Monday, March 4, 2013

what happened to super sick patient?

I really enjoyed the live blog I did the other day. Such a great way to keep track of what my days are actually like, for posterity, I suppose, and my own future entertainment. I had the patient the next day, and she continued to do very well. Actually, she did better than any of the nurses and docs had ever dreamed she would. Despite being intubated, the next day she was following commands and answering yes/no questions! Hooray, mental status still intact after all that coding! Quite remarkable, really. Her kidneys were back to normal. She was off all drips except the epinephrine and the insulin. We were tube feeding her. Her fever was staying down under 38.1. Her vent settings were down to 40%, PEEP of 10. In fact, my day was a bit boring, she was so stable.

Also, the CF patient I mentioned a few days ago passed away the day after I cared for him. Other nurses told me that the next day he seemed much more accepting of the fact that he was dying. Later he pooped, and coded as he was getting cleaned up. Peace to him and his family.

Overtime is out of this world. I'm working nearly every day. I carpool in on Saturdays and Sundays, and will be spending a few nights at the houses of friends in the middle of the week. My paychecks are going to start being out of this world. Blogging here is going to pick up of course, because work is my life right now. As another nurse who does overtime nearly every day told me, it's easy once you get into the rhythm. Break the rhythm and you'll realize that you're extremely exhausted and coming back will be hell.

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