And the beat goes on....

After spending a very relaxing weekend at my parents house in Houston, I got up bright and early yesterday and turned in my monitor at the cardiologist's office. I didn't expect to hear from them so soon, but I got a call yesterday afternoon saying it mostly looked normal, but there was some ectopy (extra beats, not normal!) noted. The doctor wanted me to go ahead and do the 30 day monitor to see if it shows up there. He also wanted me to have it while I am working to see if work is responsible for these beats. SO, I go back to the doctor on Monday for my echo, stress test, and placement of this monitor. Should be interesting.....

Oliver and Liberty are absolutely traumatized right now. They are both hiding from me because I just clipped nails. I literally had to lay on both of them to do it. Babies. Now Oliver is happily sitting on the porch watching birds and planes. Liberty is curled up and licking the couch. All is well in their lives...

The next few weeks should be very interesting at work. In a week, the transplant cardiologist goes on vacation for 2 weeks. In 2 weeks, the other coordinator goes...so it'll just be me. Right now, it looks like I'll be on call and everything. I'm sure it will be just the most interesting couple of weeks!

Okay. I'm off...YAWN.

Heart happenings.

Well, my visit with the cardiologist was somewhat helpful. In looking at my EKG, he saw there were things that could really just be attributed to my age. He said many times, these things have already gone away by the time someone is almost 30. He did say I have a heart murmur, which isn't normal is someone my age. It's normal in children, as many of them just go away with time. He thinks mine is a mitral valve prolapse, which just means the mitral valve doesn't close properly after the blood drains from the atrium into the ventricle. He also thinks I may have some kind of funky heart rhythm, but it wasn't showing up on the EKG. So, I got to wear a monitor for 24 hours and I'll take it back Tuesday to have it read. If nothing shows up, I may end up having to wear one for 30 days in order to catch it. I also get to have a stress echocardiogram in a week or so, just to get a better look at my heart and to see what's going on. I'm still kind-of in limbo, which I HATE. I also discovered I'm allergic to plastic tape. In an effort to keep the leads on for 24 hours, the tech taped the LIFE out of them. Well, now I have big red welts all over my chest. It's so attractive...and ITCHY! I'm sure those will be there for awhile!

I'm currently in Houston, enjoying my time away from Dallas. Liberty and Oliver are with me, running around the yard like hooligans. It's like Oliver has NEVER been outside before! He's still chasing birds and imaginary bugs, but now he has no constraints! He LOVES it! He did NOT like it today when I pulled out the garden hose and gave all puppies baths. There were some angry looks and he very purposefully writhed around in the grass while I was putting soap on him. Punk.

Anyways, that's my story. I'll let you know more as it happens. BYE!

Dangerous

I've very recently discovered it is extremely dangerous to be a cardiac nurse. It makes me have a wharped sense of what is and what is not normal in kids! When I see a healthy newborn, I am always amazed how PINK they are! To me, it's absolutely acceptable to be a nice shade of grey...especially when they cry.

The most interesting update to my life also relates to my dangerous profession. For the last couple of weeks, I've been having really odd palpitations and racing heart rates. I've kinda blown it off and attributed it to stress. I've also noticed that I am really tired all the time and my ankles are swelling...not so good. So, I made a doctor's appointment and went yesterday. She sent some labs, did an xray and an ekg. When EKG's are done, the machine usually prints out a little interpretation of what it thinks it sees. Those who run EKG's usually don't listen to that because it most of the time isn't correct. Well, mine said that it appeared as if I'd had ichemic changes...in normal people terms it looks like part of the heart wasn't responding as well to the electricity because it had areas where there was not enough oxygen. LOVELY! SO, does this mean I've had a heart attack and didn't even know? Does it mean my heart is dead? Who knows anything. I do know that I'm scheduled to see the cardiologist on Friday and hopefully find out some answers. But, until then, I just get to wonder!

Everything else is pretty stable. I'm still getting used to my new job...some days I really like it and some days I don't. It's all a process. I hate orientations because I don't like people breathing down my neck. I'm going to visit my parents this weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to get rid of some of the stress....AND I am going to see Pirates 3 on Thursday! HOORAY!:)

That's pretty much it. Any questions? :)

Happy Saturday!

For the last two years, Saturdays have just been routine, run of the mill days. Since I was working random days throughout the week, the specialness of the weekend was lost. It was just like any other day. Now that I am a Monday-Friday slave, my weekends are precious! I guess I just didn't realize that until last Sunday, when I had to sleep a lot of the day to recover from the transplant! I had all these plans...house cleaning and straightening, laundry, errands...and they just didn't get done because I was sleeping/exhausted! Today has been different, though! I've folded the frighteningly large pile of laundry that has been accumulating for several weeks. I've cleaned the kitchen and done all the dishes. I've even moved around furniture and have plans to move around more!

Wednesday I was inducted in the Nursing honor society (Sigma Theta Tau). Thursday was graduation...which I didn't attend. I'm now officially done and all graduated. It was so weird last week to receive my degree plan from UTA with the words "second baccalaureate" on the top. I now have the most degrees in my family...and I don't know what to think of that! Am I that person who just wants to accumulate degrees? No, I don't think so. I really don't like school at all...so why then do I have all these? I think part of it arises from my constant desire to be the best at what I do. While I was teaching, I knew I really enjoyed it, but also knew that was not what I would excel in. After getting my associates in nursing, I was very happy to have that degree, yet knew that at some point, I would need to finish it. Many nurses keep their associates forever, with no need to go on to bachelor's. I don't really know, at this point, why I went on...but I know it was for a reason. I DO know I won't be going back to school any time soon. I don't think I need to put my friends or family through that...apparently I'm not a nice person when I'm in school!

SO, THANK YOU to my friends and family. Thanks for listening to me whine and moan about how much I despised school. Thanks for continuing to tell me to push on through..and that I didn't have that much more to go. Thanks for celebrating with the good grades and awards.

There won't be a third bachelors for me...I don't need to garner up a collection! I may eventually go on to masters, but I won't do it just to prove to myself that I can. Having an advanced degree isn't going to make me a better person...I know people with even higher degrees that were just as happy with their first. Some people are completely happy without a degree...and that's perfectly fine too. Having higher education doesn't necessarily make you a better person. It all depends on what you choose to do with your life!

WOW. This has really turned out to be an excruciatingly long blog...and I'm starting to think I'm quite rambly!

Strangly enough, it is pouring outside. The sun is shining...and it's raining! ODD! Nessie can't be in her garage right now, so she's having to endure the lovely rain. I know Dallas was in a drought last year, but does it have to pour every other day? Can we just get a break? :) At least things will be nice and green this summer!

Okay. El fin. No mas. Es todo.

Sleep deprived.

Tired. Sleepy. Crabby. Angry to be awake. Mournful. Overwhelmed. Ecstatic. Euphoric. Amazed.

Being heart transplant coordinator is a world of emotions. It's SO exciting to be there for that experience. Last night, I got to call a precious mother and tell her we had a heart for her son. I got to be there when his old sickly heart was removed and the new one was sewn in. I saw, with my own eyes, the very instant the new heart started beating.

But it's also an overwhelming experience. We don't normally get to be on the donor side of things, but last night I was given the opportunity since I am new. I flew on the plane with the surgeon to help obtain the new heart. With one life with this new heart, meant one peaceful death for another. I pray I never stop seeing the child whose life has ended as an amazing individual.

Being up for 24+ hours is something I don't love at ALL. But, I guess if a child gets a new chance at life, it's completely worth it. I am going to be HAPPY that this happened over the weekend when I have a chance to get back on somewhat of a normal schedule. I took a nap this afternoon....and I am pretty sure I'll be tired enough to sleep well tonight.

The puppies spent the night at Becca's house. I hope they were good for her. They were SO pitiful when I left them last night! All they wanted to do was play! I feel bad they missed out on weekend playtime. At least Becca had them. She's going to bring them over later.

So YAWN. I sit here and watch TV, happily knowing I have nothing to study and NO homework to do! What a wonderful feeling! :) I just hope I can stay awake until it's actually alright for me to go to sleep!

Another time, another place....

Well, I'm not in Dallas...but I didnt' know that would happen when I woke up this morning. I've had the opportunity to go out on an organ recovery for a precious baby of ours who is getting a heart. So, I sit here and wait for them to let us in the OR so we can take this life giving organ and give it to a very deserving family. On the plane ride here, all I could do was pray for the family who is saying goodbye to their child. What a hard, yet lifegiving decision. I only hope that if I were to pass away, my family is able to know without a shadow of a doubt what my wishes are.

And so, while a family makes a selfless decision, I think of completely selfish things....like.... I am HUNGRY. I had sushi for dinner with Mom and Jen. If you know anything about sushi, it fills you up and doesn't leave you stuffed, but it tends to be like chinese food...it doesn't keep you full for long. SO. Now I am hungry. I'm also tired. It's 1:13AM and I won't be going into the OR until 1:30. YAWN. I'd like nothing better than to curl up and sleep, but I am VERY happy that I got to take a nap this afternoon. I thought it would hamper my ability to sleep tonight, but it turns out that this will not be a problem! I'm ALSO sad because my friend's baby is being dedicated tomorrow, and I think my lack of sleep will cause me to miss this. BLAST! Hopefully, I'll be alive for the after party. I'd also love a big GIANT diet Dr Pepper....but I'm seriously doubting that will happen considering I barely got here with my hosptial ID badge and my cell phone. I do feel fancy though...calling the surgeon...sneaking around OR's. And wouldn't you know it, my cell phone battery is dying. THat's just lovely. I've turned it off so it can recharge and hopefully it will last long enough for me to call from the airport once we touch down in Dallas. Then I don't really care if it is dead or not! :)

Well, it's almost time, so I guess I should get all signed out so I can leave quickly. Yawning again but SO thankful at the opportunity!