The week begins, not with a roar, but with a relative hum. While some of the usual suspects surfaced as expected, the intensity of said surfacing was subdued. Is it the coming of the holiday season? I would think not---things usually heat up about now. Let's just say it was a day in which there was room to breathe and think clearly. Any day like that is worth exulting over.
That said, the usual holiday and winter-time mood shifts are also making themselves known. Financial stressors, winter's tightening grip, and the shortening days all take their toll, but the coming Solstice actually signals the beginning of the (slow but steady) return of the light, the sun going down 30-60 seconds later each day after December 21st, taking us all the way to the heady days of late June's summer cauldron. But I digress in thinking of the more verdant times ahead....
Today I did what any prudent Nurse Care Manager would do: a patient has difficulty waking up early enough to shuffle her school-age children off to school, so I bought her an alarm-clock in the guise of a Christmas present. It was accompanied by toys for the kids as well, and I explained that the clock is actually a gift for the kids, although they would much rather oversleep and miss as much school as possible. Hopefully, my gift will pay dividends in improved educational outcomes and life opportunities for these young ones. You just can't care for the parent if you don't notice (and try to improve) the plight of the kids. Nursing is so much more than blood pressures.....
I was able to give good holiday news to another patient today. She went off of her AIDS medications (unbeknownst to me) for various psychosocial reasons about six weeks ago, and I was afraid that her virus would bounce back and mutate with ferocity in the face of such an opportunity. Luckily for her, the bloodwork came back unscathed and we will restart meds right away. A lovely Christmas gift of continued good health.
The day was capped off by administering a 100-question final exam to my beleaguered students. From the looks of things, people did fairly well. I consciously made the exam only modestly difficult, a welcome reprieve for them at the end of a long semester.
This entry is simply "a day in the life". Nothing profound, nothing earth-shattering. Just the fatigued chattering of a tired Monday-night nurse.
Buenas noches.
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