I am really upset about what happened during our night duty the other day. My co-staff nurse dozed off in the nurse’s station as she cannot fight the call of sleep in the wee hours of the morning. I was busy arranging my patients’ medications that I will be endorsing the morning shift.
That night, our Division Chief’s husband was confined in our unit and she was there to look after him. At past 3:00 in the morning she went out of his husband’s room to get hot water, I saw her come out so I immediately tried to wake my co-staff nurse up discreetly. We greeted her “good morning” and as she went back she asked me how was our sleep. I felt insulted because in my almost one year of stay in the hospital, it was only once that I tried to sleep that was when I had to go straight to my night duty right after critical care course lecture.
Our Division Chief saw me standing when she went out and it is impossible that a sleeping person could be up and about at the same time.
I just wish that my co-staff nurse has a radar detector so she would have known that the DC will be coming out of her husband’s room.

I am really excited! I was able to book flights to Hong Kong! Cebu Pacific has this Halloween offer that cuts down its airfare for domestic and international flights. The promo is until tomorrow only and the flights offered are from January 1 to March 31, 2011. I have been dreaming of getting my nieces to the happiest place on earth. As a child I have been wanting to go to Disneyland that is why I did not let this opportunity to pass. I will just be checking on other travel deals so I could get better accommodations.
This is going to be the first time that I will be celebrating my birthday outside the country.

I got a text from my sister that last Friday that our TV cable was disconnected due to non-payment of bill for three months. It totally slipped my mind that I have to pay this part of my obligation. Too bad that I just paid my credit card and I already ran out of cash. I just told my sister that I will pay the bill on Monday as I expect the money I withdraw from PayPal to my bank account will be credited today. Good thing that the money has been credited and I was able to settle my outstanding bill otherwise I have to resort to availing of the cash advance service of my credit card company. I just got off the phone with the credit and collection lady and she said that our cable service will be restored tomorrow.

The insurance industry has hit rock bottom about five years ago as one by one, insurance companies have closed their doors on their clients. That is why it is not surprising that people are very hesitant, to say the least, in availing of insurances whether life, education or death.
Remaining dedicated companies are now taking stringent measures in making their products hard sell. They are trying to redeem their stained reputation. Reputation that they have built decades ago. They are giving free term life insurance quotes over the phone and online so as to reach every possible person. Being in the medical profession, I could say that getting an insurance is a fundamental of one’s existence.

I was at my former office this afternoon to meet up with my former officemate when I noticed that people are starting to flock at the parking lot infront of the abandoned building. I found out that my former teammate’s back dashboard was completely broken by a makeshift chair which according to some bystanders just flew out of the window of the abandoned building. It was a windy day today due to the typhoon at the northern part of the Philippines.
The parking lot infront of the abandoned building has a park-at-your-own-risk policy and my former teammate did not appear to be worried about the situation although the damage is totally alarming. Luckily, she has gotten her car a 5th wheel warranty that will cover for all the damages this unfortunate accident has caused the poor automobile.

The rainy season is now intensifying. There is no day that it did not rain. I am loving this season as it gives me a very good time to relax and curl up in my bed during my day off. I am now unearthing my sweaters as the weather makes the atmosphere colder in the dorm. Comforters are not enough to keep me warm and I am really shaken to the core whenever I am in the dorm.

This is a case of 31-year-old sfemale, single who was admitted for management of stage IV breast cancer. The terminal stage. She has had left mastectomy (removal of the breast) in 2009. Her family refused to go for chemo therapy and decided to treat the presenting symptoms.
The patient came in with fever and unproductive cough. She has been bedridden since February this year due to pain she experiences when walking. She also complains of constipation, abdominal pain, neck pain and has had episodes of vomiting.
Her lack of appetite has prompted the doctor to place nasogastric tube to serve as an access for her osterized feeding to meet her daily caloric needs.
The cancer cells have metastatized to her bones that cause her excruciating pain especially in the leg. She has been referred to pain management specialist and the doctor gave her Oxynorm round the clock. Her pain was too severe that she needs to be given with Nubain via IV as rescue doses.
There are times that she’s okay and conversant but most of the times, she was disoriented mumbling incomprehensible words.
She’s all being managed for infection in the blood (sepsis). Her white blood count still shoots up despite the protective environment that she has been placed in. Her red blood cells, haemoglobin and hematocrit are all going down. No blood transfusion was made although warranted because their religion, Jehova’s Witness, forbids this.
The family members were primed about the impending loss in their family. Her vitals are all going down at 4:00 pm, she was pronounced dead.
In terminal cases, the medical staff can only offer palliative management and emotional support. Her battle with cancer was over and it is sad that she has lost to it.

It was around 3:00 in the morning when Mrs. S’s condition has deteriorated.
We have just finished tranfusing another set of 6 units of platelet concentrate. She reported that she is having difficulty breathing and the pulmonary fellow on duty ordered for an IV push of Furosemide, a diuretic that was supposed to ease her pulmonary congestion.
She did not recover, the fellow ordered for an NIV or the Non-invasive ventilation but as the respiratory therapist was starting to set it up, it did not work immediately. While the RT was trying to jump start the machine, the fellow prompted us to prepare for an intubation. I wheeled in the crash cart in the patient’s room. Everything happened so fast. She crashed and so we called code blue.
Resuscitative measures brought her back and as we prepared for her to be brought down to the medical ICU, she crashed again. At that time, relatives have told the code team to stop. They want a DNR.
We let her go. I shook my head in disbelief.
She has just been diagnosed to have Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

My headnurse and I sat down for the discussion of my 6th month exam. She voiced out how disappointed she were about the turnout of the said exam. I felt like I was a butter melting under the sun as she tackled each of the item in my revalida. Honestly, I was and still am ashamed that I have not grasped the concept of cardiac medicines and the procedure and diagnostics related to cardiac diseases.
I know that I still have so much to learn and I am willing to engage in a serious one-on-one lecture in order for me to learn more. I am serious about my profession and I shall do anything to keep me knowledgeable anything that has to do about the human heart.
I owe to myself and to the institution.

I feel so sad to learn through a Twit from a friend that one of her fellow bikers was hit by an unruly car driver. The woman who hit the victim told the police that she actually saw the biker wave his hand to signal that he is going to take the shoulder lane but she did not mind to slow down. The biker was not seriously injured but suffered some bruises. Good thing that he is a member of the roadside assistance club that helped me pull through this serious accident.