NursesNotes

I got out in the garden yesterday and this morning before it got too brutally hot out. While I was watering at the back, I noticed that my oregano bush was HUGE! It was about three fee high! It looked really weird, so I looked closer and saw about a gazillion ants running to and fro. I set the hose on "jackhammer" and blasted that thing to kingdom come. Once I had the bush branches all beaten down the ant hill itself looked like a column. I hosed it and it collapsed. I probably should have taken a picture. It was horrible. Inside the colony all the pupae were squiggling around.
It had a visit from Mr. Raid next. ugh!

Since the thermometer is set to soar today and all weekend, NurseNancy is looking out for your health, as usual! We all want to be well to enjoy the  4th Long weekend, right? Here are some tips to prevent heat-related illness from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control:, * Drink more fluids (nonalcoholic), regardless of your activity level. Don't wait until you're thirsty to drink. Warning: If your doctor generally limits the amount of fluid you drink or has you on water pills, ask him how much you should drink while the weather is hot. * Don't drink liquids that contain caffeine, alcohol, or large amounts of sugar -- these actually cause you to lose more body fluid. Also, avoid very cold drinks, because they can cause stomach cramps. * Stay indoors and, if at all possible, stay in an air-conditioned place. If your home does not have air conditioning, go to the shopping mall or public library - even a few hours spent in air conditioning can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat. * Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness. Taking a cool shower or bath, or moving to an air-conditioned place is a much better way to cool off. * Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing. * Never leave anyone in a closed, parked vehicle. * Check regularly on those at highest risk, including infants and young children, people aged 65 or older, people who have a mental illness, those who are physically ill, especially with heart disease or high blood pressure * Visit adults at risk at least twice a day and closely watch them for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Infants and young children, of course, need much more frequent watching. Stay cool. Our kids are going to a neighbors place who has a pool. Of course, we are the worst parents in the world for not having an inground pool of our own. We had an above ground, but took it out last year, there were several repairs that just weren't going to make it into the budget. I'm going to be staying in the house in the ac, sipping an ice cold chardonnay, reading and puttering around the house. I'm off to the garden now, to get some work done before the worst heat of the day!

MrNurse and I were running errands all evening. We popped into Ruby Tuesday's for supper and as we were leaving ,I saw another  family getting into their car. The dad was tossing a 6 mth old baby up in the air  and catching him.

Never do this! It causes the child's neck to snap and can cause the brain to "bounce" within the cranium. Brain damage can result. Even seemingly harmless "playful" fun can cause devastating damage to a baby. I once cared for a baby who had been completely brain damaged as a result of "shaken baby syndrome" Her baby sitter claimed she had been "playing" with her and tossing her up in the air. The child is now in a long term rehab. in a total vegetative state.
I digress, I get a little excited when I witness sheer stupidity first hand! I did mention to the dad that  it was dangerous to toss a baby. He just looked at me as if I had two heads.

Sigh.

With so much going on in the home front with decisions to be made regarding the house, the possible transfer and resulting move to Canada, I haven't been paying much attention to my blog. Oh, don't worry, I still visit all my favorite bloggers, sometimes leaving a comment or two, sometimes just lurking!

Work has been so hectic. As most of you know, I manage several units. Some of them are palliative care beds and some of them are dedicated beds just for HIV/AIDs patients. The AIDs patients are the ones near and dear to my heart. Regardless of how the disease was contracted, none of these folks ever thought that it could happen to them. We don't hear a lot about people dying from this illness, anymore. But they do.

And young folks still die of cancer, too

Recently I was touched by a brave young woman's fight. She was a beautiful young wife and mother who had everything in the world to live for. A loving husband and two very little children. She was diagnosed three months ago, and just recently passed away. She was 26 years old. The nurses who cared for her were honored to know her and were inspired by her to be better people. Each nurse went home with a stronger resolve to be a more patient parent, or more loving daughter or friend. We all felt humbled by her example and felt privledged to have known her.
Somehow, watching a young mother make videos in her hospital bed of herself  reading stories, so that her kids will be able to see her when she's gone, kind of takes away the irritation you feel when you get home and the house is in turmoil from the kids running through it all day.

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go,
Others stay for awhile,
And leave footprints in our hearts,
And we are never, ever the same again" - Anonymous

This is a remarkable article. It's from a book called "Self Help Stuff that Works" by Adam Kahn.

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED why your coworkers complain so much? Or why you find fault with people so easily? Or why you watch the news even though it’s depressing? Why?

Our species evolved during the Ice Age (the Pleistocene epoch). In the last one or two million years, there have been four glaciations — four times when the ice advanced southward for a hundred thousand years or so, and then receded, changing the climate dramatically again and again. These ice invasions caused the extinction of many animals. But not humans. Our species lived through the harsh and radically-changing weather, famines, floods, fires, plagues, and the threat of deadly carnivorous animals walking around hungry. Lots of people died. Natural selection had a field day.

Let’s speculate for a moment. During dangerous times, what kind of human do you suppose would evolve? Would a happy-go-lucky, everything-is-groovy attitude help one survive? I don’t think so. Under those conditions, the best survivors would be those who compulsively noticed what was wrong and were constantly on the lookout for possible danger. In other words, conditions would have selected for a critical, negative, worry-wart. A relaxed, easygoing positive thinker probably wouldn’t last one winter. Those people who survived are our ancestors, so those traits are built into our brains and hormonal systems. Even yours.

It is completely natural to notice what’s wrong, what doesn’t work, and what you don’t like. It’s somewhat unnatural to see what’s good, what’s going well, and what you like and appreciate. But it’s also unnatural to be toilet-trained. It’s unnatural to have good manners. It’s unnatural to delay gratification. What comes naturally (like being negative) is not necessarily best. It might have been absolutely essential for survival a hundred thousand years ago, but times have changed.

Luckily, we are capable of doing things we don’t naturally do — if we know it’s in our best interest and if we firmly and definitely make up our minds to do so. One of the greatest talents of our species is that we’re capable of doing what we don’t naturally do.

You can learn to notice what’s going well. It takes a deliberate, conscious effort. It’ll probably never come naturally (that is, without thinking about it). No matter how many years you make that conscious effort, whenever you look around, chances are the first thing you’ll see is what’s wrong. And that’s perfectly okay. It’s useful to be able to see what needs fixing. But it also helps to notice the good stuff.

Today, deliberately notice something you like about the company you work for and tell somebody. Then take a good look at your coworkers and find something you honestly appreciate about someone and tell that person you appreciate it. Then talk about someone behind her back — talk about what you admire and respect about her. Make this effort a couple of times a day and your relationships will work better. You’ll also be in a good mood more often.


Set a goal at the beginning of the day. How many sincere acknowledgments will you give today? Don’t make your goal too big — you have work to do too. But create some way of keeping track. For example, you could put five pennies in your left pocket and every time you make a good acknowledgment, move one penny to your right pocket. Try to move all of them that day.

Make a regular practice of this and the atmosphere where you work will change. The people around you will feel more noticed and appreciated and liked. And they will treat you with more appreciation in return. All you need to do is commit some unnatural acts.

Notice something you appreciate and tell someone.

I'll try it today, I don't know if I can do it, it might only last two seconds!! But I'll give it a try! Wish me luck! :)

Drove to New Haven today for meetings. It was pretty warm out but gettingovercast now. I hope it's nice for the weekend, we are having a Father's Day BBQ after church on Sunday.
We are starting to  think that we are outgrowing our present home and are thinking of putting it on the market to get into something a little more modern and easier to heat!! Actually our home is fairly big, but it is old and needs a lot of attention. we may actually need to sell sooner rather than later because MrNurse has been busy negotiating with his work. They want to transfer him to Canada to oversee his division there.
It is such a big decision to make. The kids think it will be fun ,but we are a bit apprehensive due to my career here. What to do?

I find it all a bit overwhelming to think about. I have such a busy career and the thought of selling the house and moving either somewhere here in Hartford  or far away, just kind of blows me away. Will someone else do my thinking for me ,please?

What is it with folks who do not want to wear deodorant now that the weather has turned hot and sticky? I was in the bank today and got behind a guy who obviously does not have the first clue about personal hygeine or anti-perspirant. I thought I was going to keel over and if I did not have to get some thing important that only the teller could handle, I would have left. Thankfully, my Nurse's  nose kicked into action and I could overcome the noxious  fumes that were emanating from this guy's armpits. whew. :(

A jury today found pop superstar Michael Jackson not guilty of all charges in his child-molestation trial. Jackson said nothing as he left court but his lead defense attorney said: "Justice was done ... The man's innocent."

What's with homeless folks being picky? Like many cities, we have our fair share of homeless, vagrant, or otherwise disenfranchised people. They make up a segment of society that most of us would rather not see or have to deal with.In my city we have a few guys who sit around and beg for handouts. It's sort of sad  to see these guys sitting there with their hand made signs begging for money, the hat or the container out for the coins. They sit there and wait. Smoke cigarettes, or whatever, and wait. One of the churches in our city has initiated a soup kitchen and will sell little tokens for a free meal. I think the tokens are something like 3/$1, purchased by the parishoners to give to the homeless rather than give them money. You  give these tokens to the beggars on the street. Today, I was downtown with my son and we went to go past one of the "regulars" and I dropped a meal token in his hat. He reached in  threw it back at my feet  and screamed at me, " don't give me this , lady, I can't stand the crappy food there."

Go figure. I hope it was a bit of a life lesson for my son. We discussed several things on the way home, some of which was regarding charity and gratitude.

Nurses do it painlessly.
Nurses do it with TLC.
Nurses do it with care.
Nurses do it with intensive care.

Now I am on vacation! yay! time to relax and kick back! :)