Summer 2013... so far

I’m failing at this blogging business.  I know this because I couldn’t even remember my password to log into my blog.  Fail.  I feel like I’m seriously slacking.  I attribute this to:

  

A)   My lack of creativity, I just haven’t been feeling the writing bug recently.

B)   Lots of trips and a crazy work schedule (who has time for frivolities like a random online scribbling?).

C)   Visitors, namely, my sea-star.  Which, for the record, I’m not complaining about, it was so great to see her!

D)   My achy, breaky back.  Why you ask?  No apparent reason.  I just like to complain about my old lady woes at any given opportunity, even if they have absolutely no correlation to the conversation at hand.

However, on the note of my back, I would like to talk about just how grateful having all these back problems has made me.  Weird, I know, but let me explain.  I know in my last blog post I pontificated a bit on my back pain and what was going on, but since then I have learned much more about why I’ve been having this chronic (yes, chronic; it has been going on for over six months now) back pain.  When the pain I was experiencing started limiting my physical activities and making it virtually impossible for me to run without having my left leg go partially numb, I decided I should probably see the doctor again.  Good call.  Had I not done that, who knows what further damage I would have caused.  The doctor sent me to get an MRI and some x-rays where they found a bulging disc at L5 to S1, spondylolisthesis, a pars defect, arthritis, and a generally very straight spine with no curvature until L5 to S1, at which point, my spine curves at a rather unstable 90 degrees.  To get all this news was disheartening to say the least.  I’ve spent a lot of time lamenting the fact that I can’t run anymore, or do any other sort of high-impact activity.  But I can’t say that in some ways it hasn’t been a blessing in disguise.  It has made me appreciate just what my body was (and hopefully someday will be again) able to do.  How many people have been in tragic accidents and lost a limb, or even limbs, and will never even be able to walk again?  Or what about people who have been paralyzed and will spend the rest of their lives in wheelchairs?  When I think about things like this, I’m grateful that things aren’t worse.  I’ve also learned that patience really is a virtue - one I still don’t really have, but am learning to acquire.  Even so, I can’t say these back problems are something I would like to have, but I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason.  Cheesy, and cliché, I know.  But I also know for a fact that I’m a person who could often use a lesson on being grateful.  Hopefully there will come a day when I can run again and do all the things I used to do, but if that doesn’t happen, at least I can always be thankful that I’m not bedridden, in a wheelchair, or missing a limb.  Things can always be worse!

On another note, the note of my sea-star (aka sister, aka Anna Montana, aka she who shares my similar DNA), she did come visit this past month, and it was (mostly) a blast!  It was so great to see some family and spend time with her; it was just like having my own little piece of America for a couple of weeks!  While she was here we got to do a bit of traveling, to include Ireland and Amsterdam (pictures to be posted below).  I must say, I’m glad we’re both adults now.  Why you might ask?  Because when we were younger, we kind of disliked each other… probably more than a little bit at times.  We got into nasty yelling matches, and occasionally resorted to hair-pulling, and dare I say biting…  That’s not to say that we didn’t love each other, we just had a lot of differences that, as kids and teenagers, seemed insurmountable.  But I think things have changed.  It was almost strange to carry on actual adult conversations, and to do so without arguing (don’t get me wrong, we had a couple of little tiffs while she was here).  It makes me so thankful for family.  Being in Germany can be hard with being 5,000 miles away from your family and only getting to see them once, maybe twice a year, so seeing some family was really a highlight of this Summer.  And now I’m getting mushy, which is not my style, so I’m going to stop while I’m ahead.  Anyway, I’m going to put up some of my favorite pictures from our trips below.  Please enjoy my fine picture-taking skills… as most of you probably know, artistic abilities run rampant through my veins.  Ha.

We climbed all the way to the top of this castle to kiss the Blarney Stone.  We will now (supposedly) speak eloquently for the rest of our lives.

I thought this would be an artistic shot.  I clearly thought wrong.

About to begin my journey towards eloquent speech.  Heaven knows I could use it.  Word vomit, anyone?

Anna feeding zer horse on our little jaunt around the castle grounds.

Anna and me at the Cliffs of Moher.  Never have I seen two more attractive people.  Ever.

When in the Netherlands, pose awkwardly by a giant wooden clog...

... or just look like you weren't ready for the camera.

At the 4th of July celebration on the Air Base.  We 500 percent rocked the Hello Kitty look.

View from the Landstuhl Castle.  There are some redeeming qualities about living 5,000 miles away from America.

We made cookies for the boys on Anna's last night in Germania, and they were delish!

The cute boys we made the cookies for.  This picture is before they both got convinced to have Hello Kitty face paint as well.  We won that one.

 

Istanbul, Former Constantinople!

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Things that have recently come to my attention:

-       Pretty much anything that has sparkles on it has the potential to make my day… especially if that item is shoes.  Yes, I’m a five year-old at heart.

-       Conversely, my body is apparently 85.  Or somewhere in that vicinity.  I have recently learned that I have degenerative discs that are provoking sciatica.  This equals an occasional numb leg and intermittent low-back pain.  But, like the trooper (or idiot) that I am, I told the Nurse Practitioner that I refused to stop running, thus prohibiting any sort of healing.  Brilliance, I tell you.

-       I still don’t like eating fish.  It smells gross, it looks gross, and when I get their little fish bones in my mouth, I kind of want to vomit a little bit.

-       And last, but not least, I am so very glad that I get to be an American… Here’s why…

I just got back from a trip to Istanbul, Turkey, and it was kind of great.  I got to see all sorts of monuments and sites that most people only read about in books.  But what I also got to see is what it might be like not to live the life of luxury I’ve become so accustomed to.  It was sad to me to see that this city, with so many beautiful things, was so littered with trash.  Everywhere I turned there seemed to be garbage on the streets and covering the sidewalks.  Then there were the bathrooms that had floors my shoes really didn’t even want to touch.  And of course, the lack of hygiene, which ultimately has a direct correlation with a person’s health, and is often a reflection of education (of course, not always; some things really are cultural).

None of this is meant to be degrading or demeaning in any way.  It was just really an eye-opening experience for me.  It really made me appreciate America.  I know we’re not perfect, but I feel so lucky to have grown up in a clean city where education was both fostered and encouraged, and where I was given so many opportunities. 

Oh, and I’m also thankful that I never really had to master the "squat and pee" (sorry, that might have been a wee bit too much information).

Anyway, I digress, which we all know is not exactly unusual.  So, here are some of the things I was able to see…

-       The Blue Mosque, which was huge and amazing!  All women who enter any of these mosques are asked to respect the Islam religion and wear a Pashmina Scarf on their heads, and all men and women are asked to take their shoes off.  It was definitely a very interesting experience.  

View of the Blue Mosque from the outside.  Beautiful!

 -        The Hagia Sophia Museum, which was formerly a the world’s largest cathedral for over 1,000 years.

Me (obviously) inside the Hagia Sophia Museum.

 -       The Tapkapi Palace Museum, which was where the Ottoman Sultans used to live.  In addition, this was where their harem of women were kept… a situation that I find more than a little disturbing.

One of the sidewalks leading to the Palace.  I thought these were quite awesome!

What pretty much all the walls in the Tapkapi Palace look like.  Copious amounts of white and blue tile.

-       And although we saw so much more, one of the neatest places were were able to go and see were the barracks where Florence Nightengale took care of soldiers during the Crimean War.  Yeah, it was awesome.

View of the barracks from outside the gates.  We weren't allowed to take any pictures once we entered the premises.

Aside from historical monuments, we also got to do some flee market-like shopping, enjoy (or maybe not enjoy quite so much) some Turkish foods, visit an awesome handmade Turkish rug store where we got to see how the rugs are made, and many other things that are slipping my mind because I’m sleep-deprived and am in a somewhat catatonic state as I try to adjust back to a night shift schedule.

Soooo many people at this flee market (this particular one was called the Spice Bazaar).

A silk, handmade rug.  At this point, it's approximately 65 percent finished.  The lady making it has been working on it for about eight months and it's projected to take her an entire year to finish it.  This rug has something like 300-plus knots per square inch.

Alright, I’m signing off for now.  As always, I hope you enjoyed the post and that it was at least 35 percent coherent.

Because Who Doesn't Like French Fries???

I just spent two solid days in bed.  I have probably only been awake for a grand total of six hours in the past 48.  Stomach flu: 1.  Tawni: 0… okay, Tawni: 0.5… I did at least get to catch up on some How I Met Your Mother and (it's my guilty pleasure) Hart of Dixie, which, P.S. apparently they’re discontinuing after this season.  Unacceptable!

The topic of being sick brings me to my next subject of discussion: French fries.  Weird progression of talking points?  Debatable.  Ever since I was a little kid, whenever I was sick, my Mom would suggest French fries as the remedy.  And for some reason, they always cured whatever was ailing me (placebo effect?  I think yes).  Case in point, when you’re 10 years-old and decide – after being told explicitly not to – to ride down the stairs in a sleeping bag, and end up with a concussion and trip to the ER, those French fries the next day cured both the bruise on your brain you sustained, and your wounded pride (it’s embarrassing, even at 10 years-old, to have to be carried into the ER because your stupidity resulted in an inability to walk, or even really talk).  So what did I want as soon as my appetite returned this time around?  French fries, of course.  And, might I add, they were AWESOME!

Also, I have come to realize that 100 should not be within the realm of “normal” for an adult heart rate.  Mine has been sitting nicely at 85-95 these past couple of days (yes, I’ve been keeping track of my own heart rate, it’s probably a nurse thing), and I’ve felt terrible!  Kind of like my chest might explode a little bit.  To this end, I have come to the conclusion that we should change the normal values to be 50-80.  All in favor, say “I,” all not in favor, feel free to keep your mouths shut.

Alright, so because this blog post is probably the most random I’ve yet to write (blame it on the Nyquil), and I’m sure you’re all ready to gouge your eyeballs out with spoons, I’ll wrap this up.  Here’s to only one more Nyquil night (hopefully), and the placebo effect of French fries.  May I always remember that there’s nothing better than sleep and food!

My Nursing Top 10

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I like neon colors… like, a lot!  My toenails are hot pink, my running shoes basically glow in the dark, and my wardrobe is a rainbow of colors – and is organized as such.  Don’t judge me.  Also, I love los gatos.  No secret there.  I’ve embraced the fact that I will likely become the Crazy Cat Lady, and you should too.  Oh, and I have a tendency towards enjoying, and subsequently loving, the fine musical stylings of Glee.  Okay, now you can judge me.

Today I have no great stories to tell, and no inspiring patient experiences to share… I fear those days are mostly gone.  But my blog was suffering from my lack of attention, so I decided I’d at least put a modicum of effort into a rambling of some sort.  And as it turns out, I’m kind of great at making lists (I’m like 90 percent left-brained, so making lists is what I do).  So this here blog is about my top 10…

Things I’ve Learned as a Nurse:

10) The question, “When was the last time you pooped?” is both a socially acceptable, and important question that we should all probably ask ourselves daily.  Really.  You may not realize just what this says about your overall health.

9) I went to four years of difficult schooling to often be a glorified waitress.  Fact.  Nothing is more annoying than the ambulatory patient who incessantly rings his or her call bell for more water, graham crackers, or, best of all, has rung it so many times that when you get to the room, he or she says, “Ummm, I forgot what I was going to ask you.”

8) Your snot is gross... often times grosser than your poop.  End of story.  I know you’re sick, but PLEASE don’t call me in the room to look at it so that I can confirm it’s color and/or consistency.

7) It’s 100 percent normal to approach strangers and let them know they have great veins.

6) The phone numbers you should ALWAYS memorize are: lab, pharmacy, and the on-call doctor.  You will save sooooo much time if you don’t have to look them up a million and a half times a shift.

5) It is not okay to pop the blackhead on your patient's back that you are eyeing as you help him walk to the bathroom… it’s just not.

4) A Parade of Dogs in costumes is actually more therapeutic for the staff than the patients.  This should happen frequently.

3) People of the small-child variety don’t respond well to sarcasm; don’t use it with them… ever.

2) Charades is always an acceptable form of communication.

… And finally…

1) I will always have a default Halloween costume.