Strange

I woke up yesterday with extremely sore hands. It was really weird. I found tiny, red, raised bumps scattered around on my fingers, thumbs and palms. I wondered if they were some sort of bites. The pain got better after I took Aleve. But, all day my hands were sore. This morning I woke up with horribly painful hands and my tongue feels swollen and painful. The red bumps on my hands are getting bigger. Also, I have an ulcer on my gums under my front, bottom teeth. And both sides of my tongue have red, painful spots. This is freaking me out. I went to the walk-in clinic/ER. The first nurse looked at my hands and mouth. She was perplexed. Then, another nurse came in to see my "strange" bumps and tongue. A third nurse came in and ask me about them and wanted to see them. This all made me even more nervous. Finally, the doctor came in and checked me out. According to him, I have Hand Foot Mouth disease. WTH? Here is what the CDC website says about it:

What is hand, foot, and mouth disease?

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common illness of infants and children. It is characterized by fever, sores in the mouth, and a rash with blisters. HFMD begins with a mild fever, poor appetite, malaise ("feeling sick"), and frequently a sore throat. One or 2 days after the fever begins, painful sores develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. They are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks. The skin rash develops over 1 to 2 days with flat or raised red spots, some with blisters. The rash does not itch, and it is usually located on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. It may also appear on the buttocks. A person with HFMD may have only the rash or the mouth ulcers.

What a pain...in the hands and mouth!!! So far I don't have anything popping up on my feet. That would have to hurt! Here's some more about it.

What causes HFMD?

Viruses from the group called enteroviruses cause HFMD. The most common cause is coxsackievirus A16; sometimes, HFMD is caused by enterovirus 71 or other enteroviruses. The enterovirus group includes polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echoviruses and other enteroviruses.

My kids and hubby have gone over to my inlaws to eat. I opted to stay home. I need to study. We have a test coming up next Monday. Lord, there are about 6 different chapters on it. I do not know how they expect us to know all that in such a short amount of time!!!!

The Hospital

I had my first ever hospital clinical day today. It was great!!! They have a new program that allows two of my group to go and shadow a nursing student who is just about to graduate. I got to do that today. The guy I shadowed was terrific. I can hardly believe I will be that confident and competent in just two years. He gave me so many tips and tricks I will start using immediately. He had three patients. I just basically followed him around and he explained what he was doing. The patients were great too. No one minded me being there.

Now for the down side...you knew there'd be a down side, right? It was exhausting! We started our day at 7 a.m. By 10 I was so hungry and wiped out! I started yawning about every five minutes! My feet and legs were very tired and hurting. We only sat down one time the entire 5 hours and that was only for about 10 minutes.

Here's what I need to remember to do from now on:

1. Carry a snack. Like a granola bar and a drink.
2. Make sure I have gum and/or cough drops

That's all for now. I'm going to bed!!!

Type A

Some members of my clinical group have been accused of having type A personalities. I am among the accused. The accuser was our Dean of Nursing. I tend to take the bull by the horns on most issues. She got wind of this and now she has pigeon-holed me. But, I just took a personality test and found out I am not 100% type A. I am very happy with my results!!!!

If you're interested in taking the test, here's the website:

http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/type_a_personality_access.html

Here are my results:

Results of Your Type A Personality Test

Personality Type
Your score = 35


What does your score mean?
You seem to be in the middle between the Type A and Type B personality. In this case, the middle ground is good. Your attitude to life is more of the "smell the roses" kind and you know how and when to relax. Nonetheless, you realize that picking up a challenge and competing a little bit for your place in the sun can add some spice to your life. The equilibrium is important, so don't let your hostile, aggressive, and competitive alter ego take over too often. Generally, you are easy to be around, and people tend to feel relaxed and comfortable in your presence. Yours is a very healthy attitude towards life.

Mama

My Mom is here. She got here Saturday night. She will leave this Thursday. She wants to be here for my school's family and friends night. She is already getting irritated. She hates how we live. We do not pick up immediately. We have a somewhat junkie backyard. The kids do not put away their toys. They just play with them everyday. When it is time to come in they drop them and come inside. She hates that. We had a storm the other day that blew our outside swing over. Hubby has not fixed it. She hates that. The kids do not go to bed early enough to suit her. She hates that. I don't have all laundry done on a daily basis. She hates that. There are weeds in our yard. She hates that. My front porch is not finished. She hates that. And so on and so on. We have agreed that she really shouldn't stay for more than three days at a time. But she wanted to be here for Easter and the school thing. So, today would have been when she went home if she had stuck with the three day rule. I can hear the irritation in her voice. She is starting to say little snide comments that she should keep to herself...I hate that!

New Floor!

About two years ago, I thought Hubby was going to tear up the old flooring in the guest bathroom and put down new flooring. So, I did my part and tore out the old baseboards. Then I waited and waited and waited for my new floor to be installed. Yesterday and today my Hubby and Father-in-Law worked in there putting in the new floor. I LOVE IT!!!!! I am so happy. I keep walking in there and dancing around on it! AND they fixed the horrible squeeking!!!

Now I just hope they will finish the job by putting in the baseboards!

NUR-104 First Test

Well, I didn't exactly nail it, but I did pass it. I made an 88, which is a "B" and I am okay with that.

We are off the rest of the week for spring break. I am so ready for a break!

Saturday Studying

Saturdays are good for alot of fun things, studying is NOT one of them. I went in to my Work Study job on campus this morning. My friend/classmate met me there and we studied the whole time...9:00 - 1:00. Then I came home and studied a couple more hours. Then I took a two hour nap...I had to let all that information sink in to my brain! Back up now and back at it. Our first test is Monday. I want to nail it!

I am so glad I have started liking coffee. I am about to go make myself a cup right now. 'Cause I need to wake up and study!!!

The test is on the nursing process (ADPIE) and medication administration. Today we/I have focused on the nursing process. Tomorrow the focus will be medication administration.

My shoulder is doing okay after that shot I got yesterday. I am trying to take it easy and not lift anything with my right hand/arm.

We are out of school this week and I am so excited about that. I sure hope I get alot done. Plus have some fun!!!

Results

Hubby went for his sleep study last night. The girl there woke him up after a couple of hours of sleep. She put a CPAP on him and he slept the rest of the night. He said it was hard to get used to the machine pushing air down his throat. The girl there also told him that before she put the CPAP on him, his Oxygen was down to 80%. Yikes! She told him he has sleep apnea. We all knew that. Now we have to wait for them to read the the test and get it back to his doctor. I am so excited that he is going to get help for this.

I went today for the results of my MRI of my right shoulder. The doc says I have a tear in my rotator cuff. Not bad enough for surgery. So, he gave me a shot in it and I start physical therapy Tuesday. I am so glad he had a diagnosis for me.

So, maybe we will get ourselves staightened out soon!!

This weekend will be a big-time study weekend. Our first test is Monday. It covers Medication Administration and The Nursing Process. Plus we will always have 5 calculation problems to solve. Wish me luck!!!

Class Representatives

It is time for us to nominate the classmates we want to be our class reps. I would really LOVE to be a class rep. I have had a few people offer to nominate me and I told them YES!!! We need to have 9 reps for our class. I wonder how many people will be nominated? You must get the person to agree to be nominated. So, you can't just nominate someone and them not know it. I hope we don't have to go to an election 'cause I will not do "campaigning." That is just not me.

Today we went to the hospital. This is our first hospital clinical assingment. We will start on the floor after our spring break. So, the first day with patients at the hospital will be March 27th. I am very excited about this. I am thinking that I would love to work as a floor nurse once I graduate. But, I may change my mind after this experience...who knows!

Have I told you lately that I LOVE my clinical group? They are awesome. We make such a great team! I dread the day when we will be split up and regrouped. That will be after this semester. So, during my grueling Maymester I'll be with a new group. Boo-Hoo.

For our Caring Project we are getting together tomorrow after lecture. We are bringing food and just hanging out. I am going to try to find some fun ice breakers for us to do. Not that we need them for ice breakers, but more so to get to know each other better.

I am still congested and coughing. I am so sick of being sick!!!!

Hubby went for his sleep study tonight. I am SO happy he finally did it. Hopefully this will lead to him getting help for his sleep apnea. Poor thing is so sleepy all the time and tired all the time too.

Nothing Specific

Tonight is the time change. I should be in bed, asleep right now 'cause it is really 2:10 a.m. here. But, I took a LONG nap this afternoon and now I am wide awake. So, here are a few things I have on my mind...

My daughter woke up with a temperature Thursday morning. She went to stay with my inlaws, her Grandparents. Then yesterday morning she was still running a fever, 102.5. I took her to the doctor. I gave him her symptoms: temp., nonproductive cough, sore throat. He tested her for Strep throat. Negative. He tested her for the Flu. Positive. aaaarrrrgggghhhh!!!!!! So, he gave her Tamiflu, Dytan (cough syrup), and Amoxicillin. My daughter is 8 and she has always been a trooper about being sick. It is very rare that illness gets her down. The flu is no exception. She has been laying around alot. But, she hasn't been whiney or crying. My awesome inlaws met me at the doctors office, in the rain, to pick up the kids so I could run on to lecture.

I was 30 minutes late, but there was still an hour left of class. I hated to walk in late. I have never been late to one of my nursing lectures. We have a few girls who are ALWAYS late. We talk bad about them. So, I had to walk the "walk of shame" to my seat. I was met with questions from my friends who sit on either side of me. I just said: "M's got the flu." That was enough said.

The topic for Wednesday's and Friday's lectures was Medication Administration. It was a whopper of a chapter, 100 pages. I still haven't actually finished reading it. I did outline it up to where I read. My outline is 23 pages! I am not good with condensing it down. But outlining helps me learn the information. Also, I can print it out and carry it around to read when I get the chance.

Okay, so after class, I called my Mother-In-Law. She tells me M is doing okay and that my 4-year-old son, B, has a fever and is feeling really bad. Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!

From class I had to go get an MRI on my right shoulder. I will try to blog about that experience later.

I went to pick the children up from Grandma's and M was still asleep. I hung out until 5 p.m. and decided I'd better wake her up and go. We got home and B started getting worse. My husband was still working and didn't know when he would be getting home. B's temp was 100.9 and M's was 101.4. So, I gave them both IBU. About 30 minutes after that, B threw up. It really scares him when he throws up. He cries and cries about it. I took his temp and it was then 102.5. Yikes!!!! He threw up some more. I called to find out if the drop-in center we had gone to with M was open. Yes, they would be open until 8 p.m., by that time it was around 7:00. I ran into the living room and told M to go get dressed, we were taking B to the doctor. I grabbed a trash can and a towel before we ran out the door. When we parked in the parking lot of the clinic, B threw up...alot. M was so good with him. She held the bucket for him and then wiped his mouth with the towel. She didn't gross out at all. (Could this be another nurse in the making???) So, we got him in and the same doctor came in to see us that had seen M earlier. He was really good with the children and with me. He tested B for flu...negative. He said he knows that he has it, it is just too soon for it to show up on the test. So, he writes B the exact same regimen of drugs. We go home and settle in for the night. Hubby finally got home around 9:00.

So, both children have the flu. Wow, would it be horrible for me to go check into a luxury hotel for the weekend and let someone else deal with this??? I'm just kidding, I wouldn't dare want to leave these babies when they don't feel good. So, today, Saturday, has been pretty good. The meds seem to really be doing a good job. M has been up and dancing around today, wanting to go outside and play. I wouldn't let them and tried to keep playing, running, etc. down to a minimum for fear she would get a fever again. B has had a low fever all day but has felt okay. He did sleep for a long time this afternoon. When he woke up he was way overdue for Tylenol so his fever was up and his head hurt. But, once he took that it got better. They have both been great about taking their meds with very little complaining. I tasted that Tamiflu and good googly moogly it is horrible. I mix it with a little Sunny D (low sugar) so they can stand it.

My hubby has been sick all day. He won't admit he has the flu. He says he thinks it is just a sinus problem. Hello!?!?! He's been in bed all day, fever, sore throat, coughing, aching. Can you say: F-L-U??? I predict he will have to go to the doctor by Monday and he will miss work this week. I gave him IBU, Alkaseltzer (sp?) cold medicine and he is snoring up a storm in there now. I asked him to sleep upstairs in the guest room so I won't have to be right by him and catch what he has...THE FLU!!!

Today has been alot of waiting on them and passing meds. I did manage to get almost caught up on laundry. I also read over the outline my instructor provided for this week's lecture. We will be working on The Nursing Process. It is kind of tricky, but very interesting.

A First

Today was our first clinical/lab day for Nursing 104. We were on campus all day doing various skills. Each skill area lasted about an hour. There were a couple of our instructors per station/skill. We did IMs, SubQ injections on a dummy. We learned about primary IV and secondary IVs. Eye drops, ear drops and nose sprays. Then the last station we did was our PPD or intradermal injection. We were so nervous! But, just like most things, it was the fear of the unknnown. The fear was WAY worse than actually getting the injection. My friend and I did each others injections. I injected her first while the instructor watched and gave me pointers. I did it right!!!! Whew!! Then it was my turn to be the patient. It didn't even hurt! My friend did a great job and so did I. We were both so relieved.

So, my first injection went really really well. Yeah!