Cliffhanger??? Sorry about that!

It was once again brought to my attention today that it had been a long time since my last blog attempt.  Hey Mrs. Briscoe =)

I've thought about it often, but just haven't made the time for it.  After the second "gentle" reminder from one of my teachers today, I got to thinking more about it.  It actually may be just the outlet I need.  It cracked me up when she told me she missed Jeff and his nightstand.  WHAT??  I didn't even realize anyone payed attention to one of my all time BIGGEST pet peeves.

But, just so you know....

NOTHING has changed.  As a matter of fact, check out that yard sale stool that belongs to Blue that he hijacked so he would have more room to throw his mess on.  The coke wasn't his (it was hers) but the rest of it...ALL HIM.  UGGHHHHH!!!  I'm sure some of those receipts are for a bottle of water, but he HAS to keep them.  If he didn't have me, he would win Hoarder of the Year!

A LOT has happened since my last post.  I passed my first semester of nursing school (Thank You Jesus)!!  I've done a lot of stuff in my life, but this may very well be the hardest.  I left you hanging on the catheter check off.  I'll finish that real quick, but be warned, it's a little graphic.

I wish I had a picture of Mrs. Scott.  She was my lab instructor last semester.  She really is a wonderful woman and an excellent teacher, but to call her intimidating is an understatement.  I promised myself when I went back to school that I would not let myself be intimidated, but it didn't work.  It's scary.  Catheter check off is by far the hardest one of the whole semester.  It's a sterile procedure and staying sterile is difficult.  If you break your sterile field, you fail.  If you fail three times, you fail the semester.  SO, here we go....

Everything was going pretty smoothly.  My gloves went on (because I put a whole thing of baby powder in them the night before) and I remembered which side of the wigwam to clean first, second and last (yes, there is a method to wigwam cleaning, who knew?).  By the time you get around to cleaning the wigwam of a manikin, things have already gotten intense.  We have these very anatomically correct manikins that have heart beats and breath sounds and blood pressures and all kinds of stuff.  So far, all of our check offs have been on female manikins.  So, I've cleaned everything and it is time to insert the catheter.  I take a deep breath and go at the hole with my hands shaking like a leaf.  Luckily I hit it, and here we have to talk our way through it (pretend).  So I look up at her and I say, I go in 2 to 3 inches and I see urine (with a big smile on my face).  I tell her I advance the catheter an additional 1 to 2 inches.  Then I use my non-sterile hand to anchor it and it's time to inflate the balloon on the catheter.  We really do inflate the balloon.  That whole anchoring thing is a booger.  That one flunks a lot of people.  So Mrs. Scott has her face down there ON your hands making sure you don't contaminate anything.  So with her face down there in the wigwam over my shaking hands, I inflate the balloon on my Foley catheter.  The poor balloon had been inflated about 30 times in practice.  It decided, THAT was it.  My balloon ruptured in the manikins wigwam and water shot out of the wigwam and got ALL OVER my sterile field (which ruins it) and even worse, Mrs. Scott.  I'm pretty sure that I turned white as a ghost and my jaw landed on the floor.  Mrs. Scott stepped back and took her glasses off and just bent over at the waist and died laughing.  I'm pretty sure I peed my pants, but not from laughing.  She said, just pretend that didn't happen and tell me how you would finish this up.  I PASSED!  Oh the things that happen in nursing school!

Today we checked off on starting IVs, IV pushes, IV piggybacks, trach suctioning and all injections.  What a relief!  We have our first test of this semester on Monday!!

 

The kids are great and crazy and busy as ever.  Both are still playing soccer and Blue is doing some tumbling as well.  Jeff and Dalton are going to Italy for 10 days at the end of March.  Dalton will be playing soccer over there.  He is SO excited and I couldn't be more proud of him =). 

Hang with me while I find my new blogging groove!  I miss having my journal.  I guess I need to go back and read what I all I've said about the nightstand.

If you have a second, say a prayer...I'm getting the ole foot and toes shot up with Cortisone tomorrow.  I'm pretty sure I'm gonna puke.

Rock Out!!

Kacy