Playing Catch- Up

I have been a HUGE slacker..... But this is my chance to play catch up!

Last Wednesday, Katie (a fellow PT student of mine at DRH from UofM Flint) and I observed a total hip replacement surgery. Prior to the surgery, Dr. Little asked both of us if we had been in the OR before. Both of our experiences in the OR involved being a patient and only remembering starting to count down from 100 when we made it to 99 and were anesthetized. He warned us of the blood and bone we would be seeing and warned us to step out or sit down if we weren't feeling well. The blood and bone and even the smell didn't bother me. What really got me was the noises... breaking bone and hammering metal rods into the patients body. It was a really beneficial experience and I got much more out of it than I imagined. As a PT, seeing the abuse the patient's body goes through is honestly what makes their recovery so difficult. Their new joint is usually fine (barring no infections!) but the pain from the surgery truly limits their function.

Friday, Anna came! Check out her blog for pictures - AMess in the Making. She did much better than I did. The only picture I came out with was this lovely shot of me riding the mechanical bull at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar in Auburn Hills, MI. I lasted a good minute on this thing. Be proud. (Oh and yes, I am representing Kyle/MN Stars, this was after their WIN on Saturday to make it to the playoffs.

Saturday morning I took Anna around the area. We went to the mall and then got really tired and went home to take a nap. Yep, we completely agree we are lame. Around 4:30pm the whole family went to Spicer Orchard to go apple picking! The picture is missing Anna, but she was taking it so I could send Kyle and my family a picture of all of us. But I promise she was there. Some attractions at the orchard include: apple picking, wine tasting, a raffle for a cute little shed, live bees, donuts, cider and a corn maze. It was a lot of fun! We made it home just in time to turn on Kyle's last regular season game and their chance to make it to the playoffs! Not only did they win and play in the first round of playoffs this Saturday in Tampa, but Kyle scored the first goal of the game.  Click here to see his goal in the highlight reel and here to see their locker room celebration.

Sunday- Gophs vs. MSU. Anna and I took the jaunt to Lansing, MI and Michigan State University's campus to watch the soccer game. Although we unfortunately lost, it was nice to see Coach, Krystle and JRoh and some parents who traveled to support. I didn't get to see the girls because I knew the mood would be a little down. For those of you who are in MN, try to make it out to a game! Taylor Wodnick- former WHS grad - is a freshman and I'm sure would love to see a familiar face or Wayzata shirt :) Here is the link for their schedule. Looks like their next game is this Sunday, October 2nd at 11am vs. Penn State. Should be a great game!

My CI, Norm, gave me two free tickets to the Monday night Tigers game vs. the Cleveland Indians. So Aunt Deb bought an extra ticket so her, Uncle Rob and I could all go together. It was raining all day, but we were blessed that it turned out to be an unbelievably gorgeous night. Exhibit A: See picture. Not only was it a wonderful evening, weather wise, but the Tigers won 14-0. Our seats were higher up and kind of far away but we were right above the bull pen and experienced the game in a different way. It was fun to watch the players warm up in the bull pen and their qwerky habits. 

Okay, now that I have talked your ear off.... sort of... I wanted to tell you one more thing!

I GET TO GO TO TAMPA THIS WEEKEND TO WATCH KYLE PLAY! 

Why am I so excited? Good question. Let me tell you...

1. I haven't seen Kyle since August 11th. 
2. I get to see Kyle play his favorite sport in the whole world
3. Kyle's parents and possibly his Aunt and Uncle are going as well
4. High's in Tampa for Fri/Sat/Sun 80's with 'abundant sunshine' 
5. I get to see KYLE!!!

Tune into his game at 7:00pm EST/6:00pm CST to watch! DON"T MISS THIS

ANNA COMES TODAY!!!! 

Time to make some Sangria and enjoy our weekend!

where are all the apples?

This weekend my cousins and I went to an Apple Fest in Fenton, MI. Normally, when one thinks of an Apple Fest, one imagines a plethera of apple activities, foods, shows etc. However the only apple 'thing' in existence was home made apple pies. That's it. And we didn't even try it. We ate tacos and elephant ears... both below average experiences. There was also a "white elephant tent" where I found this little guy...... Isn't he cute!?!

We also played some carnival games and won some FISHIES!!! Yes, they are probably the most expensive gold fish ever. We won them on a game where you throw ping pong balls into a glass vase. We originally won 2 fish, but the guy spilled water all over Robbie's shoe so he gave us an extra. Their names are: Blue Beard, Smitty and Ned and their new home is the pond in the back yard. Robbie and Uncle Rob said they would thrive! So far, no floating fish have been discovered.

The Pond

FISH!!!

This video is of Sadie making me smile. She likes to collect rocks. She digs them up from the yard or garden and carries them around in her mouth and shows them to whoever is sitting outside with her. She actually has some good soccer moves too!

I got some snail mail from 3 different people this past week too! A special thank you to Dirt (Carlie), Anna and Kyle! Carlie sent me a picture of us from her wedding that I intend to frame as soon as I buy one, but until then is being displayed on my shelf. Anna sent me a letter about how her internship is going in Rockford, Illinois and how excited she is to come visit me this weekend. And Kyle sent me a card a 'ALTMAN' NSC Minnesota Stars Jersey that he got me! The front of the card is shown below. ITS SOOOO CUTE!! He clearly knows me well. The jersey came just in time to wear it during his game against Tampa last Saturday. They have one more regular season game that is a MUST win to make the playoffs.  Visit nscminnesota.com to watch a live stream of their game this Saturday night and cheer for Kyle and his team. 

My Card :)

My Jersey!!!

Blessed

Although my day could have gone better, I am encouraging myself to search for the things that I have been blessed by today. 

1. The sunrise: I never thought it would be a blessing to wake up early. Those of you who know me well, know how much I enjoy sleeping... and sleeping late! My 5:30am wake up call always seems to come way too early, and even though I have officially become a coffee drinker, God blesses me with a unique, picturesque, breathtaking sunrise each morning. I sometimes wonder if the thousands of other people who commute to Detroit realize they are given a gift each morning. 
2. Mr. and Mrs. Z: My day was blessed with a wonderful 80 year old couple. Mrs. Z. was admitted to the NeuroTrauma ICU after experiencing a syncopal episode (sudden drop in blood pressure), falling to the ground and resulting in head trauma. I am blessed to be around this couple who has an indescribable love for each other. Their relationship completely defines a relationship I pray I one day have. Mr. Z. cares so much for his wife, Mrs. Z. is still head over heels in love with her husband. I can't help but smile when I see them. 
3. My family: Specifically today, I am blessed by my Dad's patience that has always been in front of my face, but is only realized and appreciated when I truly need it. I am blessed to have a sister, Ashley, who lets me talk at her for 30 minutes about anything and everything. I am so blessed to be living with my family. I came home, upset and on edge to say the least, but my edge quickly rounded when I found out we were eating family dinner. What a blessing to be able to enjoy a wonderful meal surrounded by people who love me. 

Upon reflecting on the above blessings, I originally felt like there had to be more! There are! My life is infinitely blessed. The blessings I have listed are unfathomable for those who are under-served - over half of my  patients!!! 

food, clothing, internet, cable, a bed, fresh water, a blanket, a toothbrush, soap, friends, family, transportation, ice cream, light, heat, shoes, holy smokes the list goes on and on. 

THESE are the blessings I have EVERY SINGLE DAY. I am blessed beyond imagination.  What an amazing and appropriate reality check this blog entry was for me today. Thank you readers for resisting the urge to judge me for my momentary inability to appreciate my many blessings. I will strive to create a new habit of praising God for my blessings each day, even the smallest thank you or smile from a stranger.

The Day of Bodily Functions

Please... take the title literally.... but before I get into that, lets talk about my last weekend - Labor Day Weekend.

My Aunt Sue, Uncle Bill, cousin Matt and his wife Jen came into town from Kokomo, Indiana! I haven't seen them since Matt and Jen's wedding 3.5 years ago. It was so much fun. I love that when my family gets together it is like no time has passed. We instantly reconnect, feel comfortable and laugh with each other. Our weekend consisted of watching Dexter (from the beginning), playing Nerts, dominoes, Settlers of Catan, Clue, swimming in the pool, eating a ton of good food and enjoying quality family time. 

Speaking of food, my Uncles smoked a pork shoulder all day on Sunday and we had the most amazing pulled pork sandwiches I have ever had. Definitely beats the restaurants, and I brought it for lunch a couple of days in a row! YUM. We also had delicious sangria. My Aunts have made it before, but its a very light drink that does it's job if you know what I mean! 

It was so great to spend time with them. I am also hoping that I can see Matt and Jen in the beginning of October when they go to a Mat Kearney concert. It may require a little driving but the company and the music will be worth it!

Ok... on to the title of today's blog!

PEE

It all started at about 9:30am. I was finishing up working with a patient and getting him back into his bed. The OT I work with came in to check up and say hi. While all this was happening, the tube of my patients catheter came off. The OT was very nice and was going to show me how to put it back on so I could do it next time. Unfortunately, and stupidly you could say, I leaned in to get a better look and the tubing got stuck on the place where it connects and splashed all over my face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AH! I jumped back then ran to the bathroom, proceeded to scrub - vigorously - my face with soap and water and rinsed my mouth with mouth wash - more than once. My CI mentioned it's standard protocol to report the issue, especially in case the patient has a disease or something that can be transferred through urine. 

It took a about a half hour to fill out the incident report, another half hour to see the doctor and another lifetime to get over this traumatic event. The OT felt terrible and bought me a cookie... she knows the way to my heart! :) 

I felt a little silly about the whole situation, but better safe than sorry.

POOP

We were about to work with a patient on the NeuroTrauma ICU until we realized he had a MASSIVE bowel movement. It was gross, I won't go into too much detail, just imagine tar... texture and color. 

Ok not too bad so far. BUT we had to put the dirty linens into the proper bin and on the way Anna (the OT... yes the same one from above too) dropped one of the wash cloths and pretty much got it all over the place, including her pants. blagh. (insert gag here) 

We got that all cleaned up and decided that Anna and I were not a good pair today.

BURP

After sitting up a patient for the first time since his admission to the hospital, he was burping... a lot. Ok, not that big of a deal, but he also started blowing his burps out in my direction. Another quality gag moment. I called him out on it in a joking way and continued on with therapy.

VOMIT

Yep, we didn't leave anything out today. I was trying to encourage one of my patients to get up and walk today to help move stuff around to you know... get things flowing if you know what i mean. He refused to get up because he felt sick. So I said I would check back again later. What do you know, a couple minutes after I left, the patient started throwing up! YUCK. But so thankful I was not in there doing exercises with him when it all started. 

I apologize this got a little long and there are no pictures... but I'll make up for it next time!