole mission is 4 months long going from Haiti to Nicaruaga. I have already heard stories from those on the boat and how this experience is changing their lives and how they have been able to share the gospel.

So how does one prepare for a mission like this? I have no idea. But here is what I've done.

1. Gotten drugs for my malaria prevention, antinausea, seasickness, cold, headaches, basic infections, antiitch creams, etc. Hey I'm a nurse gotta be prepared.
   
2. Purchased new shoes, 2 new pairs of scrubs, and a lot of new socks.
   
3. Mentally accepted I will be sweating a ton.
4. Gotten 5 new books to read.
5. Put new movies and music on my IPOD.
6. Frantically finish my stats class.
   
7. Gotten the necessary snacks---fruit snacks and protein bars.
8. Vaccinated against Typhoid
9. Read up on navy guidelines
10. Been told over and over I wil come home with a navy boyfriend--yeah right!
11. Started to collect emails from those who want to hear from me. (leave me a message if you want to be added to the list)
    
12. Made the endless packing list--trust me its a lot.
13. Prayed over and over I will have the strength to do this and see the Lord's hand in this mission.

Well if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them! Until then let the countdown begin!

The Weekend of Adventure

I don't usually work 5 shifts in a row. Now I know why. I got my butt kicked this weekend and now I am feeling it. Nevertheless, I have some entertaining experiences.

1: A 45 year-old male waddled his way into triage, and yes I mean waddle. This man weighed over 400 pounds. Come to find out the last time he weighed himself he came out at 435lbs. that is a big boy. Well, while telling the nurse he had back pain and a hard time breathing he passed out. One of the guy techs pushed the wheelchair back to Trauma A. After throwing monitors on him it showed he was in V-tach--VERY bad!! IV's were started, drugs pushed, and the man shocked 3 times--all while still in the wheelchair. I have never ran a code from a wheelchair before. It took 4 people on each limb to lift him to the bed--even then he pushed the mattress off and they had to roll him back into position. After getting his heart rate back to normal he woke up. Just started talking to us like he just didn't have a heart attack. They rushed him up to Cath Lab. If he was 2 pounds heavier the cardiologist would not have been able to help him. Even then they had to make up the drug dosages as they went. This guy had some guardian angels with him though. If he had coded walking into the ER, in triage, or had not sat down in the wheelchair he would have died right there. Please become a individual who weighs over 400 pounds!!

2: Traumas have been scarce lately. Good for the people I suppose. Boring for work. Well last night that all changed. We had trauma after trauma after trauma. I could have sworn they saved them all up for one night on purpose. My first one of the day was an intelligent lady who hit a cop on the freeway then kept going and managed to hit something else and flip her car. She came in completely disoriented, repetitive, and screaming at God over and over and over. "I'm on fire!!" "Save me! Help me!" were only a few phrases yelled at me. Afer sending blood, scanning her from head to toe, and telling her over and over I can't give you pain meds until the cops talk to you, I found out she had broken basically everything in her body.

• A broken scapula--which take a TON of force to brake
• Multiple broken ribs
• Multiple broken vertebrate in her spine--some of them unstable with risk to her spinal cord.
• A subarchnoid brain bleed
• A grade 1 spleen laceration
• A pneumothorax--collasped lung that was filling with blood.

In order to put in a chest tube to drain the blood and fluid off her lung, I had to sedate her. Oh the fun. I love watching chest tubes being put in. The Doctor first clean everything, then after numbing the area makes an inch incision deep enough to pull the muscles in the chest apart. From there the tube is inserted and sewn into place. I guess I was standing at the wrong angle or the doctor put the tube in my direction on purpose. Either way once he inserted the tube blood shot out and flew about 3 feet in my direction. Without my quick reflexes i would have been hit head on with bloody fluid. On the joy. Needless to say she had a reason to hurt and will for a LONG time. I guess its what you get when driving under the influence.

3: We had poor lady come in last night just as looney as the rest of them. She was unique in the sense that she was carrying a kitten. You could hear the poor thing meowing down the hallway. That's the first time I've had a cat in the ER before!

4: The other night I had a poor 80 yr old woman come in who looked blue! Everything from her earlobes to lips to nose was a deep blue. Yeah she was sating 76% on Room Air. The normal in above 90%. After getting a picture of her chest her lungs were so full of fluid I am amazed she could breathe at all. I moved her to the trauma room after her sats dropped to 80%on 15L by a mask. It was only on Bipap, given multiple drugs to drain the fluid, and telling my doctor we needed to move that she gained some color back. She honestly looked like death when she came in. But with some help we got to the floor looking as pink and happy as ever. :D. Poor sick lady. I hope she is doing better.

5: I have never seen a thorancentisis--a procedure where a needle is inserted into the space between the lung tissue and the chest wall. One lady came in unable to breathe and in a lot of pain. After a chest x-ray and some prep we drained over a liter off this poor woman's lung with the LONGEST needle I have ever seen. The nasty yellow fluid was sent for tests and the lady was able to breathe again.

6: Just to show that injuries can occur where ever. A 2 yr old boy fell from his swing and landed right on his belly. As a result he basically broke his liver into 2 pieces. Such a brave little boy just sat there and whimpered as he was poked and laying on a flat bored for hours.

7: To continue with the night of traumas a guy about my age came in after being attacked with a screwdriver an a sludge hammer. Ouch!! He had multiple stabs wounds and number of bruises. A lot of them were superficial but one punctured down into the lung creating a bunch of air in his neck and causing some vascular damage as well. All this while giving a stranger a ride home--hoping to score from drugs. Oh how I love people!

Easter Traditions

In many ways I have grown up. In many others I haven't. I'm often confused for a 15 yr old--especially when standing next to Kristi. I still giggle like a 13 yr old, especially with Sarah. I still pick on my brothers like we were kids. I love the traditions I did growing up and will still do them even when I'm 50.

Easter traditions are some of my favorite. Candy, Eggs, Hunts, Colors, what more could you ask for. So today after church we had all of those. I bought eggs and candy last night before work so we were prepared. Kristi and Kalli put candy in the eggs while I slept on the couch--give me some credit I was up until 6am. I woke up to find out Kristi had hid 60 eggs in our yard. Mark, Kevin, Kristi, Kalli, Mom, & I booked it outside to get the candy eggs. Kalli even discovered a snake in the tree--I am terrified of snakes! Kevin of course cheated so the rest of us tackled him to get the eggs back.

I love decorating Easter eggs. Armed with dye, eggs, and newspapers we went at it. 24 eggs later we had various colors, patterns, and designs completed. I can't wait to eat my blue speckled egg tomorrow. Now I'm on a Starburst Jelly Bean and Peanut Butter M&M high. I'm addicted to both of those.

I love being a kid.

A Day of Nothing

Part of a good vacation is finding the balance between play and nothing. After having a week where we covered the entire state, Sarah and I decide to do nothing today. I slept in and stayed in bed to watch a movie. The weather is gorgeous right now--Sunny and warm with a few clouds in the sky. I went to do one of my other favorite things--sit by the pool and read my book. I even have a little sunburn from sitting in the sun. I miss it. Bright, warm, and relaxing. After a few hours of reading by the pool, we headed back for a lunch of chicken fries and to take a nap. Glorious naps. Now to end the evening I am going to read, watch Bones, and get ready to head back to reality. Plus I get to laugh at Sarah as she continues to try and get the water out of her ear. Sometimes there really is nothing better than to do nothing.

Overall this has been a great vacation. The perfect balance of things to do and doing nothing at all. Virginia has gotten greener since we have been here. The sunsets are gorgeous. Sarah and I have acted like teenagers again. Giggling until 2:00am about boys, jokes, and just silliness. Oh to act like little girls again! On to the next vacation.

A Day of Rollercoasters

After taking my time getting up this morning, we headed to Busch Gardens. I haven't been to an amusement park in years. Busch Gardens is set up Europe style. Each of the major countries were set up with rides, shows, and of course shops. We started in Ireland. I love Irish Dancing. They had a show of dancing and Irish singing. If I could fiddle like they can I would. They move their feet so fast!

Being the smart people we are, we forgot jackets. So in one of the local stores we bought Ireland jackets. Much better! I want to go to Ireland in real life. My favorite were the rollercoasters. Must come from the fact that I am an adrenaline junkie. The best of the Griffin. Feet dangling, huge plunges, and very fast. Because I left my contacts at home I had to hold my glasses in my hands every time. Different experience not being to see everything. They also have a water ride that we went down twice. I convinced Sarah people don't get wet if they sit in the front. Hehehehehe. We got splashed coming down. I love rides. We ate in Italy, chicken parmesean with spaghetti and Jello! The universal dessert. The little shops were amazing--small hand painted flowers, hand-painted masks, and nativity scenes. Growing up my mom had a nativity set made out of wood that would spin when you light the candles. Its getting older and I wanted to find another one for my mom but haven't seen them anywhere. Until I walked into the Germany shop--I found it! I wish it wasn't so expensive or I would have bought it. It looks exactly like the one my mom has but without the paint chips.

I even stopped by to see Elmo--just for Weston! I know its nothing like the real thing but I want to go see Europe! By the end of the night my stomach was in my throat and I was dizzy after being flipped and twisted so many times. I am exhausted now. I came away with some cool soveniors and a hoarse throat from screaming all day!

The Hold before the drop. They give you a few seconds to stare straight
down at the ground before they send you falling toward it.

The drop into water

Elmo with his Peeps

For the Nephews

Eating some Good Italian

A Day of Washington DC

Sarah & I in DC!

Lincoln Memorial

Washington Monument over the Reflecting Pool

World War II Memorial

Gotta Love the Uniform

Tomb of the Unknown

The Endless Graves--BONES was shot here!

I don't how we did it, but we saw Washington DC in a day. Getting up at 7:00 am (aka 5:00am) nearly killed me. That's when I go to bed. After the 2 hour drive to the Metorail station, I boarded the ever speeding train and got off at Arlington National Cemetery. One of my favorite places I might add.

I forgot how endless the place is. Everywhere we turned graves could be seen. White graves marked the place where thousands of soldiers were laid to rest. Humbling. To add to the feeling we passed a funeral in process. Men in uniforms shooting the solute, the trumpet echoing in the back ground, and the flag being handed to the family. Sad. Brought to home all of the men who have fought and died for this country. We watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. They are so exact and precise with each movement and exchange. I could not keep a straight face for 2 minutes let alone 30 minutes. I wish I could describe the feeling there.

By this point we hadn't eaten in hours. On the way to the Holocaust museum, we stopped by a hot dog stand on the street. Hmmm, so good!! I didn't realize you needed a pass to get to most of the museum. Instead Sarah and I walked through the holocaust through a child's perspective. I could not imagine the horrors and pain those children suffered. Everything from having their basic way of living ripped away to being experimented on in a camp to never being allowed to see their families again. I must admit a small tear came to my eye and it was only a SMALL part of the museum.

We hopped from one museum to the other--the next stop the natural history museum. Kids EVERYWHERE! Not my favorite stop of the day. I did like seeing all the jewels and rocks. Sparkles everywhere.

By this time we were exhausted. But we had to see the monuments! LOTS of pictures. We had fun posing and jumping across the Washington Monument. Then we walked forever until the Lincoln Memorial. I love taking pictures of all these places. AP US History came flooding back. I love history and visiting all these places was amazing. Washington DC possible but exhausting.

A Day of Beauty

The Beach--I Love It

Proof We are on this Vacation at the Same Time

Stupid Bird Dropped Trash on Me

Virginia Beach Boardwalk

Funny Story--Lost my Glasses in the Puddle

A Cute Gazebo By the Villa

A Day of Water

I woke up this morning to a loud crack/boom. Scared me to death! I love thunderstorms. We haven't had a good warm one in Utah in years. I just stood and watched the rain pound the ground; while the lightening slashed across the sky. Despite my joy with the storm it did prevent us from going to Busch Gardens today. Instead we drove down to Virginia Beach. The drive was yet again another adventure. We might as well have driven through a waterfall for the amount of rain pouring down. The best part of the drive was the 3 mile tunnel that took us underneath the ocean. I watched the waves crash against the bridge we were on. Amazing.

As we pulled up to the aquarium the rain started to pour again. I dashed out of the car and turned my head too fast--my glasses flew off my face into a puddle. Being blind it took me a minute to find them. I was laughing so hard and incredibly grateful a car hadn't smashed them! Inside the aquarium I saw sea turtles--my favorite, sharks--still creep me out, sea horses, snakes, tree frogs, sting rays, and otters. I laughed at the otters were picking on and chasing each other through their habitat. Reminded me and of brothers and I. They knocked stuff over, wrestled with each, and just plain made a mess of everything.

After the aquarium and being soaked through the sun finally came out. Sarah and I headed to the beach and walked the boardwalk. The water was SO cold! I still put my toes in the sand and walked the length of the boardwalk. I love the ocean. There is something relaxing about the waves crashing against the shore.

I ended my day in the hot tub. Soaking my muscles and stress away while a gorgeous pink/yellow/ orange sun went down. I can't wait for DC tomorrow!!!

A Day of Relaxation

Every vacation I have a goal--to have one day where I do absolutely nothing. Today was that day. I slept in and because of the time change took my time getting ready for the day. Since it is Conference Weekend I had every intention of watching conference live. However, the stupid internet didn't get a good connection so we watched it later when they posted it. Instead I took my towel outside on the grass, read my book, and took a nap. I even got sunburned a little bit. After dinner Sarah and I took a walk around the area. One thing I have come to love about Virginia is how open everything is. All the houses look like they were built in colonial times with a number of trees surrounding them. I can still smell the cedar from the trees. Every sunset I have seen has been colorful! Sarah and I took turns posing in the gazebo too! I know we are nerds. Oh I love relaxing days of doing nothing.

A Day of Pictures

The Dream Lake--A Reflection off the Water


The Lucky Pond--The Ripples are from my Wish

This pillar fell over! Imagine the noise!


The Bridal Veil of the Caves

I Love the Fried Eggs!


A Bridge During the Hike--I Love Bridges


Another Bridge Along the Path


Pretty Right!?


Gotta Love the Hike

A Day of Caves & Hiking

I love sleeping in. I think it is the best idea ever invented. After waking up today at 0900, Sarah and I headed to the Shenanadoah Valley. The drive took us about 3 hours but I loved seeing the country side. Everything here is so open. Old fashioned homes tucked away behind trees. Each house has an acre of land around it. Little shops on the side of the road. My favorite were the street names. Sarah Road, Yancey Lane, Slaugher Lane, Bootsie Blvd, General Long Street, Oven Top Road, and so many others. No, I did not make any of those up.

Our first stop was Luray Caverns. This place was amazing. Thousands and thousands of years formed these caves and holes. The temperature was 54 degrees the whole time in the caves. I LOVED it. Considering it is snowing at home right now--sorry everyone! They had a pathway and a self walk tour for us to follow. My personal favorites in the cave were the dream pool and fried eggs. The dream pool was a giant lake that reflected the ceiling exactly. It took me a minute to realize that there was water because it was so clear. The fried eggs happened because two stalagtites broke off. They honestly look like sunny side up eggs. Formation after formation occured as we rounded each corner. One particular was a giant one that had fallen over and started to grow again. Water dripped everywhere and I was "cave kissed" twice--two years of god luck coming my way. We headed to get something to eat afterwords. Included in the ticket was a pass to the old car museum. I'm so glad our cars work better than those did.

Our final stop of the day was the Shenandoah National Park. I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the lack of green everywhere. However, it didn't stop me from hiking through it all. We found the White Oak Canyon trail finally. My book said this hike wasn't that bad and said there were some beautiful water falls. Yeah the booked lied. We hopped, skipped, tripped, and waded through the paths filled with water. My feet were squishy by the end of the hike. We did however, find some gorgeous bridges and roaring waterfalls. I love hiking and the mountains. These weren't quite Utah mountains but still pretty. I wish I had taken video at some parts.

To add to the fun we got stuck a HUGE traffic jam on the way back. We watched Twilight on Sarah's IPOD while we waited for the cars to move. Can I tell you how much of luv hate relationship this GPS system and I have. The thing gets me going in the general direction but loves to change its mind. We came home and crahsed after being stuck in traffic.

Todays Favorite Quote: "Does the word SHHH mean anything to you?" Yes, I talk to the GPS like it can hear me.

A Day of Travel

I can't tell you how excited I was to have my vacation come around!! A week free from work! Yeah! So yes I am currently sitting in a resort in Williamsburg, VA. But lets start at the beginning. Due to my extended family coming into town--thank you by the way for coming the weekend I leave--Dan Amy you know who you are! I didn't get to bed until 0400. I rolled out of bed at 0530 and grabbed my stuff and said goodbye to the strange people who were awake at that time. Sarah's mom took us to the airport and the adventures started from there. All the fun began when my ticket information wouldn't come up and we had to go to the main desk to get our passes. Halfway to security sarah pointed out that we didn't have her boarding pass so we had to turn around and go back. After getting on the plane we were notified that our captain had called in sick only an hour prior to his flight. 45 minutes later we were in the air. The only problem with that was our connecting flight left 15minutes after landing. Of course the gate was at the other end of the airport. I'm sure we looked entertaining as we booked it across the airport--but many other people were doing the same thing. One lady was pulling her 3 year-old on top of her luggage while his legs were kicking in the background. Made my day. Well turns out they changed our gate without telling us and we had to back track. After all this mad dashing we found out the plane had been delayed anyway! Luckily, it gave us time to eat some food. Don't travel with only a banana in your system. I kinda forgot to eat breakfast. Eventually we landed and picked up the rental car. I would like to point out I think it is dumb to charge extra for drivers under the age of 25! My gracious daddy let me borrow his GPS system so I wouldn't get completely lost in Virginia. I have the best sense of direction ;). Well GPS systems are great if you plug in the right address. 20 minutes into our drive I realized we were going northwest instead of southeast. Flipping u turns is a famillair thing for me :D. Virginia roads are brutal by the way. Potholes--lots and lots of potholes. Two hours later than planned we did find the resort even after the GPS took us to some random location. The resort itself is set up with colonial decor and is green! Another random event happened as we were boarding the last plane. An owl-dark brown with creepy pointy ears--was just sitting ontop our plane. I couldn't believe it. What owl just sits on top of planes. I wish I had my camera it was hilarious to see! I forget how dry and brown Utah is until I leave it. So after a very long day of travel and running I get to sleep! We have food and watched an intense episode of Smallville. I can't wait to take pictures and go hiking tomorrow!

Oh and to add to the adventures I forgot my contacts at home on the counter. My nerd look will prevail all week long!! I love the adventures traveling throws in your face.

The Man WIth the Saw

I know I'm disgusting. But this kinda stuff fascinates me. This kind looked like the arm that came in. Poor older gentleman came in by ambulance after taking a saw to his left forearm. When he removed his bandage I could see the muscles and tendons moving!! So amazing! The best part of it was he drove himself to the hospital. I don't know how, but he did!!

Cop Vs Cow

Being out in triage is always entertaining. Tonight did not disappoint me. The night wasn't busy--shocking I know. I walked backed into my triage room to discover two cops. Before I could see them, I could smell them! My entire triage reeked of poop. When I asked what happened this is the report I got,

"We were trying to get the cow out of the road. I had a hold of one of the when it took off. Stupid thing dragged me about 1/2 mile through the mud and other brown stuff." Poor guy hurt his knee. Sure enough his legs were covered in brown smelly goo! Stupid Cows.