Thanksgiving 2016

Last night at work was a whirling chaos of endless call lights, medical emergencies, over fed fish, malfunctioning alarms, mountains of paper works, a late start on my med pass and then getting behind on the pass as I stopped to call 911.

There were unreachable goals, unforgiving deadlines, fire men, extra laundry, plus my fever and a snotty nose. Topped off with foggy glasses, and itchy face from wearing a mask the whole shift.    

...and, I loved every second of it.

Being on Prednisone has greatly improved my quality of life and significantly decreased my pain level. My work week just flew by, and I am a little disappointed that I'm out of the game for my usual days off.

Far cry from 6 weeks ago when I was fighting to get through each shift and seriously thinking I was going to have to retire and find a less physically demanding job. I'm so thankful this week for my wonderful work family, amazing residents, and that blessing of prednisone.

Perhaps the most devastating thing on my EMG report:

was this:

when did I become middle aged??!! BWHAHAHAHAH!!! I want a second opinion!

Shout out to all the spouses of healthcare workers.

I can remember talking to my new husband and telling him there would be days I would come home from work a sobbing mess. When I had to endure things beyond what my heart and soul were capable of.

That there would be days I would be caring for a resident I had grown to love, and had to watch them die an agonizing death. Deaths that even medication could not make painless. You can only watch so many people die before it erodes your heart.

On those days you need to talk.

You need to sob and be held.

You need to purge the sights and sounds from your soul to keep them from suffocating you.

I told him that on those days he just needed to hold me and listen without hearing a single word I said. Nothing was needed from him other then to just listen without hearing, to witness the fragile vulnerable soul emptying the pain from deep within.

These spouses enable all of us to keep going and not reach a point we turn off our hearts and loose the special light that makes us outstanding nurses/CNA's/caregivers.

They all deserve a high five for what they do for us.