Month: November 2016

So, 2016 has been a rough year filled with loss, death, illness with the random pinches of happy times and celebrations.

2016, I have learned of almost ten deaths. All from different causes. Car, cancer, cardiac – what my ex-surgeon dad says describing the top three causes of death in the US. And, it is very true. All of those people died from one of those causes.

You’d think that knowing this information one would be more careful. You know, look both sides before you cross the street, never drive intoxicated, don’t smoke or drink or live near a power plant (all carcinogenic), and the biggest ones eat healthier and move more. My dad recently got hospitalized for chest pains. To his luck, the weekend after Thanksgiving. The notorious weekend where everyone gets sick somehow. My brother’s gf PGY3 in medical school described her family medicine weekend rotation as an group of people admitted for all of these rashes, colds, all from thanksgiving day and on. So, there we were in the ED, describing the weekend statistic perfectly. They did an EKG, did a CXR, drew cardiac enzymes, and we sat there for 14 hours, waiting for a room on the floor. His EKG showed some ST elevations bit T wave inversions. Thankfully, it was unchanged from his prior EKG and all cardiac enzyme labs resulted normally. Finally, Sunday comes and nothing happens. Nothing ever happens on a Sunday unless you’re dying. Then Monday, he got a stress echo done. The results would indicate if one vessel was occluded they would need to send him to the cath lab to have a stent placed. If more, then a CABG. Open heart surgery. They also sent him to get a chest xray with conrast to rule out a PE.

Finally, today he got discharged. Good, because he is traveling with my mom in two days to the Philippines for the next two months. They totally need the break.

So, you’re probably wondering what the good news is. Well, two weeks ago Columbia University accepted me to their CRNA program. My dream school. I was sad that I decided to forgo my California apps, but honestly, I can’t imagine myself besides NYC. Here’s to a great 2017 and 6 more months of freedom! I can’t believe how quickly time flies.

You know what makes my day?

A simple phone call or interaction with patients or the family…

Today, a husband called me wary about his wife (my patient) when hanging up the phone pauses and says “you are taking care of a very special lady right there, take very good care of her.” Just like that, I assume the responsibility of being their gatekeeper.

When I was helping her recline her chair, in hopes of preventing post operative atelectasis and muscle atrophy, she whispers be careful honey, you should wear a back brace for all that you have been doing for me.

Then, later I keep checking in on her to see how she was doing and she says “I am okay, I know I am in good hands”

These are the moments I live for. Forget the surgery – the mitral valve repair, her pressor requirements which we had a hard time weaning – hypokinetic biventricular function needed epinephrine and norepinephrine which help your heart’s contractility, the complications, I am in this because nursing is what makes me human. I did not start off loving nursing, I grow to love it more and more each day.