An interesting day

One of the many great things about my job is that my colleagues come for all over the globe. The mix of cultures is a wonderful asset to us as a team and to our patients. Sometimes, though, there are little surprises. Several months ago, I was chatting with a fellow nurse who is from Kenya, and mentioned that I couldn’t wait to get home to bed and to cuddle my little dog. She was horrified! “What!” she exclaimed. “You let your dog sleep with you? Under the covers?” She was visibly repulsed. Twenty minutes later, she was still appalled that such a grotesque thing could happen. “Joanna,” she asked, “that does just not seem right to have a dog in your bed! What if……… what if …. it touches your breast with its fingernails?” Obviously, she could think of little that was more disgusting. “I have my pajamas on and she never does. She just sleeps and growls at me if she thinks I am encroaching on her part of the bed.”
Then, on a recent evening, several of us were having a conversation in the med room – the social center of our unit, because we often have to wait in line to get our medications out of the machine, and so it’s the one place we have time to chat. We were talking about an odd patient. “Well, we all have our little quirks,” I said. “Some just have more quirks than others. I, however, don’t have any.” “You certainly do,” Mary interjected. “What are my quirks?” I asked. “You let your dog in your bed.” She still couldn’t quite get over it.
Here is a picture of my little darling peeking out of the covers.
PS. There was actually a time when I thought a dog in the bed was rather disgusting myself, but I have come around and now know that this is their proper place. Who could resist being comforted by this little darling?

A nice day

Usually I like my patients, although occasionally some of them make it a little difficult. On the other hand, sometimes I really, really, really like my patients, and a recent evening I had two such. Actually, Helen, whom I have mentioned before, is, happily for her, a former patient. I remember the first time I went into her room. She had come from Alaska, and she and her husband had brought a few things with them to cheer up the room. A pretty cloth mat for the bedside table, a nice blanket for the bed, a candle, (sadly never lit – hospital rules – but nice none the less), and some other reminders of normal life. It gave her room a cheery ambiance that hospital rooms unfortunately lack. I was impressed with the way a few things could make such a difference in the emotional temperature of the room. On one of her visits, she gave me some roses which I dried and have in my entry hall. This time, she was here not as my patient, but as a friend. We went out to a very nice lunch. The little fellow on the birdbath sat outside the window and entertained us. Helen brought me several birthday presents – from the photo, you can’t appreciate the loveliness of damask napkin with hearts on it, but you can tell that the candle is a winner. They are pictured by the roses she gave me months ago.

After our lunch, I went to work, and for once had a patient for the second time in a row. I don’t know how it is, but this is a rather rare thing. This woman was one whom I just felt a huge surge of affection for the moment I first went into her room. She had the most endearing smile, and exuded all gentleness and love, despite a very unfortunate condition. The first evening we discussed the book she was reading, and the second evening, she had finished it and gave it to me. I was really touched. So a banner day at work for me.

A delightful evening

What is it? Why, a St. James thimble, of course! A lovely gift from Spain from my delightful friends, the twins! And we had a delightful game of skat, after a delightful dinner, followed by a delightful cake, pictured here in front of its image (somewhat) on the tea packet. The tea packet is delightful too, which is what attracted me to it. Rooiboos tea is just the ticket when you have been playing skat till nearly midnight and you are planning on getting up for church the next morning.
I had a fun day cooking, but as usual, was not very organized and consequently a bit frenzied towards the end. Rachael was setting the table and giving moral support as I was finalizing the cooking details. The last thing was to whiz my carrot soup in the blender. Oooops!!! Soup everywhere. Not to worry! Margaret will clean it up – at least the part on the floor. She thought this was a delightful task.

Rachael and I were leaving the house at nearly the same time – I to go to work, and Rachael to go somewhere girly. She was murmuring something about a button, and I was focused on my own issues, mostly the mess of newspapers on the bench by the front door. “I’m putting things in the recycle. Do you want me to save the Sunday Style section for you?” I asked. That’s another girly thing. “It’s radical left-wing.” She firmly replied. “Huh?” I thought. “The NYT fashion section is left wing? How can that be?” I debated whether that meant she wanted to read it because she too is a radical left wing sympathizer, or not read it because she isn’t a left wing sympathizer. I was thinking that she was actually a left wing person, although not terribly radical, but in that case, she would have simply said, “Yes, save it for me.” We both went our separate ways, me still pondering this odd exchange. Later, looking at her knapsack, I realized that her new Mumia button, which she had gotten at the Anarchist Book Fair, was actually the radical left-wing thing she was talking about. Our conversation had been like one from some farce where everyone is on a different page and confusion reigns. When I later mentioned this to her, she said, “I thought you looked awfully confused about what I was saying, but I attributed it to you just getting old.” Harrumph! I’m not THAT old, I think!

A tiring day

My job runs the gamut from stultifyingly boring (very rare) to excruciatingly tense (way less rare.) I way prefer the latter. It is rewarding to recognize an impending crisis, and avert it before it happens, or deal with it before it becomes a disaster. This is gratifying in many ways. The most obvious is that one has saved someone’s life or limb. And then, there is the yummy adrenalin. One can become addicted to it. And there is the interaction with the many disciplines all working together to solve a sometimes critical problem. It is wonderful. On a less exciting, but still rewarding level, one just makes life easier for one’s patients, supports them in their concerns, pains, infections, etc., advocates for them with the sometimes less than congenial medical bureaucracy.
And then there are evenings with uninspiring little mini-crises, one after another, that just take time to deal with. Last evening when I arrived, I got report and found that I had four patients who were “due to void” at times not too distant. Great! My heart sank. I knew this would be a lousy evening. Lots of work with a real problem that sounded so plebeian to everyone except the person with the too full bladder which they were unable to empty. The first two patients had no problem going potty. The problem was getting them to the potty as frequently as they then wanted to be there. They were both hefty and had joint replacements. Plus, the aide I had this evening was from another unit and not one of the wonders we have on our unit’s staff. She was no ball of fire, and I ended up doing a lot of her work myself, which seemed easier than chasing her down. Our usual crew get everything done before one even thinks to ask them. They are a component of Nurse Heaven.
One patient just could not go, and I kept asking the physician if I should put a catheter in as she had not urinated in a loooooong time. The doctor kept saying “Let’s just wait.” We waited until it was nearly time for me to go home. I pointed out that the patient hadn’t urinated for nearly twelve hours and had almost a liter of fluid in her bladder. Great! Just when I am finally nearly ready to go. For some reason, placing a urinary catheter is something that all nursing students are eager to do and are thrilled if they get the opportunity. The summer when I was a senior nursing student, the nurses on my unit let me put in every one that needed to be done. I thought they were so generous and kind. Little did I know. This is a task that very quickly loses its charm!
There were other uninteresting problems ( which required one or more calls to the physician) with every single patient. I had no breaks and got out an hour and a half late. I was so knackered that I slept for over ten hours, and then this morning, just sat around stupefied for several more. I did finish the NYT Sunday crossword, and that was gratifying, but then I considered the time I had wasted on it (it took me quite a while as it was a hardie) and felt ungratified. Now it is dinner time and I am just coming to full consciousness. What a life! (Don’t get me wrong—I love it and wouldn’t trade with anyone!)

And the relevance of these pictures? One is fluid based, as was my evening, and the other is the cuddly thing that snuggled and comforted me when I finally got home.

A cinematic day

Have I mentioned that Ana and I have project? It won’t be a lot of work. We are planning to watch all the movies on the AFI’s 100 Greatest Movies list. This really means 100 greatest American movies, you know, so many worthy contenders are not on the list. No Samurais, no bicycle thieves. We plan to skip the too gory ones, as neither of us is into that sort of thing. We have gotten a good start. Last week we watched The Birth of a Nation, which was unsettling, to say the least. We were both a little stunned and shattered. This week we had a fabulous triple feature with the original King Kong, which we didn’t enjoy as much as we expected to. I hadn’t seen it for about forty years, and had a rather different memory of it - way less silly. Still, Fay Wray was adorable, and worthy of any apes adoration. I expected Kong to be a more sympathetic character, as he was in the remakes, but he was really pretty creepy. We didn’t like him at all, and were relieved when he fell off the Empire State building. Then we watched The Jazz Singer, which last I saw when I was about nine. I had Al Jolson records that I listened to all the time, so I must have liked it pretty well, but I wasn’t prepared for how very much I liked it now. It was fabulous. Al Jolson was super wonderful, dancing, singing, twitching in a slightly pre-Elvis way. Our third movie was one of my all time favorites – Bringing Up Baby – which I have seem so many times that I could almost quote it as it went along. It only gets better with each viewing. I love Screwball Comedies, and BUB is the funniest of them all.
Our dinner had elements of the screwball comedy in it. We were making it during intermission between the first and second movies, and it was supposed to be a meal-in-minutes. I planned to make barley soup, and just as the barleys were hitting the onions in the pot, I realized with a sickening feeling, that they were not barley at all, but wheat berries. I ask you, what sort of dodo would keep wheat berries in an unmarked jar? I remembered that wheat berries took Hours To Cook. However in my handy pressure cooker, they only took 35 minutes which was only 20 minutes longer than the barley, so not that much of a disaster, and the results were very good, making this was a happy mistake.

Wheat Berry Soup
Olive oil
Lots of garlic, sliced (we used about ten toes)
One onion, sliced
½ cup of wheatberries
2 carrots, diced
Celery, about a cup, sliced
Mushrooms, about two cups, sliced
Parsley, ½ cup chopped
Spinach – about four cups fresh
Vegetable broth, 6 cups
Salt, pepper
Using a pressure cooker, sauté the onion in olive oil till translucent, add in the garlic and give it a few more turns. Add the wheat berries, stirring a few times more. Stir in the carrots, celery, and mushrooms. Give it a few more stirs. Add the remaining ingredients. Cook at high pressure for 35 minutes. Quick release the pressure and enjoy a hearty, lovely soup in nearly no time at all. Even Rachael, who doesn’t like soup (can you imagine!!!), liked it.

A busy day

Aaaaahhh!! Ecstasy! I have been going full throttle for four days, and I am done in. How wonderful to flop into bed with a nice cup of tea! On Thursday, Rebecca had many knitting needs which had to be shopped for, and I had a few needs myself, so we spent the day going from place to place until it was time to go to the Family Kitchen, and then to choir practice. Friday I worked and it was pretty hideous. Given that I have had a long string of nice work days, this was to be expected eventually. It was definitely my turn for a bad night. Saturday we were fixing dinner for the Aunties. Early on, Auntie Pauline called to say that Auntie Dakki was in the hospital! (Not to worry – she is OK, at least that is what she says, and I hope she is right.) So we debated what to do, and decided to have just the one auntie, and ask Julie to replace Dakki. Julie felt that this was an impossible demand but she agreed to give it her best. At the crack of dawn I drove to Becca’s to pick up her and her food bundles, bags, and boxes. We brought them in and laid everything out on the table. “Oh, no!” she moaned. “I forgot the ……..!” (I didn’t take in what it was she forgot.) So we hopped in the car, went back to her house and got the missing item. A short ways into the cooking, “We have to go to the store,” she said. “I forgot the (something or other).” So off we went again. We got home, and I was writing an email to a friend about going to the library when I suddenly realized that I needed to go to the library that very day or my requests would return to circulation! So off I went. As soon as I got back with my books, to my dismay I heard, “I don’t have any chilies. I thought you would have them.” Now there is one thing she could be sure I would not have, and that is chilies. I avoid them assiduously. So we went to the store again and got the chilies, and also the cat food which I had forgotten on the previous fourteen trips to the store. By this time, our guests were nearly due. Some frantic cooking was happening even as they arrived. Then, as I was getting a big ceramic soup tureen off a high shelf, to my horror, I saw the lid go gliding, in seeming slow motion, toward the counter and heard the terrible crash. Everyone marveled that I took this disasterlet so calmly, but by this time, I was inured. Plus, I was so relieved that only the lid broke without taking five other more precious things (like for instance, the stove top) with it. After this horrific day, the dinner was delicious – it was Chinese food with hom baos and vegetarian tripe (!!!!!). Then out again into the night to pick up Dakki’s car at the hospital! (Did I mention that on one of these outings, we visited poor Dakki?) We delivered Rebecca’s things at her house, and then Julie drove us to Dakki’s car, which is so eccentric that I am afraid to drive it in the daylight, but at night….. Well – then it’s really scary. We made it home and then I drove Becca back to her house and came home and did the dishes. Many, many dishes. Are you exhausted just reading about it? I am.
Today, we went to church, sang, visited Dakki, went to the opera – La Traviata! So wonderful. Towards the end, everyone around me seemed to be having bad allergies. There were a lot of sniffles. The opera was fabulous. A wonderful end to a Very Busy Weekend. But not quite the end. Back to visit Dakki, and then finally home to bed. Just like Samuel Pepys.
You can read Rebecca’s version of the day here.