Week number two

Hey everyone!
This is gonna be a short one because I'm having arm related problems. (Nothing to worry about- I've just been overusing it so my arm is letting me know that I need to slow down.... Via stabbing pain).
My day today actually started around 0430 this morning. I woke up due to allergies/crazy dreams, and apparently a bunch of others did too. Morgan, Megan, and David fessed up at breakfast that they'd woken up at the same time, and had also found themselves unable to sleep. We have no idea, and have so far just brushed it off as a coincidence. Tonight I'm taking no chances, and am downing some benedryl to head off any allergies that may decide to surface again tonight.
I will admit that I have had zero appetite today. I think it was a combination of arm and food that wasnt particularly appetizing. Dinner was just a salad, so I didn't really have the usual wonderful smells enticing me to dig in.
Most of my day was spent working in the hospital and in class, so I guess I'll fill you in there. Unfortunately, I didn't get to be in the CICU again today, but it was still a pretty interesting day in the Multidisciplinary ICU. My patient was actually a stab victim and had a large laceration to the abdomen with a wound vac and multiple surgeries to repair the damage. He was intubated (had a tube in his throat to help him breathe) but was awake and oriented. I'm positive that he had no idea what I was saying, but we still managed to communicate through gestures. He had a pretty high fever and wanted to flip the washcloth on his head over to the cooler side constantly, and after I'd done this for him a few times, he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth a few times. I was racking my brain to figure out what he was asking as he repeated the motion when Laura walked over and said "Jessica! He's trying to kiss your hand to thank you!" It was one of the sweetest things I've ever experienced. These patients have been so kind and patient as we attempt to communicate with them and help them in any way they can. I could see the gratitude in his face, and it warmed my heart to be able to make him feel even the slightest bit better.
Needless to say, I loved my patient, but I had a few other patients that were pretty interesting.
Patient B was a man who had been enjoying a picnic and was slightly drunk when he backed into a pot of boiling goulash and received extensive burns all over his back and legs. I'm bringing him up because he renewed my interest in doing my senior practicum at the Grady Burn ICU. Burn patients are some of the most fragile both physically and emotionally. They are susceptible to so many infections during the emergent and acute phase that they require so much special care. After the acute phase, burn patients need help adjusting to their new self identities and any physical limitations. I don't know if I would be a good burn ICU nurse, but I want to try my hand at it and see if it fits.
My third patient was a patient who has been in the ICU for almost a year. Last summer, he dove into shallow water and fractured his C4 and C5 vertebrae, leaving him entirely paralyzed from the neck down, meaning that he cannot be without mechanical ventilation for more than 2 hours at a time. This man has a 5 month old son that he cannot even hold but he is reported to be one of the most cheerful and delightful patients to work with. What strikes me as incredible, is how hard the nursing staff has worked to include the patient and his family in the unit. They secured him a private room (which is usually reserved for infectious patients), bring him his favorite foods, and make sure to take him outside for an hour or two every day no matter what. They have pictures of his wife and son all over the room, and they treat him with the utmost respect. To see how much they care about this patient and how far they have gone out of their way to make him comfortable when they are constantly short of staff and supplies was a truly humbling experience. Working in America, I am lucky enough to have constant access to gloves and linens. We always have enough staff, and though we may complain about having two or three ICU patients per shift, they may have more than 8 critically ill patients. These nurses are absolutely incredible. To see what they work through every day makes me even more excited to learn from them over the next few weeks. Language barrier or not, my experiences here have only just begun and I cannot wait.

It's time to start resting so that I will be ready to hit the ground running tomorrow in the OR.

Wish me luck!
Jess


"It's more important to know what sort of person this disease has than what sort of disease this person has. "

"Where is presenter?" "... We lost him..." Dr. Hòllos and the tech guy

"Flexibility, I not." Dr. Hòllos