CPR

As i mentioned in my last post, I took that ACLS class where we learn exactly how and when to perform CPR, when and what drugs to give during a cardiac arrest, or another sort of arrythmia.

Well, Friday I did something for the first time and i hope i never have to do it again.

I had to perform CPR on one of our patients in our wellness program.

He was in the program across the room from the ones being monitored in cardiac rehab. My coworker was teaching a strength training class and all of a sudden we hear "we need help we need help!" and i look across the room and 2 of my coworkers are holding a patient up in a chair. He had clutched his chest and passed out, losing control of his bladder in the process. I immediately jog across the room and press the CODE BLUE (read: get more freaking help!) button. A bunch of us went back to the patient and placed him on a stretcher. We were feeling for a pulse and i felt nothing in his wrist. He was completely unconscious. We get our code cart over to him and our respiratory therapist was bagging him and giving him oxygen. We were struggling to get him placed on the monitor so we could see his heart rhythm. By that time we established that we did not feel a pulse and he was not breathing. He was gray and sweaty. Our nurse practicioner climbed on top of the stetcher and began doing chest compressions. I relieved her after 2 minutes (learned this from class) and being doing chest compressions. Hard and fast hard and fast. We are told to do chest compressions to the rhythm of The BeeGees song "Stayin Alive". So finally we are able to get him on the monitor and see that his heart rate is very very low, about 30 bmp. He has a internal cardiac defibrillator with a built in pacemaker. So his rhythm is paced and very slow. We are still doing chest compressions and giving him oxygen via bag. One of my coworkers relieve me and she starts doing chest compressions.

All of a sudden he starts flailing around. He has regained consciousness and is wondering wtf is going on. We calm him down and check a blood pressure. His BP was fine, a little high actually. The code team had arrived and get him carted off to the emergency room.

I did not know he had a built in defibrillator until after the fact. But the nurse practicioner said she felt and saw him "jump" a bit, meaning his ICD was shocking him.

I was shaking the whole time i was doing chest compressions. I am SOOOO thankful that he had a built in defibrillator or he would be having one put in!

Surviving sudden cardiac death. Wow.

ACLS

Great day and great afternoon.

I have had a medical class called ACLS (Advanced Cardiopulmonary Life Support) for the past 2 days. Today was the Megacode (huge practical) and the written test. I don't do well on practicals. I do better on written tests. But i passed both with flying colors. I even got a 100 on the written portion.

DH and i still have to get something for DS for Christmas from Santa.

We've just had showers and we're about to go pick up Connor from daycare and head over to my sister's house for dinner. Steak and shrimp YUMMY!

DS has a Christmas program at school that all the kidlets are singing at next tuesday. Two year olds singing is just precious i tell you. PRECIOUS.

I've got clothes that need to be put away because they are sitting here folded on the couch beside me. Perhaps if i give hubs my most sexylicious (of COURSE that's a word!) look, he'll put the clothes away for me. After all, i DID fold them.

Happy Day!

Thanksgiving

Me and my sister with our respective kiddos


I'm just now getting around to posting pictures from Thanksgiving. I was feeling awful all of last week and only this week have I started feeling better. I put on a happy face for Thanksgiving pictures.

I'm about to start making some good changes in my life. I'm excited and hopeful.


Me, DH, and DS



Calling all couples: Me and DH, my brother and his fiance, my parents, and my sister and her man




Me and DH




Me, my siblings and parents

Sleeping is for wimps!

I'm currently sitting in the crack of the couch while Connor watched Dora before bath and bed.

Last night he completely thought sleeping was for sissies and fought bedtime. And at midnight. And from 1am until 3am and then from 4am until 415am he laid awake in his crib. Sammie had been in his room from 1230am until 1am. Sammie had been out of his room for about 30 minutes when he started wailing again.

So i laid down on the floor hoping he would nod off. But everytime i looked up at him his eyes were huge and he would grin. I made sure he was comfortable and tried to go to sleep myself.

But whenever i tried to sneak out of his room, he would wail and whine. So i laid down on his floor beside his crib (something i've never done) and tried to sleep. Just about the time i kept nodding off, he would toss one of his critters from his crib onto me and i would be jostled awake.

Finally about 415 i heard him start to snore so i crept back to our bedroom. I fell asleep at 420am and my alarm went off at 5am.

I had to wake up Connor at 545 to get him to daycare at 6 and me at work at 630am.

He was very combative trying to get him dressed and into the car. Nothing would please him this morning. Although i know how he felt because i certainly didn't want to wake up this morning after the night we had.

I suppose it could have been worse.

Sick Sick Sick

Sickness is still around at my house.

I don't want it here!

Connor has had a wet phlemy cough for 2 weeks now with no improvement no matter what I try. (Although it hasn't gotten worse either.)

Today I take him to his peds office and they peek in his ear and say "whoa he has an ear infection!" Connor usually plays with his ears (has since birth) and every time he has pulled on his ears lately I've asked him if his ears hurt. He always says no. He hasn't been running a fever either. They told me that they were glad I brought him in today. His eardrum wasn't about to rupture, but if I hadn't brought him in today, he would been in by the end of the weekend.

Unfortunately antibiotics give him diarrhea as well. Three hours after his first dose of amoxicillan, he had a NASTY watery diarrhea diaper. I just hope he doesn't have one in the middle of the night and it doesn't get changed until the morning.

I'm feeling better from my bought with an upper respiratory infection, but now Sammie isn't feeling well. It's barely 8pm and he's already in bed with a headache and not feeling well.

As soon as I get Connor in bed, I am hoping in the shower and going to bed myself.

And just because I don't want to leave another post without a picture, here for your viewing pleasure!

A boy in bed!

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

It was not me who was trying to fish a toy out from under our stove, that our son had stashed in there, and realizing that I could not lay flat on my stomach to see under the stove because of my rather, um, large chest. Hmm. It was not me who had to have my not so chesty mother in law come over to retrieve said toy from under the stove. I am always able to get my childs toys from wherever he may stash them.

It was definately not me who bribed her son with tv to get him to take a nap. Nope, it REALLY was NOT ME. I would never use an artificial something to get him to go to sleep because I needed to do some things around the house. I'm a great mother who would not do that. Ummm, yeah.

Beautiful Sundays

It's gorgeous and over 70 degrees outside in the middle of November. Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away and then Christmas. Time goes by waaayyy too fast.

After Connor gets up from his nap, I think we'll go outside on the porch and blow bubbles or jump in piles of leaves.

I'm currently watching a movie called "Noone Would Tell." Fred Savage and Candace Cameron are in it. It's about a teenage couple who have been dating a short while and he starts getting violent. It starts off with him only verbally abusing her and he tells her that nobody cares about her but him. Of course she believes him and her self esteem goes down the tube. She wants to be with him so she keeps telling herself that it's all her fault. Then he starts pushing her around and slamming her into walls, all the while apologizing after the fact and saying it will never happen again. Soon he starts slapping her and she ends up breaking up with him. He doesn't take it well and tells her that if she isn't with him, then she wouldn't be with anybody else either. He asks her to go for a ride with him or something one last time and she does. He takes her to a lake and murders her. She was only 16.

It's so hard watching movies like this because I know it happens everyday and nobody will open their mouths to get help because they are scared. I've never been in that situation and thank goodness. I would hope I would be smart and strong enough to get help.

Anyway we have one more full week of work and then a short week due to Thanksgiving! I can't wait! I love Thanksgiving and Christmas. This morning Connor and I went to a couple of stores to buy some Christmas stuff that was SUPER cheap. I can't wait to decorate! I'm sure I'll do it the weekend of Thanksgiving.

I'll leave you with an adorable picture of Connor waking up saying "I'm ready to get up Mama!"

I'm boring and a rambler

But I like it like that.

Happy Veteran's Day!

I'm very thankful for those fighting for us and for those who fought for us long ago. Please keep up the hard work.

Carolina Son is currently sleeping in his crib and Carolina Boy is working on making some bracelets. He weaves bracelets from paracord. He does watchbands, keychains, bracelets and all sorts of nifty things.

I am now the proud owner of an upper respiratory infection. I've been waking up constantly at night with an extremely sore throat from sinus drainage. And then when I wake up, my head feels like it will explode.

Sounds lovely, huh?

Be jealous.

Sore throat

Sometimes I hate this time of year. When the weather turns cooler, I almost ALWAYS end up with a sore throat. I think it's due to sinus drainage. But poor Carolina Son has a pretty wet cough that won't go away. We finally were able to get him his seasonal flu shot on Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, I've got some pictures to post!

At work, we were a bunch of crayons. Of coure I was the blue one, because that's my favorite color.




Me with my little fireman


Connor trying to kiss a diva dog

I can't believe Thanksgiving is in less than 3 weeks, so that means Christmas is less than 2 months away! It always sneaks up on me.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



It was not me who, while going to eat at Cold Stone Creamery, saw a jar labeled "tasting spoons" and picked one up. While it was on it's way to my mouth (because i taste my spoons first!) the guy working there said "Uh maam? Those have already been used!" My eyes got huge and i dropped that spoon in a hasty manner! Sammie and i giggled hysterically while we picked out our ice cream and mix ins.

It was also not me who pondered aloud whether or not i should use cover up on Connor's nose after he had a run in with the wheel of a tricycle. He has fall pictures at his daycare tomorrow and it looks like someone sliced some skin off his nose, because, you know, that's what happens when wheels of tricycles come in contact with little noses.

I won't be using coverup by the way.


It was guess who? Not me! who REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY enjoyed dressing up as a zombie for an early Halloween party this past weekend. It came me an excuse to put on makeup and make myself look AWFUL because i didn't brush or wash my hair! Hehe, zombies aren't supposed to smile though. I had a hard time with that concept.




Me and my zombie love