I wanna DANCE!

I have always wanted to take dance lessons...ever since I was a little wild child. For some reason, I was never allowed to. Perhaps it was that we had not a lot of extra money or time when I was growing up. Perhaps my mother thought it brazen. Who knows? What I DO know is that every time I watch Dancing with the Stars, I suddenly start browsing the web for dancing schools. I just wish that some dashing dancer would teach me the Mamba and the Samba and the Passa Doble...and all those fancy moves they do! Ah well, perhaps I will find someone who will want to teach me to dance.

Work has been basically okay. My sweet little transplant boy came home from the World Series game absolutely GLOWING! He DID get to throw out the first pitch, although that part wasn't televised...much to the chagrin of the entire DFW cheering section. He sat up in the president of the Red Sox box, did TWO press conferences, met all the Red Sox team, and just basically felt like the sweet star he is! He was thrilled and thankful today, even though he had to spend the day at the hospital, that he got to experience all that. Our surgeon was equally excited, practically running around her office telling every single detail of the trip without stopping for breath! I think that's one of the reasons I just love her! What an amazing woman! Here's a link to one of the MANY news stories done about him. He was in 176 news stories, including TV/radio/print!
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=4745572&version=1&locale=EN-US


The best part of the week was getting to spend time with my precious friend Jennifer. After losing her daughter two weeks ago, she's been back in Odessa and I have missed her! I've seen her almost every day for 4 months, and I'm going through withdrawls! She brought her son to Boo at the Dallas Zoo this past weekend and we ate lunch together on Saturday and then went to the mall for fun shopping on Sunday! I really miss her.



Friday I am leaving for Arizona. The conference I went to three weeks ago was only slightly coordinator focused. It was really more focused on donors. This conference is JUST FOR coordinators! NEW coordinators! I'm very excited about it! Hopefully, I'll learn enough about the other organs to be able to ace my certification test that I must take next spring. I am hoping to find lots of people to network with. I am staying in a big hotel room all alone, but I've been told there's lots of fun to be had in the area, so perhaps I'll investigate! The weirdest thing is that Daylight Savings time starts while I'm gone. Arizona doesn't participate, so when I come back, my internal clock will be TWO hours off! Odd!

Well, puppies are calling. They are displaying attention seeking behaviors. Sweet things!

Sometimes, I'm amazed.....

There's so many bad things in this world. It's not getting any better...and it's not going to! It's really great when people are kind just because they can be, but it doesn't happen very often. It's happening alot at my hospital lately!

Our sweet little transplant kiddo who was "Mr 100" is a HUGE Red Sox fan. The surgeon promised him that if they made it to the World Series, she'd find a way to take him. Well, thanks to the kindness of Grace Flights of America and the president of the Red Sox, Andrew will be sitting in the Red Sox president's box seats tomorrow night for the game! There's even talk that he may get to throw out the first pitch! WOW!

We've had a few frustrating heart outcomes lately, and not necessarily just transplant kids but heart kids in general, and that's SO hard! Thankfully, many of our transplant kids who were SO sick, are doing well right now! This weather change hasn't seemed to affect anyone yet, and we're very thankful for that! It's nice to catch a break every once in awhile, right?

Tomorrow, Michael and I are going to Washington Mutual to see if they will give me the almost $400 they charged me in late fees for something that was not my fault (unauthorized transaction took the money I had in my account and I had written checks using some of that money!). I don't know if they will do anything, but I'm prepared to take my business elsewhere if they don't. I'm taking Michael for moral support, and it doesn't hurt that he's a finance lawyer! :) SO, pray I don't lose my temper...or cry!

Liberty and Oliver are happily playing. They've just finished a wild romp around the house and now Oliver is shredding toys. I am having a Grey's Anatomy party here tomorrow (well, not party...just gathering!) and I was trying to clean the house so my friend's aren't shocked and disgusted. Oh well. There's string and toy carcasses everywhere!

K. I'm out. Hope your week is going well...and it's almost the WEEKEND! :) I'm going to Arizona next week so I'll have a 4 day week! Excitement! :)

Random stuff and some Shakespeare...

Lots of things have transpired this week! I got back from Nashville last Wednesday after 2 days of doing nothing but sitting in meetings and eating! I think it was a very worthwhile conference, and I hope to be able to implement some of them in my practice. I had Thursday all to myself (well, Liberty and I!) and ran errands and things that can't be done when you work M-F. Friday, my parents came into town! My brother/sister in law, my parents, and I traipsed off to the fair for afternoon delights! Saturday, we got up and went back to the fair! I was absolutely faired out by the end of the day, but it was fun! Saturday night, I kidnapped my favoritest transplant baby's mom and my family took her out to dinner! She and I have become friends during the six months she's been in Dallas. (She's from Odessa)

Sunday was an absolutely wretched day. I got a phone call that my favoritest transplant baby (the one whose mom I had kidnapped the night before!) had coded multiple times and the family had decided that the baby had enough and was withdrawing support. This baby is an absolute angel. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and adorable smile. I have grown so attached to her over the last few months! Needless to say, I didn't have full control of the tears at that moment. I drove up to the hospital to spend time with the mom and her recently passed baby. I helped mom give her precious angel a bath and dress her in her finest while she waited for her husband to arrive from Odessa. Everyone who had ever cared for this sweet diva was absolutely crushed and it's gonna take me a long time to recover from this one. It never EVER gets easier to lose patients, but it's especially hard when you've gotten attached. Monday, I was able to help this baby's mom grieve by going to the scrapbook store and helping her pick stuff out for the last scrapbook. Again, mothers and fathers should NOT have to bury their own children, but what a blessing it is when they know that they will see them again someday! This precious mom told me Sunday she could never have gone through all this without her faith!

I really love one of the last quotes from Hamlet, and I thought it absolutely fitting for this little angel...
"Good night, sweet princess, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!"





Rest in the arms of Jesus, my precious baby. You've earned it!

Nashville romping!

Hello from Nashville! Apart from the very small viewing of the GORGEOUS mountains outside, I have mostly been stuck in meetings all day! I am staying at the Gaylord Opryland, which is POSH and FREE (to me! SO glad my hospital pays!). I've got a beautiful king size room with windows overlooking the atrium to this horrifically gaudy hotel! I would have been happy with mountain views, but I get views of the beautiful waterfalls INSIDE the building! :) Guess I better be careful what I romp around in!

Conferences always leave me INSPIRED to do my job better and more effectively! I always learn so much! I am very excited to share my knowledge, even though most of the people I work with on a day to day basis are resistant to change! I get to go to another conference in Arizona in three weeks, and that will be even BETTER!

Okay, guess I should go frolic in my fabulous room. I mean, really, wouldn't you? This place is AMAZING! I'll post pics if I figure out how to send them to my email! :)

A time for celebration!

Oh, I am so sublimely happy right now! :) I'm off call! After an absolutely horrible week last week, I finally have started sleeping through the night. This week hasn't been so bad. I've hated my job a lot less this week, too! After being so exhausted at the beginning of the week (from lack of sleep either for reasons of weird insomnia or busy with transplanting kiddos), I've gone OFF call and HOPE to have more sleep! Not quite sure what I'm planning to do the rest of the week, but I know tonight I'm doing absolutely nothing!

Next week is going to very interesting! I'm actually going to Tennessee next week for some transplant conference. I kinda got pulled in at the last minute! I'd already taken some time off next week so I could go to the fair with my parents when they come to town, so I won't be at work from Tuesday to the following Tuesday! HOORAY! I absolutely need a break! Ta DA!

This week, the hospital has been overtaken by the Joint Commission, a group that audits hospitals to make sure we are following rules and regulations. This means a bunch of people who know nothing about our hospital are traipsing about examining everything. They're pulling people into every nook and cranny to explain all rules and stuff we do on a daily basis. It's quite nervewracking. Thankfully, all reports we've received so far say we're doing a good job, and they haven't found anything big.

So, now I eagerly await my pizza delivery (hooray for pay day!) and watch House. It's a grand life I lead!