Sunday, June 20, 2010
questions/answers
Pancreatic pseudocyst - basically, your pancreas gets angry and tries to digest part of your insides. This is, you know, bad. I took care of a patient who had one removed that was the size of a BASKETBALL. Granted, the patient was not a small person, but jeez!
How to invite Ethiopians to dine - phonetically it sounds like "nem la" to me. The person who explained it to me said that it's loosely translated as "let's eat" and that culturally, they are bound to offer to share food with anyone who is around. In the US, many Ethiopians have modified that to offering to share food with other Ethiopians who are around... although now I understand why one of the aides who I've gotten friendly with keeps trying to feed me. I'm one of us now. :)
Commenter Irene, I accidentally deleted your comment! Sorry about that. To answer your question, no, I'm not Chinese. I'm just interested in visiting HK because I think it would be a cool experience, and I'd get to eat lots of interesting food. I love trying new things. Good luck with nursing school.
This weekend I have attended a yoga class that was really above my skill level but made it through without any injury. I've cooked two yummy dinners with my friend who is visiting. I've gotten plenty of sleep. And although I love my husband and my friends and my family, I am ridiculously glad to be spending the afternoon at home alone.
How to invite Ethiopians to dine - phonetically it sounds like "nem la" to me. The person who explained it to me said that it's loosely translated as "let's eat" and that culturally, they are bound to offer to share food with anyone who is around. In the US, many Ethiopians have modified that to offering to share food with other Ethiopians who are around... although now I understand why one of the aides who I've gotten friendly with keeps trying to feed me. I'm one of us now. :)
Commenter Irene, I accidentally deleted your comment! Sorry about that. To answer your question, no, I'm not Chinese. I'm just interested in visiting HK because I think it would be a cool experience, and I'd get to eat lots of interesting food. I love trying new things. Good luck with nursing school.
This weekend I have attended a yoga class that was really above my skill level but made it through without any injury. I've cooked two yummy dinners with my friend who is visiting. I've gotten plenty of sleep. And although I love my husband and my friends and my family, I am ridiculously glad to be spending the afternoon at home alone.
Labels: dread diseases, food
Sunday, June 13, 2010
happy/sad
I'm all about the lists lately.
Things that have recently made me happy:
-My amazing coworkers and their enthusiastic hugs, support, assistance at work, and ongoing admiration for the extra work I'm doing.
-My husband's love, support, and general holding-down of the home front.
-A message from a friend inviting me to come spend time with him and his adorable baby.
-The positive reaction I get from patients and families when I attempt to speak my terrible Spanish with them.
-Learning the polite way to invite my Ethiopian friends to eat with me, and better yet, trying it out on my coworkers and watching them look surprised.
-Waking up at 6:30 on Saturday and still making it to work on time!
-Paychecks from staffing agency work.
-Anticipation of my friend E's return visit to Seattle
this week.
-My house.
-My garden even though it still needs a lot of work.
-Weird flavors of Lucerne light yogurt - Bartlett Pear Mangosteen?
Things that have recently made me sad:
-Glioblastoma.
-War. The entire concept and the individual loss of life.
-Reading all the recent studies about how getting more sleep makes one's life 1,000 times better and being unable to control the fact that if I spend 14 hours on work & transit time, that doesn't leave enough for shower/dinner/quality time with husband/winding down enough to sleep/getting the recommended 9 hours of sleep. Clearly we need 30 hour days.
-Lupus with severe, life-threatening complications in a patient younger than me.
-Lice, scabies, bedbugs, and all their little friends.
-Seizures.
-The IRS
-Colostomies and corn - two things that do NOT go great together.
-Losing my fancy Bluetooth headset like a dumbass.
-Giant pancreatic pseudocyst.
Things that have recently made me happy:
-My amazing coworkers and their enthusiastic hugs, support, assistance at work, and ongoing admiration for the extra work I'm doing.
-My husband's love, support, and general holding-down of the home front.
-A message from a friend inviting me to come spend time with him and his adorable baby.
-The positive reaction I get from patients and families when I attempt to speak my terrible Spanish with them.
-Learning the polite way to invite my Ethiopian friends to eat with me, and better yet, trying it out on my coworkers and watching them look surprised.
-Waking up at 6:30 on Saturday and still making it to work on time!
-Paychecks from staffing agency work.
-Anticipation of my friend E's return visit to Seattle
this week.
-My house.
-My garden even though it still needs a lot of work.
-Weird flavors of Lucerne light yogurt - Bartlett Pear Mangosteen?
Things that have recently made me sad:
-Glioblastoma.
-War. The entire concept and the individual loss of life.
-Reading all the recent studies about how getting more sleep makes one's life 1,000 times better and being unable to control the fact that if I spend 14 hours on work & transit time, that doesn't leave enough for shower/dinner/quality time with husband/winding down enough to sleep/getting the recommended 9 hours of sleep. Clearly we need 30 hour days.
-Lupus with severe, life-threatening complications in a patient younger than me.
-Lice, scabies, bedbugs, and all their little friends.
-Seizures.
-The IRS
-Colostomies and corn - two things that do NOT go great together.
-Losing my fancy Bluetooth headset like a dumbass.
-Giant pancreatic pseudocyst.
Labels: dread diseases, nursing
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
really, don't
Conditions I've witnessed and am glad I don't have:
Calciphylaxis in end-stage kidney disease.
A colostomy resulting from a rectal foreign body and subsequent intestinal perforation.
A collection of problems that were all making each other worse: congestive heart failure, acute renal failure, necrotizing pneumonia, and protein deficiency due to lack of interest in eating. Also, did you know that when part of your lung tissue dies, you pretty much have to cough out the dead stuff to clear your lungs?! Gross.
Labels: dread diseases, nursing
Sunday, April 19, 2009
still don't
More conditions my patients have had that I'm glad I don't:
Huntington's disease. And a big honkin' meningioma as a "bonus".
Multiple enterocutaneous fistulas secondary to surgeries to treat colon cancer.
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma - this was actually a patient who had undergone chemo in the past, and when it was discovered that the cancer was back, she declined further treatment and went on comfort care. She died on my shift.
Labels: dread diseases, nursing
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
don't
Recent diseases that my patients have had lately that I am glad I don't have myself:
-Full blown AIDS with Kaposi's sarcoma and C.diff diarrhea as a bonus.
-TTP and resultant amputations of both hands & both feet
-completely out-of-touch with any kind of reality schizophrenia (and a foot infection)
-Median arcuate ligament syndrome. (No, I'd never heard of it before, either.)
-spontaneous pulmonary embolism for no apparent reason.
I think this may become a recurring topic on my blog, since I find new conditions that I really don't want to have on a regular basis.
-Full blown AIDS with Kaposi's sarcoma and C.diff diarrhea as a bonus.
-TTP and resultant amputations of both hands & both feet
-completely out-of-touch with any kind of reality schizophrenia (and a foot infection)
-Median arcuate ligament syndrome. (No, I'd never heard of it before, either.)
-spontaneous pulmonary embolism for no apparent reason.
I think this may become a recurring topic on my blog, since I find new conditions that I really don't want to have on a regular basis.
Labels: dread diseases, nursing
