6 days but who's counting

The bathroom is almost complete...as you can see we have a floor and a new bathtub and some paint. I will be helping to floor the kitchen when I get to Columbus...yep, I'll still be working.

Oh, it must be similar to being released from prison. This is a great feeling...I am almost out of this place. After 3 months I am really tired of my little studio apartment. I am sick of the drive to the hospital. I am REALLY tired of having to do everything myself and alone. The old phrase you don't know what you've got till it's gone is so true. I actually feel very lucky and grateful for the opportunities I have. Not many people get to do what I do. There are thousands of people out there who are only existing and surviving. They get up everyday and go to the same job for the same pay in the same car in the same town. They work with the same people and come home to the same house. I'm sure it's comfortable, I think it would drive me nuts.

I remember when my husband and I first started out on this adventure 6 years ago. As soon as we decided we were going to do it, my perspective changed. I began to look at things differently. I distinctly remember walking into work one morning and I got the overwhelming feeling I was a rat in a maze, taking the same path as everyone else looking for the cheese. It was creepy. I felt that way until I left that job.

I got the opportunity to go back to that job and work as a traveler a couple of years later. I got to see that most of the same people were still there only bigger and older. No one really looked happy and there was a lot of complaining. It was good to go home though. I enjoyed going to work and knowing the doctors and the protocols. I still had the respect of my boss, my coworkers and the doctors..there was no proving myself. But, along with that came the added responsibilities that our superiors put on us. I miss the people, not the job.

It will be the same here when I leave, I will miss the people I work with, not the job. This was a tough assignment. The culture, the socioeconomic level of the patients really stood out. Again, sad, but it opens my eyes to the truth of what is out there that most people don't get to see, or choose not to see. If you are poor and don't go to the doctor and get your check ups you can die the first time you come into the hospital. If you send your loved one to nursing home and don't check on their care they can die a slow agonizing death. Most of the doctors here cannot effectively talk to families and patients about a DNR, a lot of that is cultural, and it's very sad. There is a lot of suffering here.

Our little hospital has had 6 deaths in 2 weeks...that's a lot. Even the chaplain looks a little depressed. But, these people are so sick by the time they hit the ER, there is little chance for them.

The people who work at this hospital are a great group. They laugh a lot and get along with each other pretty well. It's hard to believe 90 % of the staff is LPN's. They know their stuff,though.

I will be losing my internet tomorrow until the 17th when I pick up again in Phoenix. Ya'll be safe. As they say here at Richmond Community...Holla at a sista whe you see her on the street, ya hear? Alright sugar.

Remember first do no harm.