ER Stories from the Hospital

We had a couple of patients come in tonight with some interesting symptoms. The first one was a 42 year old male, Daniel. He complained of not having a bowel movement in 9 days and stomach pains. He continued to tell me that he had drunk a gallon of apple cider, a quart of prune juice, and given himself an enema last night and that the only result that he has had is "the squirts" (thank you for sharing). He said the enema box said that if the enema didn't work that he should see a doctor. Well, this man did not have insurance, so he did not think he was able to see a doctor. I felt really bad for him, and tried really hard not to laugh when he was telling me everything he had done to help relieve his constipation. I know it was not funny, but the man also had a lisp and I wondered if he was gay. The poor guy....I hope I never have that problem.

Then there was a little boy who came in with his parents right before I left. Apparently he had gotten into the super glue drawer. He had super glue on his hands and then proceeded to get it in his eye.....smart. He only looked like he was about 3 or 4, so I really don't blame him.

WORD TO THE WISE AND NOT SO WISE PARENTS: SUPER GLUE IS NOT A CHILD'S TOY. CHILDREN SHOULD NOT PLAY WITH SUPER GLUE.

I Finally Got It!!!!!

I came home tonight from work to a wonderful surprise. I was very happy to find a large envelope from University of Phoenix. I knew inside would be my diploma for my Assoicates degree.

Hallelujah!!! I opened it, and yes, siry bobber....it was my diploma. It has been a long time only because it took me 9 months to pay off the debt before I could actually get the diploma. I am just sooooo stinking excited!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

Third Workout

Well, I did my third workout today. I was supposed to do that yesterday, but I have the privilege of having a big fat migraine. So, I not only did not go to the gym, but I didn't go to work either. I went to bed and slept from about 2 to 8 PM. It sure was nice to sleep, but the headache stunk. This morning I went to clean the mission home. That only took about 30 minutes...very light today. Then I went straight to the gym and worked out. I walked for 21 minutes like I did on Saturday and then I worked on the weight machines. I did 3 sets of 10 on most of them. I did not do the Roman Tower thing for sit-ups though. I did not have anyone helping me today, and I noticed that I do not work as hard when I do not have someone pushing me.

I'm planning on going tomorrow to the West Lansing gym to workout.

First Two Workouts

Well, my first workout at the gym was on Thursday, October 9th. My helper-person, Heather, had my walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes with a 5 minute cool-down. Then she took me around to several of the weight machines and had me do 2 sets on each of those. I felt really good after my workout on Thursday.

I went back to the gym on Saturday, October 11th. I met with Heather again. She asked me how I felt from Thursday. I told her that I felt fine. She asked me if I was sore at all, and I said I wasn't. She asked me that a couple of more times. She didn't understand why I wasn't sore from Thursday's workout. So, Saturday she had me walk for 20 minutes with a 1 minute cool-down. Then I did the weight machines again. I did 3 sets on some of the machines, and 2 sets on the rest. I must say I thought I was going to DIE on Saturday night and Sunday night. I was sore everywhere except my hands, feet, and neck up....everything else hurt. I guess I got a good work out.

Tomorrow will be my third workout. I'm looking forward to it.....not the pain, but the feeling of accomplishment.

Here We Go Again

Well, I'm gonna try again. Today I joined a gym. I'm excited about it. The gym has a pool and has water aerobics classes 3 days a week 4 times a day on 2 of the days. I'm excited. It's a gym that has "Men's Days" and "Women's Days". I really don't care about that aspect of it, but the days that I can go to the West Lansing location on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. and the East Lansing location on Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sun. Of course, I'm not going to be going on Sundays, but I'm planning on going on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and maybe Wednesdays since I have Wednesdays off. I am excited about my new commitment and hope to lose have of my body (at least that's my goal...we shall see).

The First One

So, I found the first one today. Most of you know me pretty darn well. You know that I don't stare at myself for hours in the mirror. In fact, if I didn't have to look at myself in the mirror, I probably wouldn't. So, I stepped out of the shower. All of my hair is soaking wet stuck to my head except for one piece of short grey hair sticking straight up on the top of my head. I was NOT happy about that. I considered pulling it out, but instantly thought of the little saying about plucking one and two growing in it's place. Fortunately, I have a part on the side of my head that covers it up and I can't find it when my hair is semi-dry and combed (because all of you know that I NEVER actually dry my hair).

I was surprised that my response was not more dramatic than it was, honestly. I didn't start crying. I didn't call my best friend, Lynnae, or anyone else. I did call Sarah and told her about my first grey hair, but that was not the purpose of my call. I did, however, go to Maggie Moo's and got my most favorite kind of ice cream, chocolate ice cream with peanut butter sauce and Reese's peanut butter cups......YUM YUM!!!!

Ward Conference and the Next Four Years

I got to go to church today. I have not been able to go to church for the last 3 weeks, because I have been working the last 3 weekends. I do not like not being able to go to church. My week just is not the same. This Sunday would normally by my week to teach, but it was Ward Conference instead. That was certainly fine with me. I was happy not to teach, but to just sit and enjoy the talks and lessons. This Ward Conference was the last Ward Conference for this current Stake Presidency. They have been serving for 9 years. They have been a blessing to our Stake, especially the Stake President. He now has cancer. I think he is a great man. In Relief Society today he took the time to answer any Gospel questions that we, as Sisters, had. There were some questions submitted prior to the meeting that he answered first. They were interesting questions, most of which I already knew the answers to, but it was wonderful to know that he cared enough to take the time to just answer questions.

I wanted to ask him what his thoughts were about what would happen if Obama were elected, but I knew there were some democrats in the room and there was not enough time to ask. I'm wondering (if Obama is elected) if the Savior will be coming in the next 4 years or so. Only because Obama has stated that he will support the Muslims and not the Jews in Jerusalem (even though the Jews are God's chosen people and are the children of the Birthright son). I wonder what some of the General Authorities and Church Leaders feel about this upcoming election.

Lately, I have felt very strongly about my duties as a citizen of the United States. Perhaps it is because Mom is always watching something about the election on TV. I feel like I have certain duties to my country. I feel a duty to support the economy by buying American, particularly by driving an American-made car (yes, I feel it is my duty to buy an American-made car....some people think I'm nuts....I just think they don't get it), to support and honor the troop who fight for my nation, and especially to study the issues and pray about who should be the next leaders of the United States. For instance, (ok this is really kind of silly) last night I was at a YSA activity. There were several kinds of potato salads: Mustard, Jack's, American, and some other kind. Well, I was encouraging people to eat the American potato salad, because we were "American". This was a bit over board, I think, but I was really quite adamant about this. Sometimes I think people just don't care anymore.....especially young single adults. People don't realize that this President thing is going to effect the life of every American for the next 4 YEARS. Four years...that's a long time. Anyway, that's just how I feel.

The Count Down

Yes, that is correct, I am starting the count down until I get to go to Utah. From today, September 16, 2008, it is 7 weeks and 1 day until I leave. I am so ready for a break from working. Lately, I have worked alot. I have gotten to work the last 3 weekends in a row, so that I can have the weekend off in November to go to Utah. This month I've just be working my normal shifts which is really nice. October is going to be another crazy month though. We have Kristin getting married and going on her honeymoon, Hayley having a baby, Sue's daughter getting married, Lori got fired, and Kurene has been down-graded from full-time to resource (which means she fills in pretty much any time we need help). We are severely under-staffed at the hospital. It will be nice money, but the hours that I have picked up for October are insane.

No interesting stories that I can think of from work. Sometimes I think I work in a Looney Bin. People are nuts. They come to the ER for the dumbest reasons. It's like the people that go to Urgent Care should be going to ER, and the people that come to ER should be going to Urgent Care or the Dentist. We had a girl come in the other night with a splinter......a splinter? What? Do you want to pay $700 to get a splinter out of your hand? Haven't you ever heard of tweezers and some hydrogen peroxide? What a waste of time and money!!! People are nuts.

Seven weeks and one day!!! WOO HOO!!!

Labor Day at the Hospital

While most normal people got to go to picnics, eat hot dogs and hamburgers off the grill, see fireworks, and enjoy the company of family and friends, I got to work the evening shift on Labor Day. I don't usually work until 11, so it was a late night for me. The most memorable ER visit that night was a guy, Jay, came in all beat up and bloody. He is one of our "frequent flyers" (as we call them) at the hospital. He shared his story about being attacked by an ex-con across the street from the hospital. I encouraged him to try to clean up some in the bathroom and gave him some gauze for his bloody face. The interesting thing, though, about this night was that about an hour or so later another guy came in with a thumb laceration and a hand injury. He told his story about a man trying to stab him with a knife. I thought, hmmm......could these two be related??? I was correct in my assumption. Three police cars came speeding up and stormed in to try to find Henry, the ex-con who beat up Jay. They were both in the ER at the same time. I thought that was interesting, and was just waiting for another brawl. I must say that I was scared.....and I thought Lansing was supposed to be dangerous...not the little towns around Lansing!!! In the end the police didn't drag anyone out of the hospital....at least not while I was there. It was certainly an eventful evening for me, and that was just two of the ER visits that night. :-)

I Love Grapes & Liz

I love grapes.....not all grapes.....just some grapes. I do not usually like green grapes, because they are usually sour. I like the sweet grapes which are usually the purple or red grapes. I also do not like grapes that have seeds. Those just get in the way, and are annoying. Tonight after work, I almost finished up the whole bag of grapes. YYYYUUUMMMYYY!!!! (I used Mom's camera for this picture.)

For those of you that don't know yet, Liz got engaged this past weekend. I just found out today. Congratulations, Liz. I'm so very excited for you!!! Love you tons!!!

Last one on the boat, but I made it.

Well, I'm the last one to jump on the bandwagon, but I finally did it. I've created a blog about my not so exciting life. I currently do not have a camera, so I am not able to post any pictures. I lost that in the move from Utah to Michigan last year. I do plan on buying a new one though before my trip to Utah in November (which I'm very excited about). I'm going out to see Monica and the rest of the Romney fam and Lynnae, the new baby and the Dunn fam. I'm so very excited about my trip.