i freaking love trauma icu!

Unfortunately, trauma occurs to ppl. But fortunately, these ppl have wonderful facilities like THE MED to come to for quality care from ppl like urs truly! I started out the morning in outpt...slow as usual. Then, my CI let me go with the COTA to the trauma icu (TICU for short)!!! It was incredible! All the tubes & wires & doctors & nurses & stuff...o-mazing!

We treated several pts in the course of 2 hours...I really enjoy that fast paced setting. Actually, I didn't treat, I just observed the COTA treat. I'm still trying to just get more comfortable with all the wires & stuff & the kinds of injuries that are common. For example, we saw this poor kid, we'll call him Tom. He is 17 y/o and was in a bushogging accident & lost both legs. Tragic, I know. But man, his heart, his will, and his smile will melt your heart. He is from a small town near where we're from so we made some connections being from close areas. He's one of those pts you'll never forget b/c of his awesomeness. At the end of his (very short) session, he gave us both hi-fives & squeezed our hands as if to say thank you (he's on a trach which means he can't vocalize words - just mouth them). He made my day. God bless him!

I left at lunch for 2 reasons: 1. my CI was leaving & 2. I had a dr's appt with the neurologist who specializes in neurosurgery just to follow up my findings from last week:

1. find out if my "possible communication" between my frontal sinus & my brain cavity is a) possible and b) something to worry about.

2. to reconfirm the findings of the MRI - that my brain damage is not progressive & there's abs no reason to follow up on it.

3. my headaches - to be sure he thought nothing else was going on &

4. to help me out with my sciatica (it's having a flare up) esp since my internist doesn't want me taking pain meds right now (except for the migraine meds he gave me samples of)

His conclusions:

1. IF there is hole in the bone, it seems evident that the membranes on either side are still intact. He concludes this by the fact that I've never had meningitis. He's going to get my sinus CTs from my allergist from last year to see if he can see anything more to confirm or disprove the existence of the hole. If in fact there is a hole (big if) then to fix it I'll just need sinus surgery where they fill my sinus with bone cement or fat or something.

2. No need to follow up on my brain stuff. It's HIGHLY unlikely (like 1 in a billion) that it's a benign weird tumor that is in the exact same place as my head trauma & concussion from 13 yrs ago. Hmmmm. We know it's definitely NOT malignant b/c it did not light up with contrast.

3. TMJ syndrome. Pretty much nothing we can do about that right now. F/u with my dentist.

4. Prescribed me a medrol dose pack (steroids) to decrease the swelling & hopefully decrease the symptoms. Since my internist wants me to fast from all OTC pain relievers, it's hard to treat the sciatica with just stretching & heat. (Anybody have a TENS unit I can have? Thx.)

So then B & I came home (he went with me to the dr of course!). We had spaghetti for dinner (yum). We decided to pass on small group tonite 1. b/c we wouldn't be together & after the week we've had we really need each other right now! and 2. b/c we weren't sure what was going to happen at the dr.'s office. It's really a good thing b/c we were gone for 4 hours. My appt was at 2:20. We didn't see the dr until 4:20. I actually took a nap on the exam table waiting for him! We didn't get back home until 5! Needless to say, as non-energy-zapping as that might sound, I'm exausted!

We finished watching the Princess Bride (as you know, I, of course, fell asleep b4 the end of it last nite!) & played gin rummy (did I tell you I love that game?!).

I talked to my gramma today. My great aunt - her sister - Viv is not doing so well. She fell and broke her hip about 2 yrs ago & has never been the same since. She's living alone but not taking her meds right or eating properly if at all. Meals on wheels has started coming which is great but not enough. They are meeting in San Francisco in the coming weeks with the case manager & social worker & doctors & stuff to get her in a nursing home near my grandparents in SoCal. They've had difficulty trying to convince her in the past. Let's just pray that she easily concedes that her quality of life will be much improved by living in a home near gramma & grampa.

Today is my aunt, Renee', and my stepmom, Aimee's birthdays! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LADIES!

Anyway...it's been a long day & I'm ready for bed (at 9:30!!!!). Can't wait for tomorrow! Hope I get some acute care in again! I LOVE IT!

xoxo