It's Medical Monday ~ CNA's Brighten Days

Today is the first Monday of July, which means it is Medical Monday around these parts!

I am happy to be co-hosting this month's Medical Mondays Blog Hop.

For those of you who are new here, I am a CNA, and for anyone who doesn't know what that is, I thought I would explain.

CNA stands for Certified Nursing Assistant.  Our duties vary depending on what job we take.  I used to do home health care, which I love.  Many CNA's work in nursing homes.  I currently work in a hospital on the neuro med/surg floor.  If you've ever spent time in a hospital, you've encountered a CNA, although different facilities use different job titles.

At my hospital, we are called Nurse Techs.  We take vitals, assist patients with various needs, answer your call light, bring you food and drinks (other than your actual meals).  I often feel like a waitress, counselor, and medical professional all rolled into one.  I could never list every one of my duties because there are so many and they vary greatly from day to day, week to week.  I run my butt off, I will say that!  I work hard for 12 hours, 3 days a week and it wears me out.  But I love it - most days!

We appreciate all our Medical Monday participants! You all have helped us develop a fantastic community of friendship and support! Next month we will be celebrating MM one year anniversary! Be sure to mark it on your calendar. Along with our regular link up party, we will have a giveaway which is sure to please! 

On to this month's party!!!.....

Are you confused if you qualify for the party?

If you have a pager interrupting your life... you DEFINITELY qualify!
Do you work in healthcare?

Doctor? Nurse? EMT? Chiropractor? Vet? Dentist? Therapist?

MA? NA? PA? DA?

Are you the spouse or SO of a healthcare worker/student?

Are you a nursing student? Medical student?

Intern? Resident? Fellow?

You get the picture, right? Come on, now... don't be shy! Let's keep growing and meeting new bloggers, so we can build a community of support and friendship, learn from one another, and share our stories.

LINK UP YOUR POST!

Here are the rules:

1. Follow your co-hosts via Bloglovin (since GFC will soon be defunct), FB, email or Twitter.
2. Link up you medical/med life blog. If your blog name does not clearly state how you fit in to the med/med life world, please write a little intro or link up a specific post which clearly demonstrates your connection.
3. Visit at least 3 other link ups, comment, introduce yourself, and tell the your stopping by or following from MM!
4. Help spread the word by using our button on your post or sidebar, tweet about Medical Monday, or spread the word on Facebook! The more the merrier for all of us.

Complete step one by following your co-hosts:

• Emma at Your Doctor's Wife
• Jane at From A Doctor's Wife
• Heather at Army Wife, Army Life
• Cyndy at Putting the Fun in Dysfunctional

Want to be awesome?
Post our button on you post or sidebar and help spread the word:

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Want to co-host next month? Shoot Emma an email at yourdoctorswife@gmail.com and be sure to write "Medical Monday Co-host Request" in the subject field.

Now, link up below and have fun! The link up is open through Friday, so be sure to come back during the week to check some great reads!

Medical Mondays - What I Do.

My first husband's current wife (my children's stepmother) likes to refer to my occupation as "ass-wiper".
Charming, isn't she?  She's also going to school to be a NURSE.  Shudder.

Anyway.  I am a Nurse Tech, or Nursing Assistant, on the Med/Surg floor of a hospital.
When my husband told his nurse friend what I do for a living, his friend immediately said "She works HARD for her money." And I certainly do.

I have so many different duties and responsibilities in my job that neither of you nor I have time for me to list them all.  And no two nights are ever the same.  But I have never made a secret of the fact that one of my job duties is to help clean incontinent patients.  (I refuse to call it "wiping ass", that is SO disrespectful to my patients.)

I also take vital signs, making me the first line of defense to detect if a patient is having any issues.  I am an important link in a chain of health care professionals.
I perform blood glucose tests.  I hook up telemetry monitors.  I connect oxygen tubing.   I attach sequential compression devices.  I do portable bladder ultrasounds.
Last week I assisted a nurse with an enema and impaction removal.  Yep - that's a NURSE JOB.

Some nights I feel like a waitress.  Some nights I feel like a therapist.
Some nights I have zero incontinent patients.
Some nights I have three.
But when I think of the comments from ignorant, disrespectful people, it makes me angry.  Not for myself - certainly I couldn't care less what someone like that thinks of me.

But I picture my incontinent patients.  Usually frail, elderly people.  They are helpless and unable to clean themselves.  They are embarrassed and uncomfortable in every way.  They never asked to be in that position.  They deserve someone who respects them, and cares enough to clean them up immediately, quickly yet thoroughly, and in a professional manner, while allowing them to maintain their dignity.

A few weeks ago I had a sweet elderly lady as one of my patients.  She tried to make it to the bathroom to void her bladder, but she didn't make it in time.  She was so humiliated.  She said that was the first time in her life it had ever happened.  I helped her clean up, changed her sheets, all the while smiling and chatting with her.  She still kept apologizing and was so ashamed, she was literally in tears.  I finally took her by the hand and said, "Please, stop apologizing.  It happens.  If you were feeling well, you wouldn't be in the hospital.  I have cleaned up FAR worse than this.  It's part of my job.  I don't mind at all." And she said to me, "You are a wonderful person.  There is a special place in heaven for you."

And I hear that all the time.  "Thank you.  You are so sweet.  Thank you for taking such good care of me."   It makes it all worthwhile.

And anyone who refers to that as "ass-wiping" deserves NOT to have a compassionate person to take care of them when they find themselves in the unfortunate position of being helpless and incontinent.  They deserve to sit in it for a while.

Not everyone can handle my job - I get that.  But I can and I do, and I do it quite well.
Oh and one last thing - if you are a nurse and you have NEVER cleaned up an incontinent patient, PLEASE leave me a comment.  I would love to know how you managed to escape a job that every single nurse on the planet does.

Go visit Your Doctor's Wife for more Medical Monday posts.
P.S.  It's Nurse's Week!  Hug your favorite Nursing Professional!

Right Where I Need to Be

I fed a sweet old man lunch and dinner today.

He's not able to feed himself. So I fed him.
When I left my home care job, I was so afraid that I was leaving my calling.
The work that I feel led to do.  The work for which I feel passion.
As I rushed around from room to room today, taking care of the needs of a dozen patients, I didn't feel that way.
I scurried back and forth, trying to make sure each patient was being taken care of, answering call lights, taking vitals, among what seemed like a million other things, and hoping I was doing well on my second day at this job.
When we finally had a moment to breathe, the senior tech who is training me said, "I want to tell you something.  We have had a TOUGH group [of patients] today.  This has been a very busy and hard day.  And you have done an excellent job.  These patients have received far better care than they would have if you were not with me today.  And if you can handle this group on this day - you can handle anything."

I fed a sweet old man lunch and dinner today.

Big Changes a'Coming

A few Mondays ago, I wrote a blog post all about my job.  I told you what I do for a living, how much I love it, and how rewarding it is.
What I did not - could not - tell you, is that I am leaving this job.

I couldn't tell you because it wasn't certain yet.  I was waiting on the official offer from the new job - I had to pass a background check, health screening, drug test, etc...........

I am, obviously, not leaving because I am dissatisfied with the work itself in any way.  I love my client and her family.  I also adore my employers and they have been wonderful to me for the past year.  They've went above and beyond for me, and I appreciate them greatly.
However.

The pay is very, very low.  And because of the current economy, it's not going to get much better.  I did just get my annual raise - but it's still nowhere near enough.


I was looking for another job in addition to my home care job to supplement my income, and I applied as a Nurse Tech at a local hospital - essentially the same thing I did for four years at another local hospital.  The position I applied for was PRN - as needed.  They would just call me when they were short-handed.
But when I got there and interviewed, they ended up asking if I would consider working for them full time.
(seriously the best interview I EVER had. It was a blast.)

The pay is better and the benefits are great - health insurance, retirement, the whole bit.  I literally CAN'T pass up this opportunity - it's just not an option.

I will stay on at my current job on PRN status, and hopefully they will use me often; I really want to keep in contact with my client and her wonderful family.
I have already told my employers, but I haven't yet told my client nor her family; I haven't worked for her since officially being hired at the hospital.  I'll tell her on Monday.  I am SO not looking forward to that conversation.  Additionally, one of the long-term night shifters recently left (for a higher paying job - of course) so it's yet another loss for her.  It sucks.  I know she'll understand, but I still feel badly for leaving her. Quality care is so hard to come by.

I'm VERY excited, don't get me wrong.  When I toured the unit after my interview, I couldn't help but get excited about being back in the hospital atmosphere.  I do miss it.  I also miss wearing CUTE scrubs - right now I only wear company scrubs in blue & khaki.  Boring! LOL

And best of all, I have a plan.  This job will, eventually, take me back to doing home care, but in a different setting.  For a long time, I have felt a calling to do Hospice care.  My plan is to go back to school for nursing (this job offers 100% TUITION REIMBURSEMENT - HELLOOO!!!!!) and eventually be a Hospice Nurse.  Now, I have had some false starts on this path before, but current life circumstances make this more of a possibility now than ever before.  So, hopefully, this time I will achieve my goals.

But - I have never, ever left a job that I LOVED.  So, there's a sense of loss, a sadness, a bittersweet feeling.

So.  One more week with my sweet client, then it's on to bigger and better things as of Monday October 29th.  Thank you all for coming along with me on this journey!

Medical Monday Blog Hop

I'm not usually much of a hopper, but I just couldn't resist this one.
I recently started reading Your Doctor's Wife.  It's a great blog and her header is one of the coolest I have EVER seen.  For real.

Anyway, I couldn't resist this blog hop because it's a Medical Monday hop.  Not only I am in the health care profession, but today makes one year that I've been caring for my main client.
I absolutely love what I do.  If you're new here, I do home health care. I'm a CNA - Certified Nursing Assistant.  I work for an agency but since I started, have had one main client.

The type of work I do is very hands on.  Very personal.  I help my clients with any aspect of their daily lives that they need help with.  Some of the things I help with are dressing, taking medications, and going to appointments.  I cook their meals.  I see them at their worst and their best.
My main client gets 24 hour care.  She can do very little for herself.  I help her with any and everything.  I have met all of her children and most of her grandchildren.  I have bonded with my client and her family.  I spend so much time at her home, it's like a second home to me.

Sidenote: All of my clients thus far have been continent (meaning they need little to no help using the restroom).  This has been a blessing.  I can and will do whatever I need to do, but I won't lie and say I'm not glad that I don't have to deal with a lot of....ummmm....waste products!

My philosophy is that I treat my clients the way I would want my parents to be treated.  I am respectful and caring and warm.  I do my best to help them maintain their dignity in a time where that can be a challenge.  I speak to them with kindness, never talking down to them.  I don't give orders, I make requests.  I ask their opinion instead of making choices for them regarding things like meals and clothing.  I wouldn't work in an environment where other caregivers did not treat their clients respectfully; I simply couldn't tolerate it.

I have loved senior citizens for as long as I can remember.  I first felt called to do this type of work several years ago.  Two years ago I finally took the plunge and did it.  And I love it.  I've never had a job that I loved this much, that was this rewarding and fulfilling.  I feel appreciated and valued.  I don't dread going to work.  I think I've only missed work once this entire year and it was totally inevitable (and with the insanity I've been through this year, that's saying a LOT).  This agency has been good to me and I appreciate them.  When I first started, along with my main client I also cared for the company owner's grandmother until she passed away.  I adored her and every time I left, she told me she loved me and gave me a hug.  I miss her dearly.

It's a unique job.  It has its challenges but the rewards are great.
I've worked in health care for over six years now and I can't imagine doing anything else, although I do plan to advance in this field.  (I worked as a tech in a hospital for four years and did home health care independently for a year after that.)
I am not certain what the future holds; I have goals, hopes and dreams. But I know the health care field is where my heart is, and where I'll always be!

Come look at the pretty, pretty fragments!

Today is going to be a great day!

I am meeting with a potential new client this morning. The woman who hired me for my current caregiving position referred me to a friend of hers, who needs in-home care for her mother. If all goes well, these two clients will give me all the hours I need and I'll still be home when the kids get home from school. I'm very excited!

Then I have a nail appointment (YAY, pamper ME time!), after which I'll have lunch with my hubby.

All of the kids will come home tomorrow evening. After I get them, we're picking up Elayna's friend, who will be spending the night. I'm taking the girls to an outdoor concert. It's a young female country singer who we've seen perform before.

I also have a craft planned for them to do on Saturday. If you know me, you're probably rolling on the floor laughing right now. I am totally craft-challenged! But I found one that I think I can handle. If all goes well, I'll post pictures. If not? This conversation never happened.

See this sweet little boy right here?

This week, he went to the beach. Just him, and a group of his friends. They stayed in a hotel. Three days and two nights. All by themselves!!

Okay, he's grown up a little since that picture, and they are all legally adults. But 18 months, 18 years....I still worry!

I am SO glad they are now safely home!

Shelbie has spent the week at a church camp. She'll be home tomorrow. We've texted some and I know she's had a lot of fun, but I can't wait to hear all about it.

On a totally different topic: I swear if I hear Kat Von D say "I'm the luckiest girl in the world!" one more time I'm going to vomit. And then mail it to her.

She's marrying a man (Jesse James) who openly cheated on his last wife and treated her like garbage. On what planet does that make her lucky??

I actually used to like her, a lot. Ick.

This is a new song from Brad Paisley & Carrie Underwood, and I just love it.

Have a wonderful weekend!

And don't forget to visit Mrs 4444 and get your FRAG on!!

My Happy List

I have some ~*Happy*~ to share with you today!

So I'm joining in with Mamarazzi's Happy List.

~* I think we've found our house. I don't want to jinx anything, so I'm not going to say much....but I'm crossing everything crossable!

~* My parents invited us to go out for dinner with them tonight - their treat! This is a rare occurrence, so it definitely goes on the Happy List!

~* I won an adorable Coffee Cozy from Cream No Sugar via Mamarazzi's Taking Back Mondays. It came in the mail today (so fast!) and I just love it! Thanks, Sue & Mamarazzi!

~* One of our cats scared us very badly this week. I was certain we were going to lose her. Now - she has made a full recovery! I will post the whole story next week. But I am SO happy that she is okay!

~* I start my new job on Monday! Happy happy happy!

~* After a run of some bad luck, it seems like maybe things are turning around for us. What a relief!

~* I have a giveaway up at Southern Loving. Giveaways make everyone happy!

~* Mamarazzi makes me happy. I'm so glad I found her blog; she is one of the sweetest bloggers I've ever "met"!

Hope you have a ~*HAPPY*~ weekend!

Weekend WrapUp

It was a pretty quiet, low-key weekend around the Casa de Dysfunction.

We had a very busy day Friday, just errands and doctor appointments, nothing fun. It was our "no-kid weekend".

Saturday, early in the morning, I broke. The weight of all of the stress and anxiety that I've been carrying around was just too much, and I shattered to pieces. Thankfully, my husband is very good at putting me back together. Now I am whole again.
We tried to go to Elayna's softball game, but it ended just before we got there (her dad took her). They had already won, 15-1, and she was very happy.
The rest of that day was spent celebrating my niece's 22nd birthday (my main gift to her was her very own pot of my homemade chicken & dumplings!), and then watching the Gator game.

Sunday was filled with church activities. The more time I spend at this church, the closer I get to people, and the more I realize it is such a good fit for us.
I feel like on Sundays, my cup gets filled. During the week, it gets bumped and knocked over and dumped out. Then on Sunday, I go back and get refilled again. So I leave feeling fulfilled.
It's a good feeling.



I love to watch John at church also. He was not raised in church like I was, but he takes to it so well. He isn't skeptical or resistant of the teachings; he soaks it all up like a sponge. It's really an amazing experience.




Now I'm at work. I'm still adjust to my new schedule. I LOVE being home every evening, and not having to come to work until 11pm. But it's hard to come in on Sunday nights, which is the trade-off. It's worth it, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. Heh.
This is the last week of sports for the girls (unless they've added games I haven't heard about yet!). The less hectic schedule will be nice, but we've all really enjoyed this and I know we'll all look forward to it starting again.
Alright. If you want to WrapUp your Weekend, go to it! And then link up here.

And have a great week!

There's Gonna Be a Heartache Tonight, I Know

Actually, it's tomorrow night. The Gators play rival Tennessee. It's going to be a good game. We'll see who ends up with the heartache.....

*~ We'll be watching the game over at my Mom's house & visiting with her on Saturday. Also, I'm also going to start decorating our home for FALL! I can't wait, it's my favorite season.

*~ On Sunday after church, we'll be having Andrew's Friend Birthday party. We're doing a pirate theme (same as last year, but his birthday falls right around Talk Like a Pirate Day, and he loves it!). I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

*~ Elayna is going to start playing softball this season. Shelbie wanted to play too, but there aren't enough kids in her age group for a team.

*~ I'm in the process of trying to tweak my schedule so that I can be off in the evenings and have more time with the kids and the ability to attend their evening events. I'm so fortunate to have a boss who is very understanding and flexible about these kinds of things! They made a last-minute change yesterday for me, for that night's shift. I've had jobs in the past that were completely inflexible and uncaring. I'm really blessed!

*~ I'm seeing Kanye spoofs everywhere and they're hilarious, but this one is by far my favorite.

(courtesy of DailyShite.com)

What are you doing this weekend?
Have you decorated for FALL yet?
Have a great weekend!

Visit Half Past Kissin' Time and Ordinary & Awesome for more Friday Fragments & Freewrites!

Thanksgiving Thursday ~ it's raining and my head is exploding.......

You know how they say, when it rains it pours? Well, it's raining where I live. Literally, and figuratively. I won't bore you with every detail, but last week we had a torrential downpour. Every time it rains a lot, our carport floods, which is a hot mess. But this time, it got better. The flood ventured INSIDE the house. We got that cleaned up, and now we're having floods coming from the inside. In short, our plumbing is screwed. Basically, my house, my precious 50+ year old house that I love so much, is falling apart. Literally.
That, among other things, is causing me a significant amount of stress. So as a way of getting my focus where it needs to be, I'm doing a Thanksgiving Thursday.

~*~ I'm very thankful to have a job. And things have greatly improved here at work recently. I have wonderful co-workers who are like family. In this economy, I'd be (at least a little) thankful for ANY job, so the fact that I really love my job is even better.

~*~ I'm thankful for my kids. They are super smart and intuitive. They know I love them, and they love their Mama. And truly, they are great kids. That's not just Mama talking, I get a lot of compliments on my children. They are awesome. I have a special relationship with each of them, and I know that no matter what happens, we'll always have that bond.

~*~ I'm thankful for my friends. More than words can say.

~*~ I'm thankful that my parents are still in good health. They are aging but are very blessed to be healthy and relatively active.

~*~ I'm so very thankful for my husband. He is so good to me, and makes even the most stressful situations better. He is my very best friend. If ever two people were meant to be together, the two of us were. We just fit.

Okay. I just got a text from my husband that our A/C is literally burning up. And my head will now explode in 3....2....1........

Thursday Thirteen

I'm ripping off Jogging in Circles and also posting 13 Random thoughts today.

1. I have had some work issues this week but they seemed to be resolved now, and it feels like a burden has been lifted off of me!

2. I am (literally) working my butt off to lose this weight! I am exercising more and more and being sure to eat right, even though I can eat basically anything I want, within reason, now that I am 7 weeks out. And I'm darned proud!

3. I am so happy that my husband holds down a steady job. Although his employers drive me nuts sometimes, he has worked at this job for over 5 years (longer than we've known each other!), which provides myself and my children with a stability that we have never before known. With my ex, I literally never knew when he was going to come home and tell me that his boss had 'pissed him off', so he'd quit his job. It happened often and it was a scary way to live.

4. I feel sorry for 'outside' pets. I can't imagine leaving my little doggies outside all night and/or day. Would you want to be outside all the time? Dogs are pack animals and want to be with their people. Statistically, inside animals live longer (although my parents had an outside cat who lived to be 19 years old.....I swear she truly had 9 lives.)

5. I have the coolest kids on the planet. Some days, something happens...something small.....that makes me realize that although I make mistakes, I do a pretty good job, and I am teaching them what I feel is important, and it really is sinking in. Case in point: when we adopted our cat last weekend, the group had a jar for donations. My Princess had a dollar in her purse, and asked me if she could put it in the jar. All on her own. She knew she was helping the animals. I nearly cried. The rescue group was very appreciative and made her feel awesome.

6. I feel so good about putting our blood, sweat, tears, and a chunk of money into fencing our back yard. None of us really knew what we were doing, but we figured it out and have a strong, sturdy fence and we go out and play every day. It's a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

7. My house is quickly becoming a zoo. In addition to four dogs and one cat, we may soon be adding a Sugar Glider. This will be primarily my son's pet. We also foster for the dachshund rescue, and we offered to foster & volunteer for Animal People, the group from which we adopted our cat.
And I love every minute of it all!

8. We love festivals and carnivals and goofy stuff like that. This summer, I hope to take the kids to all of them that fall on our 'kid weekends'. I want my kids to experience things, and have fun doing it. It's really not that hard to find inexpensive things to do, instead of sitting home on our hineys watching TV all weekend!

9. We're also going to start playing Disc Golf. Ever heard of it? Hubby has played before and says it's a blast.

10. This must be the most boring Thursday Thirteen EVER!

11. Many of your blogs inspire me in so many ways. I am so glad I found the Blogosphere!

12. Every fall, we do something called the Gator Walk. It's a smaller version of the March for Babies, hosted by the University of Florida. We started after Mr Wonderful and I got married. His firstborn son died from complications of prematurity, so we decided to do this as a way of honoring him. Last year, my kids came along too.
I will be hitting you up for money come fall! =)

13. When we adopted our cat, I asked Mr W for help in naming her. It seems like I always end up naming our pets, fosters included. He said he wasn't good at naming pets. I asked him "well, what were some of your cats' names, growing up?" and he said, "Mama Kitty, Big Kitty, and Baby Kitty."
I told him he is now officially never having any input into pet naming.

~43 lbs, gone forever!

~Thankful Thursday~

I'm a little late, but I'm posting my Thankful Thursday any way, because I want to. I really like Thankful Thursday posts, and they way they make me think about what I'm thankful for even more than I normally would.
This Thursday, I am thankful for my job.
For a very long time, I've known that I wanted to work in the medical field. When I had children and started taking them to the pediatrician (all the freakin' time, it seemed like!), my interest really intensified. I was always floored when my friends told me their kids were sick but they couldn't remember the medications they were on or even the name of the diagnosis. I soaked in all of that like a sponge. After a while, when the kiddos got sick, I could diagnosis them and predict what meds they'd be given with amazing accuracy. If I had a prescription pad, I could've skipped the ped visits altogether! (I kid, I kid)
I myself have spent some time in the hospital; appendicitis when I was 9, major leg surgery when I was 11 after running into a glass door, and severe pneumonia when I was 13. Then, I had 3 c-sections. I've done my hospital and doctor time!
Then I had kids. My girls have always been pretty healthy, other than the normal kid stuff. But that son of mine! Tubes in his ears twice, tonsils & adenoids removed, and he banged himself up hard enough 3 times to warrant ER visits and staples or glue. And then, his Chiari decompression surgery.
Naturally, at this point, hospitals are like a second home to me.
So, at last, in October of 2006, I got a job at the biggest hospital in our town. It's a very well-known hospital and people travel from all over the place to come here. I love working here. I love saying I work here. I love almost everything about it.
I love working nights. I love the majority of my co-workers. I love what I do, and what I help others do.
And the benefits are great. The health insurance is enabling me to get my gastric bypass surgery. I can't say enough about how thankful I am to have that. Many policies exclude this surgery or make it VERY hard to get aproved. Not mine.
We get prescription discounts and they will payroll-deduct your meds. We get silly things like theme park discounts, and they payroll-deduct that, too. I love me some payroll deduction! I swear one day, I'll have no paycheck at all because I'll have already spent it. Woops!
Being here today for all of my pre-op stuff, I LOVED the feeling that I belong here. I'm 'one of them'. I'm not an outsider. And when I'm here post-op, I'll get a private room, and VIP treatment. Woot! Some of the fees and co-pays are waived, as well.
And one more thing.........they will send me to college and pay for everything, as long as it's a medical field. So hopefully, after I recover from surgery, I will be enrolling in school. I have some prerequisites to get out of the way, and then I'll start nursing school. During that time, I will work only 20 hours per week, but I will get paid for 40 hours a week. Just one more benefit of the job.
I love my job.