nurse jackie

Any Edie Falco fans out there? I didn't know who she was until I'd seen a few episodes of The Sopranos that Big B used to watch. I thought she was great as Carmella.

As many can attest the profession of nursing is very poorly represented in the media. I've seen a few blogs on the subject and wrote a post of my own. Around the time of my post, and I don't remember where I saw it, I saw something about a new Showtime show that would be premiering Spring 2009.

It is time. (Said in the solemn, monotone voice of Rafiki from Lion King.)

Nurse Jackie premieres Monday, June 8, 2009, at 10:30 p.m. Hopefully it will do the profession proud! One of the main characters is a first year nursing student, Zoey.



Here's a video from the "From the Behind the Curtain: Real Nurses, Real Stories" page of the Nurse Jackie website:

ho hum diddly dum

If I would have been one of the chosen ones I would be starting an externship today. In lieu of the pressure of the level of activity (work) my summer classes I know it's a good thing I didn't get either of the positions I applied for. It still hurts. Knowing my girls would be up and at 'em this morning readying for their first day I texted the two I have numbers for and wished them luck. Later on as I was working on my A&PII schtuff I had to reflect on the fact that it is indeed a blessing. There's just no way I could do it all. As is said, things happen for a reason.

duct tape please

I'd posted my status on Facebook recently as something to the effect of "I'm falling apart" and a friend commented "You need duct tape". It made me laugh. If only it were that easy.

work found at http://spoofe.tripod.com/art1.htm

My PCP wrote referrals for GI, ENT and opthalmology. I need to see GI and ENT specialists for my lump in throat sensation, as my CT scan came back clear. I need to see the opthalmologist for my vitreous floater.

It's time to dig out the referral to the OBGYN that my PCP wrote up and make that appointment. I'm convinced that it is time to switch OCPs, or go off them altogether. While taking the generic version of Seasonale is helpful for reducing the number of migraines I suffer from, it is not helping as far as other PMS symptoms go. That's if you could even call it "PMS". About six weeks into the pack I start having rapid mood swings, and basically feel like Queen Bitch. If that's not all bad enough now I'm having spotting, and haven't even missed any pills. That may just be TMI, but along with everything else I'm thinking duct tape is sounding pretty good right about now. It even comes in pretty colors!

and the emmy goes to...

Ok, it's not an Emmy. It's even better, cuz it's personal! LivingDeadNurse over at Living Dead Nurses Psycho Ward gave me this award:



I am honored! Thanks LivingDeadNurse for making my day!

it's official

I have now received syllabi and greetings for all three of my online classes for this summer. My summer break (which I thought began after finals a couple of weeks ago--ha)will begin around, oh um...August 10th and will promptly end just two short weeks later. It will be glorious. I actually look forward to nursing classes in the Fall, cuz the endeavor I'm about to undertake leaves me feeling like there just might be an undertaker in my very near future. The workload is going to kill me.

Ok, now that I have that off my D-cups...I must mention I don't think I have to take a final exam!! Not in any one of these classes is there a final! Yeehaaw! In my Psych and Nut (from here on out I am not going to refer to Nutrition and Diet Therapy as anything more than Nut....seems somewhat appropriate. It's kind of a play on words wouldn't you say? It could mean that which drives me nuts....or maybe it's talking about nuts, which are actually nutritious. The "Psych" class speaks for itself. Kuh-ray-zee...

Oops, there went that last marble...

Anyway, sorry about the pinging...just a little spazzed out right about now.

The two aforementioned classes have what are either called "modules" (Psych) or "units" (Nut). Within each module/unit there's a crapload of work to accomplish.

Have I mentioned A&PII and everything involved with it? Textbook, study guide, Anatomy and Physiology Revealed CD-Rom, study guide, online classroom labwork, quizzes (7), exams (6)[I have to drive about 30 mins to take them, proctored at the other community college, since that's who I'm taking this class through], and if you really want to you can go to the textbook publisher's website and work some more! I've come to learn that, as the topic of "learning styles" was addressed somewhere in that online classroom, the workload has to do with covering several different learning styles. Some people can read a textbook and learn from that--nope, not me. You then have the study guide to reinforce what you've read/tried to stay awake through. Then you have the CD-Rom and workbook. Being a visual/tactile learner I find it wonderful, as if I've hit the jackpot. It really is cool! It has little videos that cover the info and then you can doing labeling exercises through layers of the cadaver(without the yucky smell of formaldehyde!!) I've also delved into the online lab and it's labeling through dropdown menus, crosswords, all sorts of fun and games. I have yet to do this week's quiz, as I need to do a little more studying.

Now that I've told you all about my wonderful summer I'm feeling a little (minute, eensy, teensy, wee bit) better.

Now I just need a nanny, a maid and a cantina full of wine!

PSA: I had to switch back to moderating my comments since it helps me know when I receive comments.

vitreous floaters

Nope, I'm not studying the eye in A&PII. For a little while, maybe about two-three weeks, whenever I read or look at a computer screen (more often when I read books with a lamp behind me) I see this little speck. It dances in my line of vision as if it's a child-like ballerina. If I try to focus on it, it jumps out of sight. It's extremely annoying. It's worse when I'm reading with a lamp and not quite noticeable when reading in natural light. As many do, I looked it up on the 'net.

I entered in "seeing spot when reading". The search came back with many entries like See Spot Read. Great, children's books. That's with Yahoo....time for Google! This article pointed me in the direction I needed, Seeing Spots and Floaters. There is actually a phenomenon of what is called "spots or floaters" that happens when particles in vitreous fluid collect.

So now along with the lump in throat sensation I am seeing spots, well actually only just one, but yeah, lucky me! My spot could be an indication of retinal or vitreal detachment so it's time to make another appointment. I still haven't heard back on my CT scan.

One of the websites I looked at said it could be aggravated by stress. Ya, think?

powerful medicine

This is a trailer for Fighting for Life, a movie to air on PBS, Memorial Day Weekend.






From the website:

Fighting for Life is a powerful, sobering and emotional feature documentary portrait of American military medicine interweaving three stories:

Military doctors, nurses and medics, working with skill, compassion and dedication amidst the vortex of the Iraq War.

Wounded soldiers and marines reacting with courage, dignity and determination to survive and to heal.

Students at USU, the “West Point” of military medicine, on their journey toward becoming career military physicians.

The film follows 21 year-old Army Specialist Crystal Davis, from Iraq to Germany to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC, as she fights to recover and “bounce back” from the loss of a leg.

The filmmakers had extraordinary access to combat support hospitals in Iraq, medevac flights with wounded soldiers, and military hospitals in Germany and the United States.

so not ready for it

Big B calls and informs LB, who just had to answer the phone, that his grandfather, my father-in-law, is offering to sell us his 2002 Chevy Malibu for LB to have. Wouldn't it be nice to have random cars sitting around that you could just sell off? That's my F-i-L for ya! Although he has his paper license, that affords him the ability to drive once he's eligible (JUNE 12TH) LB is only eligible to drive legally after that date. He's itching to and practically begs to drive...on that paper license....every chance he gets. I am so not ready for JUNE 12TH. In my eyes JUNE 12TH is kindred to a sort of D-Day.

What happened to my babies?




















Really? Where did those innocent little boys go? AW stands just about eye-to-eye with me. He'll be going into 8th grade this coming school year (God willing he make it out of the 7th grade.)

Earlier today I was thinking to myself "I just can't wait until the end of this summer....until next May...."

So not ready for it

Sure I'll be graduating nursing school...again God willing...

Next May my babies will be looking forward to their Senior (LB) and Freshman (AW) years in high school.

Hug your babies and savor every little tantrum, scrape, smile, hug, school project (those cute projects stop after elementary school), diaper change, potty training episode, little fingers wrapped around yours, pout, first teeth, first time losing teeth, ring around the rosey, stories before bedtime...cherish it all, because in the blink of an eye it's all but a memory.

My left-hand man/study buddy. He's imparting brain waves toward me to help me learn about the lymphatic system.

scatterbrained

Take 3...

I attempted to write a post yesterday but my Internet connection kept failing so I can only hope it'll go more smoothly today. If more days go by without me posting I may not know where to begin, not that I do now.

From Take 2:
It's really very frustrating to write out nearly a whole post, Blogger says it's saving it, and then you try and post pictures onto it when you develop problems doing so. You sign out and sign back in only to discover the lengthy post was not even saved!!!!

Rather than trying to go into the recesses of my brain to drag out a similar post I will now just give the highlights.

I've been pretty busy this past week. The week ended at midnight, Friday night, after I'd sat through a total of 51 innings of baseball for the five-day span between Monday and Friday. The majority of them were spent watching LB and his high school JV team. Monday he played up to Varsity, and we were fortunate to see them win their, what I believe was, last win of the regular season.

Back to Take 3:
Tuesday the JV team played one game and walked away winners. We had double-headers, both nights, Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday they played the area rival high school and were smashed 15-0 in the first game. They didn't let it phase them, came back and opened up a can of whoop ass for the second game, with an 8-2 win. Thursday they rocked all night long. I have to laugh at what one of the other moms told me about the Wednesday night DH. That night us parents, minus Big B as he was out-of-town until Friday, had tons of fun. We were loud. No, let me rephrase that...we were downright rowdy, but not the kind of rowdy you might see on the news concerning sports parents. We just had a good time. Apparently the catcher on the opposing team told my friend's son that we were so loud we sounded like a big, Greek family. It's the stuff memories are made of. It was great to see the guys finish off their season with some wins. They should be proud. I took photos throughout the season and have forwarded copies to the other parents via email.

With the upcoming Varsity tournament scheduled LB was notified he had to go to practice Friday afternoon. No biggie, except we'd bought 4 tickets to the Phillies/Nationals game for Friday night. If you learn nothing else in the military, you learn to adapt and overcome...so Big B and I made it a date night! We were able to sell off the other two tickets after arriving at the stadium.




Saturday was a big day in our house as I walked at my university commencement. I'd made the trip to MD earlier in the day on Thursday to pick up my cap and gown, so along with that trip, Friday's game in DC and my graduation Saturday I've spent more than enough time in the DC/MD/VA area! If you don't live in the area or have never been here, please understand, after living in the country for about 8 years, between my current residence and Italy, it's very frustrating being consumed in traffic and congested areas.

Yesterday, my online Anatomy and Physiology 2 class started. As is par for my course, every semester I have to have mild feelings of anxiety up until I get the swing of the schedule and workload. My other two online classes don't start until Friday, so it'll take a bit longer to adjust than normal but by next Friday I should be golden.


Last night Big B, AW and I headed out for the last high school baseball game of the year. Tournaments started, and our team fell after round one. They lost 2-1. Next week starts the American Legion season with try-outs and practices. So today through then we have a bit of a break.

Today I finally went and had a CT scan done of my neck, to try and find out what is causing me to have the lump in my throat feeling I've been having, going on two months. I don't know what to expect. Part of me hopes they see something, because then we can go from there to fix it. Otherwise I don't know what'll happen.

As much as I hate to say this, I better get back to the books. The A&P class promises to be incredibly interesting. We do our lab by CD-Rom. It's truly facinating! As the CD-ROm says, "An interactive cadaver dissection experience". It's not the real thing, but pretty darn close and no smelling any formaldehyde!! There is a lot of reading, but after nursing classes it should be a breeze!