Christmas spirit

There really is a Christmas spirit and it is alive and well. I have to share this story. A nice little old (80) lady, healthy and does everything for herself, lives alone. While driving to church, somehow got off the freeway before her exit, as she was driving down the road she runs into the curb and stops. A man following her stops and walks up to her door and asks if she needs help. She feels confused and says I don't know. He walks her to his vehicle, helps her inside then goes back to move her car to a parking lot. He asks where she was headed and she tells him to church, she is starting to remember now, at first she gives him the right name but the wrong address, then she says no and gives him the right address. He drives her to church and along the way calls her son to tell him what has happened. The stranger walks her into church and helps her sit down, then he's gone...She gets help from the other parishoners to get communion then to sit back down. Her son comes in and sits next to her, after the service she asks her son to take her back to her car...he says I think you should go to the hospital, she actually agrees and takes her to the hospital. She is doesn't remember why she turned off the freeway, that few minutes are just gone...but wow, was she lucky. All of her symptoms are gone and it was most likely a TIA but, how badly that scene could have turned out. It really made my day to hear that story.I hope it helps renew your belief in Christmas and the good left in the world. Merry Christmas and non noc nocere.

what do you think

Yep, that's me, Standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona...we stopped there on our trip back from Oklahoma in November. We had stopped in Winslow before but never went to the corner. It was a nice day...a little cool then but they have been getting snow lately, it's up in the high country. Just one of those places you have to stop and see.

So, here's the scenario. 56 year old hispanic male comes in post op from ortho surgery after trauma, lets say he was hit by a car, it was a right femur fracture. He gets 2 units of blood post op. He codes at about 1am and doesn't make it. No real medical history to speak of. The first unit of blood was hung at about 1330. The second not until 1900. His iv infiltrated at some point in the afternoon and that's why it took so long for the second unit to go in. A couple of side notes...the same tubing was used for both units of blood. The tourniquet was accidentally left on his arm for over an hour. There was still a pulse in the arm. So, what do you think killed him...and what was the worst nursing error. What would you do if these were your nurses? or your family member?

first do NO HARM

GSW

Another sight on I-40, the largest cross I think in the Northern Hemisphere...in Groom Texas. You know everything is bigger in Texas. My husband just loves these action shots at 80 mph driving down the freeway he'll just pull out his camera and get a shot like this...amazing.
Ok, I know it's the holiday season and we should all be of good cheer and all that but, this week has just blown me away. This trauma stuff is just pitiful. I can't tell you how many gunshot victims I have taken care of this week. And most of them have no insurance, so the wonderful state of Arizona will help pay their bill. But, you have to give them all your info like a bank statement and your birth certificate...hard to find when you are laying in the hospital after being shot. So, you get to sit there until we can find someone to get the information and then the process takes like another week.
Then there are the illegals. I spoke with the case manager this week. We have a couple of people who need to go back home...and it's not going to be a short trip. $38,000 by ambulance. The hospital tried to send one person back yesterday with a medical person to transport by commercial airplane but, they wouldn't let him on because he didn't have a passport....duh, he's going back, he didn't have a passport to get here...how do we send him back now? I say call Sheriff Joe. Just really frustrating.
Then someone tells me that Santa Claus is not allowed to say HO HO HO anymore. What is up with that? Are we afraid he's going to offend someone? He has been saying HO HO HO for hundreds of years...the hoes know he isn't talking to them. Are we that afraid of offending someone, anyone? Now he's supposed to say HA HA HA...well, who is he laughing at? Yeah, are you laughin at me? Yeah, that's so much better.Ugh. It's hard enough for me to muster up some holiday spirit then I hear something like that...just kills it.
I'm looking forward to moving to a different hospital. I will be going to Banner Desert...sounds warm huh? It's in Mesa just south and east of Phoenix. We will be getting a new apartment...yeah no more music at 3am...I think any other company would have moved me to another complex as many times as I have complained...not real happy with Banner right now. We will be in the same complex as our friends from PA. The weather here has been pretty cool and a little rainy but still better than 30 degrees and snow.
My computer guru husband added a couple of things to my blog to make it a little more interesting. Can you find all 3?