Getting into the Swing of Things
I'm not sure why I find this humorous, but I think it's sort of funny that I have my own little "routine" at the hospital now. I know most of the nurses, and they know me. They stop by to watch TV with me or chat. I know about poor Annette, who used to come draw my blood every morning at 4 am until I got the central line - so now blood has to be drawn by my nurse. Annette is helping to raise her 2 year-old grandbaby, and her 23 year-old daughter just found a lump in her breast, but she doesn't have health insurance because she's too old to be on her mom's (the Obama law hasn't kicked in yet), and she isn't in school anymore. My heart breaks for her. Sonia, the night nurse, has a son with asthma and severe allergies, and it kills her to have to give him shots, but that's why she became a nurse. It's been interesting.... I'm actually meeting lots of new people. I usually have Zen-ish music playing in the evenings, or white noise, so some of the nurses or patient techs like to come in here and hang out a bit. Considering how loud and obnoxious some of the patients can be, I can see why they like to hide!
The other night, they forgot to bring me dinner. When the dining services lady came by to pick up my tray, and I told her that I hadn't gotten one, she came back and said that they thought I had gone home. Ha!!! No such luck! :) Today, when my dear friend Cory came to visit, she asked if I was still here, and they replied, "oh yeah, she's still here!" Every day, someone asks me how long they are keeping me. It's become a bit of a running joke. We've decided to rename this room the Jennifer Penny suite, since I've probably been here long enough to pay for everything in here!
So, for those of you who have never been hospitalized for a longer period of time, here's my general "outline of the day":
12 am - wake up for vitals (blood pressure, temperature, and blood oxygen level test) and blood sugar check
1 am - wake up to start antibiotic IV (1 hour - I load up with blankets - IVs generally make me cold - and snooze for an hour)
2 am - wake up to unhook antibiotic IV
4 am - wake up for vitals and blood sugar check
6 am - wake up for blood draw
8 am - wake up for vitals, blood sugar check, shift change (visited by the day nurse and get my "assessment")
8:30 am - breakfast
9 am - morning meds (about 25 pills total, including Benadryl for the antifungal IV, but I love it because it helps me sleep!)
9:30 am - start antifungal IV (3-4 hours long - good sleeping time!!!!), housekeeping cleans my room
12 noon - wake up for vitals, blood sugar check, mid-day meds (10 pills), insulin, and lunch
1 pm - start antibiotic IV
2 pm - finish antibiotic IV
3 pm - Ellen is on!!!!
4 pm - vitals and blood sugar check
5 pm - dinner, insulin shot
6-7 pm - visits from doctors, visit with friends, shower, take a walk, read, watch a movie, chat on the phone, etc.
8 pm - greeted by the night staff (shift change), evening meds (4 pills) and insulin
11 pm - bedtime
What's crazy is that I've actually gotten accustomed to sleeping for 2-3 hours at a time. I sleep pretty deeply now once I do fall asleep, but it's more of a series of catnaps. With blood sugar and vitals checks every 4 hours, it's darn near impossible to sleep uninterrupted. Also, now that I have the IVs going into a central line in my neck, I'm not as comfortable walking around with the IV pole, because I can't see the line to make sure it's not caught up on something. So, for the 6 hours total that I'm getting IVs, I generally stay in bed. That makes for some good sleeping time. I've found that the Lightning Bug app on my phone provides just enough white noise (I like the waterfall and birds chirping) to cover up the "hospital noise" of beeping IVs, footsteps in the hall, and moaning patients.
Overall, I guess you could say I'm making it as much like home as possible. I've learned to ask for things when I want them, like extra blankets or an extra table, because I'm going to be here for a while, so I might as well get comfortable!
So there you go.... my day in a nutshell. Who'd have thought that my nearest and dearest of the summer of 2011 would be a bunch of scrub-clad nurses? They are good people, though, and the majority of them really care about their patients and work hard to make sure we're taken care of well. I'm so grateful to have their help!
And as uncomfortable as hospital beds can be, I've learned to manipulate the controls to created a nice little niche for my hips, which has helped a lot, and who doesn't love having a built in TV remote and light switch on your bed? It's like a super-bed! :) It even comes with push-button wait service!!!!
The other night, they forgot to bring me dinner. When the dining services lady came by to pick up my tray, and I told her that I hadn't gotten one, she came back and said that they thought I had gone home. Ha!!! No such luck! :) Today, when my dear friend Cory came to visit, she asked if I was still here, and they replied, "oh yeah, she's still here!" Every day, someone asks me how long they are keeping me. It's become a bit of a running joke. We've decided to rename this room the Jennifer Penny suite, since I've probably been here long enough to pay for everything in here!
So, for those of you who have never been hospitalized for a longer period of time, here's my general "outline of the day":
12 am - wake up for vitals (blood pressure, temperature, and blood oxygen level test) and blood sugar check
1 am - wake up to start antibiotic IV (1 hour - I load up with blankets - IVs generally make me cold - and snooze for an hour)
2 am - wake up to unhook antibiotic IV
4 am - wake up for vitals and blood sugar check
6 am - wake up for blood draw
8 am - wake up for vitals, blood sugar check, shift change (visited by the day nurse and get my "assessment")
8:30 am - breakfast
9 am - morning meds (about 25 pills total, including Benadryl for the antifungal IV, but I love it because it helps me sleep!)
9:30 am - start antifungal IV (3-4 hours long - good sleeping time!!!!), housekeeping cleans my room
12 noon - wake up for vitals, blood sugar check, mid-day meds (10 pills), insulin, and lunch
1 pm - start antibiotic IV
2 pm - finish antibiotic IV
3 pm - Ellen is on!!!!
4 pm - vitals and blood sugar check
5 pm - dinner, insulin shot
6-7 pm - visits from doctors, visit with friends, shower, take a walk, read, watch a movie, chat on the phone, etc.
8 pm - greeted by the night staff (shift change), evening meds (4 pills) and insulin
11 pm - bedtime
What's crazy is that I've actually gotten accustomed to sleeping for 2-3 hours at a time. I sleep pretty deeply now once I do fall asleep, but it's more of a series of catnaps. With blood sugar and vitals checks every 4 hours, it's darn near impossible to sleep uninterrupted. Also, now that I have the IVs going into a central line in my neck, I'm not as comfortable walking around with the IV pole, because I can't see the line to make sure it's not caught up on something. So, for the 6 hours total that I'm getting IVs, I generally stay in bed. That makes for some good sleeping time. I've found that the Lightning Bug app on my phone provides just enough white noise (I like the waterfall and birds chirping) to cover up the "hospital noise" of beeping IVs, footsteps in the hall, and moaning patients.
Overall, I guess you could say I'm making it as much like home as possible. I've learned to ask for things when I want them, like extra blankets or an extra table, because I'm going to be here for a while, so I might as well get comfortable!
So there you go.... my day in a nutshell. Who'd have thought that my nearest and dearest of the summer of 2011 would be a bunch of scrub-clad nurses? They are good people, though, and the majority of them really care about their patients and work hard to make sure we're taken care of well. I'm so grateful to have their help!
And as uncomfortable as hospital beds can be, I've learned to manipulate the controls to created a nice little niche for my hips, which has helped a lot, and who doesn't love having a built in TV remote and light switch on your bed? It's like a super-bed! :) It even comes with push-button wait service!!!!
Ever tried an eggcrate on the mattress? Saved my behind...literally!
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