Something Good...

Friday, July 6, 2012

Bike Ride

I have been working so much that most of the time all I want to do is lay down if I'm at home. But today I was overruled and we went on a family bike ride.

It was just one of those moments when I try to remember everything because I know my kids are growing up and soon they won't think a family bike ride is the greatest thing short of going to Disneyland.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Swap

I just found these pictures and realized I never shared them and they're far too funny to miss. This is what happens when Sass and Becks are stuck indoors all winter long. They decide to switch places.

They must know each other really well. Becks is definately making some Syd pose faces and is wearing her favorite necklace. Sydnee has on Ucks' favorite hat and the "I'm a stud" face he does so well. Not to mention her finger up her nose (he doesn't normally do that, but it's pretty funny)

Something good... Today I have a WHOLE day off. No visits, no shifts, no paperwork, no training.... Ugh having 2 jobs sometimes sucks!
K

Monday, July 2, 2012

Purple Mountains Majesty

I posted on Sunday about the fire in Colorado Springs, how it looked to us and how sad we were about it. There was a lot of smoke over the mountains that we could see from our house. We spent most of the weekend and Monday and Tuesday staying indoors. I had a hair appt on Tuesday evening; as I started to drive down toward my appt the mountains opened completely to my view and I almost swerved the car seeing them completely engulfed in flames.

This is shot was (not taken by me) literally taken from the exact location where I was having my hair done. 15 min into my appt suddenly we could smell smoke everywhere. Security came around and told everyone that if stores wanted they could voluntarily close because the air quality was so bad. As I finished and walked out to my car there was smoke everywhere, and ash was falling like snow. Before this moment there had been some smoke but the wind had shifted and engulfed the entire city in a smoke cloud. They had to close a section of the interstate because the visibility was so bad.

I drove home and spent my night glued to the television until we forced ourselves to sleep at 2am. The wind had changed directions unexpectedly and the fire began to spread at a rate of 65 mph into the city.

Everyone in the city sat horrified watching the news casts and watching live shots as the fire spread and homes began to burn. Everytime there was another home caught there would be a bright hot spot on the camera.

I noticed the next day that there was a light dusting of gray on my furniture in the house from all of the ash. Air conditioners are not common in Colorado so we have window units and it has been 90-105 degrees and dry the past week.

32,000 people were evacuated (including my sister) 346 homes were lost, 17,000+ acres (and counting) and 2 confirmed deaths.

Everyone knows someone who lost their home, and every morning I feel like I get up to quickly turn on the TV and check facebook to make sure nothing horrible happened the previous night.

This picture below would be about the exact view from my parents home which is 10 miles north of mine.

Between the 2 pictures above and below you can see the "scar" on the mountains (which was caused by mining) to see how large this fire spread.

The fire is currently 45% contained, the parks have been reopened and the air quality has improved greatly in the past few days. Once all the smoke is gone I am anxious to see how badly our beautiful mountains are scarred.

Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to America The Beautiful and the lyrics "Purple Mountains Majesty" after visiting Colorado Springs about Pikes Peak and the mountains around them.

Friday, June 29, 2012

Who's in charge here???

Pretty much most of my life I've known I wanted to be a nurse. (And with how long school takes, I apparently wanted to be a nurse BADLY!)

I normally work in a pediatric unit, where I have everything from child abuse cases, to post operative to cancer. But part of that means I'm also trained to work in the NICU. Tiny newborns where I get to spend my night keeping them stable. Syd was a NICU baby so I feel especially proud when I work there.

There's a hierarchy to nursing, I've been a nurse for only a few years and when I don't know what to do it's okay because next to me is someone who's been a nurse for 20. It's truly been something that in crisis has made me feel safe knowing I'm surrounded by so many other people who know what to do.

I started working in cardiac, I was sure that "when I grew up" I was going to be an ICU nurse. I had an instructor that told me I was destined for Peds, I blew it off but long story short that teacher was right. But having the background I do I have some advanced adult training that I have kept current on just cause I can.

I worked in the NICU last night, I was excited because it's honestly a lot easier to work there than Peds. I spend an entire shift feeding babies and putting my feet up.

The fire in Colorado Springs has really been bad for people with asthma and most of the night the other RN who I was working with kept coughing. I asked her a few times if she had an inhaler and to take it. Then as she gets up to walk somewhere in the middle of the night she looks at me and wheezes " I can't breathe!" The charge nurse is also near so she comes running over as I sit her down. We get oxygen as a bunch of other nurses come running over as well. Theyre all yelling contradictory different things to do while this nurse is still wheezing and fighting to get air in. I suddenly realize being surrounded by only NICU nurses...

I'M THE ONLY ONE WITH TRAINING!!!!

Seriously all these years of experience nurses have no idea how to deal with a person larger than 6lb in crisis. I'm a little proud with how after this realization I just start taking over and telling everyone what to do. Such as....

NO you do not lay someone flat who is having a hard time breathing!

NO she IS breathing (and talking) which means we DO NOT need to call a code!

Just someone freaking call the Emergency Team, put her on oxygen, get respiratory therapy, get her an Albeuterol neb find a wheelchair and GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM!!!

Yikes, living in a world where I'm the most knowledgable person is a little scary...

Something good... I now get to go to sleep
K

Monday, June 25, 2012

4

There are hundreds of reasons why relationships go bad, and I think I may have experienced 99% of them. Lists that run through everyones mind, I've actually written them down a few times myself. Family that doesn't support or understand, friends that question, even moments yourself when you wonder... Hundreds of thousands of reasons to not move forward together.

But in growing I realized that all I need is 4 reasons to trump everything else. And right now those 3 other reasons are under my roof. Everything else is just details that honestly don't matter.

Something good... Beckham has been sneaking into Sydnee's bed every night the past week. It's adorable to find him snuggled up next to his sister that he adores.
K

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Burning up

If anyone has ever had the immense pleasure of coming to visit my family in Colorado Springs chances are we went to Garden of the Gods. I love having picnics and hiking there and we tend to go quite often. Sadly yesterday as we were driving around we noticed one plume of smoke off near the mountains, the kids commented on it and we moved on. I went into a store and when I walked out it looked like a nuclear weapon had exploded out of Garden of the Gods. A huge fire has broken out just west of Colorado Springs in Waldo Canyon. I was "lucky" enough to be called into work at 2am this morning and got to witness the spectacle from the 6th floor of the hospital. The orange moon and sky turned to what looked like is fog and cold, when actually it is 100 degrees, dry and filled with smoke. My kids, although I haven't allowed them to play outside, have been occasionally coughing and I know my eyes have been burning all day. The forecast for my portion of colorful Colorado is only heat and dry for the next week. Huge parts of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs have been evacuated as ash is also falling like snow in the area. So far the fire is 2,500 acres and 0% contained. Yikes! We're basically riveted to the TV watching as it just grows and grows. Knowing it's taking out some of the most beautiful forests. We live in the NorthEast part of the Springs while this fire is in the SouthWest so we aren't in any danger at our home, but one of my favorite parts of living here is being destroyed. In the picture above quite literally all of the area Sydnee is looking at is evacuated and on fire.