Saturday August 9th 2025

Tweety, BSN, RN · 2025-08-09T14:26:52Z

Good morning!

Speedy recovery for LuLu.

Stars, 4 of my 5 dogs except for Waffles liked to be under covered head to toe completely.

Waffles was up a couple of times last night and woke me up. She's eating now but didn't eat for 24 hours. I love her but she's really a source of stress right now. LOL

Best friend has a small fracture on top of one of his feet that they aren't going to treat. I guess that's life with severe osteoporosis. Bummer. He says it's not painful. He also is having cataract surgery soon. He's a good patient and will do as he's told.

I caused a major stink when I allowed a rule out TB patient out of his room when his wife asked me. I wasn't thinking straight but a doctor came and found him and escalated it and I got counseled by the manager and the Infection Preventionist who was nice about it. I think at first I didn't know who the wife was. Lesson learned but bummed me out. The doctor called me but I don't think he needed to escalate it and make such a big deal out of it since they don't think it's really TB as all testing is coming back negative. But I understand. I admitted my mistake.

Had a psychotic patient go ballistic on me when he was told he was NPO and having surgery. He doesn't have capacity to make decisions and he is involuntarily admitted. He started threatening me with a "wet floor sign" and tried to escape. I told everyone to get out of the way that our safety comes first before trying to stop him. He settled down and went to ICU for some therapeutic sedation since he has an existing surgical site he's making worse. It didn't seem to work since about an hour later I heard security being called to his room. He eventually made it to surgery and hopefully they can give him his psych meds IV and settle him down. He hates me but bonded with one of the security guards.

Off today. Nothing much on the agenda.

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · 2025-08-09T16:38:51Z

I was dragged reluctantly out of bed by the doorbell ringing not twice, but THREE times! It was the Jehovah Witnesses. When I opened the door and saw the little pamphlets in their hands, I said, "Uh, I don't need to talk with you people." and they said "Okay, thanks." But I could not go back to bed because Nannie was up in her chair, wondering who rang the doorbell. She had dressed herself over her pj's; I can see the hem of the PJ pants hanging down 4" below her pantleg hems. I will have to take her in the bathroom and change her outfit; I'm not sure if she is wet, but suspect she is. I am just trying to wake up a little more and let my meds kick in so I don't have to drag myself, limping, into Nannie's AM routine. She had her yogurt and meds and juice, and is staring out the glass door while in a daze. I don't think it is the same daze that I am in, but still....she has already started closing her eyes. Geeze, I wish *I* could close my eyes and go back to sleep! But I have to get another cup of coffee. I also have to take Tinker outside to drag me around in the heat and humidity.

I think it's going to be sunny, and all of 83 degrees with a feels-like of 93, and humidity is something like 78%, The chance of rain is a whopping 7%. Nannie has already dozed off, and I need that 2nd cup of coffee so I can take care of Tinker's walk. Then, once I come back inside and dry the sweat off my face and scalp, and cool off, I can do the caregiving-thing, Oh joy! And once again, I did not do the sink full of dishes I meant to do yesterday, so there's that to take care of as well.

Another Sat-tah-day to wait out the 9 + 1/2 to 10 hours until Nannie's bedtime.. I like to think ahead! Not sure if BiL will be over to mow today. Hope not to see SiL today. Actually, I would love it if she came after church tomorrow and took Nannie to her house for the afternoon like she used to do.. I'd also like it if she could find the time to trim my hair again, but I ain't a'gonna ask her about taking Nannie OR trimming my hair. I don't want to hear her tell me what her working schedule involves this week, as far as having to go in to the ABC store super-early, like 5:30AM, to do inventory. No sympathy from me about that, because she's "just a girl who can't say NO". (Can't think what musical that comes from.)

Tweety, I'm glad you are off today after that horrendous day you had yesterday. Having to listen to the other personnel grousing about the "GASP!" mistake you made, which didn't really turn out to be such a big deal. And the psychotic guy... doesn't it seem like the ones who need it the most are not as affected by medication to slow them down? As my Grampa used to say, "CRIPES!" or "Key-ripes!"

Guess I'd better walk Tinker and have the 2nd cup of coffee when we come back inside. Ooof, ain't life fun?

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · 2025-08-09T20:22:03Z

Stars, that's Ado Annie in Oklahoma! singing about being a girl who "cain't say no" 😁

Tweety, what a stressful day. Ugh.

I've done nothing today and I guess it's time to do something about that.

Editorial Team / Admin · 2025-08-09T22:16:26Z

Hello all!

Yes, I thought of Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, singing, "I cain't say no!"

LuLu was a little subdued last night, preferring to stay under the bunk bed in the front bedroom. I think the pain meds were wearing off a little. She is bright this morning, and ate well. Dh and I watched a 2-hr streaming program, and when I got up to bring dishes to the kitchen, she was sitting in the hallway, and talked to me -- as she did pre-surgery! I was encouraged, though she is now under the bed again. She is eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping, though, so that's all good.

It's hot out, so we will remain in the house for now.

On a whim, just before lunch I baked a zucchini-chocolate cake. It turned out OK -- recipe called for maple syrup or honey instead of sugar, and almond flour rather than regular flour. I also mixed some dark chocolate chips in the batter, and sprinkled some on top before I baked it. It came out OK, -- not exactly the flavor that my brain was expecting would come to my taste buds, but it wasn't bad. It was chocolate, so I was content!

Have a good couple days off, Tweety. Hope you are feeling better ! Sounds like a little too much was made of the TB pt incident. Make the corrections and move on (we ALL make mistakes, and this wasn't near as bad as many others). I still hold you in high esteem as a nurse, with excellent skills and honed instincts. I'd want you for my nurse any time.

Joe, enjoy the Arboretum and your dinner with your dad (how is he doing?).

Hiya No Stars!

Have a good afternoon/evening!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · 2025-08-09T22:21:35Z

This IP agrees there was way too much fuss over the TB rule-out patient. It was already unlikely he had TB, and it takes a fairly significant exposure. Just put a mask on him and move on.

Tweety, BSN, RN · 2025-08-09T22:35:23Z

Thanks for the support guys. Nothing to do but get over it and move on.

Zucchini chocolate cake seems like the weirdest thing to me. But I can't knock it if I haven't tried it. Hope LuLu continues to show signs of improvement.

Ado, you deserve some down time as you work hard.

Best friend went to dry some clothes and found my t-shirts that I'd washed on Wednesday in there. Opps.......

Hate to say I'm still not recovered GI wise. I'll contact my doctor on Monday. I wonder if me eating so much yogurt and taking magnesium to sleep at night slowed the absorption of the medication. I already know not to take things like TUMS but also reading that too much dairy calcium slows things down. Next round I'll

In the meantime I sent a request to be excused from my Jury Duty on Wednesday although I don't have a doctor's note asking me to be excused but sent some documentation that I have an infection and am being treated. I can ask my doctor for a note tomorrow but they want 72 hours notice.

I did go to the gym since they have a bathroom and I watched some TV. Otherwise a lazy day.

I'm overhearing something about another shooting somewhere. America.

nursej22, MSN, RN · 2025-08-10T00:14:00Z

I will add my 2 cents, too, as an old TB nurse. If they truly thought he was a risk, he would be in a reverse air flow room. If a sputum can be collected, a PCR can be done in a matter of hours to rule out infectiousness. When I used to do contact investigations we only tested people who had had a cumulative exposure of 8 hours of shared air space.

I had a nice time at the air show last night. We saw parachutists, several fighter jets including a MiG, a military transport, a wing walker and a drone show. I was up really late ( for me) and am really dragging today. youngest ds and I got groceries, I've loaded the trailer and packed a bag for myself. dh is getting anxious and weird and going into micromanagement mode. He felt the need to double check my shopping list, and I'm sure he will double check what I've put in the trailer. We leave in the morning. I wish I could slip a xanax into his iced tea.

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · 2025-08-10T01:20:30Z

While I washed up all those blankity-blank-blank dirty dishes. Tinker curled up on Nannie's lap, which thrilled Nannie. And Tink doesn't care if Nannie keeps referring to her as "he". Nannie is very gentle with Tinker, and thinks "he" is sweet and lovable.

Tink is "in the dog house"......She found some of those small Reese's cups from somewhere in our room. I have caught her twice! I don't know how much she ate....one or two of them, I think. I shut her out of the bedroom, and then I brought her down to the den and closed the door at the top of the stairs, so she can't even get into the kitchen! I am NOT happy with her, though it is my fault; I don't know where she got the candy from, so when I go up to bed I will do some searching. Will probably move the bookshelves away from the bed, because I am thinking she got into the shelving from the bed. I won't be doing all of that tonight, but I am going to make sure she has no way to walk on top of furniture. (except the bed, of course.) But the bed will not be a way for her to get in or onto any other furniture. And there will be NO TEMPTATIONS available to her! I SURE hope she doesn't get sick from what she was so happily going at when I caught her.

Nannie is moaning about her neck being sore. It's too bad the dementia makes it so it doesn't even occur to her that she can change her position......sometimes just a little bit.....to make a difference in her discomfort. But it is nearly her bedtime, so that always helps her neck to lay down.

Okay, time to call it a day.

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · 2025-08-10T02:08:53Z

There was a plastic grocery bag on the bottom shelf of the bookcase by the bed. It had unopened smaller bags of different kinds of nuts, which I mix together in an old Planter's nuts can; they are my nibbles while I read before I go to sleep. Unbeknownst to me....a small bag of "Baby" sized Reese's p'butter cups was also in that bag, and Tinker smelled 'em, and chewed a corner of the bag open without dragging it out onto the floor....and then she helped herself......twice! But NEVERMORE!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · 2025-08-10T02:36:51Z

The 8-hr exposure was what I was remembering from a conversation with the TB specialist as the state health department. We had a woman come in for a chest xray to r/o TB. Absolutely no symptoms, just a positive skin test. But people were worried so I verified that we had handled things properly.