What’s in a name?

Well, we have officially switched names already and we are barely 3 months along! Haha. Hopefully this is the first and the last name change that will happen. We were thinking about our name choices, and Jeremiah just wasn’t sitting right with us. We pondered and pondered and decided it just wasn’t the right name for our kid. I really love the name, however, I am not fond of the other names that can come from Jeremiah. Jerry, Jeremy, Jer….and we know that the kid is going to have out of control curly hair, so imagining our kid being called “Jerry Curl” just wasn’t going to cut it. We didn’t want people to call him (if we are having a him) any of those names, so we dumped the name. Problem solved! And a new problem created in the same moment. We apparently are quick on our feet with first name choices and we fell in love with Jesse. Yes folks, another “J” name. We just like the J’s apparently! We love Jesse, but are back at square one for middle names. We have a few in mind, but we’ll keep working on them until we reveal our choices. We also liked the way that Jesse sounded with our names. Rj, Kacey, and Jesse rather than Rj, Kacey, and Jeremiah. We also enjoy the lovely sound of Jesse and June together. We think its cute and that they will be loving siblings (we hope someday!). I think I am most excited for the name change because Robert REALLY likes Jesse. It brings a smile to my face seeing him get so excited about our kid’s name if its a boy. 

In other news, we bought our crib! Babies R Us was having a great sale, where if you bring in a used piece of baby equipment (ex: stroller, car seat, crib…), you get a 25% off coupon to use in the store on that day only on select baby items. The crib we liked qualified and we got about $85 off the sticker price! We opted to not get the convertible crib since other babies are in the future for this family, and we don’t want to have to buy a new crib for each one. Plus, when you convert the cribs into the regular sized beds they are full size beds, not nice little twins that fit in the small bedrooms in our house. So we went with a traditional crib that has stationary sides. We love it, and I can’t wait for it to arrive, for us to find out what we are having, and to set up the baby’s room just the way we want it! So fun! Here is the crib in all its glory! 

Oh…haha. The picture turned out kind of small, but you get the idea. We already have some white furniture in the room, so white crib it is. Can’t wait to put together all of the other details. That’s all the news I have on Baby J!

12 Week Bump!

So I don’t really have the baby bump yet. Most of my pants still fit, but things are beginning to get a little snug. Before getting pregnant I could have afforded to lose a few pounds, but that will just have to go away after the baby is born now. So although these pictures look semi-bumpish, let’s keep in mind that I in no way had a flat stomach before embarking on this adventure. 

First attempt at picture taking. A little too far away, but a good picture anyways.

 

Take two! More updates to come in the future months ahead!

Week 12, Day 1!

I am 12 weeks pregnant today and feeling great! I’m excited because today is the first picture day for us. We are going to take pictures of the belly progress each month, and we decided to start with 12 weeks just because its that big first milestone. When my cousin Aimee had her little girl, she took her monthly picture in the same outfit to better show the difference between each month. I am going to do the same. She wore pink sweats and a white long sleeved shirt, and she had a girl. I went shopping for my ‘picture’ shirt the other day and wound up with a blue one. I actually didn’t think about it at the time of purchase. I was only looking at the clearance price tag at Old Navy, and that color happened to be the only one in my size, and for around $2, it was a great buy! Now, I don’t know what this blue shirt could possibly mean, but if just about everyone in my life is correct, then I am having a boy, and the blue shirt furthers that prediction. So we’ll just have to wait another 4-6 weeks or so to find out the results! I think the funniest prediction came from my grandpa a few days ago. I was at his house visiting with some of my cousins and he came from the other room, kissed me and said “how is that baby doing”, and he touched my stomach. My mom was right there, and she said “June is doing just great.” And he looked at her and said “that’s not its name”, and I said, “well, if its a girl, then yes, that will be her name.” And he touched my stomach again, and said, “Nope, thats not her name. See what I just did? That’s not her name.” Haha, so that was his way of telling us, no way no how is it a girl. Because he had declared it, the baby was going to be a boy. It was pretty funny. Now its time for a fun survey that my friend Michelle does often to mark the progress of her pregnancy! 

How far along? 12 weeks, day 1

Total weight gain/loss: +4 

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but clothes are getting a little tighter in the waist. Bella band is my best friend, and that handy rubber band trick for the button!  

Stretch marks? no, and hopefully not any, ever. 

Sleep: I love sleeping and I sleep in till about 9 every morning. I think I’m getting about 10 hours a night at least. 

Best moment this week: Being able to share our news with everyone we know

Movement: not yet, but I’m ready for it. 

Food cravings: not really, more food aversions (eww chicken). 

Gender: don’t know

Labor Signs: n/a 

Belly Button in or out? in 

What I miss: my smart brain

What I am looking forward to: feeling movement! 

Weekly Wisdom: drink water or else….. 

Milestones: 12 weeks old and the size of a lime! 

So far this pregnancy has been pretty smooth sailing. I don’t have much to complain about, which makes it a little hard for me to believe that I am pregnant. I think that those who are more sick have something to focus on that lets them know that they are indeed with child. Sickness has been mild for me, if I could even call it that. I am not as tired, only because I sleep in, and my clothes still fit for the most part. There is not really a bump to show for all of this work going on inside of me, so I think I’m most excited to start showing and feel movement, so that I know that everything is going okay. At the last appointment we were able to hear the heartbeat, but that was the only indication that the kid was still in there. So I’m getting a little anxious for the next thing to happen so that I don’t need a doctor’s visit to tell me what’s going on. The only thing that so far is a drag is my sciatic nerve pain. Your sciatic nerve is a huge nerve (about the diameter of a quarter) that runs from your lower back, down each side of your butt, and down your leg where it branches out. Well, my left side is killing me! My doctor said its because everything is getting looser (ligament, muscles, blah blah blah), and so nerves like this big one are easily strained. Well, I think its a bummer that this early on its causing issues…and it actually gets worse if I exercise…so thats a big bummer. But I’m managing, and trying to not bend too much or lift anything so that I don’t disturb it further. But I also feel like if that’s the worst of my woes, then I have it pretty good and don’t have much to complain about.  

Picture of the ‘bump’, that is non-existent, to follow when the husband arrives home today.

Baby Campos. Week 11, day 1.

So the announcement has been proclaimed! We are having a baby and couldn’t be more excited about it! The world of facebook has been informed, so pretty much the entire world knows now. Hehe, or at least that’s what it feels like when you write something like that on facebook. It is so surreal to announce something like that, because it doesn’t FEEL real yet. And I think the reason that it doesn’t feel real is because I’m not sick. I’m tired, and sore, but other than that, I don’t have much to complain about. We had an appointment yesterday and the only thing to indicate that we were moving along was hearing the heartbeat. It was nice and swooshie sounding and was in the 160’s. Excellent! So we wait 4 more weeks to hear our swoosh again, and hopefully will have something to show for it by then (but not too much, please!). I’m still wearing my normal clothes, although some are more comfortable than others at this point. I can’t wait to have the hopefully round little tummy and to feel something inside that lets me know that they are there! 

Here are some things that we have decided about this baby so far. No genetic testing for us, because no matter the outcome, we wouldn’t do anything about it. This baby is here to stay and we feel blessed to have him/her. If its a boy, his name will be Jeremiah (middle name still to be determined), and if its a girl, her name will be June Kennedy. We have had our names for a very long time, and those are the names that we love! We don’t really care what other people’s opinions are of the names because they are normal names. And even if they were a bit unique, it is our right to name our kid whatever we want. And we are happy with the results. People have been asking me if I have any ‘feeling’ of what we are having. And my answer is always: I have no clue! So, yesterday I decided to do some research. According to old wives tales, we are having a boy! But…according to the Chinese gender prediction chart, we are having a girl! Apparently, the gender prediction chart is said to be over 90% accurate…we will have to wait and see the results! We are excited for either outcome. 

This has been an exciting journey so far. When you are pregnant, you discover that 5 million other women around you are pregnant, just had a baby, or are starting to think about having children, which is so fun! My cousin had a baby last year and so kindly lent me all of her maternity clothes! My mom is great too and has bought me more than a few outfits already, getting me set for the growing days to come. I am excited to wear the what looks like plus-size clothing, but at the same time a little fearful of how big I might actually get. Yikes! Since I am on the petite side of life, my doctor recommended gaining only 15-20 pounds. Since food doesn’t sound so great these days, I’m doing good so far. A little nervous for that smaller goal though. One friend of mine, that is shorter and much smaller than me had the same guideline and gained 40! Her’s was attributed to water retention at the end, poor thing! She had a healthy pregnancy, and healthy baby, which is all that really matters, and all that I desire to be true for us too! 

So here’s to the journey that is already almost a third over! I have a feeling that August 19th will be here sooner than we think, and I might be bigger than a house by then! Here is a little picture from an ultrasound that we got just over a week and a half ago. The baby was moving all around and it was great to see that he/she has a nicely formed head, little arms, legs, and a cute little squishy belly that we are going to love to kiss so much! 

Oh Flo, there ya go!

Robert and I have been wanting a second dog for some time now. We have dried several times to get a second dog with no luck. The first dog was Sawyer, and he didn’t work out. The next dog was Diesel, and he didn’t work out either. In both cases, the dogs were wiener dogs, and we were excited to welcome them into our home for a play buddy for Hal…until each one fell through and we were a little disappointed. But we got over it and time went on with little happy Hal in our house, living life the way we do. 

Last week sometime my mom told me of a friend who knew a lady that was giving away a year and a half old wiener dog named….Weenie. We were excited that she wasn’t a ‘puppy’ and that she would come with basic dog-isms and possibly some shots, and some fixed parts. Well, the fixed parts was wishful thinking, and Weenie was actually in heat when we went to visit. The visit went great, she and Hal got along perfectly, or as good as you would expect two small dogs to act around each other. So the deal was, once she is done being in heat, we will take her and name her something else and acclimate her to our home and the way we do things. 

We decided to name the new dog Flo. No, not because of her current condition, but because it was old fashioned and we thought it went well with Hal. Kind of a diner waitress name to go along with the car mechanic name…get it? So she was to be called Flo, and behave like a nice little girl that she was. 

Start: yesterday afternoon, the pick up of Flo. My mom and I went to get the new dog, and as we drove away from the house with her doggie supplies in tow, the foulness of the smell of her bed was horrendous! Apparently, the previous owner did not see fit to wash the bed that the dog who was just in heat had been sleeping in for two weeks. Need I say more? Disgusting with a capital ‘D’!!! So we get to my house and her bed goes immediately into the washing machine with scalding hot water, along with Hal’s blankets that needed a good wash as well. Flo herself was a little rude smelling, and so Hal and Flo got baths. Flo smells like apples, Hal smells like ocean breeze. Looks like its going to be a great evening of Hal getting to know Flo. 

A typical evening in the Campos household consists of Hal eating dinner, us playing with him with toys for a little bit, and then relaxing on the couch. Flo didn’t know this, and decided it was time to wrestle, and it was time to wrestle now. Even with both of their tongues hanging practically to the floor with exhaustion, Flo wouldn’t quit. Hal would walk/run away for respite, and Flo would chase, and wrestle, and jump, and hump on Hal until he obliged and fought back. This happened for 4 hours. During this time, it was obviously time for potty breaks. Hal knows that we say “go potty,” that means, go now, and go on the grass. He listens. Flo on the other hand, knows neither “go potty” or any other form of the command. This resulted in us having to stand outside on the grass with her on a leash to get her to go. Did I mention that she was a year and half old? Now I understand that new dogs need to get used to where things happen, but I’m pretty sure that she was able to use her sniffer to figure it out. (Later I found out that she had gone on the carpet several times and that is why she was unable to perform outside). So all in all, Flo disrupted the ‘flow’ of the nightly activities of this house and it was not good. The only way that she would relax was if one of us was holding her on a separate couch from Hal. Even then, she still whined for him to play with her. TOO MUCH WORK! 

During all of this acclimation I noticed there was wet spots all over our hardwood floor. I figured that they were water spots from the water bowl, because when Hal drinks water, he somehow tends to get it all over the floor, so I figured they had just drooled or something like that. But then I looked closer. Those wet spots were NOT clear water spots. They were pink. EWWWWWWWWW. Flo was STILL in heat! I don’t know if it was all of the running around or what, but we were not happy. So off we went to the pet store to get doggie diapers. Robert was so disgusted he could hardly talk about the dog without an edge in his voice. So you would think, oh these don’t cost that much, maybe $10 or so. Oh no… they were definitely $16!!! And there were only 12 in a pack or something ridiculous like that. Again, not happy. So we got the diapers, got some carpet cleaner, and a new collar for her because she came with a pink studded spiked collar that just wasn’t our style. Back at the house we attempted to put the doggie diaper on, but don’t worry, it came off when they started wrestling. This is where the separate couch sitting took place. To keep her still, and from being banished to the backyard for her inappropriate state.

So we finished a movie in peace and then it was time for bed. Well, guess what Flo? You get to sleep in a kennel tonight, cause you will NOT be leaving pink spots all over my house tonight! Dog in kennel, kennel door closed, lights off, Hal in his own bed, bedroom door shut….bark…..bark….bark….bark… barkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkbarkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk…..howl howl howl…..bark!  Robert looked at me and said, “I did not sign up for a puppy, I signed up for a trained dog, how attached are you to her?” Uh-oh. Sorry Flo, the man of the house said no. The night went relatively well. Once she calmed down, she only whined throughout the night, and would quiet down when we yelled (yes, YELLED), “NO!” from our bedroom. 

Morning comes and it does not go as it normally does, naturally. Usually when Robert leaves in the morning Hal jumps up on our bed and keeps sleeping for another hour and a half or so. Not today! Hal comes in as usual, but Flo keeps barking. I guess it’s time to get up! Keep in mind, its only 7:30 in the morning, and lately I have been sleeping in till 9. So I take them both outside. Hal pees on command, Flo needs the leash, and does not appreciate the wet grass from the rain. Well, too bad sister, you either go now, or stay outside all day! So she went, and then I fed them both breakfast. I had to get some studying done, and couldn’t have her in the house in her current state, so they stayed outside. She kept chasing Hal and he kept running away. I think he went and hid in the shed in the backyard to get away from her. 

Meanwhile I figured that I would call the vet and schedule an appointment to get her fixed asap! I called, they had tomorrow morning open, perfect! Spayed, and shots all in one day. But then I talked to my mom. And the wise woman that she is told me, if your husband is not 100% about this dog, send her back. I wasn’t attached to her yet, and I also realized that I would be the one doing most of the work with her since I am the one that is home during the day. Studying for NCLEX + new untrained dog + daily house work = nothing gets done, and I become a cranky disaster. Oh, did I mention my Christmas tree is still up? Yep, that’s how far behind I am in picking up my house. So I had decided that it was best to send her back to where she came from and give her back her name of Weenie. So I called the vet, cancelled that appointment, and then called the lady back who we got her from. I very nicely explained that the dog was still in heat and was much too hyper for us to keep her, the husband said so. She wondered if we wanted to keep her a few more days to see if it got any better, and I kindly declined and told her that I already knew it wasn’t going to work out last night. So I dropped her back off this morning and washed my hands of ever getting a second dog in this decade. I felt bad taking her and then bringing her back the very next day, but we just couldn’t do it. Flo was disrupting our family and the way that we have come accustomed to pets in our home, and she just wasn’t going with the ‘flow.’ Maybe it was too ambitious to name her flow, we should have named her ‘Bad’ and then should would have been good…. perhaps! So we have learned that we love our little wiener dog that loves to sleep, loves to cuddle, and eats strange things at times. Hal is a great dog, except when he is bad. When he is bad, he is really bad, and I think that is all we can handle. We are thankful that we were able to give Flo back, and hope that she finds a happy home with enough energy to match hers, and owners that have patience to train her, because she really will be a great dog in about 2 years! 

So please, if I ever have the notion to get another dog, please remind me of this event and tell me that I have fallen off my rocker. Or just sabotage my efforts for the new dog, I’ll thank you for it later.

Her name is Lydia

During our last official women’s bible study last night I saw a person walk by the windows. One of the other women in the study got up to see who it was. It was a woman. Often times people come to our church looking for the weekly AA meetings that meet in the other building, the Mormon church next door, or just because they aren’t sure what people are doing at the building. She was just walking by because she saw lights in the building were on. She was homeless. It was FREEZING outside last night, so we invited her in to join us for our discussion that night. She came in. I don’t know if she genuinely wanted to join us, or if she wanted to come in because the room was warm, and it was a safe place for her to be. Either way, it doesn’t matter why she was in the room, it was just nice that she was willing to sit in a room full of strangers and listen to us talk. She sat the entire study and was quiet the whole time. She calmly sat there and didn’t really move a whole lot either. She was an Ethiopian woman, and she had a heavy accent, so I’m not sure if she understood what we were talking about most of the time because of the language barrier. But it looked like she was enjoying listening nonetheless. 

So the study ended and we ended with prayer requests that we wrote down and exchanged with one another to pray for each other during the week. I got Lydia’s. Lydia prayed for safety from danger, and that her faith in God would go smoothly. I’m not sure what that really means, but I think that she was trying to say that she wanted to stay connected with Him, to rely on Him for her needs. She amazed me. She had no where to sleep last night and asked if she could stay at the church and sleep in the warm building. We couldn’t let her because of the alarm system, and there was no one else to stay there with her. We all felt terrible about it. So she said she probably wouldn’t sleep that night and would just walk around because it was too dangerous to fall asleep outside. Other homeless people steal their belongings (she had a shopping cart full of blankets and other things). We made some phone calls to try to find her a place, and promised to leave a note on the door with any information that we had found for her. We had to send her away though as we all left the church last night. We gave her $25 for food, and I found two protein shakes in the fridge at the church. I figured at least she would get some nutrition to tide her over in the cold weather until she could find some decent food to eat. Her presence is not what amazed me. I’ve seen and talked to countless numbers of homeless people, so that is not new to me. What was new is that she wasn’t worried about life. She was asking us what we did for Thanksgiving, and smiled when we said we spent it with family. She enjoyed hearing us speak about our lives, and always told us that life is simple and God takes care of everything, and that is why she was going to be okay. In comparison to my life, I would say that her life isn’t okay at all. I could see my breath leaving the church last night and my fingers and toes were almost numb by the time I got to my car. 

I want to help her. The most I did last night was give her $5, and a couple of nutritional shakes. But she needs more than that. She said that she would come back on Sunday (she was there the previous Sunday as well). I was thinking of coming up with a basket of food that she can eat throughout the week or something like that because I can’t pay rent for her, and I can’t provide a place for her to stay. But I need to come up with something. Something to show that she is loved.

15 down, 0 to go

How can this be? A typo? 15 down?? Already?? Just two blog posts ago, the count was 1 down, 14 to go. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have officially completed my preceptorship at the hospital and have only a few items standing between me and graduation. The reason why you have not heard of any exciting updates via blog is because clinical days took the best of me for awhile. Among the blog, other things were neglected in my life such as my home, my dog, my husband, my friends, and any social outlet available to me. Free time has been spent expending no energy, and not thinking about school. But now that the amount of time I have available to me has drastically changed, so will the way in which the way that I spend that time. 

Now that 15 shifts, 120 hours, and countless amounts of charts have been completed during my preceptorship, I’m still unsure of the exact reason why I was put in a med/surg position and not labor and delivery like I had hoped. Other than the obvious reason that med/surg is more applicable to my board exam in the near future, I can’t pinpoint an ‘ah-ha!’ moment of truth as to why I was placed where I was. I’m okay with not knowing for now. Maybe reasons will be revealed to me over time. Like a surprise ending or something like that. I do enjoy surprises. While I was not discovering the reason behind the placement, I did learn quite a few things while I was working on the floor. I have accomplished blood draws, IV starts, injections of many medications, wound dressing changes, bed pan changes, nice patients, mean patients, crying patients, large patients, nasogastric tubes, catheters, urinals, diapers, vomit, smells of all things imaginable, time management, crisis, laughing, and smiling. I’m sure there are more things to add to the list, but I think that the most important thing that I came away with from finishing all of those shifts is that I still enjoy doing everything a nurse does. It may not be the most pleasant task all the time, but it is a challenge, and people need help. I saw a woman so sick, that I thought she was going down hill quickly, get well over a period of 3 weeks. That made taking care of her when she was so sick beforehand worth it. I cannot remember everything that happened in the 15 shifts that I worked, but I do remember making each one of my patients smile. It is my goal every shift to make each patient that I take care of smile at some point during their care. Smiling makes people feel better, heal fast, and have a better attitude about being in the hospital and getting well! Most of the time I make them smile when they ask me how old I am. They ask me, “How old are you?” And even though I do not enjoy this question because I think in my head that they will write me off the minute I tell them that I am 24, I usually answer sarcastically that “I’m 12 and a 1/2.” That answer usually gets a laugh out of them and then they don’t ask me anymore how old I am. One point for me!

So now that I am done with clinical, I am confident that I am in the right field. I love helping people, and I love seeing them smile. It is the best! I now will try to make people in my life smile. Starting with my husband. Our house is a disaster, and it is my goal to get it in an acceptable order and make Robert smile. I will then move onto other people that I love and try to make them smile too. Time to start living life with a smile on your face. Let me know if you need one, I’ll be glad to assist you in making that happen!

Listen, and wait

I found a piece of paper that I had written on from one of my devotional times a few months ago. I go through periods of being really good about sitting down, reading scripture, and writing out how I think it is applying to my life, or how I need to model daily living after it, and other times, not so good at doing that. I’ll type it all out here, just because I think that it is a powerful message that needs to be taught to me probably every day. And maybe someone else will benefit from my crazy brain’s way of processing and thinking too. 

Acts 1:1-8 (go read it!)

Be a witness and wait for God’s timing. Two simple commands with simple responses, and yet they are so difficult to carry out daily. So many times I act and decide things without without waiting for God to give me the green or red light. I live in a world that desires results, and the results we want, now! This is difficult to overcome because I must defeat myself and join God’s team and discover his plan for me instead of relying on the plan I have for myself. I want to be done with school, I want to have a fantastic relationship with my husband, friends, and family, I want those in my life to know Jesus, I want to be a mother, a nurse, and do everything without fail, but because I am not without sin, these things come as God allows them when I am ready, willing, maybe unwilling, and maybe prepared for a challenge. Be still, and listen are my goals for this week. Be still, listen, and use my words, my actions and my body as a witness for God. I cannot be a witness without being in touch with my relationship first. Be still, listen, and wait.

1 down, 14 to go

Last Friday night was my first night shift of my preceptorship at VMC. After all was said and done, I was completely exhausted and rolled into my driveway just shy of 12:00 midnight. My goodness, this preceptorship is going to be a little more difficult than I had anticipated. This is a little peak into what I experienced that night. Get report, hit the ground running. Assessments, medication administration, contact precautions, smelly homeless man, 800 pound man, injections, IV medications, amputated leg man, HIV man, post c-section woman, more injections, help use the urinal man, nasogastric tube woman, coded girl, more injections, chart, chart, chart, run, run, run, wash hands, wash hands, more injections. Break. Repeat cycle. At VMC they have a paper system for charting which makes the night even more difficult because there is paper everywhere!! If all of their charting was on a computer, everything would pop up at you to tell you what you need to check, how often, what meds were due to be given and so forth. With paper, you have to check every side of every paper, and make sure that you sign everything, and since I am a student, I have to have everything co-signed, since I am not licensed. It is quite a feat. 

I have realized though that this rotation will better equip me to take the NCLEX at the end of school. I will encounter more real life situations, lab values, insulin injections, and vital signs that will show up on the test than many of my other classmates will. The events will be fresh in my mind and I will hopefully be better able to pass the test! 

I did have a few opportunities to start some IVs during my shift, but since the night was nonstop and so busy, I didn’t feel like it was a good time to do one of those again. It was a little overwhelming on the unit Friday night, and I’m certain that there will be more opportunities for IV starts as my shifts continue, so that will be the next task at hand. IV starts and keeping track of all of the charting that I have to do. I just hope I don’t forget to sign everything that I am supposed to be signing and double checking and everything else! I am grateful though for the nurse that I am under. She has been on this particular unit for a few years and is knowledgeable about everything that happens at VMC. She is also patient with me as I remember how to draw up multiple types of insulin, assess patients, administer IV push medications, and everything else that I need to remember from a year and a half ago when I was on this type of unit. 

There are many stories to be told of my first night on the floor in a long time, but I will spare the details, unless they are wanted. Some things that happen are really unpleasant, and some things that happen are funny. I was so tired when I got home on Friday night, but Robert and I didn’t go to bed until almost 1am because I was excited to tell him all about my night. 14 more to go, which sounds like an incredible number left, but I am certain that they will occur quickly, and soon, I will be counting down the days until I walk across that stage in cap and gown, with a bachelors degree. Almost there, almost done.

No luck, but have a positive attitude!

That is the phrase that was told to me yesterday when sharing the news that I would not be switched off of the surgical floor onto something more my style. “No luck getting switched, but I want you to have a positive attitude about it!” I really have no other option except to be positive about it because if I have a bad attitude, the experience will just be dumb for me. So instead of being bummed that I’m on a floor where the basics are practiced, I will instead be the best. From bummed to best in less than 5 seconds. That is where my attitude is at. If I can’t help women bring children into this world, then I will be the best at starting IVs. If I can’t help a little child not be afraid of me when I bring him his medicine, then I will be the best at reducing my patient’s pain, and increasing their comfort levels. If I cannot hold the tiny fingers of a struggling baby, and help its parents cope with the illness of their newborn child, then I will be the best at helping adults recover and get sent home from surgery. If I can’t do what I actually want to do, then I’ll be the best at what others have put in front of me. I am obviously on this unit for a reason, because God allowed it to happen. He put me on a surgical floor instead of labor and delivery, and I suppose I just have to wait to figure out why He did that. He must be using me for something good, something real real good. In the meantime, instead of reviewing stages of labor, and baby vital signs,  I have to get out my med-surg book and look up lab values, adult vital signs, and how to insert a catheter…. The adventure of nursing school continues, and although it has taken a turn that I had not expected, I’m sure that there will be some great stories to tell at the end of it all, and hopefully a job opportunity waiting for me too!