Finding gratitude

I took a casual position at the hospital thinking I would work weekend nights, so I could be home and help my sister-in-law out with the kids Monday through Friday. Ideally that schedule sounded fabulous but there are a few things I've considered and adjusted my schedule accordingly since the orginal plan. I don't have the patience for children 24/5 (I have heard that it is different when it is your own), I need a break. My employer, UPMC Worksource, will schedule me per my request where ever the need. I have discovered I don't have very far to go. I live within 5 miles of Passavant Hospital, which is frequently under staffed below what I consider safe. No details...I would like to keep my job. What I can say is there is no reason units should not be fully staffed (I am not specifying or focusing my opinion on any particular hospital but read and imply as you wish). There are staffing agencies, and travel agencies that would gladly come in and fill their needs. There is no price for patient safety and satisfaction. I have found the cost/benefit ratio for the hospital is esteemed over the cost/benefit of the nurses. People will quit, and transfer under such undesirable working conditions. An ICU should never have a 4:1 ratio; even 3:1 is highly frowned upon. That being said I could work every day of the week because the need is there, but since I am helping Cindy I have chosen to work full time instead of casual. This week I am working 50 hrs. (I will be traveling a bit in coming months so I am buying quality items to travel with, and am picking up extra hours to afford such).

Things I've noted and inventions I appreciate more because they make my job easier, and less of a risk for infection. Hospital gowns. Okay so you may not like the open back revealing your derriere, but have you considered the ease of access. If you are immobile and must be pulled up in bed you would be strangled by the fabric as you move up and it stays in place. Taking into consideration that my time is spent in an ICU my patients are hooked up to many monitors and many IV's making the snap system forming the sleeves a brilliant idea, so I don't have to unhook everything and risk contamination. The other noteworthy invention is the lur-lock needleless IV system. Instead of having access ports on the IV tubing that requires a needle to puncture for medication, etc. lur-lock has a port on the IV tubing which the syringe screws in to access IV. I can't even imagine the decline of needle stick injuries reported from this invention. Those were my thoughts the last couple nights of work.

Body, heart, mind, and stomach

I finally found a great website for teaching children about the body. In case you ever have an opportunity to teach kids, your own, be a nanny or anything: kidshealth.org is a fabulous addition. I was trying to find something creative besides me just talking to them about it, and in a way that would entertain children. As discussed in a previous blog I have taught them about the circulatory and digestive system, we have a long way to go. Endocrine will my next attempt.
My car is officially broken in by children. I thought spilling jello on the floor of my car years ago was devastating but nothing compares to the events of yesterday. My main job living helping out my sister-in-law is taking the kids to violin, ballet, and classes they have several times a week at the various museums. Yesterday was Science class, and then Thomasin had a class at the Natural History Museum about Native Americans. (I love that they have all kinds of classes for families who have chosen t o home school. I would have found this such a better experience for myself when I was a kid). I had Marta for the 2 hrs while Thomasin was in class. I was debating on what to do. Options stay and pay to park or take her somewhere briefly for a bit and then come back and walk around to see the dinosaurs. I opted for the later. I took her to get hot chocolate. She had wanted me to buy her hot chocolate for weeks, and actually had a fit when I bought ice cream and not hot chocolate. It wasn’t available, what was I suppose to do?. Here was an opportunity to redeem myself. Anyhow, we parked the car and first thing vomit spewed from her mouth. It was just the orange and carrot we had for lunch luckily. I got her to her blow nose, wash her mouth out and flushed the sidewalk off with water to run the contents of her stomach into the gutter nearby. Then I gave her hand sanitizer. I kept asking her if she was okay, she didn’t have a fever, and insisted she was fine. Hah! I learned my lesson. I proceeded to buy hot chocolate. Which she thought was delicious. She drank it and it fine for about 45 minutes. But she was complaining of being tired, and wasn’t her usual active self. To wrap this up, once we started home Marta all of a sudden vomited, what looked like a chocolate fountain/falls all over in my car. It was everywhere on the seat, back of the chair, ground…she was covered in vomit. I mean, come on, don’t you realize your stomach is sick?! I had nothing to clean it up with but napkins to wipe her face. When we got home, I let her unbuckle herself and then went to work cleaning up my car. I’ve cleaned up vomit before, many times and all kinds of things that you could never imagine but not having gloves and being in my car made my slightly flustered. The lack of cleaning supplies, chemicals are bad in this house, I had little to scrub with. I took oxi-clean laundry stain remover spray, and vinegar. That’s it folks. Apparently vinegar kills the bugs. I won’t get into this topic right now of natural home cleaning products. Let’s just say I like my chemicals, when it comes to heavy duty jobs like this.



On to other things. The Super bowl didn’t end quite like I thought. The commercials were mediocre. The halftime show by Black Eyed Peas was subpar, and the Steelers made a lot of preventable errors. Let’s just say, I didn’t stay til the end. My favorite part might have been the introduction video narrated by Michael Douglas. I have such a love for America and the development of it, the Industry and what not this video touched me.


I might add that I had the best Valentine’s yet. No details. Who doesn’t love getting flowers, and spoiled by hand selected music. It is a special treat for special occasions. Lilies are tender, delicate, and elegant...they smell delicious. Maybe roses would have been better, but I am nontraditional. It was perfect for me. I think the gesture meant means more to me because my Valentine is not near but far away and couldn’t physically be with me. It is letting someone know you are thinking of them, fondly perhaps. I ended the night with a piece of Chocolate coconut cream cheese cake from Cheesecake Factory. My absolute favorite.

Superbowl XLV

I love driving around town and seeing huge banners, jerseys, flags on cars and advertisements for parties about the big game. In case you don't know what I am refering to it will be Superbowl XLV tomorrow. I am now a Steelers fan, especially since I live here.

Although the song is 'black and yellow,' I've been corrected in speaking that the color is more gold than yellow. But watching this video, there is no other way to interpret it but lovin some Pittsburgh.



Nice try by Lil' Wayne. It is great that he can take Wiz's song and change it to Packers. Musta written that one when he was still locked up. Haha.


After the game I look forward to visiting the Carnegie Art Museum to see, 'Boating on the Yerres' by Gustave Caillebotte on display temporarily from the Milwaukee Art Museum. I think that this is Impressionism if I am not mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong. Probably my favorite period in Art History.