Holy Crap, It's Cold!

Yikes! Denver is in the midst of some of the coldest weather we've had in a long time. So cold that windshield wipers on the ambulance keep freezing and when you walk outside your breath freezes in your nose! Just to prove that I'm not kidding, here's a picture from my car thermometer.

Don't worry, I wasn't driving when I took the picture. I kinda thought this next one was funny. I have a tire pressure sensor in my car, so whenever any of the tires lose pressure or go flat, it let's me know. Well, tonight it was so cold that it showed all four as being flat! Ha! I checked them and they were all fine, but I guess the whole air-molecules-become-denser-as-temperatures-drop theory is actually true - I wouldn't know, I hated physics.


Anyway, we got about 3 inches of icy snow today and are supposed to get more tomorrow. It wasn't really fun driving emergent all the way to Boulder tonight, but we've got some great EMT's who really know how to drive in the snow. I'm just glad the lady we transported decided not to have her baby in the back of the ambulance after all...

First Tube!

Today was a very exciting and educational day for me on the ambulance. As a Critical Care Nurse I have the ability to perform a procedure called RSI, but rarely the opportunity. This is a procedure that I'm not allowed to do in the ER. For all you non-medical people (ok, ALL of you!) RSI stands for Rapid Sequence Intubation and is used when people are still alive but not awake or alert. Most of the time it's used when people can't maintain their own airway and need help from us. So we give them a series of drugs to sedate and paralyze the patient and then put a tube in their trachea to breathe for them. Most patients that I transport are either already intubated or the transport is so short they don't have a chance to crash on me (too badly!). Needless to say, I haven't had the opportunity to perform this procedure except on a dummy. Until today...

We ran a 911 call this morning on an unresponsive man. We're not sure what exactly was going on with him, but he was definitely not awake or alert. So we dropped him off at the hospital and stuck around a little to help the ER staff with him. We were just about to leave when my medic came up to me and told me they were going to RSI the patient and I should ask if I could do it. I told him they probably wouldn't let me and we shouldn't bug the resident (yeah, I was really nervous). But this was a teaching hospital and Brian really wanted me to go in there and do it. Now Brian is normally very much the Southern gentleman, but on this occasion practically grabbed my arm and forced me back into the ER.


So I went inside and asked the resident if I could do the RSI. He said sure. This particular doc was a third year resident and his attending wanted him to have some practice teaching procedures to other people, so it really worked out well for everyone! We set everything up, discussed which drugs we wanted to give and in what order and my hands began to shake. Badly. The way they did back in nursing school when I started my very first IV. Hopefully no one noticed. So the ER nurse gave the drugs and the guy was well paralyzed. The picture here shows the instruments that we use. The laryngoscope has a light on it so you can push the tongue and the epiglottis out of the way and see the vocal cords. And then the tube is passed just through the cords so that both lungs can be ventilated. It's pretty difficult to get it in the right spot because a lot of times it slips down into the esophagaus and ventilates the stomach - not very helpful for the patient!

The first look I took was very much blocked by the man's tongue, so the doctor gave me a longer laryngoscope blade and told me to look again. This time I saw cords and passed the tube - in the right spot on the first try! The doc and the attending were so nice. They both told me I did a great job and were so helpful in talking me through the whole process. The ER where I work is not a teaching hospital, and you can definitely tell the difference in the attitude towards learning procedures like this. I don't think I'll be quite so hesitant to ask to assist on procedures next time we're in this particular ER. Plus we're getting to know all the docs and nurses so they are more comfortable with us coming in and helping out!

So that was my exciting day. Not that it sounds particularly exciting when I spell it all out like this, but it was a great day for me nonetheless! Yes, I'm an adrenaline junkie. Shocker. Now on to my next 5 shifts in a row...

Finally Finished

As promised, I finally got around to taking a picutre of the quilt I finally finished. It's not quite Katie or Mom quality, but for a couch blanket it will do just fine. Plus it was fun putting it together all on my own without a pattern. And it's a nice was to keep all those memories close even though I don't wear the t-shirts anymore.

I'm in the process of packing and I'm reminded how much I hate it. I didn't think I had that much stuff, but once I got down to the basement and started sorting all that stuff out I realized I was quite wrong! Good thing I've roped a lot of people in to helping me next week! The best thing about buying a house? I won't have to move for a very long time...

Countdown...

Today by either the grace of God or the simple stupidity of the loan company, a date was set on which I will close the sale of my new house. Next week Thursday, December 8, 2005, I will be the proud owner of my own house! We met with the mortgage guy today and he said that everything looks good and is in order for us to sign all the papers next week. Yea! And just in time for Christmas. I'm not sure if I'll get a tree and do all that decorating this year. There's not really enough time between when I move in and when I leave to go home. So I guess I'll just concentrate on the normal decorating - that's the part I love! And man have I got some good ideas...! But in the mean time, I still have to move... I hate that part.

Christmas Ideas

Alright kids, so I finally got things together and have a list of ideas for Christmas presents - and it's illustrated!

First, I need a new stethoscope. I really like the 3M Littmann Master Classic II. Color doesn't really matter, but blue or black always works.

And since I returned the dishes from my registry (heehee!) I might need a new set for my new house! I found a set at Kohl's that I like - it's called Sakura Samba and it's all white and square in shape.

There are also a couple cookbooks that I'd like. Yes, I cook. Just ask Bob about my awesome salmon! The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook and Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen are at the top of my list.

Ok, that's all I've got for now. Hope this helps whoever. Now I think the only list we're missing is Alec's...

Going once...Going twice..

Big news! I'm in the process of filling out paperwork so that I can - you guessed it! - buy a house! I've been looking into the option for over a year now and found the perfect house. It's out on the eastern edge of Aurora where there isn't anything yet. The backyard looks out over a huge, empty field with grass and sunflowers in the summer. And there won't ever be anything back there because there's a main gasline that runs through there all the way to Texas and they can't mess with it! Yippee! Over the past two years of living and working in the cities of Denver and Aurora, I've learned that I'm not really a city girl. I love the open space of this area and it's actually quiet! (Who knew that would be something I would value!)

The house currently belongs to my friend Mike, but he's moving and selling it to me. So now comes all the fun stuff like my meeting with the mortgage broker on Wednesday and moving - again. Yuck. That's the worst part. I think I've moved 7 times in the last 6 years - I can't wait for the permanency of a house of my own. (As you can tell, the "gulp" factor of my own mortgage hasn't quite set in yet!)

But I'm super excited. The house was finished in March so it's still new. There are three bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms upstairs. Downstairs there's a half bathroom, family room, living room and kitchen. And the basement is another 700 square feet that has great finishing potential. There's also a 2 car attached garage with lots of storage and cupboards that Mike put in.

So that's the latest big news out of Denver. Nothing's set yet, so I don't know when I'll close or move. But probably at the end of November/early December. Just wanted to show you all what my new place will look like! Obviously it needs some "Beth" touches, but that will come. Now for Christmas ideas. How about a new couch? :)

Why I Love My Job

The other day we transported preemie twins back home to Ft. Collins after they had spent the first 91 days of life at the University Hospital NICU. They were teenie boys - about 3 pounds each, but man were they cute! While waiting for the nurse to finish paperwork I got to feed the smaller of the two and my medic snapped this picture on my phone for our work scrapbook. I'm always amazed at how easy things like this come to me. Changing diapers, giving bottles, comforting little ones - maybe it has something to do with all the babysitting I've done over the years, but I've come to realize that I'm pretty good with kids. My co-worker at the hospital calls me the "Pedi Queen" partly because I always end up in peds when I work the mid shift, and partly because kids respond to me. See Mom, I knew there was a reason that I never wanted to grow up!


Anyway, the twins did pretty well on the hour long trip up North. They both have pretty significant lung problems just from being born so early - they were born at 24 weeks and normal is 40! The little one decided to drop his oxygen saturation so I flicked his feet to wake him up. He pinked up and then he pooped for me, so I guess he was feeling fine! Then the other one decided that we weren't giving him enough attention, so he dropped his sats and I had to suction him and wake him up a little. Sounds scary, but all things to expect when babies are born so early.

These pictures alone remind me why it is I do what I do.