Christmas cheer

So you might know that I had to work 12 hours on Christmas this year. I was bummed but it still remained to be a great holiday despite my preconceptions. So I also worked Christmas Eve, and I took care of this man who was found down at home, young guy like in his 50's. He had a stroke in the past and he was found down at home this time for another stroke and the combination of the two strokes at this point has left him with being wide awake, seems very with it, emotional expressions and everything, but he cannot move. He can barely squeeze his right hand and well that, at this point is about it. And to make it worse the strokes seemed to have left him very aphasic. (where he can't seem to express words) He also has a tracheostomy so if he could take he can't actually verbalize and you would have to read his lips to communicate, which would be easy for me because of working 5 years with people in a similar situation. so Christmas eve all day he just looked worried or anxious, scared even. I talk to him and tell him where he is and what day it is to try to orient him. I would be scared out of my mind. So on Christmas things seemed the same. He is a hefty guy not easy to turn when he is flaccid. so My friend Kim, she is a great nurse if you know her, I have always admired her for having a connection with patients, she can seem to always make them laugh. Laughter is great medicine. So earlier that day there were some family members for another patient that were extremely rude to me, for no reason at all. And Kim had been in there with me the whole time wide eyed and jaw gaping open (when the curtain was closed) That is a whole other blog post but needles to say we were baffled by it. So right at 6:45pm she helped me reposition this same gentlemen I discussed earlier. So we were in the room and we told him what we were going to do then we started talking about how that disrespectful that family was to me and what we really should have said to them. haha. somehow we said "well... IN YOUR FACE" my heart burst apart because this man was clearly laughing. not just a smile but a silent hearty laugh. This made my Christmas. My heart had been hurting for him and what he must be going through, and then I saw a sign of hope. Laughter is truly good medicine. Thanks to Kim, and to Lynda who were in there helping me.

Hope you like this story cause I sure do.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

ick to the sick

I am feeling so sick so "ick"
I might just pick to flick
my brain
the strain the pain
in my stomach its "ick"
so sick
a dog goes "arf"
and I go barf......

haha I crack myself up. that's my pathetic try at a rhyme haha oh well. It made me feel better for a few seconds. I sure hope I wake up feeling better then I do right now.

It puts it into perspective on a very small scale as to some of the symptoms my patients at work might feel. it is pretty darn awful!  OK good night