Quit playing and update your flipping blog, already!

Well, it is about time that I stopped playing and let my readers know that I am no longer in Arlington, Va and I am now in Charlottesville, Va at the University of Virginia.

Arlington, Va has become a bit of a second home to me; as I have some really good friends there now. Arlington is truly an area that if the stars align with my previously mentioned relationship, I could truly be okay with calling it home. There is much work to be done before that would be a possibility though.

I finished up in Arlington, swiftly moved my turtle shell of belongings down to Charlottesville, went through a week of hospital orientation, drove home to Ky for a quick visit there, and then drove back to Arlington in time to fly up to New Hampshire for a long weekend with a special lady for her birthday. Just recapping all of that exhausts me for a second time. I am just now catching up on my sleep. Leslie is quite the early riser and we did some really good lengthy hikes; all of which equals a sleepy Shannon. 

What do I know about Charlottesville? It is home to the University of Virginia. Thomas Jefferson is quite the man here. Monticello is here, which was TJ's (as they call him here) place of residence. That is on my tourism activity list. Apparently, Monticello is beautiful, the university grounds are beautiful, and there are some must do bike rides on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park and on the Blue Ridge Parkway; both of which involve climbing big hills. I am not much of a wine drinker, but perhaps I should start as there are oodles and oodles of wineries here in the area. 

So while this is brief, I felt that I needed to cease being a slacker and finally update my blog. I will get back to exploring again and will start here in Charlottesville.

Be back much sooner than later.

Finally another blog! :-O

I apologize for my absence here on the blog. I came back to Virginia and have to be honest that I met a very nice young lady that caught my attention. Needless to say, I have been a bit distracted this go around. It has been a learning experience and a lot of fun though.

It is now that time again though where I must figure out where my travel nursing will take me next. This is always my least favorite time of traveling, though some see this as very exciting. Yes, I can go anywhere within reason that I have a license to practice, but my point exactly, I can go ANYWHERE. That leaves a lot of options; an overwhelming number of options at times. Then you throw in feelings that you have for someone that you have grown to like a lot and are intrigued to see what the future may bring and you have one stressed out girl here; hoping to make the right decision career wise, location wise, relationship wise, and what Shannon wants wise. Oh Boy! Life is an inevitable forward march, so decisions must be made, so wish me luck in this process.

More importantly, I owe you some Ireland updates and photos. Ireland was amazing! The people there are so welcoming; especially of bicyclists. We never got honked at, ran off of the road, spit on, or even cursed out by a passing motorist there; all of which yes have happened here in the US. The roads there are narrow, winding, and beautiful! The green there is similar to no green that exists here in the United States. Supposedly they have 50 shades of green there! It is an amazing explosion of the color green. My experience here in the states, we have green, brown, and dead. There are actually different shades of green? Yes, in Ireland.

I went to Ireland with the bicycling group, WomanTours that I also went to Maine and Utah with. It is such a great way to meet like minded women of all different ages from all over the United States. In my three trips, I have yet to be disappointed with the caliber of women that I have had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with or the experience of seeing a new area via bicycle.

In Utah, I became very good friends with three women and we still remain in close contact. Ireland was a reunion trip for us. One of the ladies was unable to make it, but what a great reunion trip it was.

Ireland was everything it was promised to be. It was very green thanks to the much promised rain. The most interesting part about the rain to me is here in the states, from my experience at least, when it starts to rain, the sky is grey as far as your eye can see and the rain may settle in for a couple of hours or days. In Ireland, it literally will be grey and rainy in point A and then as you travel 3 miles away to point B and as you the top the crest of the hill, you will see nothing but sunny skies and you are again warm and toasty in all of your rain gear. It is this phenomenon that lends itself to so many rainbows. Ireland is a bit like a menopausal woman, hot, cold, hot, and again cold. :-) The food and beer was quite tasty. Our daily stop for lunch was at a pub, each proving to be cuter than the last pub that we visited the day prior; all offering a generous beer selection and pub fries. Finally, before you even knew that you were lost, a local could see the look of distress on your face long before you knew it and they were helping you get back on track to the miles that you still had ahead of you to pedal. Please enjoy my pictures.

I hope summer is treating each and everyone of you well!

Grief strikes you when you least expect it.

I took care of a 67 yr old man that came in talking and quite awake and seemed like a very vibrant man that had an aortic dissection. For those reading that are not medical, this is often a result of an aneurysm (an enlargement of the vessel wall of an artery) that weakens to the point that the artery wall tears and if not caught and corrected immediately it is fatal. In the medical world, we say, aneurysms are stable until they aren't. This gentleman was a second generation Italian man that had done very well for himself and his family. He was married and had two loving daughters. This gentleman survived surgery and unfortunately had some post operative complications which proved too much for him.

I always said that my job was much easier before I personally experienced death of a family member on a personal level. I could definitely sympathize with the families, but I could never truly empathize with them. This gentleman had a daughter that was obviously very close to him. We were at a point medically where clearly there was nothing else to be done for this gentleman and we were merely waiting for the family to comes to terms with letting their loved one go. I have experienced families that selfishly will not let someone go because they can't bear the thought of their loss, though they very much know the patient is suffering. It is truly a selfless act to love someone so much to let them go for their sake. I didn't say this was easy.

My patient was still technically a full code, meaning if his heart were to stop I was to restart it with medications and compressions, I was to continue to titrate medications to keep his blood pressure at a certain number, and I was to treat him as if his condition were not terminal. The next four hours were possibly the most gut wrenching hours of my life.

As I mentioned above, the patient was still a full code, so I was in and out his room constantly monitoring his vital signs and hanging different medications pertinent to his care. The family was all in agreement that is was time to say goodbye with the exception of the youngest daughter whom was a daddy's girl. This young lady was probably in her early thirties and could not bear the thought of life without her dad. She was reliving childhood memory after childhood memory with her dad as he lay there. This gentleman was on a ventilator, so he could not speak and was not waking up to stimulation. Science says that hearing is the last thing to go, so I always encourage loved ones to talk to them. She stated that she hadn't yet had children because she feared that she was incapable of raising her children as well as he and her mother had. She relived a time that her father took her to NYC, just the two of them and they went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant and to a Broadway play, because he wanted to set the standard for how a woman deserved to be treated by a man. And that she should expect no less. The stories went on and on. These gut wrenching moments were followed by calls from family and friends that the wife placed on speaker phone and the individuals one by one were speaking to this gentleman professing how great of a man he was and how much he was loved and different individuals that they would like him to say hello to once he was in Heaven.

I have been a nurse for 11 years now, and I have never experienced such a gut wrenching goodbye. It was obvious that this gentleman was truly a great individual and would be sorely missed.

As if experiencing this tough goodbye wasn't enough, in a way it took me back to the final hours with my dad. A few flashbacks and made me oh so thankful that he was able to pass away at home and didn't have to be in the hospital in his final days. Even after tough days, I am often able to shake it and not take my work home. This patient and family really hit a sensitive spot with me. I sobbed my whole drive home and was quite melancholy and in disbelief that my dad was actually gone. He was such an amazing man!

I have been incredibly fortunate to have several dreams of my dad. It is always great to see him, even when it is only in a dream.

I just started my extension here in Va and I am loving the weather and I am in full swing training for my Ireland bike trip. I leave for Ireland on July 3rd. I hope that all of you are enjoying your summer as well.

The day I racial profiled with my eyes wide open.

Wanda Sykes is one of my favorite comedians. She does a bit about racial profiling and how it is alive and well. She speaks of a white person driving through a predominantly black neighborhood and how they keep their windows rolled up and their doors locked. She speaks of the sight of a black man running down the street with a large bag of money and how other black people will be yelling "run brother, run. You are making us all look bad." The same could be said of a white man running with a large bag of money and the statement would be changed to "He must need to get to the bank in a hurry to make a deposit." I think you get my point.

I continue to be blown away by racism that is still out there today. I was luckily raised to harbor no racism intentionally. The latest scandal with the Clippers coach that made blatant racial remarks literally blew me back on my heels. I was discussing it with a coworker whom is African American and I probably sounded very ignorant but I had no idea there was still such an undercurrent of racism alive and well.

Last week I took care of a Middle Eastern gentleman whom was from Iraq. This gentleman was 38 years old, had only been in the US for 5 years, and spoke very little English. He had a gentleman at his bedside at all times to interpret for him. Due to their customs, his wife was able to spend very little time at his bedside with him. It was very interesting to hear reactions from nurses, anesthesiologists, and techs that were female that worked with the two of them. I am sure it was more custom related but he and his friend came across as quite pushy and short tempered. At one point, the gentleman pulled the curtain and for lack of a better explanation, kicked me out of his room and told me the patient needed his rest and I was prohibiting that. I knew my humor would be lost in translation, so I deferred that in this moment. Then I got a bit angry, internally. I politely explained to the gentleman that yes I was bothering him, but he also had open heart surgery and I needed to give him antibiotics and heart medications that are important after surgery.

The gentleman had stepped out of the room for a bit and I was preparing the patient for his move down the hall. I needed to remove a couple of his IV's and his foley catheter. May I remind you that this man spoke very little English. I started with explaining that I was going to remove his foley catheter that was inserted in his private area that women in his culture aren't really allowed to see. And now this strange female is going to pull back all the sheets, expose him, and remove the catheter and that it may burn a bit. The whole time I am of course charading this whole situation out, looking like an idiot, I am sure. After my 10 minute explanation of a 10 second procedure, his words "I don't understand." My words, "Super!" Next I explained the removal of his arterial line which was an IV in an artery which requires pressure on the vessel post catheter removal so he doesn't bleed to death. No big deal. Again "I don't understand." So I successfully did both procedures, but when I was holding pressure on his arm after the catheter pull, it was then that the moment that I am not proud of occurred. I found myself looking at this man thinking, who comes to the USA five years ago and doesn't make the effort to learn English? Then my mind went to all of the bad things we as Americans have heard about Iraqi individuals pretty much all of my life. Thoughts of 9/11 popped into my head, the Boston marathon bombing which was supposedly influenced by the Iraqi war, and the suicide bombings that are way more prevalent than they should be. I found myself staring at this man as he lay there with his eyes closed, wondering if I should feel sorry for him, grateful for him that he made it to the US and is out of Iraq, or should I fear such a man. I had never really had such palpable thoughts of an individual until this day.

I let my thoughts and feelings of this gentleman marinate for a couple of days. After a couple of days, it was then that I spoke with an individual that is really good at viewing things from both sides of the fence. I explained to her that I was embarrassed to admit that I even had such thoughts and that I was ashamed of myself. She explained that whether it is good or bad, media is always teaching us to fear and dislike such individuals. All we really hear is how they hate Americans and their driving force is to destroy America any way that they can. When I step back I can see that, but it was eye opening for me, as I had never really had a situation where I was so blatantly racial profiling. Lesson learned. Sometimes individuals are aware of their prejudices and sometimes we don't even recognize it.

It's amazing what we sometimes teach ourselves!

It's a circular wind, but a wind no less.

It's that time again, when I and everyone else is asking where the wind will blow this traveler next. I currently have three weeks left in my contract here in northern Virginia. I looked at Boston, Vermont, New Hampshire, Cape Cod, Delaware, South Carolina, and the possibility of extending here in Virginia. I love the area that I am in here in Arlington, VA. I love all the bike paths, the close vicinity to Washington D.C., the diversity of culture, and the welcoming nature of the people here. So.............I extended here in Virginia and the mighty wind will merely be blowing me to another apartment here in the complex, away from the pool, so that when I am sleeping during the day from working night shift, the summer sun worshippers will not wake me.

I am working with a great group of nurses, doctors, and nurse practitioners. The diversity is something that I have always spoke of here. I am simply amazed how many people we get here that speak zero English. That has to be terrifying. With diversity though, you learn a lot about yourself and that as humans we are all similar but different.

I have plans to make it down to Monticello, Williamsburg, and up to the Catoctin mountains while I am here over the summer. Those are all lofty, though I am also going to Ireland in July for a bicycle trip. Looks to be a very good summer here in northern Virginia. I hope it is one of laughter, love, and exciting adventures. I hope that for you as well. I promise to be better about getting out and enjoying new adventures to tell you about. I have been on night shift almost this entire three month assignment, so I have been a bit lazy and playing a bit much, which has been fun, though not exciting for you.

Enjoy the new found Spring everyone. Winter is over! Get out, be active. Enjoy the sunshine, but don't forget your sunscreen. Take care.

Sometimes you just have to be a kid again!

I have seen a lot of sad situations at work as of late that really make me thankful for my health and make me want to maintain it. It just really makes me think back to when I was a kid and all I had to worry about was the next five minutes and how that would affect me.

I have no children but I do see the joy in having children in that you get to experience things through a child's eyes again as an adult. That has to be really cool! Just with my niece and nephew, Christmas time as of late has been a lot of fun. I have had the opportunity to be there on Christmas morning the last two years. Those are memories that I will cherish forever.

So the other day on a very nice day here in Virginia, it was quite windy and I headed out to Target to get a kite. I can remember flying cheap kites and box kites as a kid. I distinctly remember as a child, someone other than me running around a field trying to catch the kite in the wind to get it up in the air and once it was about 15-20 feet up, I then was handed the string and I got to enjoy the tug and pull necessary to keep the kite up there. I loved flying kites.

A couple key points that I should point out. Running in a field with unmarked holes, without stretching first, and having to zig and zag is downright dangerous as an adult. I enjoy running about three miles for exercise, on a flat treadmill with an occasional incline. I find that to be much easier on my knees and my confidence. It keeps the pounds off and elevates my heart rate, so it serves its purpose. It's also important to note that I grew up in the country and I was trying to fly a kite in the city in a soccer field. I really thought there was plenty of wind, til I had been running around for 7 minutes (yes only 7 minutes) and I was completely out of breath, nearly had a broken leg, and I had said a few choice curse words that the small children watching may have heard. So I decided to call the 7-10 feet of air that my kite got that day a successful failure. It was a dismal display. I had a lot of fun trying though. So after my successful failure and nearly tripping on my bottom lip, I headed over to the swings and remembered why swing sets are really just for kids. I crushed my hips into that rubber seat and I swung for about 15-20 minutes as high as I could go. That is such a freeing feeling!

So do yourself a favor and let yourself be a kid from time to time. It takes the seriousness of life away for a moment and just makes you feel better.

Family defined

How do you define family? I looked up the definition of family and most traditional definitions included the necessity of ancestral heritage involving parents and children of the same lineage living in a group. I did find this definition though, "Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place." Notice this definition yielded no ancestral heritage. I say all of this because I met the most amazing family this past week at work. 

I was introduced to such the family when an 86 yr old woman whom lived the life that we all wish we could live, came into the hospital after showing signs of a stroke. She married young, lived a great life, unfortunately couldn't have children but was blessed with great friends and family that she created. A young lady that sat vigilantly at her bedside was her medical power of attorney, whom was not her daughter. Monica was a Columbian lady that got to know Betty through Betty's best friend whom was Monica's American mother. When that lady passed, Monica became very close to Betty and they have been inseparable ever since. The love of Betty's life, Norman, passed away 5 years ago and it was said that it broke Betty's spirit when he passed. While she was still a vibrant interactive lady, she was never the same. Three years ago, Betty needed some assistance and with the urging of her friends and siblings, she moved into an assisted living facility and thrived from day one. She kept a busy schedule. Monica moved into Betty's empty house and got a housemate named Peter, whom was also one of Betty's good friends. Monica is probably in her late thirties-early forties and Peter is in his early sixties with a steady girlfriend. Monica and Peter live on separate floors and live separate lives, but came together on the one issue that they absolutely adored Betty. Monica would pick up Betty every Friday and bring her home for the weekend and would return her to the facility on Sunday. Peter would pick Betty and another lady up from the facility up every Wednesday and would go to lunch and a movie. Every Thursday Betty would play cards with a group of ladies. Betty was a vibrant 86 yr old. 

Betty was found on a Sunday morning by an aid with a facial droop, right sided weakness, and the inability to speak. Strokes are scary because they can happen without warning for a multitude of reasons. While strokes are terrible to see, the amazing thing about them is that with early intervention, usually within the first 24-48 hrs function that was lost with the stroke,  will show signs of returning, if it is going to. Not to be a Debbie downer, but Betty regained decent function of her right leg, some function in her right arm but did not regain the ability to speak or swallow again. So this was a moment where this random collection of "family" but not blood related members were forced to delve into what Betty had requested in her healthcare papers should this moment ever arise. The love, laughter, and unyielding support that every nurse, doctor, tech, and social worker felt in that room when they walked in was overpowering! It was a joy to see.  Peter and Monica were both always at her side, comforting and encouraging her to get better. They brought in pictures to make her smile and there was always a roomful of visitors laughing and cutting up. 

So while not everyone has children or blood related relatives close by, one can only hope that we will have a "family" like Betty's that will be there for us. I know that back home in KY, I very much have "family" that will always be there for me! For that I am incredibly grateful! 

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