Horrible Virus Strikes !!!

A HORRIBLE VIRUS STRIKES !!!!


This is the most vicious virus I have ever encountered! It stikes unsuspecting systems - NOT the programming but it stikes at the heart of the personal touch portion of the computer - the mouse. As this picture illistrates, it is fatal to the mouse and spreads quickly to all other mice in the house. For some, this could be a good thing. There is no cure. Creamation is advised to prevent the spread of this killer. Warn everyone.

And then there's Keith!

I'm just as proud of this one. Guess I've been twice blessed....

Joe - Cute, Huh?

I prefer this look for him. The female costume can be a little hard for a mother to take. But boy am I proud of this guy!

My Son ! Joe in full costume for "Elizabeth Rex". He plays Harry, an actor who plays female roles....... 

Houdini ... er, I mean, ....Pickles!

She's here! Cute as can be - White and Brindle with a real pug nose, big brown eyes and tiny pink tongue. Her fur is SOOOOOO soft. She arrived on Friday, still suffering from her recent spaying and very shy.

Today that changed. Peanut, our cute black and white boy, went to the groomer for his summer cut (he looked like a fur rug!). Pickles was going to be alone in the house for a few hours. Greg planned on checking on her around 10:30. My in-laws, who live next door, heard her barking ( a first for her since she's been here) and found she was having a fit! She did not like being alone. So after a little petting, she was alone again. Greg came home and she was still barking her head off. He opened the slider an inch or two to give her some "sniff space" and after some more petting he went back to work. About an hour later, my father-in -law saw her in HIS backyard! She had managed to push open the slider and clawed her way through the screen and escape! Thank goodness he saw her. He brought her back home and turned on the TV. That seemed to do it for her - she just needed noise. After Peanut got home she was fine and even napped.

So she has had her first adventure, we confirmed that she has vocal cords and that she is a social animal and not as shy as we thought. She's started playing with Peanut and with some toys.

Now, we just have to finish house training. Goodie.

Sniffles, Part 3

Yeah, okay........I'm totally fatigued, every bone hurts, my head is stuffed up and the fever/chills are a dead giveaway.....I'm sick.

Rats.

But unlike most of the world, I know that rest, fluids, tylenol and hot tea are my best defense. The occassional decongestant helps too, but only at night - I need to be able to think during the day.

Oh course, whining helps too.

God, the eternal practical joker, has seen fit to make sure I'm sick on my days off AND the weather is great. That's what I get for my "I don't get sick" attitude. But I will get over this and I know that every one else will also.

Thought for the day: You might be part of the medical community if your immune system attacks squirels in the back yard ( usually ).

Oh, My Back!

Spring Cleaning can be dangerous to your health.

I have been bit by the cleaning bug and now my back is killing me. What is it about winter that encourages sluggish sloppiness? I mean, I spend more time inside during the winter, so you would think keeping the house clean and neat would be a breeze and that I'd revert to slob status during nice weather. I just don't get it! Well, now that I've started cleaning, I realize that a garage sale is also in my future. Soon. Where did all this STUFF come from anyway? Does anyone own a bulldozer?

Thought for the Day: Hangers reproduce at the same rate as socks disappear. Correlation?

Pickles and Peanut

I am so excited! I just put in an adoption application for a little Shih Tzu girl named Pickles. She is 3 years old and needs a good home. We already have a little boy named Peanut. He's about 6 years old and needs a playmate. We rescued him from the shelter last year after Baby, our 18 year old lady Shih Tzu passed away. We were going to try to go "dogless" for a while, but couldn't do it. The emply nest was just to much to bear (and I still have a teen at home!) . The house is just TOO quiet without a dog around. Even if he's napping, just knowing another life is in the house is comforting. Yes, they are work, but they give so much back.

I would hope that everyone would give a home to an animal that needs one. Or at the very least, support your local no kill shelter/foster system.

Thought for the day: Pets keep you young, active and caring. With a pet, who needs a pill?

God Bless!

Sniffles, Part 2

I am now referring to the current course of sinus/chest symptoms as the Michigan Plague. This round is much much more nasty than the virus that first struck our area. Patients are comming into the office begging for a shot -- to the head! I'm pretty sure that these people feel like thier faces are falling off and that breathing is a luxury they may not experience again.

For all of you suffering with this I say: This too shall pass, unfortunately not very quickly. This is a hanger-on-er. But this time I'm advising actually seeing the doctor (not the ER) and get a script for that antibiotic and maybe a real cough medicine. Then, STAY HOME! Try not to give this to your friends and co-workers. It's an ugly gift.

Feel better.............soon.

EMS Rules for Life

Rule #1: Air goes in and out.
Rule #2: Blood goes round and round.
Rule #3: Any variation is BAD.


Also remember: If it's warm and sticky and doesn't belong to you, don't touch it.

Degomerate

Found while surfing:

DEGOMERATE The drug to give when nothing else can be done!

Three weeks of extensive clinical experience in the U.S. and abroad have allowed us to bring you the drug that was previously thought to be undevelopable -- Degomerate.

By carefully reviewing 4 hospital charts, we saw that there was a need for a new drug, one that would fill the needs of the new intern in the ICU. After compiling a list of drugs most frequently used on the terminal patient, we combined them into one simple preparation.And now, after years of testing on amoebas and hoary marmots, Degomerate is available to you, the new intern.

Our new improved formula is guaranteed to control any psychotic, infectious, or cardiac problem you encounter.

ADVANTAGES........Preserves the sex life of your ICU patient........Available in 15 and 30 Gram capsules, also IV/IM........Convenient in "q15minute" administration........No complaints of GI upset in comatose patients........Effective in clinical studies of Tahitian monks

"When Shotgun Therapy is Indicated: DEGOMERATE!"

Contains: Morphine Imipramine Haloperidol Chlorpromazine Diazepam Furosemide Diazoxide Propranolol Nitroglycerine Lidocaine Quinidine Amiodarone Flecainide Atropine Epinephrine Dopamine Norepinephrine Warfarin Imipenem Acyclovir Ceftazidine Nafcillin Amikacin Amphotericin B Clindamycin

INDICATIONS: Presence in an ICU of more than one of the following:
1) IV's pulled out despite four-point soft restraints
2) The Haloperidol drip isn't holding him
3) Smokes cigarettes through endotracheal tube
4) Rounds consist of discussion of patient's code status
5) Has not spoken coherently since Aug 5, 1962
6) Thinks you are his grandson
7) Is overdrawn at the bank
8) Daily progress notes are longer than 2.5 pages
9) Turning on all his life support devices at once blacks-out 3 hospital floors
10) After 48 hours on the unit, his chart weighs more than the Manhattan white pages
11) Drawing daily bloodwork requires replacement with 2 units of packed red blood cells
12) At any one time, has more than 3 miles of IV tubing
13) Has 8 or more consults - all pending
14) Has developed AML from hourly stat CXR's

CONTRAINDICATIONS: any intelligent speech

ADVERSE REACTIONS: Vertigo, development of a prurient interest in broccoli, death, pregnancy, an insane desire to take Heme I as an elective, leprosy, believes he is Woody Hayes, and the most serious possible side effect - total recovery.

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION: Adults: as needed, not to exceed 2 kg/day. Children: use Degomerate Jr., which is cherry flavored and also supplies the MDR of 19 vitamins and minerals.


OVERDOSAGE: Pray!

Unfortunately, it's probably not in the formulary!

The Pope

Just a quick note to say that we should all pray for the Pope - for peace of spirit and freedom from pain. His age and medical history are such that recovery would be miraculous (which I have seen and do belive in) but I would hope and pray for comfort for him. I was raised Catholic (I am now a Born Again Christian) and still have respect for the position the Pope holds but mainly I respect the man himself. His conservative views, his unwavering beliefs and his strength of character are what makes him special.

All of us could learn from his life and the dignity with which he faces his death. May it be peaceful.

God Bless.

Sniffles

Has everyone had them yet? If not, you will. If you have, you will again. Here in "sunny" Michigan the symptoms of choice are sinus congestion and headaches along with the ever feared POST NASAL DRIP! Guess what people? This is a virus! Take tylenol and push fluids for the week it takes to get over this bug. Antibiotics won't cut it and your doctors office and the ER are jammed up. Save some money and insurance paperwork - deal with it like adults. Oh, and for the kids - same treatment.

By the way, why do parents forego giving their kids tylenol for a fever before coming to the ER? So that the doctor/nurse will "see" the fever and the poor sick, suffering kid. Use your brains folks, make your kid feel better and you just might avoid that trip to the ER at 2 AM.

Thought for the day: All bleeding stops eventually.

Hello !

Hello!

Welcome to my foray into the world of blogging. I'm an RN with a typical outlook that comes from years in ER/ICU/CCU. My sense of humor is sideways. I do not always sound compassionate, but I really am. I feel strongly about patient rights and realistic goals and treatments. I'm very outspoken about the havoc drunk drivers cause and drug seekers/abusers who flood a system that is overworked, underfunded and stretched to limits that just 15 years ago seemed unbelievable.

So, join me in discussing, disecting and laughing at the medical system, establishment and practitioners.......It should be interesting!