It's a good thing I work with a bunch of doctors, and nice ones at that, because the last few days I've needed them. A lot.
Last week the PA I was working with wrote me a script for my anti-malaria medicine for the trip, and threw in one for antibiotics in case the dreaded Montezuma's revenge should show up while we're gone. (How nice - I hope it stays away.) It saved me a trip to my doctor!
Monday I went to the department of health to get all my vaccines. They were very knowledgeable and super nice. However, when I woke up to go to work on Tuesday I had a big red/hot/hard circle around the site where I got the yellow fever shot. I didn't think anything of it until it started spreading. And fast. By the morning the doc was a little worried and said he didn't think that was a typical reaction from the vaccine. So he wrote me for some antibiotics and said if it didn't stop growing I should take them. And one of the nurses drew around the redness so we could tell if it was still spreading.
Yesterday I had a meeting with the Peru team, and the redness had spread even more. I called the nurse at the health department who told me to start taking the antibiotics. And the doc who's going with us (Michelle) said that it looked pretty bad, too. So I started taking the antibiotics and when I woke up this morning the redness was all the way down to my elbow. Great. And it hurts!
So now I have to wait 2 more weeks to finish all my vaccines - the last one is a week of pills, but you can't be on antibiotics cause it will kill the vaccine. Let's just hope these things work! (Bob took a picture of my lovely arm last night, but it's kind of gross so I'll spare you all that one!)
But the fun part is that we all went out for dinner last night after our meeting for some team bonding. Then we went to Costco and bought a bunch of benadryl, motrin, immodium and vitamins to take with us to the clinics. Michelle and I stopped at the dollar store to pick up some little toys and coloring books for the kids in the villages. I can't wait to play with the kids! We got a lot of questions answered in our meeting and some of the logistics of things were figured out - every time we get together it seems more real and closer than ever! I'm starting to get really excited!!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Old friends, New jobs?
The last 3 days have been so packed! I worked Wednesday night and then met my friend Seth for breakfast. He's been in Scotland for the past 4 months working on his book, so we had lots to talk about and catch up on!
After that I met up with my college roommate Erin and her new baby. We had coffee and got all caught up before she flew out to AZ for little Eli to meet his great-grandma. How nice to see her again! The amazing thing about the relationships I have with my old roommates is that we can go months without talking and then pick up right where we left off. Very nice. And I got to have some good "Eli time"! Then I went home and took a 2 hour nap before meeting a friend from work for dinner and a movie. By the time I got home I was ready to crash! Sleep after a good day like that feels so great!
On Friday I picked up Megan from work - she's been here in Denver all week for training - and we hung out all afternoon! It was just like old times - shopping at Goodwill, sushi, ice cream and movies! It felt like she never left. She and I are going to church tomorrow before she heads back to CA. But the whole Beeney clan will be back the end of March so I'll get to see my Joshua again!
On the business end of things, I had an interview at Parker yesterday. A few days ago the director approached me and told me he was impressed with the job I was doing. I was a little leery of the compliments, but he was sincere. That's nice to hear once in a while! Anyway, he said that he and the manager have been watching me and want me to be a charge nurse in the ER. ME! A CHARGE NURSE! As it turns out there's a weekend-only night position that's available and pays as much as I'm making with the float pool so I wouldn't have to take a pay cut and would be able to put down some roots and get involved with the department. Plus it has benefits, which I'm paying for out of pocket right now, and sick/vacation time! How great!
The only thing I was worried about was the fact that I've never been a charge nurse before - the director said that's why it was funny. The words "potential" was thrown around a lot - again, very flattering. So I'm getting the offer letter on Monday and I think I'm going to take it! Won't be able to go on month-long missions trips for a while, but the 2 weeks I'm planning for next summer in Africa will definitely be doable... :)
After that I met up with my college roommate Erin and her new baby. We had coffee and got all caught up before she flew out to AZ for little Eli to meet his great-grandma. How nice to see her again! The amazing thing about the relationships I have with my old roommates is that we can go months without talking and then pick up right where we left off. Very nice. And I got to have some good "Eli time"! Then I went home and took a 2 hour nap before meeting a friend from work for dinner and a movie. By the time I got home I was ready to crash! Sleep after a good day like that feels so great!
On Friday I picked up Megan from work - she's been here in Denver all week for training - and we hung out all afternoon! It was just like old times - shopping at Goodwill, sushi, ice cream and movies! It felt like she never left. She and I are going to church tomorrow before she heads back to CA. But the whole Beeney clan will be back the end of March so I'll get to see my Joshua again!
On the business end of things, I had an interview at Parker yesterday. A few days ago the director approached me and told me he was impressed with the job I was doing. I was a little leery of the compliments, but he was sincere. That's nice to hear once in a while! Anyway, he said that he and the manager have been watching me and want me to be a charge nurse in the ER. ME! A CHARGE NURSE! As it turns out there's a weekend-only night position that's available and pays as much as I'm making with the float pool so I wouldn't have to take a pay cut and would be able to put down some roots and get involved with the department. Plus it has benefits, which I'm paying for out of pocket right now, and sick/vacation time! How great!
The only thing I was worried about was the fact that I've never been a charge nurse before - the director said that's why it was funny. The words "potential" was thrown around a lot - again, very flattering. So I'm getting the offer letter on Monday and I think I'm going to take it! Won't be able to go on month-long missions trips for a while, but the 2 weeks I'm planning for next summer in Africa will definitely be doable... :)
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