September 11 already?

I know that it is the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, and we should be thinking of our country and the people that sacrificed for us on that day eight years ago... but I have been at the hospital since 6:45 this morning (I got home at 3:30) and I have to be at work (waiting tables) at 6 pm.

So I am a little beat and I don't WANT to think about how I felt when I watched those live news reports - when I saw the second plane hit the second tower - when the towers fell. I refuse. If that's unpatriotic, report me.

I'm still reeling from today's clinical. In BRIEF: my colitis patient was being released and there was really nothing I could do for her. So, I followed my supervising nurse around all day and helped her deal with all of her patients (well, at least I tried). One patient had a HUGE tumor on the side of his neck with a very smelly dressing that had to be changed. I watched his tube feeding, I swabbed his mouth (has Thrush - which I had never seen in real life), we changed his dressing (OMG THE SMELL.) and tried to get a line started (well I watched that too). He blew 4 veins before the nurse forced the doctor to order a PICC line ... which was slightly controversial because he was a DNR patient and going to hospice. Does infusing blood count as palliative care? What about when his Hgb is a 4???

That was only patient #1. Patient #2 had chest/esophageal pain and her blood pressure was sky high. And then her pulse went up to 138 beats per minute. The nurse went to go get backup and asked me to stay with her while she was hyperventilating - I guess to call a Code Blue if she stopped breathing. Sigh. This was going on RIGHT after another nurse asked if I was allowed to take out an IV (which I CAN do, but only with my instructor). I was on my way to get my instructor when I was pulled into patient #2's room. So, no IV removal for Dani today.

Patient #3 was very very sick, but I have no clue why. I just know he had a HIGH blood pressure and the nurse commented that he was "going down the tubes and she had to go figure it out." Sooooo all I did for him was drop off a urine cup. HOWEVER, after his BP meds were administered, I had to follow up and take his BP to see the meds' effect. Well, his right arm had an IV - no go - and his left arm had a HUGE hematoma from a bad stick. After I changed the blood bandage, I pressed on the hematoma to see if it would blow. It didn't, so I hooked up the BP cuff and crossed my fingers. Sigh.

Oh. My nurse actually had one OTHER patient - a 60-something male with a brain mass. After some sort of test, they were about to take him ti get a CT scan...when he decided he was done. And walked out. My nurse had to take out his IV in the parking lot.

If I am this emotionally and physically drained, I can't imagine how my nurse felt today. Sigh. I'm going to finish my dinner of carbs+carbs+more carbs, and then iron my uniform for work. =(

It's going to be a long night.