News from the front ...
Work is kicking my ass. Well, actually it's work and this damn chest cold that I can't seem to shake. I'm guessing that my sleep schedule isn't helping any, (call it a hunch) and the fact that I'm at work extra days every week for OT or meetings (or additional training, or giving presentations) doesn't do much for my health either. Unfortunately, all that means that I'm only at the gym about once a week, and I haven't been running either ...so much for the 'self-improvement' part of my New Years resolution.
(hmmm, windows media has decided that today is 'early 90's folk-pop day' - the last 6 songs have been Jayhawks, Toad, Counting Crows, rinse and repeat)
Work itself has been pretty good though, except for this week - admitting and caring for two organ donors in two shifts takes a lot out of you, I've found. It's not really the work, mind you: that's pretty basic in and of itself. The mental energy of working with the families, and the strain of coordinating between them and the organ procurement people is the real stress point. I thought the burn patients took a lot from me - jaysus, I had no idea! It's a rough ride for the families, and a *lot* needs to happen in a very short time for there to be a successful donation. It helps if the family understands that there will still be some reflex movements (for a while anyway), and that the tests we need to do (serology, tissue typing, reflex tests for brain death) take time - and that just because the vitals are stable doesn't mean a damn thing. We can, with the technology and meds available to us today, keep a stable heart rate and blood pressure for weeks on a patient who has no brain function whatsoever
On the plus side, knowing how much a donation can help (and how many people it can help) is hugely rewarding. I strongly encourage all of you to fill out a donor card 'just in case' and let your family members know that you have done so - we lose potential donors all the time because family don't know what people wanted - so they default to 'NO', because the thought scares them. Talk about it, tell people what you want and what your wishes are, and fill out the paperwork. It's a help to a lot of people (most of them related to you, since they don't have to be put on the spot to decide if they already know how you feel).
/rant off
I had big plans for today to get some work done on the CD cabinet I'm building as well as laundry and bills - so far I've done the bills and I'm stalled. Maybe I shouldn't have taken that Nyquil last night ...or maybe I just need a day to slack. Who knows.
(Wow, this is a really disjointed post. Music update: now I seem to be on a Metallica/G n' R tear, 5 songs and counting ...nope, now it's Annie DiFranco).
So things here are pretty much status-quo, lots to do and not much time to do them in. And faire starts in two months - it will be interesting to see what changes have been made. I've heard that we'll have a lot more actors and 'street' work this season, and more than a few new musical acts. I'm hopeful that we'll have a good season - I know that the boothies and crafters could use it.
(the new icon is Nemo, because he's sitting on my lap as I work ...what a cat!)
(hmmm, windows media has decided that today is 'early 90's folk-pop day' - the last 6 songs have been Jayhawks, Toad, Counting Crows, rinse and repeat)
Work itself has been pretty good though, except for this week - admitting and caring for two organ donors in two shifts takes a lot out of you, I've found. It's not really the work, mind you: that's pretty basic in and of itself. The mental energy of working with the families, and the strain of coordinating between them and the organ procurement people is the real stress point. I thought the burn patients took a lot from me - jaysus, I had no idea! It's a rough ride for the families, and a *lot* needs to happen in a very short time for there to be a successful donation. It helps if the family understands that there will still be some reflex movements (for a while anyway), and that the tests we need to do (serology, tissue typing, reflex tests for brain death) take time - and that just because the vitals are stable doesn't mean a damn thing. We can, with the technology and meds available to us today, keep a stable heart rate and blood pressure for weeks on a patient who has no brain function whatsoever
On the plus side, knowing how much a donation can help (and how many people it can help) is hugely rewarding. I strongly encourage all of you to fill out a donor card 'just in case' and let your family members know that you have done so - we lose potential donors all the time because family don't know what people wanted - so they default to 'NO', because the thought scares them. Talk about it, tell people what you want and what your wishes are, and fill out the paperwork. It's a help to a lot of people (most of them related to you, since they don't have to be put on the spot to decide if they already know how you feel).
/rant off
I had big plans for today to get some work done on the CD cabinet I'm building as well as laundry and bills - so far I've done the bills and I'm stalled. Maybe I shouldn't have taken that Nyquil last night ...or maybe I just need a day to slack. Who knows.
(Wow, this is a really disjointed post. Music update: now I seem to be on a Metallica/G n' R tear, 5 songs and counting ...nope, now it's Annie DiFranco).
So things here are pretty much status-quo, lots to do and not much time to do them in. And faire starts in two months - it will be interesting to see what changes have been made. I've heard that we'll have a lot more actors and 'street' work this season, and more than a few new musical acts. I'm hopeful that we'll have a good season - I know that the boothies and crafters could use it.
(the new icon is Nemo, because he's sitting on my lap as I work ...what a cat!)