Tuesday April 25 2023

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2023

Good morning!

Joe, hope the emails don't hold you behind too much.

Ado, sometimes you just have to be a slug.

Stars, I hope the increase in dose helps. Have you tried something as simple as starting a walking exercise program? I know you have the gypsies but you can maybe work around that, or even get a script for PT that can work with your limitations.

Being an alcoholic is expensive. It drives many people to ruin. I've always wondered how they do it. I had a patient that was discharged last time and wanted free stuff because she couldn't afford anything. So we provided a free taxi and several free prescriptions. On her intake she admitted to taking heroin, cocaine, meth, and alcohol. Wonder how she affords all that but can't afford her meds.

J22, hope the site isn't infected. We tell our patients not to put any lotions or potions on their incisions when they are discharged. Just good old soap and water will do. Some have an aquacell dressing that they are not to remove for 10 days. But when I've punctured myself or have a scratch sometimes I will use the antibiotic ointment.

I like technology, I ordered a KFC bucket on my phone for the bowling covered-dish, paid for it with Google Pay on my phone, then went and got some gas and the chicken was ready and I picked it up and walked out. I could have had it delivered but I needed gas.

Bowling was fun and the team we were tied for first place was unbeatable. They chose last night to bowl spectacular and we didn't stand a chance. The team that was in second place going into the night however only won one game and they needed to win two to knock us out of 2nd place. So despite us not winning a game we got 2nd place. We got a $160 apiece prize. The prize fund was lower this year because the bowling alley raised their prices and we decided to lower the prize fund so our weekly fee would remain the same.

Next season doesn't start until the week before Labor Day. I might start picking up some overtime...or might not.

Today is a routine day...mopping, meal prep and yoga.

nursej22, MSN, RN · Apr 25, 2023

Good morning. I don't miss the avalanche of work email that greeted me when I returned after a couple days off.

Congrats on your bowling finish, Tweety. Second place is nothing to sneeze at. I love technology when it works.

The nurse at the cardiology office called me back, around 5. It took several back and forths to get her to understand my issue. She thought I went to urgent care on Sunday. No, I had just been there 4 hours ago. The lump was smaller. No, it's the same. It's hard, like a hematoma. No, it's soft. And then she wanted a picture. Turns out it's really awkward to take a picture of that area. But she actually called me back, but I had walked away from my phone thinking I wouldn't hear anything for the rest of the evening. Doc thinks it's blocked lymph vessel. Gave me several options: wait and see, follow up with PCP, go to Seattle Thursday to get an ultrasound and see doc. I'm going to wait. I'm a big fan of "tincture of time", as we used to say when I was in the hospital.

Stars, I was suspecting that the alcohol purchases were adding up. Using a card for purchases can hide where the dollars go, at least temporarily.

Ado, yes, being a slug from time to time is acceptable. Hopefully your reporting goes smooth.

dh went to the post office to get our package that supposedly they have. Except they don't. I looked up the routing number so he can go back to figure out where it went.

I am going to go for a bike ride, and take my final today. It's open-book, but the biggest issue will be if I get interrupted. I only need to get 80%. Wish me luck!

No Stars In My Eyes · Apr 25, 2023

Good Afternoon~

Hope you ace your test, j22!

Congratulations, Tweety, for maintaining 2nd place! I have been meaning to stop by the Senior Center to pick up their May Events Calendar... I know they used to have group-walks, and in the small town next door there are some open roads and spaces where I could walk alone and not feel in danger.

Joe, I've always had severe ennui from CEU's...pee-yuueee and phoeey! Some of them are so stoopit, ya gotta wonder why you get points for wading through the bs. Hope you can get some of them knocked out in due time.

Yes, the Siesta Twins are doin' their thang....both heads tilted to the left shoulders; no snoring, currently. It's about an hour before the supper question is raised. S'funny the things we dread sometimes, isn't it?

I mailed off a bunch of paid bills, and then picked up some more birdfoods (mixed songbird food, fruit and nut mix, and squirrel/chipmunk food --which is black sunflower seeds, peanuts and corn.) Now they are happily raiding the goods. It makes me feel good about feeding them all. And it doesn't cost near as much as vodka, nor does it give my liver the heebie-jeebies. ?

Another baseball game tonight. Keeps 'the kids' busy, doncha know.

It's 68 degrees, and it appears as though we might be getting some rain. Then two days of sunshine, and some more rain on the weekend. I used to dread the Winter weekends up in the mountains, when we ALWAYS had snowstorms, because that meant driving 15 miles on the snow and ice. It also meant if it was bad enough, that I would be working the following shift as well. Thank goodness it is all water under the bridge for me now!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Apr 25, 2023

Joe, I hope the emails weren't too much. The pain is real. Because it's rarely just something informative, but something that requires a little research, some work, an answer...

Good job for your bowling team, Tweety. And the convenience of KFC pre-ordered. Our "biggest loser" challenge at work ended last Friday. My boss won, having lost 10% of his body weight. I only lost 4.1% but I don't plan to stop (she says while savoring a Dove dark chocolate/almond mini), and that's still 4.1%.

J22, I hope tincture of time is all your site needs. Good luck with the exam.

Stars, I've had patients who tell me (it's part of the admission assessment to ask) that they drink a 6-pack of beer a day or a 5th of vodka a day, and I've wondered how they afford to do that. And the little bottles might cost more than buying the larger bottles, but I wouldn't suggest that to Mr. Stars because the smaller bottles *might* help him moderate his intake a little bit.

Twin B woke me when he got home from work this morning to ask me to come see the dog (Dory). She was not using her right hind leg at all. Called and talked to the vet and they wanted to see and evaluate her so we took her out there. She feels deep pain (they used a hemostat to pinch between her toes -- ouch!) but failed the other test so she has lost sensation there, related to her lumbar disk disease. She's back on steroids and a muscle relaxer in a attempt to get the inflammation down. She has always been an active dog and I don't think she will do well if her mobility is severely limited. We talked about a "wheelchair" and we talked about end-of-life. We shall see how this goes, if we can get the inflammation down enough to ease up on that nerve root, and how long it lasts.

Hubs had paid a caregiver to sit with Gma today while he went to play music, so he was out but when I returned with the dog he was back. I went in the house and didn't see him or his mom so assumed they were together. Minutes later, he came out of the bathroom and was looking for Gma. Found her walking around the back of the house. Her clothes were wet where she had obviously fallen (we've had some rain). She wouldn't have anything to do with me and she resisted him as he took her in and got her into dry clothes. Then I walked her to the table for dinner and she said "my back hurts". I'm sure it does.

So, my work day had lots of interruption and I decided to come back and get some more abstractions done before calling it a day.

No Stars In My Eyes · Apr 26, 2023

I am watching Scarlett Johanson in "LUCY" ..... in Spanish, which I don't understand at all; but it makes the movie oddly intriguing. I've seen the movie before, a long while ago, and I liked it. Scarlett Johanson does a good 'poker face', as in very serious facial expressions! There's a lot of this movie I don't remember, soooo.......Welp, think I'll skip the Spanish Immersion, and go up to bed. I'll watch "LUCY" when it plays in the English language.

No Stars In My Eyes · Apr 26, 2023

PS: I've been thinking about writing up a "Honey Do" list for hubby and taping it to the bathroom mirror.... Hmmmm....