Just Venting... $$ stress

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.

Sorry for coming here to release my stress on something that isn't exactly "nursing" related but is "Job related" and I'm a nurse so thats a link...Right??? With that justification I figured, why not, maybe it will help me to feel better.... so I can go scrub my floor or something... and here I am.

I have recently experienced a family tragedy. My sister dies of cancer (Metastatic Cardiac Sarcoma) which in its self is difficult enough. However, this happened at the end of my "off time" and I was scheduled to work Thurs. thru Tues to cover my two weeks of shifts. Needless to say I missed two weeks of work in only 6 days totaling 72 hours. The hospital where I work offers 22 hours of bereavement pay (we work 12 hours shifts so that isn't even 2 full shifts???) and I did have friends from my unit donate PTO to me which totaled 10 hours to add to my 25 I already had saved up. I am eternally grateful to these wonderful friends who have given when they didn't need to and it does help to know you have friends like that. However, that only covered 57 of my 72 hours missed. I don't want to seem ungrateful though and want everyone to realize I know that was a HUGE help. But, now the "adding insult to injury" part!!!

We have to put in for our summer vacation time early in the year (like most hospital employees do I am sure) and as luck would have it we planned to take our family vacation this week (which with the current situation we are not going anywhere now) so I am again missing another week of work directly after getting back from my sisters funeral with no PTO to cover it. That is 3 weeks gone. I have put up request to call me if help is needed to fill shifts but again.... luck has not been on my side and we are actually in low-census this week so others are on-call already and extra employees is definitely not needed. I guess you can see where my stress my be a little high. I did manage to get 5 hours of work this week by offering to teach a BLS class on Thursday though, so I will only be short another 31 hours on my next pay check. That's one way to look at it right? :confused:

I am by nature a positive person and generally am able to let things roll and know they will eventually work themselves out given time. I know this will too in time be okay. It is just difficult to sit home, desperately miss my sister and also be trying to figure out where Peter lives so I can rob him to pay Paul. :saint:

Alright, like I said, this has NOTHING to do with nursing and may not have been something to post here at Allnurses.com but I have felt this is where my peers live but yet not the ones I work with (try to keep home and work separate ya know...) so figured I would give it a shot to see if it set my mind a little more at ease.

Desperate times call for desperate measures huh???

Thank you for listening,

Rags

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Specializes in ER, Infusion therapy, Oncology.

:heartbeatMy heart goes out to you. What a hard time you are going through. All you can do is take 1 day at a time. My prayers are with you.

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So sorry for the loss of your sister. It really does seem like "when it rains it pours" I can only offer my throughts and prayers in a dark time.

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiology, Mother/Baby, LTC.

God bless you. I know how hard it is for you to carry on with life right now, not to mention work. I have been there. You are in my thoughts and prayers, along with your entire family. :heartbeat:heartbeat:heartbeat

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i'm so very sorry, rags.

one hellish day at a time...:icon_hug:

leslie

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.

Thank you for your well wishes and thoughts. It truly is a blessing to be a part of such a caring and giving community as is the case with nursing!!!

rags

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Specializes in PCU, Home Health.

I just want to say that I am sorry about your sis. If you were at my hospital I would donate time to you.:icon_hug:

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Specializes in PEDS ~ PP ~ NNB & LII Nursery.
I just want to say that I am sorry about your sis. If you were at my hospital I would donate time to you.:icon_hug:

Awwh... You make my heart sing (and my eyes leak!). Thank you so much!

rags :redpinkhe :loveya:

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Rags, Blessings to you. :heartbeat:redpinkhe:redbeathe

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

What a very stressful time for you. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your sister. You are in my prayers in all things. As for robbing Peter...do like we've done...Peter dwells in the house of PRIORITY. Pay what you can starting with the bill of greatest priority and let the rest take care of itself. It will all come together in time. ((((HUGS)))).

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Specializes in ER.

I am sorry you are going through the grief of losing your sister. Maybe you needed this down time to work on the grievng process. If you have the energy, you could make the best use of this time off by doing some things you may have been putting off.

You could cook large quantities of food like casseroles, and freeze them in family sized portions to be used later when you don't have the time. You could make 25 individual hamburgers and put them in zip loc bags to be used later for quick snacks or meals. Make a HUGE batch of pancakes and freeze individual portions in zip bags (they are great microwaved for a quick breakfast). You could clean out the dresser drawers, organize your pantry, bake cookies for an aging neighbor, vacuum the dust bunnies out from under the bed, clean out that junk drawer, take out grown clothing to a homeless shelter, organize photos, make scrapbooks, visit with family, donate unused items so someone can use them and you can declutter your life.

There are countless things you can do to make your life easier later when you are working and busy.

Grief is different for everyone. Don't let anyone try to hurry you along or tell you what you "should" be feeling. After my husband died, I didn't have the energy or desire to do anything at all. I just wanted to curl up and die. One day I had to make a conscious decision....did I really want to spend the rest of my life in bed, or did I want to live life to the fullest? I decided I wanted to live to see my grandchildren grow up, so I got out of bed and drove the the local YMCA and joined. It was a small but significant step in my recovery. I am still not there yet, and probably never will be, but my life is full, I have re-evaluated my priorities, and am a better person for it.

Hang in there, and remember that your family loves you, and that is really all that matters.

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I am so sorry this happened to you..... :icon_hug:

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