smile..though your heart is aching...

• today, i had a break with the monotony that is my daily routine..get up, eat breakfast, turn on the TV, turn on the internet, get MIG into action, check my emails, my online shop inquiries, chat..laugh..chat.., think if i'll start doing my assignment...chat..laugh..chat...i'll start doing my assignment if the deadline is near, if not then i'll chat..laugh..chat...after which, i'll take a bath then go back to chatting..laughing...chatting...of course, i'll eat in between..hehe! then i'll notice that the sun begins to set..i'll turn MIG off then watch TV...

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• WHAT A BUM LIFE!!!!

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• but today, that changed..hehe..(daw may gin himo gid kuno bala nga dako dako!)...i went on duty for IV therapy completion AGAIN..i was tired when i got home.. i had 2 blood transfusions..1 fresh frozen plasma (dhanzel yellow) and 1 fresh whole blood (bloody red!).

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• im off for tomorrow for another round! 2 more insertions to go and i'm gonna be an IV therapist! err, pending IV therapist! until then, i'm back to mastering my bum life!

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• i'm tired because BT's can be tiring...and at the same time, tired hiding random smiles! maybe i'm just having some kinda sort of a DH withdrawal syndrome...hahahaha!

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• love and bliss amigos!

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• and oh..funny thing happened! beachbum txted me.."kai..wen gani bday ni hazel?"hahaha! wrong send! funny..but then, we talked about something eventually and it made every fiber of my being quiver...the dethroned and the stupid one..oh well...karma bites you in the ass, baby! haha...just like what it did to me..err..us! hihihi...(wink!)

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• and oh! my birthday's on february 18! i'm gonna be 21...legally bum!
• and really don't know why that is the title of my blog..hehe! i just feel like singing it now..

sponges, needles and instrument count: COMPLETE

• this is how i spent my semestral break: ON CALL DUTY.

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• Amidst the time for relaxation, breaking free and most of all deep slumbers, I am awake like a night owl almost every night waiting for a dear mother to deliver her child. And I did not came there for nothing! I achieved my goal- completion of DR scrubs!

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• the first week, I was in Janiuay for my completion duty in the health center delivery room. I was so happy that i have completed my scrubs there. The primary reason why i went there is to complete my DR scrubs..vacation was secondary..hehe..I was together with my few close friends; kai and queencie among other else. It was our last bonding time before the 2nd sem kicks off. we won’t be classmates anymore so we spent fun times with each other. I was thinking that we had spent more time together compared with our families this break!Oh well, I will still be seeing them everyday when i get home..nevertheless, i did not regret the experience.

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• We really had fun there! waking up at 10 in the morning, doing our everyday routines, cooking meals and of course, it’s never quite an on call duty if an information of a waiting delivery is not sent at the middle of the night! So we end up, grabbing our scrub suits or at times, wearing it hurriedly over our shirts and pants just to arrive at the center in time for the delivery. We do this almost every night! Fun, isn’t it?!hehe.. we even had a time where we almost stepped on a frog while running to the center. Oh! For the love of deliveries! haha!

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• We end up whining about how sleepy and tired we are at the end of the day. We even had different positions while sleeping when waiting for a delivery. One would settle for the classic "leaning on the table", while one would stand up and turn the head to the side. as for me, i sat down with my hand up to shoulder level just to keep my hand as sterile as it is! tsk,tsk..this is what sleep deprivation can do!

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• Nevertheless, we had funny moments in the DR. From the silly sleeping positions to the mothers in labor! we had so much fun during our stay there and we also did something very important on top of it. It was worthwhile.

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• I came home after a week of stay there. And after 1 day of rest which was on Nov. 1, I was back on track! On call duty in the operating room! I only had 3 minor operations to go and I’m done! so I volunteered myself to replace those who can’t scrub in. I handled 2 cases yesterday.

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• It was funny since I went back to the OR yesterday just to get the last case. It was raining. I received a text that I had to go back there since there was an emergency operation. So i rushed to get dressed, grabbed my things (which fortunately, i did not place out of my bag) then grabbed an umbrella and flew like a bird! My clinical instructor even called me up and asked if i could come since the patient was on her way up the operating room. Fortunately, i live close to the hospital, just 2 blocks away. when i arrived there, it was not long after that the patient was wheeled in since i saw the outside stretcher being pulled out. I rushed to get dressed and scrubbed immediately. i was able to handle the case.

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• As the cherry on top, the surgeon commended me that i was "very good", as quoted, in assisting her during the procedure. I was the only scrub nurse there. the staff nurse did not scrub in since it was only a simple case. i was very happy with the positive reinforcement that i got. She was quite constantly saying that i was good. She even told my clinical instructor that i am good and that he would give me good grades..hehe..too bad, this is only a completion duty..no grades at all..by the way, she is the chief of obstetrics in one of the hospitals here..Go me!! yey! hahaha!

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• I was back in the operating room today and at long last, I finished my minor operations this afternoon! whew!At first, i said that I have to finish my scrubs before I graduate but lately, it lowered down to finishing it before the start of the next semester. I DID IT! I completed all my scrubs! yeey!

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• I felt bad for kai though..hehe..she was dreaming of scrubbing for a craniotomy for her last major operation but she ended up with a tonsillectomy which she almost had nothing to do..She just stood at the side wile the scrub nurses did what they have to do..poor her..

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• As for me, i’m going to miss the operating room and delivery room for sure..my work there is done. i’m officially laying my scrub suit down..hay..my experiences there are worth remembering and they form a bulk in my best clinical experiences.

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• being an operating room or delivery room nurse would still continue as a vision and as a dream..let’s just hope for the best and let the future take its course.

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Hazel Joy Te SN/ SPU-Iloilo is officially scrubbing out!

nov 3, 2007

BABY OUT!

being little miss unfortunate doesn’t prevent me from doing the coolest thing…i handled a delivery of a baby girl last thursday..i was lucky enough that the doctor allowed me to pull the baby out of her mom..the feeling was surreal..although i have no idea of what to do, doc was kind enough to guide me through it…she also asked for the signs of placental separation..i was only able to give 2! schucks and smuckers! how soon can i forget?? haha!..nevertheless, i also pulled the placenta out after clamping the cord which again, i don’t know how to do…everybody has got their firsts! luckily for me, i did good..yey! it was just the coolest thing…greatness!

being little miss unfortunate for 5 weeks paid off…having to go on duty after exams, going on 16 hours on clan days and case presentation, i have to say, it better be this than nothing at all…even if my body can’t handle it for a while..

so my current scrub scores? 4 major op, 2 minor op, 4 handled deliveries(yeey!), 2 assists and 3 baby care..yahoo! hurray for me….haha!

august 18, 2007

understanding a smile through an aphasic's eye

Talk is cheap. We take pleasure in it every minute of the day. It is one of the bare necessities of life. Could you imagine stepping in the modern world and all you can see is everyone being in a silent movie? But wait what if we would all end this way?

This was the unexpected question we met during our clinical duty. As soon as we got our assignments, we proceeded with our patients. As we enter the male ward, we noticed a man, sitting at bed no. 1 observantly watching us enter the room. He seems to be friendly and pleased. Some of us started to mingle with him and his wife. When we started to talk to him, he smiled, nodded, pointed at us in agreement and made incomprehensible sounds. He is aphasic. He can understand us but he can’t respond to us with clear, sensible words. His wife would then try to interpret what he is trying to suggest and talk to us in behalf of him. We could then see how his wife understands him more than anyone else.

During our classroom conference, we decided to help him out through picture aids. We planned it as a group project to make him one. We were so eager even before started doing it. We met on Thursday afternoon to make the plan into action. We cut out pictures from magazines representing words such as “kain”, “inom”, “ligo”, “oo”, “hindi” and many other else that we thought were useful words for him. We glued them to pieces of cut cartolina and labeled them. Then, we covered the cards in clear plastic and fastened them with card rings. We gave it to him the next day. We were so excited to see his reaction.

He was in his usual mood the moment we came to him and explained to him how he should use it. At first, we noticed that he was trying to hold back his tears. Maybe it was because he was shy to face a lot of people. He was just nodding and showing a cheery face to us. Even his wife seems so proud that we have made him such thing that could help him out a lot. She took the time to thank us all. Now, he could express himself better. After a while when some of us left, he just cried. Is it bliss? We call it hope. We call it life.

This was a fulfilling week for all of us. We were so happy that we were able to share our gifts to others. We felt for him in a way that is why we did the project with fullness and an aspiration to make him smile and be glad even with just a simple thing from us.

Circumstances like these pose us questions. Is what we say enough? Do we say things for a good cause?

It’s Yuletide season once again and let us remember God’s love for us. Sometimes, it is not how long you speak to each other but how far you understand one another. Let us live up the spirit of joy and for once, understand a smile through one’s eye.

dec. 27, 2005