Friday Dance Off! (#23)

Hello Friday Afternoon! Thank you for finally arriving to wrap up what turned out to be a great week!

Clinicals this week went surprisingly and unbelievably well! The highlight was definitely yesterday- such a great day!- based on OR selection availability (and a little hearty courage/mental instability), I went out on a limb and signed up to work a bronchoscopy/thoracoscopy/lobectomy case with our clinical coordinator. BEST decision of my week- the case rocked! Long-story-short, things got confusing in pre-op because of a trauma case that occupied my CRNA, so I dug up my NICU instincts (the ones that kicked in whenever we got a bad trauma and I didn't think I knew what to do, but somehow did), checked in with the temp CRNA who was setting up yet another OR, helped our MDA get the epidural block placed, got the paperwork started, got my patient to the OR, monitors placed, and preoxygenated, before my CRNA got back. THEN (and this was my jewel for the week), I not only got my ETT intubation, but I nailed my DOUBLE-LUMEN intubation (see comparison pictures below)!!!

Single Lumen ETT (placed routinely for general anesthesia):


Double Lumen ETT:


I learned how to "drop the operative lung" while the surgeon was working on it and how to re-inflate it while he looked for bleeders (omg- so cool!). My CRNA and I were complemented on our anesthesia for the case by the surgeon and at the end of the case, I got a high-five from my MDA- most definitely my highest complement thus far. Like I said, GREAT day. Have I mentioned that I love my job? :)

So here we sit on Friday afternoon- thrilled with this week's events in clinicals, watching Grey's Anatomy reruns on Lifetime (no new episode to catch up on today) while the rest of the Pack snoozes and I wait for Will to get home. Tonight is Beer(Jack)/Wings/Trivia Night at BWW with the Crowes! Last time we placed 3rd and got a $15 gift card (which will no doubt cover a round of drinks tonight-woohoo)! Here's to a great night followed by great sleep (past 4am)... and getting to the Fellowship meeting at 0900 NOT looking/feeling like a zombie!

Finally, to explain the title of this post. I totally stole this great idea from Marcie , but I'm currently compiling my list of 101 things to do in 1001 days. When I finally finish it, I'll post it, but apparently I'm either not very motivated or not very creative as I've gotten to #76 and have hit a mental block. Fortunately, I AM too creative to list "Duh" things like "Floss" and "Breathe," so the list will hit the Pack site whenever I come up with more exciting goals.
Anyway- all that to say this- I'm marking the first item off of this not-yet-completed list-
#23: Come up with a Blog gimmick (besides the list I stole).
And it shall be called "Friday Dance Off" (firewillheath already has the claim to the term "Dance Party").
And it shall feature either a photo or video spotlighting some form of dance in order to celebrate the end of a work week and the beginning of a hopefully awesome weekend! (Actually it unofficially started last Friday with the dancing bear... still hilarious...)
And it shall remind us all that, whether our weeks were great or terrible, we can keep it up or let it go by dancing it out!

So... with that... here's this week's Friday Dance Off contestant (and please feel free to join in- you know I will!):

What I've LeaRNed

Been there.... literally...

Done that... all of it...

Wouldn't be who or where I am today without it...

... And wouldn't have missed it for the world.

TGIF!

TG for an incredible week and an especially wonderful Friday!

As promised, here are a few pictures from our fun in the snow last weekend:

Apparently it's tough to be Goliath.

These last 2 shots pretty much explain our individual feelings about Clementine. As of right now she's still living with us, but our neighbors are interested in her and I'm hoping that they'll take her in as part of their pack. I'm going to miss her napping in my lap while I watch Grey's Anatomy in the afternoons... but at least if she's next door, I know she'll be in a great pack...

and I can visit her :)

Saturday morning I went down to Boutwell Auditorium to meet my Mercedes 5K team. My 28-yr-old knees thanked me for not trying to be my 21-year-old running self as Mom and I walked the whole thing (meeting our goal of finishing in under an hour):

But more importantly, we walked to help out this little cutie:

Alyssa is the daughter of Susan Lee, a long-time friend and member of our home church- St. Mark UMC. When she was 6 months old, she began having neuromuscular problems and has been approved for receiving a service dog to help her with daily tasks. The Lees have been fundraising for awhile, including forming "Team Alyssa" for Mercedes weekend, and they recently announced that they have reached their goal and will be enrolled in a training class later this year with the organization "4 Paws for Ability." Alyssa is adorable and we were so happy we could help her! I am a huge animal lover and supporter of service animals- they can truly make a world of difference, from emotional support to life-saving trained behaviors. Alyssa's story can be found here : http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/alyssagracelee

Continuing my "being more active" New Year's Resolution (or something like that), Will and I met up with some cyclers on Sunday afternoon at Liberty Park Middle School. We're complete amateurs, but managed to keep up pretty well for the (unexpected) 16.5 mile ride to Barber Motor Speedway and back. Other than feeling like jello for a few hours afterward, I felt surprisingly good... And completely justified in eating the homemade manicotti we had for Valentine's supper that night. Whit and Jessie came to cook and eat with us and, besides the crappy flower table decorations, we had a great night. (The flowers, btw, were a last minute attempt at a festive display. My wonderful husband, who sends me flowers every year, tried to send me flowers at the hospital in Anniston that Friday but they were unable to deliver before I left and wouldn't bring them all the way to Leeds. The florist in Leeds was out of roses, of course, so Will got refunded. I'll keep the husband over some wilting-in-2-days roses any day).

The week that ensued has been awesome- I worked with some great CRNAs and got really good feedback from all of them. The past 4 days have included a trip to the Vas Lab for a kyphoplasty, 3 cardioversions (soooooo cool), a "Resurrection"/Resuscitation/debridement, a lot more comfort and autonomy- even today, working with the fastest turnover rate I've experienced so far- 3 cases done by 10am- 5 total before my room closed (3/4 intubations). Plus yesterday I had 2 of those I-know-I'm-doing-what-I-love moments. The first was when one of my techs asked me if I was enjoying my clinicals. I was honest and said that some day are better than others. She then made the comment, "It (anesthesia) just looks hard." Again with the honesty, I told her that it IS hard- every day is hard- but that the difficulty is just part of it. In my head, I remembered that I knew it would be hard from the start... but I LOVE that it's hard. It means that I'm always being challenged and always learning. And I don't ever want to be without either of those things. Then, to solidify what I was already thinking, the second moment happened. A nursing student was following my patient from preop to postop (which suuuuuuucks- I totally remember having to do that) and my CRNA asked her in PACU if she intended to go to CRNA school like me. She made a face and said, "Uh, no." It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, "Why the hell not?! This is awesome!"

And I'm excited at the prospect of always feeling that way about my job. The CRNAs that I've worked with have hard days and bad days. But they also have hard days and great days. And I can honestly say that they all love what they do, regardless of the day they had. I hope everyone feels that way about what they do- I'm only 6 weeks in, but I know I do.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Party recap...

So the last week has been quite the whirlwind...

For my birthday, Mom came over and Will brought home Olive Garden take-out for us to eat before I crashed- clinical went really well that day, but by Thursday of every week, I'm lucky to see past 1930... which made our Friday night birthday dinner with Will's family especially fun- I did manage to not pass out in my steak and baked potato at the Village Tavern... but I can't say the same for the ride home. We are finally the proud owners of one of Miss Jean's famous blue jean quilts- and it bears the Opelika "O" from Will's letterman jacket as well as a "13" from his scouting uniform... an even better number after this January :) - and I promptly wrapped up in it and fell asleep during the short jaunt from the Summit back to our house.

On Saturday I met Mom at the Summit to run some errands- picked up my make-up from Belk, used my birthday giftcard to Victoria's Secret to buy their new Velvet perfume, and bought a new top to wear to Jenn's Mardi Gras birthday party that night....

... which was awesome! Jenn and Aeron did a great job decorating their house to fit the theme-

and putting together quite a spread-

(That would be gumbo and Aeron's homemade shrimp etouffee -um, wow- Jenn's birthday cake and a king cake straight from NOLA- needless to say, it was all fantastic!)

After 28 years of sharing a birthday and only celebrating 1 together (apparently an ice-skating party of which there is video evidence... though I have no recollection of it), we finally got to celebrate together :)

And the partying continued on Sunday as Will and I hosted our annual Super Bowl Soiree (excuse to get all of our friends together without the "birthday party" title). We had a great turnout this year- 15-20 total-

- and if Jenn and Aeron can bear to watch the Saints with a group, both Jack and Whit are present, AND friends with Monday morning anesthesia clinicals all show up, I know we're loved :)

Also on Sunday, this happened:

Meet Clementine- a Heinz57 I found wandering our neighborhood that afternoon. Quick rundown- collar, no tag, skinny, friendly, ~6months old, not spayed, loves playing with people and other dogs as well as taking naps in my lap. She's been with us for the past week and of course I already love her! Will insists we can't keep her, so we're currently investigating 2 potential homes for her. If these don't work out, I'll be calling on the 2 people that read this thing to help me out.

Since this entry is nearing marathon length, I'll leave the snow/5K/biking/Valentine's Day hoopla til next time.

Until then, Cheers!

Ups and Downs

So.... here we are...

Anesthesia Clinicals Week 4... and today I felt like I was going completely backwards! The first few weeks I was getting every LMA placement and most of my intubations, working with and learning from lot of different people, even did my first pediatric mask case! and, honestly feeling like I was on fi-yah. Oh, how I should have remembered that in healthcare, like a lot of other careers I suppose, a little too much confidence can get your butt handed to you.... and oh, how it did. The end of last week handed me my first esophageal intubation (I "got the goose" as we call it... and it's not really THAT big of a deal in most cases as long as it's corrected, which it was). My CRNA that day was awesome about it- she told me to always be careful when your MDA tells you, "Oh, this should be easy for you." TOTALLY throws off your mojo.

(Aside: Friday night was awesome- at at BWW and played a little trivia with the Crowes (came in 3rd and I actually answered a whopping 2 questions... glad my knowledge of venomous snakes and classic horror lit came in handy). And Saturday was good- nice rainy day around the house and supper with the Tullys... But Saturday night.... ugh. Call it food poisoning. Call it a virus. I just called it Misery. Sparing the details... spent Sunday on the couch... spent Monday trying to catch my breath....)

Enter Tuesday: The Day I Can't Do ANYTHING RIGHT until right before I leave. That's right. Missed IVs. Couldn't see crap on intubations. Have I mentioned how frustrating it is trying to remember which CRNA handles which situations in which manners?! Yes, it's wonderful getting to see how different CRNAs practice... I just wish I could keep their preferences straight so I don't look like a moron every other day. I finally did get an intubation before I left so hopefully my CRNA today didn't think I was complete idiot. He and my MDAs were really nice about everything- apparently everyone has days like this even in practice. Great.

Anyway- tomorrow will be better.

And ready for a big weekend! Quiet birthday on Thursday, combined birthday dinner with Will's family on Friday, Jenn's Mardi Gras birthday party on Saturday, and our Super Bowl party on Sunday! WOOHOO!!!

Oh yeah, and LOST returns tonight.... between that and basketball I guess I'll talk to Will again sometime this summer...

Laissez les bons temps rouler!