Hollywood Revisited

Well I went to Hollywood again, with my family.









They were in LA to see Mikey off to China. We had some time to kill before his flight left. So I drove down for the day and picked them up at the airport, took them to their hotel and then we went to Venice Beach- I got to get a real good sense of it this time. San Francisco doesn't hold a candle to the amount of interesting people there are at Venice Beach.












I got a hell of a sunburn/tan and Mikey and I played on the Gymnastics equipment that is out there.









Then Mikey got birds put on him. He's scared of my little bird...Petey, these are much bigger and probably bite much harder!












We went to Griffith Observatory after that and my parents loved it!










Then we went down to Hollywood Blvd to check out the stars, Graumann's Chinese theater and the Kodak Theater, there was a long line for Michael Jackson's star...

My family had never been there so it was quite the treat for all of them. I even got to see more than I did before so it was a treat for me too!

Then we went to dinner at their hotel and I dropped them at the airport...so Mikey could meet with his group. My parents leave today to go back to the Bay. It was a long day for all of us but it was quite nice to spend time all together before Mikey had to leave for China.

CODE BLUE!

All throughout nursing school I never had the chance to observe, perform or be actively involved in an emergency. Well the opportunity came on Sunday night at 930 pm. I was in another patients room giving medication and then I hear 'CODE BLUE, I NEED HELP IN HERE!' The alarm was pulled, I stopped what I was doing and ran to the room, grabbed the clipboard and started documenting. I had never done anything of the like before and I didnt know what I was doing really but I tried and everyone knew I was new. I had never seen so many people try so hard to save a patient. After 25 minutes of live saving measures we were not able to save the patient. This was also the first "death" experience I had. This patient was so blue it was unbelievable, there were several of my new coworkers there and they were the ones relieving/performing the compressions on the patient. I dont know that any of us had been in this type of situation before but they looked calm, cool and knew what they were doing. The entire staff that was working so hard had a look of sadness and dismay when the MD said no more. It is possible that the client had a pulmonary embolism which was not something that we could have saved, or caused. The nurse was sullen for the remainder of the shift. The hard part was that we all have to go back to what we needed to do and complete. There was a different feel amongst the nurses that night, as well as the unit.
The hardest part about this CODE was that after the patient had expired- yes thats the term we use...I admitted a new patient to the same room later on that night! Freaky!

Scary, but I now feel more prepared for any emergency that may arise.

This is the not so pleasant side of nursing but it actually occurs. Ironically its the one thing that I think TV gets pretty close to accurate. There is only one way to go about saving a person's life. Full out emotion, physical energy and force, as well as complete exhaustion at the end positive or negative.

That's all...

Words to Live by...Maya Angelou

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.'

'I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.'

'I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.'

'I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life.'

'I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.'

'I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back..'


'I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.'


'I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.'

'I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.'

'I've learned that I still have a lot to learn..'


'I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.'

Work, Play & Life what a balance!

Okay so where do I begin? I didn't realize how much responsibility a nurse has on their shoulders. I feel overwhelmed with this weight. I am so afraid of making a mistake and doing something incorrectly. I am not sure that I am going to cut it! I know what I am good at and I know what I am bad at. I just don't know what I am supposed to do. I am feeling inadequate and its such a struggle to stay positive and keep on trucking. I think the hardest part of this is the fact that I was not anticipating the size of the emotional baggage that comes with this territory. I have taken solace in that anyone in my position, fresh out of nursing school and working is naturally going to feel this way. If they didn't then there is a cause for concern. Fortunately I have the advantage of having a debriefing session incorporated into my VERSANT program where we just talk and vent about what all we are feeling. It really helps, then I called my besty friend and she helped too. This journaling is also helping as well. Anywho thats all for now, but I will be posting some fun stuff too.

Miranda