7 1/2 yrs together but maybe 3 mos in total really

Little tyke goes to Pakistan tomorrow - for SIX weeks! Minus me and hubby. She's going with the in-laws, and the youngest BIL and then in 10 days the other two BIL and the SIL are leaving together and meeting up with them.

I'm anxious for her to go - I think that she will thoroughly enjoy the trip. I'm rather jealous that she can go to Pakistan before I can. I'm not nervous that she'll be kidnapped or hurt in any way because she resembles that side of the family a lot and she speaks the language fluently. I'm not worried that hubby's family will keep her in Pakistan because hubby and I are good - it's not like we're on the verge of divorce or are fighting. And if they keep her there it would terribly shocking and very surprising.

If it wasn't for the fact that I have school and work I would totally be going - I would love to see where hubby was born and raised.

According to hubby where he was raised was just like any other big city - that you have high rises, appartment buildings and subburbs - just like on this side of the world.  So it would certainly be quite the experience to see it myself.

They're going to several of the major cities and she gets to meet all the extended family - good thing she speaks and understands the language - it's neat to see her fluently speak to all the family here. I can just imagine how she'll be when she comes back.

She's all excited about going on the plane - she'll be even more excited when she finds out that the backpack I prepared for her has a few surprises. She's really into these "blind bags" that you know the kind of toy inside (my little pony, my littlest pet shop and shopkins) but u can't see which toy it is - hence the blind part. I know she'll be super uber excited about this stuff. But I told her she's not allowed to play with the backpack stuff til she's on the plane - tho I know that the in-laws will let her have at the back pack as soon as they are away from us - little tyke has them wrapped around her finger and they have difficulty saying no to her - they hate when she has her melt down when they do.

So when it comes to the title - hubby and I have been married for nearly 7 1/2 years but have spent maybe 3 months in total together ALONE - when we were first married we had big boy around most times - he spent some time with his biological father so we had that time but then when I was pregnant with little tyke we  had decided we didn't want to live in my hometown forever and that I would continue with my nursing degree further so we would need to leave - then when I had complications in my pregnancy we decided to leave even earlier because where we live now is close to the hospitals that little tyke would be in if we did deliver early. So we moved when I was 7 months pregnant and moved in with the in-laws and so that meant that for the next 6+years we were NEVER alone - I think we've gone on weekends away maybe once without little tyke - and when we go on vacation we take her with us so ya, we've spent little to no time together alone.

So although I know that I will miss little tyke, it will be nice to spend some alone time with my husband with (mostly) no one around!!! Hubby and I pretty much get 3 weeks solidly alone without ANYONE else in the house - then the other 3 weeks the one BIL will be here but he's solitary in nature and he also works so we'll have little to no interaction with him - so it means that we're mostly alone. Boy I can't wait!

Plus while little tyke is away, there's always skype! We'll talk frequently so it will make things easier ( I think!)

Time to party!!!!

Flooding wards

Because we're a neuro unit we get a lot of things - like ETOH withdrawl - to take care of.

These can be easy, but then there are times where it's not.....

Like the other evening when I was taking care of someone who was just transferred to the unit and was in the early stages

I told my pt to stay in bed and the spouse to not allow the pt out of bed because they hadn't been assessed and indicated that if the pt got up that they were at increased risk of falling and so it was better to stay put.

Well NEITHER listened! What a shock huh?!

Next thing I know I'm walking past the room and the spouse is flagging me down saying that water is coming out from under the bathroom door - YAAAAAAAAAAAAA - like a god damn flood gate opened up or the sky opened up and rained a deluge on the floor of my ward room.

Of course the pt locked the damn door so it's not like i could turn off the water....

Once the pt did the bathroom was flooded as well - reason for the water???

The pt wanted a SHOWER and used the hose at the back of the toilet to have one in a bathroom without a drain or an actual shower head!!!

Disciplining friend's children

Hubby's BFF his wife & kids came over for a visit...

Little tyke and their son (their son is 6 mos younger than little tyke) were playing - acting like power rangers or something.... little tyke is play kicking & punching but their son goes out and punches little tyke full force into the chest - it hurt so much she almost started crying.

I spoke calmly to both and told them that how they were playing was too rough and that it needed to stop.

Then not 10 minutes later he goes and hits little tyke again.

UGH - so calmly I look at him with my mommy look and say "didn't I say that you couldn't play like that?!" He goes mute, not responding - so I repeat myself and he shakes his head yes

So I tell him that he needs to go sit down and be in time out

He actually listened to that but then immediately starts crying in this whiny pathetic voice.

So his mother races over and picks him up - shushing him and telling him that it's "ok" and tells him that he doesn't have to be in time out and he just needs to be calmer when playing with little tyke!

So just like that their child goes off without any sort of recourse

This kid - he's whiny and NEVER gets disciplined - UGH!!!!!

Pisses me off that hubby did NOTHING.... yet, he's also caught between a rock and a hard place because what could he do without setting them off

We're off to the races & ICU's stupidity

School started - WOW - and boy are we under the grinder already - it's only the second week! It's crazy! Good thing I picked up my shifts before this semester started because I don't think I'll be able to pick up shifts cuz this course is crazy... oh ya, and I also have an english course that I have to deal with!

We'll see what my stress level is like throughout but I doubt that it will be going down anytime soon!

The other day there was a code blue on our unit - probably because the pt was experiencing septic shock so the Dr wanted a certain antibiotic NOW - as in get your ass moving and into the pt like yesterday.... so off went one of our nurses to contact ICU to have them tube it to us for the pt in the code blue and was told "no, find it from someone else because it comes out of our budget"!!!! You can bet your bottom dollar that didn't go over well! So I just took one of the sheets and RAN to ICU to pull from their machine myself and ran back to the unit.... anything for the pt right?!

I'm sure someone will be getting in major doggie doo-doo for that comment! I mean, seriously - they were told who it was for, one should NEVER hear that in response! Brutal

My immunologist appt & butt issues oh ya and school's beginning

I saw the immunologist the other day - or rather the resident - who inquired about everything I've been dealing with from childhood til the most recent.... everything the other immunologist had already asked (I get it, I'm in health care!)

In the end tho, I find out that my blood work looks fantastic except for my IgG1 which they say is "mildly" low..... but when I got a copy of the blood work, it's not all unremarkable. There's  a section that's all high & low but they're in letters & numbers that I don't understand (it's the complement's being checked) and when I google them it doesn't really make sense.

The Dr came in and said that although my IgG subclass is low, he won't do anything about it but more testing in 6 mos! I asked about my vaccinations being non existant and req FOUR rounds of MMR to still have issues with mumps - told that I could be someone who doesn't hold them and no idea how long that the coverage will last for but that I just have to check them every once in a while.

So we recheck my subclasses and check oxidative burst assay to see if my phagocytes are working the way they're supposed to. Plus the suggestion is to see my ENT and determine whether I have a ciliary movement disorder which would explain the sinus/throat & ear issues.

Then when I was going to the bathroom the other night, I was ensuring that I was clean and all and after wiping, my seton came out - just like that. Hopefully I can see the surgeon soon, I don't know if the seton has done what it's supposed to (cut through all the way to the rectum) and I'm worried that the abcess & fistula will just recur just like last time.

On a better note - school's right around the corner (tomorrow actually) - it would mean the count down is on to getting this program completed. The second last of my electives and #5 of the nursing courses. Goodness I hope this time next year I'm entering my last two courses of this program!

Cancellations are a wonderful thing!

I called the immunoligist's office and asked to be put on the cancellation list - to find out that one had JUST been received.... so now I have an appointment for FRIDAY!!!!

My family doc is possibly sitting tomorrow for walk-in so i have to call in the afternoon and find out if he is... I want to get little tyke checked to see if she has immunity to MMR & dTAP as she's heading to Pakistan and so if she's not immune, this will put her at risk! A risk I don't want to take if I don't have to.

Unfortunately, I see the immunologist before I have results to which I could ask the one person who would have the answers any questions I may have.

Hubby still isn't on-board so I'm a bit leary about taking him with me to the appt - but I'm hoping that when he hears the information from the doctor, things might sink in and he might be more supportive. At least that's what I'm hoping!

So ya - busy couple of days to come!

The invisible disability

I have suffered for many years with being sick. Knowing that my immune system was screwed up but had NO idea how to get answers.

Remember, I've been in the medical "field" for almost 15 years and have had to be my own advocate. It's not like the doctors that I've had find many answers.... or go looking for them - it's usually dealing with the symptoms at hand and managing what I'm dealing with at that time. It's hard to look at the whole when you're looking at the incident.

I received confirmation today about the IgG1 deficiency and now I want some answers.... to see what symptoms fit with what or what further examinations need to be requested and advocated for.

I had a "tiff" with the hubby tonight on the phone - how my disability is completely invisible and is difficult to understand. When you're disability is physical, one can understand when you're in pain or you can't do something. If you have cancer or something like that it's understandable that you're tired or can't do something. But when you can't see what's wrong it's harder to grasp or understand.

My husband says to me - well if you lost weight then you would have more energy...

he's ABSOLUTELY correct! HOWEVER, that's easier said than done when every time I go to exercise it increases my bumm infections and pain.... so I can't exercise.

He complains that I sleep all the time.... well I AM tired!!! Somedays it's just everything to sit on the couch and do NOTHING!

My hubby can't believe that I've been on the computer all evening doing my "research" and can't I just wait for my appointment in OCTOBER for answers from the specialist?! .... to which my retort was..... "have doctors provided me answers or given me all the information or what sort of things are we going to do next???? NOT VERY OFTEN!!!! It's usually I who is inquiring about things, asking for referrals to certain ppl, asking for certain tests..... while I'm lucky that I have a family physician who listens to me and certainly is willing to give what I ask, it's me who is initiating everything.

I hate that I have to wait almost 2 months til I see a person who specializes in this, and I doubt that treatment will be commenced when I see the physician. I'm sure that I'll have more questions, very little answers. UGH!!!!