old folks

work was a bit nuts this week.  each day had its own excitement.

TUESDAY:  hospital date # 2

WEDNESDAY:  fall, black eye, and head bleed

THURSDAY:  line placement, MRI, delayed chemotherapy and possible extravasation

i could write about so many things.  but i feel inclined just to mention the sweet patient that i admitted on tuesday morning - a 73 year old woman who has been married for 55 years.  when doing her admission history, i asked about her past medical history.  she said, "i'm healthy - aside from cancer."  she has an attitude about her, a feistiness that will hopefully serve her well during transplant.  her husband and daughter sat by her side, teasing her about reading "soft porn" on her kindle (seriously, i can't even use a kindle!).  and although she's quite wobbly on her feet (due to osteoarthritis), she refuses to use a commode at her bedside; "i have just a little bit of dignity left.  i will walk to the bathroom!"  she called herself a troublemaker and apologized for "allowing" her central line to literally fall out of her chest, prompting stat x-rays, a delay in her chemotherapy, and causing us to scramble and reorganize her day and our plans.

i thoroughly enjoyed caring for this little woman.  in some ways, i suppose she reminded me of my own grandmother who was feisty in her own right, obstinate and stubborn beyond belief (much like myself).  it's strange how once you lose your grandparents, you stop hanging out with elderly folks.  unless you count your parents, who are slowly aging alongside myself.  older folks have so many great things to teach us... i almost can't wait to head back to work next week to see what trouble little b---- has gotten herself into!  and what lesson she can impart to me to make me more optimistic and just a bit wiser!