Following your patients

Yeah, I got a day off and it's the week of the Barrett-Jackson car auction here in Scottsdale,AZ. I was so excited! We spent all afternoon looking at the cars. We got to see the stage and everything. Now watching it on TV makes it that much more exciting. I was watching it Tuesday night and I remembered seeing some of the cars. Very cool.
So, work has been good. I got to work on a different pod. They reserve 2 pods for post cardiac cath patients and most of the nurses that workover there can pull the arterial sheaths...which is why I don't normally work over there. But,it was a good experience.I got to pull a venous sheath, with someone watching,it was pretty easy, just like pulling a central line.
I love it when I connect with my patients and am able to see that I have made a difference. I took care of a liver failure patient just after Christmas for 5 days in a row.She was really cool to talk to, she's a Army lifer...20 years, and so is her husband. She also has a friend that came from the east coast to visit with her. That, I thought, was a great gesture of friendship. Anyway, she's been in the hospital since before Christmas, waiting for a liver transplant. While she was my patient I had pet therapy come to visit her because she missed her dog. Then I arranged it so she could go outside and her husband brought her dog, you should have seen her face, it was very rewarding. She was moved up to the floor where they take care of the liver patients but I have been going up a couple of times a week to visit her and her husband. They really seem to appreciate it. I went to visit her last Friday and she was sleeping . Saturday I went to visit and she was not there, she had gone to surgery to get her transplant. My heart jumped, I was so happy for her! Now, if you have never had the experience of taking care of a patient in liver failure, I'll paint a brief picture. They are jaundice, skin and sclera, they have a huge abdomen from ascities and we generally make their life miserable by giving them Lactulose to get rid of the ammonia that builds up in their body. They lactulose gives them awful smelling diarrhea, not that there is any good smelling diarrhea, but this stuff is usually pretty bad. They have a difficult time controlling their bowels with it as well. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Most of these patients are very discouraged and some are very angry. Maybe that's why I like my patient so much. She really kept her spirits up, she had some down days but she kept her sense of humor. So, I went to see her yesterday because they transferred her out of the ICU and back to the liver floor...she looks so good! No more yellow eyes! Any the worry has eased from her husbands face a little. I smiled the rest of the day! I know her journey is no where near over but I'm so happy it's headed in the right direction. It makes me feel like I can do this for a little longer.
Someone e-mailed me and said it sounded like I don't like my job... I hope I don't come across that way. I do love my job . I just get frustrated. Remember first do no harm.