Oh Charlie

Nursing school, first year, first rotation.......
I was dress to the nines, had my nursing cap on, check, my white shoes, check, my super clean white uniform, Yep, and my blue apron that had my school logo on it, ( which I always thought It made us look like we worked in Dietary). But anyway I digressed.
I arrived at the Nursing home where my first rotation was to take place. I recieved my ONE patient's name.  An elderly gentleman named Charlie*.  My duties were to obtain vital signs, get his weight , and do am care, which included a shower and hair care.  Ok I can handle that. What trouble can an 80+ year old man and I get into?

I walked into Charlie's room and with a large smile and a sappy happy voice, I stated " Good Morning Mr. D. I am your student Nurse Marylou and I am here to get you all cleaned up." He looked at me with his watery eyes and slight smile on his face, just nodded at me, not saying a word.

I got him into his wheelchair, briskley took him down the hallway to the showers. Placed him into the shower chair, lathered him all up and got the shower hose to rinse him off, but all of a sudden Charlie grabbed the hose and decided to hose me down instead.  I mean full on soaking, head to toe.

With my soaking uniform, and nurse's cap askew I manage to get the hose back and take care of Charlie.

As he was resting nicely in his bed, all clean and waiting for breakfast, I stood outside in the hallway leaning up against the wall.  Feeling very defended and WET.  I was thinking "Why did I decide to go into Nursing?  What am I doing?  I will never make it as a nurse, I can't even give and 80 year man a bath" just at that moment my nursing instructor Mrs. S. came around the corner and saw me.  I thought for sure she was going to give me a tongue lashing, but she stood there for a minute and then burst out laughing, doubled over slapping her thighs laughing.  With tears in her eyes and tears in mine ( for a different reason) she said "Student Nurse Marylou is your patient clean?"  All I could do was nod my head, then I burst out laughing and my day just got better.

To this day I always wonder if my Nursing insturctor would have acted differently, would I have stayed in this career?  Thank  goodness for loving, nurturing insturctors with a sense of humor.

*All names have been changed*

The blood clot

The Blood Clot

Don't let the names of my titles scare you.

Before I became a Nurse, I was a nurse's aid, the right  hand for a nurse. I cleaned up all the messes. I worked the night shift on the oncology floor (Cancer unit), in a very large hospital.

On a very busy night ,the Nurse and I had 28 patients to care for. My nurse was busy getting all the numerous meds ready, while I checked in on our patients and did vital signs, which is basically , blood pressures, temperatures, breathing and heart rates, checked all IV's and urinary cathers and any other bodily drains.

I came into Mr. G's room, our comatose patient, I monitor all of his vital signs and as I was coming around to the other side of the bed ,to check his IV, I noticed that his hand (the one with the IV in it) was hanging over the edge of the bed and his IV, in that hand, had become disconnected and he had bled out onto the floor.

Much to my dismay, there was a huge blood clot on the floor.  I'm not talking about a splat of blood but a small garbage can lid size.  I notified his nurse right away, and now I thinking to myself, this needs to be cleaned up.  No problem , I grap some paper towels from the bathroom and proceed to wipe up the clot.

Yeah right, this thing had a mind of its own. First it slipped to the right. I chased it. Slips to the left, come on I think.  Have you ever seen a big glob of  jello wiggle and slip around. This was that and more.
We finally ended up under the bed, the clot and I. And all I was thinking was "What if Mr. G wakes up and is wondering why there is a small blond woman under his bed."  Set me into a fit of the giggles.
I told  this clot"I will get you my pretty" but it still eluded my grasp.  I went into the nurses station "and found the biggest drainage syringe I could find (syringes without needles).   And proceeded to
suck up one end of the elusive clot with my big syringe. I gingerly carried Mr. Clot to the biohazard
waste container and disposed of him!
Eureka, success!
Mr G. did get a new IV and I got the clot.