Not Me Monday-Why Nurses Shouldn’t B Patients

I am joining the AWESOME MckMama today for another NOT ME MONDAY. My life is so boring lately...NOT!

As many of you know, my new best friend Ana stopped by last week…

Yep, Nasty ol’ Ana-phylaxis!

This sweet nurse (yeah, I’m talking about me!) became a very problematic and pathetic patient.

Let’s just establish right here that I am NOT allergic to fragrances…perfumes, colognes, air fresheners, cleaners, just about anything that sprays out of a can! Lame…who could be so lame?!

Plus, would you want anyone so lame to be your nurse? I thought NOT!

Nurses are known to be perfect patients. So with that in mind, I am really a good patient…NOT!

Last Wednesday, after being team-leader for the day I did NOT run into a flock of freshly washed, perfectly fragrant nurses coming out of the report room. They moseyed on by, heading for duty on the night shift. My throat did NOT immediately hint to me that a terrible night about to unfold.

As I headed to my car, my throat did NOT start closing up. I did NOT run into a nurse in the parking lot who would have made Florence Nightingale roll over in her grave!

Po' Flo!

Firehubby does NOT do an awesome job of describing that JERK…here!

I did NOT take 8 hours to respond to treatment and get admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit.

After being stable for about 12 hours, the nurse giving my male, comatose roommate a bath did NOT spray deodorant in my room!!!!

Nurses would NEVER be so careless. A person is always safe in the hospital…naughty me, I won’t go any further down this path!

I did NOT get another visit from Ana, yep Ana-phylaxis! Did I mention I hate her?~!

This Right Guard event did NOT bring on 4 hours more misery, this time with the added bonus of severe pain!

I did NOT start to live in fear of waking up to this:

…MURDER!

Ok, I was NOT such a bad patient.

I did NOT take my own IV out. (It needed to come out!)

I did not show various people wielding needles where I wanted them jabbed into my body.

I did not get drugged up and exhausted and act grouchy to my wonderful husband and try to get him to leave so I did not have to watch him be so concerned for me…

I did NOT hate being a patient.

But for now, I am VERY thankful to be home with my family.

And just so you know… this is definitely NOT a picture of me that I made Firehubby take for my blog. Who would ever think about taking a photo just for NOT ME Monday when they are in ICU?

Who looks like the bitter patient? Not me!

Thank you MckMama for hosting this blog carnival and giving me a chance to be NOT so sweet about my hospitalization. Now, everyone click here and check out all a ton of awesome NOT Me MONDAYS.

A New Equation

Just an FYI:

Prednisone

+ Earthquake (just big enough =2.8- to rattle the walls)

=Insomnia*

*Think I'm gonna need a nap today!

Where Do I Go From Here?

How can this be happening to me, I’m a caregiver…not a patient!

What do you mean you don’t know why my body is doing this?

Hey, I’m a control freak…how could my life be so out of control in this area?

As a nurse, I have put much trust in the fact that doctors can diagnose illness. That they can reach into their brilliant minds, open up a mental chapter, and come up with a good answer.

Unfortunately, this has been a problem that my doctors have not been able to come to the bottom of. Where do I go from here?

1)First things first…

I’m Down on My Knees…Where I should have been all along.

I really had not given this to the Lord. Laid it at his feet and really admitted that without Him, this situation is impossible. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I had turned my back on God, but I have been trusting doctors with this problem and not taking this to Him.

I was running scared, and trying to be in denial as much as possible.

The bottom line…What if I gave it all to God, trusted him and his answer was…It’s time to come to Him. The thought of dying is acceptable… BUT NOT NOW! I want to be here for my family. I want to raise my kids with Firehubby. I don’t want to leave them yet!!!

These were the thoughts that were keeping me from giving this to God fully. It was easier to be in denial then face this head on.

This is not correct thinking. I needed to give it all to Him, every last fear and thought. (Not that He did not know every one anyway!)

I need to keep my focus on the fact that my Lord loves me and that He is 100% TRUSTWORTHY.

It is a shame that it took this going to such an extreme to get my attention to where I need to be spiritually, but now I am looking in the right direction… UP!

2)The next thing…

I am going to do is to see an Internal Medicine Specialist

The Intensive Care Attending Physician recommends that I get all of my testing from various doctors reviewed by one specialist and get the big picture of my problem. It is possible that there may be gaps in the testing that I have had, and that there may be more avenues to explore.

3)Finally…

If that comes up without an answer, I am going to find an expert somewhere to help try to figure this out.

But for now, I am feeling better as each hour passes. I am trusting God to get me through this. I am thankful all of you, my wonderful family and friends.

Hoping you are all having a great weekend!

With a Grateful Heart…I’m Home

The words “Thank you!” can hardly express the gratitude for all of your support and prayers over the past few days.

I am so glad to be home with my family and look forward to a good night’s rest!

Physically, I am still a bit tight in my chest. This is not something that I am used to, as I usually feel better within a few hours of emergency treatment. But, this was a doozie!

The throat swelling and clamping down of my lungs went on and on. Instead of reversing with an hour or two of being slammed with Epinepherine, Benadryl, Albuterol, Zantac, and Steroids, it took 8 hours to get things under control. That is why I ended up in the intensive care unit. I am pretty good at being calm through these storms, but the words “we may need to intubate you”(throat tube and breathing machine) were darn scary! Thankfully, that did not happen!

I look forward to coming back online tomorrow and catching up on your blogs and writing a bit more of exactly what is happening with this crazy body of mine.

Thank you especially to Firehubby and Elaine! I am truly blessed!

For now, good night my friends. I thank God for each one of you!

A quick update!

Hi there, it's Elaine again. I just wanted to let you all know that Julie will be coming home a little later today. Please continue to pray, and she will update us all, as she feels up to it.

I know all of your prayers have been appreciated, and let's continue to pray for complete healing.

Prayer Warriors Continue to Pray

Hi, it's Elaine again. I just wanted to ask you all to continue to pray . Julie is still in the hospital, and needs our prayers. Please include Fire Hubby, Scout and Princess too.

It looks as if Fire Hubby leaves comments, on these posts, to update us all. Or you can go to his blog, and check out his twitter updates.

We interupt the normal schedule, for a prayer request.

Hello everyone, it's Elaine from Matters of the Heart. Some of you may know that Julie and I are good friends "in real life."

I know you all have come to love Julie, just about as much as I have. There really is not a better friend, than Julie, folks. I'm not even kidding. I can not even begin to tell you what a wonderful heart she has.

Right now, our Wife.Mom.Nurse needs your prayers. I'm not sure if you have read this post. But anaphylaxis has struck again. Julie had a severe episode yesterday, thankfully at work, that has caused her to be admitted into the ICU. I have talked with her this morning and she is doing well.

Please take a moment and pray that God's perfect plan is unfolding. I know this is a very scary thing for Julie, and I would love if you would all pray for her healing, and that she feels some peace about the situation.

Fire Hubby has everything under control at home, and hopefully, Julie will be released today.

Let me tell you, even though the nurse, is now the patient, she certainly still has her humor about her. She is already planning a great NMM out of the adventures of yesterday.

I know she would love to hear all of your kind words when she gets home.

Firefamily Fun

Today seems like a great day to join Erica at Scottsville for her "A Walk Down Memory Lane" Wednesday.

When Daddy is a Fireman...

1997-Daddy's First Fire Department 1998

1999

2000

2002-Daddy's New Fire Department!

An Eight Legged Day

Seems that everywhere I go today I am seeing and hearing about spiders…

Oh, freak me out!

Now, being a Firewife, I’ve had to come to terms with getting them out of my house, since Firehubby is gone so much.

Today, the Princess was brave enough to escort one out of the house…thank you sweetie (what’s wrong with that girl, doesn’t she know she is supposed to recoil at arachnoids?!)

Anyway, with all of the s----r talk, I was reminded of a TRUE STORY.

So, I thought I would join Rachel at Once Upon a Miracle for:

Many moons ago, when my nephew A. was about 3ish, he came to his mom with a bright smile and a closed outstretched hand. He clearly had a present.

Now, little A. didn’t use his sign language to tell mommy about his special gift. But, his huge grin told his mommy that this was indeed something special…

Was it a pebble?

Was it a flower?

Was it a lady bug?

Little A. opened his small little fist to reveal a…





BLACK WIDOW!

*tempting to post a picture here, but then I would have scared myself (and possibly you) away from my blog for awhile

God was looking over little A. that day, he was not bitten!
And thankfully my SIL didn’t suffer a heart attack!

Dare tell a True Story of your own?

Not Me Monday-I'm a Geek!

WOW! I can hardly believe it is NOT ME MONDAY again.

Yes, I am joining MckMamma for this fun blog carnival.

I highly recommend it!

"Computer geek"… who said that?!

I am NOT becoming a computer geek!

Well, programming and knowing all about

the innards of a computer is (really) not what I am talking about!

I am NOT spending many hours on the computer each week.

Between work…

My blog…

Emails… Online Bill-pay and budget management…

I am NOT spending way too much time online!

This would NOT be appropriate for a wife-mom-nurse-type.

I should be spending more time…

Cleaning…

Cooking…

Sewing…

Attending to my family’s every beck and call...

Not… I like being a computer geek!

Off to surf!

My Bedside Table, Revealed

Reading Hilary’s post over at A Look into our Lives inspired me to do as she did and reveal my bedside table ")

I really loved her post.

I thought it was a great way to get to know someone better.

So, here goes: My Bedside Table, Revealed

1) The usual suspects…lamp,telephone, tissue, alarm clock

2) Pretty glass vase-I love colored glass

3)Rock-To throw at Firehubby when he snores. JUST KIDDING! (ooh, I’m in trouble now!)

Actually this rock means the world to me. It is a candle holder.

When Firehubby and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary,

we went to Vancouver Island, Canada.

It was an incredibly romantic trip. The inn had one of these in our room, made by a local artisan. Special memories.

4)Black Ticonderoga pencils- Never know when a story will come to mind. They are my version of a laptop.

5)My latest reads…

All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg

My new passion, reading about women who lived in eras past and have overcome adversity.

The author tells of his life growing up in the Old South, with a focus on his hard working, self-sacrificing mother.

He is a phenomenal writer and I am clinging to each word.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

A sweet neighbor just dropped this by as a special gift.

I am looking forward to finding out why I came to her mind as she read it.

New Jack by Ted Conover

An autobiography about a prison guard…don’t ask! “)

Our Mother-Daughter Journal by Julie and the Princess

This is a special book in which the Princess and I write little notes to each other.

After we make a special entry, we tuck it under each other’s pillow.

Sometimes it’s a gratitude journal, sometimes a chance to say sorry, a special love note…I love our book.

I thought this was fun. Maybe you will be inspired too!