6/10
While she was there they moved Clare to some other area for some reason, I don't remember the specifics of that. However, when they were moving her Super Nurse saw that the transport person wasn't watching the IV lines. One of the lines went taut. She told him to stop. The transporter stopped and asked why. I think she kept pushing to get some slack in the lines. She told him that the lines were taut. He said "no they aren't, just look at them." Oy. Then some other tech chimed in with 'no, those lines are too long to have been pulled taut.' Super Nurse said, 'look, those two lines are fine, but that third line is shorter, and it WAS stretched as far as it could go.'
Her biggest concern wasn't that it was an IV line. It was the PICC line- an IV that's actually threaded well into an artery. It takes a doctor to do one. Having one pull out would be terribly bloody and would mean having to do the procedure again somewhere else.
After the hair atrocity, the near IV incident really stressed Patricia. She tries so hard to make sure everything goes right, putting up with the incompetents really wears on her. She does her job well, she expects others to also.
Friday, June 10, 2005
6/10
Super Nurse was in Davenport. I figured I was eating by myself, and rather than have another burger I stopped at Hy-Vee and picked up some Chinese that we normally don't get. And two sides of pea salad and broccoli salad. If I ate all that I'd be ready to hibernate.
I'd just finished my chinese when who walks in but Train Boy, followed by Ms. Pikachu. "Hey, you did smell Chinese. You've got a pretty good nose! Dad you have to feed us." Apparently they didn't want to spend another day blowing time in a hospital lounge and Super Mom let them stay home. Well alrighty then, feed you I shall. So it was back to Hy-Vee for more Chinese.
When Super Nurse finally got home she was not happy. Due to her Mom being in a bed for the past several weeks her hair had gotten quite entangled. The day before, Tawnia, Super Wife’s sister, had said she would show up early the next morning to straighten it out. When Tawnia got there bright and early yesterday there was hair everywhere- all over Clare, all over the bed, all over the floor. She now has a large bald spot on the back of her head.
Super Nurse told the doctor she was not happy. The doctor tried to defend the nurse that did it. Super Nurse said, there was hair all over, it could get in the chest cavity and cause more infection. The doctor said, but it's a closed dressing, that won't happen. She said ‘it opened last week, it could open again, this is not acceptable.’ The doctor tried to put the best face on it, but she thought that actually he was as mad about it as she was. The last thing he wants is to have to deal with another nasty infection. The fallout could be interesting.
I told her that I didn't think that was the work of a concerned nurse. Anybody cutting hair wouldn't make that kind of a mess, or do it that badly. My guess is that it was a nurse they'd complained about getting even. It wasn't a haircut, it was an act of violence.
Super Nurse was in Davenport. I figured I was eating by myself, and rather than have another burger I stopped at Hy-Vee and picked up some Chinese that we normally don't get. And two sides of pea salad and broccoli salad. If I ate all that I'd be ready to hibernate.
I'd just finished my chinese when who walks in but Train Boy, followed by Ms. Pikachu. "Hey, you did smell Chinese. You've got a pretty good nose! Dad you have to feed us." Apparently they didn't want to spend another day blowing time in a hospital lounge and Super Mom let them stay home. Well alrighty then, feed you I shall. So it was back to Hy-Vee for more Chinese.
When Super Nurse finally got home she was not happy. Due to her Mom being in a bed for the past several weeks her hair had gotten quite entangled. The day before, Tawnia, Super Wife’s sister, had said she would show up early the next morning to straighten it out. When Tawnia got there bright and early yesterday there was hair everywhere- all over Clare, all over the bed, all over the floor. She now has a large bald spot on the back of her head.
Super Nurse told the doctor she was not happy. The doctor tried to defend the nurse that did it. Super Nurse said, there was hair all over, it could get in the chest cavity and cause more infection. The doctor said, but it's a closed dressing, that won't happen. She said ‘it opened last week, it could open again, this is not acceptable.’ The doctor tried to put the best face on it, but she thought that actually he was as mad about it as she was. The last thing he wants is to have to deal with another nasty infection. The fallout could be interesting.
I told her that I didn't think that was the work of a concerned nurse. Anybody cutting hair wouldn't make that kind of a mess, or do it that badly. My guess is that it was a nurse they'd complained about getting even. It wasn't a haircut, it was an act of violence.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
6-7-2005 II
The wife informed me she saw her wrist surgeon today. She’s healing, but still having pain. The most pain is in her shoulder and back though.
The shoulder/back pain started in January after an ice storm. While I was at work the Super Wife got out a ladder and started swinging a hammer at the ice damns growing on the roof. She did that for hours. When I got home she told me her shoulder hurt, and I said, “I’ll bet it’s a rotator cuff injury.” But I’m not a doctor. We all know that, but that won’t make me shut up.
Anyway, a few weeks ago she went to see our family physician about it. She thought it was probably a neck injury. Huh, what? She ordered an MRI and… she has three prolapsed discs in her neck. So the doctor was right after all. Treatment has been an anti-inflammatory/pain medication, but it hasn’t helped. Motrin works better.
Anyway, today when she saw the hand surgeon she asked him about her shoulder again. He pulled her arm back and asked if that hurt. Why, yes it did. “Rotator cuff.” So tomorrow she goes to see a physical therapist. And I was right too. Not that I’m pleased with myself, it seemed like an obvious call to me anyway. But I WAS right too.
When she made her appointment they said she could do the initial consult form on the web. Cool. It works for me. I love the web. Oddly enough, in Internet Explorer it said it couldn’t download the form. I tried twice, same result both times. So I started up Opera just to see if there was a difference. Indeed there was, it downloaded the form without any problem at all. It was a pleasant surprise, and prevented much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
If you don’t have Opera, and would like to try it you can get it here:
http://portal.opera.com/
What can I say? It works.
The wife informed me she saw her wrist surgeon today. She’s healing, but still having pain. The most pain is in her shoulder and back though.
The shoulder/back pain started in January after an ice storm. While I was at work the Super Wife got out a ladder and started swinging a hammer at the ice damns growing on the roof. She did that for hours. When I got home she told me her shoulder hurt, and I said, “I’ll bet it’s a rotator cuff injury.” But I’m not a doctor. We all know that, but that won’t make me shut up.
Anyway, a few weeks ago she went to see our family physician about it. She thought it was probably a neck injury. Huh, what? She ordered an MRI and… she has three prolapsed discs in her neck. So the doctor was right after all. Treatment has been an anti-inflammatory/pain medication, but it hasn’t helped. Motrin works better.
Anyway, today when she saw the hand surgeon she asked him about her shoulder again. He pulled her arm back and asked if that hurt. Why, yes it did. “Rotator cuff.” So tomorrow she goes to see a physical therapist. And I was right too. Not that I’m pleased with myself, it seemed like an obvious call to me anyway. But I WAS right too.
When she made her appointment they said she could do the initial consult form on the web. Cool. It works for me. I love the web. Oddly enough, in Internet Explorer it said it couldn’t download the form. I tried twice, same result both times. So I started up Opera just to see if there was a difference. Indeed there was, it downloaded the form without any problem at all. It was a pleasant surprise, and prevented much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
If you don’t have Opera, and would like to try it you can get it here:
http://portal.opera.com/
What can I say? It works.
When I got home this evening Super Wife and the kids were gone to Davenport again. She's said before that she couldn't go back every day because it was just too exhausting. But I think the thrill of getting 40 mpg gets her excited to go. "I'm saving money on gas! Whoo Hoo!"
Last night she said she'd topped off the tank before she left, and after the round trip the gauge had hardly budged. She's quite pleased with her choice.
I'm a little surprised. She still complains that her wrists hurt. The Honda is a manual 5-speed- you'd think all the shifting would aggravate it, especially since she has to shift with the wrist that had surgery. But apparently she's coping quite well. Maybe Honda’s have therapeutic properties. Feng Shui anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I guess if she's driving back and forth to Davenport it only makes sense for her to drive the Honda. If we give the Intrepid to my brother Ron that will mean I'm driving the van to work. I still like our van, but for passing on the interstate, etc, the Intrepid is a better driving machine. It’s not that the van is a bad thing. I've looked at other vans, but I haven't seen any other that is as nice as ours. Even the newer Caravans, same ES model, aren't as nice. Apparently we got the best year. I just wish the air in it worked, even a 15-minute drive home is uncomfortable in 90 degree heat and no air. I've noticed other, older Caravans being driven with the windows down too, no doubt about it, the air conditioners were junk. Supposedly they've gotten better since the merger with Daimler, but that doesn't do ME any good. I’m going to refrain from going on a rant about why does it take someone from a foreign company to decide an American company shouldn’t make junk? Maybe later. I dunno.
Ms. Pikachu doesn't want to get rid of the van anyway. She says it has her special place. I told her she can always claim the seat behind the driver as her special place, but she says it's the SEAT that's special. So can we keep the seat? You think you've heard it all. It's not an issue anyway, we'll keep the van until it has chronic problems too. I have a feeling it'll turn to rust first.
I'll miss the Intrepid's performance. Coming home this evening I had to merge into a line of traffic and hit the gas to get to a gap. Boom. Man that thing hauls when you ask it to. The Honda can't do that, but it can pass twice as many gas stations. I appreciate that, but I like to go fast too. Sometimes that’s handy.
This afternoon at work, my boss was gone and George came up to see if there was anybody waiting to be interviewed. Well no, I had matters well in hand, thank you very much. Did about 70 interviews today. No applause, no, thank you. But it WAS a good performance on my part. Anyway, it was about two minutes to closing, nobody was left up front to wait on, I was talking to Don, the guard. George said, somewhat in jest, "We're close enough Don, why don't you lock the door?" Don said, "Alright." Then he turned to me and said, "Now you heard him, he told me to lock the door early." I said, "I sure did Don, I'm behind you 100%. But if George ever says he didn't tell you that, I'm going to forget this conversation ever happened. Remember, in a world where it's survival of the fittest, chickens are still extremely plentiful." He laughed and gave me his 'where does that sh-t come from?' look. George clucked like a chicken. I was surprised he didn't say something like "Chicken? Thems good eatin.'" Anyway, it was a moment.
I do crap like that and I can't help but think, yeah, that's where Ms. Pikachu gets it.
Anyway, since nobody was home when I got here, I perused the note on the fridge about things needed. And, always trying to please, I went to Wally World to get them. On the way home I stopped at the Long John Silver’s drive-thru. I ordered, and then the voice in the magic talking box asked if I wanted pie with that. Well no, I didn’t, but I have a daughter with a thing for pie. There was no pie menu, so- “What kinds do you have?” The magic box spoke of many wondrous things, but “chocolate” caught my ear. Chocolate is Ms. Pikachu’s favorite. I kind of hated to order it, because that only encourages their selling behavior, on the other hand, it WOULD make her happy.
Okay, everybody is home. The mother-in-law was actually whispering today. The wife is pleased, again.
Ms. Pikachu walked in and said, “Here, you can have the rest of my Dr Pepper and Milk Duds- the ultimate in snackage” and handed them to me. Either I am greatly favored, or she was just pigged out.
A little later I called her into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Pancakes?” she queried. Where does that come from? She looked inside the fridge, saw the piece of chocolate pie I’d gotten her- “Pie!” she exclaimed. She walked back into the living room yelling in exultation, “I’m having pie for breakfast!” Yup, she’s special.
Last night she said she'd topped off the tank before she left, and after the round trip the gauge had hardly budged. She's quite pleased with her choice.
I'm a little surprised. She still complains that her wrists hurt. The Honda is a manual 5-speed- you'd think all the shifting would aggravate it, especially since she has to shift with the wrist that had surgery. But apparently she's coping quite well. Maybe Honda’s have therapeutic properties. Feng Shui anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I guess if she's driving back and forth to Davenport it only makes sense for her to drive the Honda. If we give the Intrepid to my brother Ron that will mean I'm driving the van to work. I still like our van, but for passing on the interstate, etc, the Intrepid is a better driving machine. It’s not that the van is a bad thing. I've looked at other vans, but I haven't seen any other that is as nice as ours. Even the newer Caravans, same ES model, aren't as nice. Apparently we got the best year. I just wish the air in it worked, even a 15-minute drive home is uncomfortable in 90 degree heat and no air. I've noticed other, older Caravans being driven with the windows down too, no doubt about it, the air conditioners were junk. Supposedly they've gotten better since the merger with Daimler, but that doesn't do ME any good. I’m going to refrain from going on a rant about why does it take someone from a foreign company to decide an American company shouldn’t make junk? Maybe later. I dunno.
Ms. Pikachu doesn't want to get rid of the van anyway. She says it has her special place. I told her she can always claim the seat behind the driver as her special place, but she says it's the SEAT that's special. So can we keep the seat? You think you've heard it all. It's not an issue anyway, we'll keep the van until it has chronic problems too. I have a feeling it'll turn to rust first.
I'll miss the Intrepid's performance. Coming home this evening I had to merge into a line of traffic and hit the gas to get to a gap. Boom. Man that thing hauls when you ask it to. The Honda can't do that, but it can pass twice as many gas stations. I appreciate that, but I like to go fast too. Sometimes that’s handy.
This afternoon at work, my boss was gone and George came up to see if there was anybody waiting to be interviewed. Well no, I had matters well in hand, thank you very much. Did about 70 interviews today. No applause, no, thank you. But it WAS a good performance on my part. Anyway, it was about two minutes to closing, nobody was left up front to wait on, I was talking to Don, the guard. George said, somewhat in jest, "We're close enough Don, why don't you lock the door?" Don said, "Alright." Then he turned to me and said, "Now you heard him, he told me to lock the door early." I said, "I sure did Don, I'm behind you 100%. But if George ever says he didn't tell you that, I'm going to forget this conversation ever happened. Remember, in a world where it's survival of the fittest, chickens are still extremely plentiful." He laughed and gave me his 'where does that sh-t come from?' look. George clucked like a chicken. I was surprised he didn't say something like "Chicken? Thems good eatin.'" Anyway, it was a moment.
I do crap like that and I can't help but think, yeah, that's where Ms. Pikachu gets it.
Anyway, since nobody was home when I got here, I perused the note on the fridge about things needed. And, always trying to please, I went to Wally World to get them. On the way home I stopped at the Long John Silver’s drive-thru. I ordered, and then the voice in the magic talking box asked if I wanted pie with that. Well no, I didn’t, but I have a daughter with a thing for pie. There was no pie menu, so- “What kinds do you have?” The magic box spoke of many wondrous things, but “chocolate” caught my ear. Chocolate is Ms. Pikachu’s favorite. I kind of hated to order it, because that only encourages their selling behavior, on the other hand, it WOULD make her happy.
Okay, everybody is home. The mother-in-law was actually whispering today. The wife is pleased, again.
Ms. Pikachu walked in and said, “Here, you can have the rest of my Dr Pepper and Milk Duds- the ultimate in snackage” and handed them to me. Either I am greatly favored, or she was just pigged out.
A little later I called her into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “Pancakes?” she queried. Where does that come from? She looked inside the fridge, saw the piece of chocolate pie I’d gotten her- “Pie!” she exclaimed. She walked back into the living room yelling in exultation, “I’m having pie for breakfast!” Yup, she’s special.