Call Me Cuckoo

I just woke up today and had slept for twelve long hours. My whole body felt like I've been beaten up. It was a long day yesterday. My life felt lackadaisically boring.

To tell you frankly, I did something yesterday that put me categorically on a situation as an unmanageable person. I mean unmanageable because I can't even help abusing myself but even got to the point of putting it in danger. Please read on so you will know what I did.

I woke up early yesterday at 4 am taking ready for my clinical class with Batch 5. I was watching the morning news and at 5 am I started ironing my uniform and white smock gown. I left my apartment at 6:30 am and drove my car on a not so busy freeway on a very humid Saturday morning. I arrived at the clinical site before 7 am and was been greeted by my dedicated and diligent students.

I divided the students into two groups and evenly distributed them to Pediatrics, Labor and Delivery, and Emergency Room. Group 1 went to Pediatrics from 7 am till 12 noon and Emergency Room from 1 pm till 5 pm. Group 2 went to Labor and Delivery Room, Post-partum, and Nursery from 7 am till 5 pm. Then at 6 pm until 7 pm we had our post conference and discussion about our days experiences.

Then after finishing up my clinicals I hurried back to my car and drove cautiously on the spacious freeway towards downtown Los Angeles where my full-time hospital job is located. I was beating myself against time because I will be coming in for the graveyard shift and work for another boring and long twelve hours.

I arrived at the hospital's parking lot 15 minutes early before 7 pm, so I still have some ample time to take a nap inside my car. I slowly turned on my car's radio and intently listened to the soft music I carefully slide in the CD changer. I napped quietly for a substantial few minutes to regain enough strength for the next twelve hours.

Ten minutes after seven I gradually got out of my car and intentionally planned to clock-in late at the time machine. I then willingly took report from the previous day shift nurses for my night's assignment and made my quick rounds and carefully do my patient assessment.

I had three patients to start initially and was awaiting for a hyperbilirubinemia baby admission. I quietly do my basic routine and assessment, carefully filling up paperworks for my patient's charts, and meticulously double-checking and retrieving my patient's medications from the medication administration record book and med-cart seeing to it that all my medications were complete and available for my whole shift.

After seeing to it that everything was okay, I then made my rounds. I slowly and surely checked my patients individually, professionally interacted with them and carefully asking and soliciting their rush complaints and on-the-spot questions as well as answering them honestly to the best of my abilities.

At 10 pm I received report from the Emergency Room regarding my hyperbili admission and then prepared all the necessary stuff needed in relation to her diagnosis. I had also prepared  and started to warm up the isolette needed for the baby, set it up well including the two bili lights that I carefully tested and turned on at the bedside if it's working well or not, preparing the baby weighing scale and all the necessary admission papers needed at the bedside.

Thirty minutes after, the baby came up.  I then did the initial vital signs, started an intravenous line, coached and instructed the mom to breastfeed the baby before I will place her inside the isolette and exposed her under the ordered double phototherapy treatment.

I then interviewed the mom for the baby's profile and discussed with her the rules and regulations of the Pediatric unit which she eagerly understood.

The baby already came up with a written physician's order scribbled by the resident-on-duty so I then carried it out and made my second round at midnight for all the rest of my assigned patients, asking them if they have any new complaints and questions before they quietly go to sleep.

At 12:30 am I went to take my midnight lunch then started opening up and writing on my patient's charts and documenting all my gathered assessments and also giving my due medications.

Although I pretty much worked for a long twelve hours during the day I didn't even felt tired at that time, may be because I napped quite a bit in my car. It really helped me regain my already lost and drained energy. I really felt confidently refreshed and specifically good not until 2 am when a nagging fatigue finally hit me.

Plus the fact that I've been drinking some nice brewed coffee intermitently, and on and off, and that I felt so impishly stoked, very weak, obviously tired, and stoned, and overly-well-caffeinated. Caffeine really gave a toll on me and surely and really works extremely great for me, huh.

At 2 am I pretty much did not have something to do, that's why I felt so tired and extremely drained out. I then asked my two companions that night if I could take a thirty-minute-nap, which they both eagerly encouraged for me and luckily enjoyed for a little bit..

I had my thirty-minute-nap and enjoyed it very much. By the time I woke up I felt really good, refreshed, and relieved and I am more ready and hyper for the next few hours of my remaining work time.

At 5 am I helped one of my co-nurses do and take their laboratory specimen collection as well as two of my patients. Then at 6 am I made my final rounds seeing to it that all my IV fluids were being changed and refilled and my medications for the next shift were all complete. Then I wrapped-up my documentations at 6:30 am. By the time I gave report to the morning shift at 7 am my eyes felt so droopy. Fatigue finally, set in on me.

When I was carefully driving home I have to make ammends at myself and be more alert to prevent myself from getting into any accident on the road. It was a quite nippy Sunday morning, and the freeway was not that crowded on this early Sunday morning.

By the time I got home, I hurriedly stripped off my dirty scrubs and hit the hot shower immediately. Then I drank four glasses of warm water and took my everyday morning pills. I then ate two loaves of wheat-grainy-bread spread with unsalted butter and grab two sweet green sugar plums as my early morning treat.

I really felt so tired and had tirelessly worked for more than an unbelievable 24 hours. So it was time for me to immediately hit the sack and quietly sleep good to gradually recover my lost energy.

Well, what do you think of what I did today? I already knew what you'll harshly think about me. But to really tell you the truth I personally felt sooo enjoyably numb and profusely tired in a good way. I am not actually so stressed out. I know my body really well when I am so drained and strained out because of so much fatigue. But luckily and without any fuss, I felt so great at the moment.

Now I had slept for more than a substantial twelve hours enough to feel refreshed and energized. And I was here joyfully blogging what I just stupidly and irresponsibly did to my body yesterday. You can call me pathetically crazy but I can't help it and have no choice and option. I have to do it because I just came back from a very long vacation.

I just won't make any fuzz about my very compressed and hectic schedule at work because my supervisors were good and considerate enough to allow me to go home for six weeks to attend for my mom's wake and burial.

So it would be ungrateful for me to call in sick and had them wallow and worry about the staffing had I called in sick yesterday. So, to make everybody happy and contented I just have to conform and accept with what schedule on hand.

I hope this will not happen again in the near future. However, if it will accidentally happen again then hopefully I will pretty much be sure to have accumulated a lot of sleep to beat the fatigue up. So long guys.......