Puke, Puke and more you guessed it PUKE!

It started off to be really SLOW in the ED then we picked up....

Pt.1)   Meth addict comes in via ambulance....  As soon as they give her the "Reversal" drugs the erupted kind of like this :

It was quite interesting... She even hit the ceiling!    Everyone who was in the vicinity got hit with puke... Note to self :  " Always remember to stay away from the meth addicts in the ED You never know when their gunna blow...."

Pt 2) comes in dehydrated from running a marathon in the heat wave we had... EMS can't get an IV so the comes via POV  and puked on the floor...  we got her an IV and a "Emisis Bucket" and she was ok.

Pt3) Comes in with a stomach bug.... the Runs and vomit and all... YUCK!  Pukes in triage.... *rolls eyes* yay!

Loonie #1)  This crazy person comes in saying she "Has a RARE bacterial punomnia" that you only can get in West Virginia.... Because she has a cough etc... The BS meter was in Red for this one....   The nurses agreed. So she was put on precautions.... turned out she had mucus build up and nuttin else....  We will be sure to collect you copay BEFORE we let you go.


So I had my fair share of puke and loons... Puke no longer effects me... (I HOPE)

More later!

A New Department = A New Adventure!

So I am back volunteering at Hospital B now that all of the crap with the ACT is OVER and School is done :)  I decided to work in their ED just to see if the Trauma Nursing thing is for me... Oh, It IS!  It may be a little early to make my decision but, I had alot of fun today!

On my adventures through the 19 Room & 2 Trauma Bay ED I got to experience:

• Triage and the stuff that goes with it. 
• My First FULL BLOWN compound fracture (Yes the bone WAS sticking out of this poor kid's arm He was VERY BRAVE)
• My second Cardiopulmonary Arrest Almost dropped in the ambulance bay  (Yes, I have kept count. Weird I know.)
• A gentleman who drove himself to the ER with a broken right ankle.
• Several bumps,headaches and a busted chin on a kiddo (3 years old and he was a TROOPER!)
• I  got to see 3 Traumas roll in.  ( a big car wreck and the heart attack victim mentioned above)
• I also got to see a criminal get arrested in the ED after he was treated.  I should be use to it since my dad is a police officer but, I'm not lol!  I was more curious what kind of trouble he was in by "stocking the room" but, I kept my big nose out of it. 

Part of my duties is to go running out the door when a car pulls up and offer a wheel chair to the incoming Victims  (I mean) Patients.  The kiddo with a compound fracture  pulled up and omg I almost passed out. No amount of Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue trauma training prepares you for that. (NONE)

All in all it was a pretty awesome day and I can't wait to go back!

Hospital Volunteer Saves A Life....

So at Hospital B I volunteer in the CT Department and Some Patients come into the ED with iodine & sulfa allergies.  So when the MD in the ED ordered a CT Chest PE (Pulmonary Embolism) protocol  for this gentleman who was allergic to the contrast dye that we pump into a patient so we can see if there is/was clots,blood flow where there shouldn't be etc...    They prepped him per hospital protocol waited for the meds to kick in and then he sent him over for us to scan him.    So the tech takes the "Scout" scans first to make sure everything is in line and that it looks good.  Then she took the first part of the scan with out contrast then during the pause where she can go in and start pumping the contrast in our patient also while making sure the vein doesn't blow, the pump didn't blow the syringe full of contrast up (has happened before) etc....

She then proceeded to come back start up the scanner and make it hum (or scream) because it is such a high resolution scan the scanner is taking "Slices" or Pictures every two or so seconds.  Lots of radiation with this type of scan too.  So she pumps the patient full of contrast then all of a sudden I notice the patent stops breathing I let the tech who is looking at the slices as they appear on the screen... she yells (because the scanner is really loud with a PE protocol) over the scanners PA system "ARE YOU OK?" No response.... she slammed the big red emergency stop button  and runs into the room  she yells at me to call a STAT then get the Ambu Bag and help her.

  I get a hold of the STAT Operator  "STAT IN CT 1!" I yelled into the phone...  "Are you sure?" she asked. My exact words where "I SURE AS HELL AM! HE IS CODING ON THE TABLE AND THE TECH IS STARTING COMPRESSIONS!"  "Ok, I will Page a STAT"    I run in grab the Ambu bag  remembered the ABCD's,Head Tilt ,Chin Lift, E/C Hold and started 2 squeezes of the bag after the tech paused compressions,re-assessed & switched places...   It seemed like forever for the stat page to go over the PA....   The stat team from the ED  across the hall arrived in about 45 seconds and took over and carted him off to the trauma bay.  He survived according to the Grumpy ED doc "Because of Our Quick Actions"  I about fell out of my chair Half because he NEVER EVER speaks to us or other staff (unless to give orders) and the other half from me coming off of my adrenaline high... After that My shift was up and I had to go to work.

Oh, Just so you all know I wasn't suppose to assist the tech with CPR because it's a liability even though yours truly has a BLS and is currently working on my ACLS and PAL certs.  The tech and the hospital still deny it to this day.

This sums up another adventure! Off to Hospital A today on the floor!

A Disclaimer

Because I spoke with the Head Nurse Of The PACU today about blogging my adventures and anonymity(A Nice Chat and I was so happy I wasn't in toruble)...I want to make sure all readers know this and so I have all of my bases covered. 

Here We Go :)

*Clears Throat*

Please note that all content on Hospital Volunteer that is not otherwise licensed is licensed under a Creative Commons agreement. What this means is that I don't mind if you repost or borrow things as long as you check with me first. All patients, doctors, and nurses are fictionalized to protect the innocent or guilty. What *that* means is that if I write about something that happened "yesterday", it could easily have happened last week or last year . 

This blog is not intended to be used for, and the author of this blog will not give, advice on medical matters. If you have a problem, see a professional instead of some schmo on the Internet. If you don't like things that are tongue-in-cheek, you should go somewhere much more earnest.

Everything here is mine unless otherwise credited. If I've messed up and quoted you without attribution, please let me know and I'll rectify it ASAP. Likewise, if I manage to make a real howler either in spelling or information, tell me. That means that everything that I get wrong is my own fault, while everything that turns out okay is entirely due to the goodwill and grace of other people.

This will be added to the "Legal Stuff" tab on the top of the page.   I will also do my very best at keeping this blog professional at all times and I may flub up so If I do please let me know and I will fix it.

An International Sensation!

United States               342

United Kingdom           5

Canada                        4

Russia                          4

Slovenia                       3

Germany                      2

Croatia                        1

Netherlands                 1 I  would like to thank all of my readers from all of these countries! Y'all are AWESOME!

This winter has SUCKED

So I am going to recap this winter just because it sucked SO BAD; I have to admit there where good parts but there are more bad then good....

 The Bad

1. My dad has had to deal with loosing three colleagues and friends to different deaths.
2. My Cousin's Husband lost his life on Saturday after emergency Open Heart Surgery.
3. I had to take the ACT  2 times and only raised my score by one FREAKING POINT!

The Good

1. I have been successful in loosing weight
2. My Family has been safe in this CRAZY weather.
3. I still have a Job in this economy.

I am working on shadowing my brother's Hospice nurses and seeing what they do.  I will keep yall posted.

So I was thinking....

So I was thinking (again) while I was cleaning at work while my manager and the manager-in-traning where in the back office closing out for the night and I was left to do the cleaning we had left to do on frontline  for the night (Didn't mind one bit b/c I like cleaning alone and it gives me a chance to think).    At the time alot was running through my head and I needed to sort it all out. 

I usually think about my brother more this time of year than usual; I think about him all the time just more in the spring because he drastically got worse in mid Feb.-May when he finally got to go see Jesus.    So I was thinking about that,crying and wiping down the Ice Cream machine.  Then I thought about all of the awesome people in Hospice, our friends  and every other organization that was there and helped us through it all and how I now get to do the same for someone else and their families.    It was humbling when I thought about what i get to see: Life come into this world, I see the trauma that effects it, I see life saving surgeries and Rehab. I also see patients when God calls them home.

I get to be in those patients and their family's lives for that time and learn about the whole care process of life and for that I am and will be forever grateful because they allowed ME this little nothing volunteer in to their lives to spend a little time with them and try to make a difference in their lives.  I was humbled by this and  I am still trying to wrap my head around it (as you can tell).

Before this moment I kind of had an attitude when people where stupid at work (the customers being rude,didn't know what they want in the DT holding up my line making it more difficult to move fast and serve more people and make our Hour $$$ good)  and kind of having an attitude period.  I think this was God giving me a "Hey Stupid! Get you head out of your ass and get rid of the tude."  Since then, I have tried to a good attitude toward everyone even though it has been really hard.

Here is a Music Video From Addison Road One of my Favorite Artists:







Enjoy!