Its almost March so I thought I would go ahead and start us all a new thread. I hope no one minds. It remains to be seen if March will be kind or a will be a lion in the beginning. I'm hoping for lamb, but suspect we will get the opposite. I can take comfort that by the end of the month it will be nice however. I also get to look forward to my birthday on the 6th (I'll be 35) and my son't 13th on the 12th.

A sad note:
I lost my first patient as an official nursing student today. When I came in, he had had a severe hypoglycemic episode and then had a massive stroke. Eventually the family decided to let him go peacefully ( a good thing...he had been suffering for a long time) but it definitely kept me busy all morning, and gave me direct experience with helping the family through the dying process. I'm glad I was able to help them and make my gent as comfortable as possible, though I did have to work hard to squelch my own tears so I could be helpful to them.

All the neurological exams I had to do on him as his condition worsened should certainly be helpful for my medical (neuro, conveniently enough) assessment exam tomorrow. (looking for the bright side aside from the fact that he is no longer suffering. *sigh*)

I made it to spring break!

I have a week off and though I still have school work to do, I plan on getting some sleep for once. *grin*The kids are away but will be back the day before my birthday. Meanwhile, I have a few days to clean the house, go out and see my friends, and generally rest and recreate. My midterm grades are pretty good, though one class is a B and I want to bring that up. (I had one poor pharmacology exam).

I'll also be getting a perm in the next few days--I can't wait to have curls again!

What are the rest of you up to? I haven't seen anyone around for a few days. Ruth, how are your classes going?

Kat,

I was moved by your experience. What a powerful difference you have made in the life of that man and his family! We are all extremely vulnerable when we are grieving. I remember the night my mother died. I was standing in the check out line at Burlington Coat Factory with my son's suit for his eighth grade graduation. I kept thinking to myself, "What am I doing here? Shouldn't someone else be doing this?" Well, there was no "someone" to do it. Anyway, a woman I did not know and never saw before smiled at me. I remember the impact it had on me. She will never know the special gift she gave to me that evening.

You are a very special person with a lot to give!

Thought for Today:

Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.

Love,
carree

Good morning ladies,

Kat, you are a special person. I am such an emotional person that I would not be good at consoling others. They need compassion and strength and although they would definitely know how sorry I was for their loss, they would not gain strength from my tears!!! One more reason I didn't choose nursing. Thank goodness there are people such as yourself that are capable!!

Your grades sound great. I've only had three test so for this semester. I made a C in Sociology, high B in Biology, and an A in my Algebra class. I still have plenty of time to bring the Sociology grade up, the professor grades on a point system so, I should be okay. I dropped my English class, the professor and I didn't see eye to eye. I decided to wait until summer when I will be only taking 6 hours not 15. Since I dropped English, I'm only taken 12 hours this semester.

Carree, love your thought for the day. That was just too cute!! Hope you are doing okay.

Ruth

P.S. Has anyone heard from Jana???

Losing that first patient is never easy and is one heck of a learning experience.

Watching the familys say goodbye isn't very easy either. I will tell you though that it becomes easier to handle, the more often you are involved with the processes.

After 20 years in nursing, it's never easy to watch / let someone die, but it does become easier to handle. It's even harder when someone young passes on. I hope you don't have to experience that anytime soon.

By the way, I'm new here. Just stopping in to browse and I couldn't resist posting.

The Coffee Break

Welcome posenite!

Thank you for your kind words. Fortunately, between being in EMS and subsequently woring on a telemetry/step down ICU I've seen a lot of people die, so that aspect of it I deal with fairly well. It seems to still be rough if the person dying is a child or young however. What is new to me is actually being with and helping the family--my involvement before was mainly bringing them a tray of beverages/sncaks/tissues, and letting them use my phone--a far cry from the type of involvment I will have in a nursing capacity. As far as I'm concerned, at that point, helping the family (in whatever guise that may take) is every bit as important as caring for the patient. I'm far from perfect, and I obviously can't "make it better", but if I can provide a measure of comfort that would be good. Everyone mourns differently, so feeling out what would be helpful to each person/family is whats hard for me.
Any words of wisdom from a seasoned vet like yourself are more than welcome. *smile*

This group seems to have shrunk quite a bit, but we do pop in semi-regularly...it would be great to have another face to say hello to.

We would love to have you here. Post anytime. You are most welcome.

Thought for Today:

"....and in the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years." - A. Lincoln

Argh...I uploaded a photo and lost the pic I had been using here under my name. Its no longer available, so now I have "bad hair day".

and on my birthday too... *lol*

Happy Birthday Kat!!

Welcome Posenite, we would love to have you in our group. As Kat said, we are small, currently only three of us posting. We are here for support and encouragement, so we would be happy to lend you an ear or a shoulder if need be.

Hi Carree, still loving your daily quotes!!

Ruth

Only 3 posting? Sounds like my kind of group! I get overwhelmed sometimes when there are to many to get to know!

So, where to begin?

I'm married with 3 kids. I'm an LPN and I now work in an OB/GYN office.

I joined Ww in September of '98 and lost 30 lbs right off the bat. I got myself off insulin after 5 1/2 years on, but then I got sloppy, gained some weight, ended up back on insulin after 2+ years and here I am trying to work the magic again!

I go to Ww and I'm the leader of a group here in the village we call Healthy Weigh, where we focus on nutrition, exercise, food exchanges and portions sizes and whatever. Anything goes and I really enjoy the group.

Thanks for the welcome. I look forward to getting to know you all a bit better.

By the way Happy Birthday Kat! I love your new pic too!

So glad to have you Posenite! Kat, I wish you a year with much happiness and success!

A little bio: I am 54 and have been a WW since 1970. Reached goal, kept my weight off for 20 years and even worked for WW for seven years. Started gaining when I went through menopause and had a tumor on my parathyroid gland that grew huge without me even knowing it. No excuses! I am getting back down to goal very, very slowly one day at a time.

Married to my DH for 33 years and have a son and a daughter. Work full time as an Admin. My passion in life is animals, and I want to work someday (soon!) with a pet therapy program at the local hospital.

Thought for today:

Adversity introduces us to ourselves. - President George W. Bush, Washington National Cathedral - 9/14/01

More bio:

As of today, I'm 35. (I've been dying to use that little guy)


I'm a single mom of three, two girls and a boy in the middle, ages 11, 13, and almost 15. I'm an EMT-D, LNA, have a background in microbiology (B.S. in Biology) and am currently back in school for a BSN. Once I have my RN/BSN, I'll go for my Master's as a nurse practitioner.

I have a solid 7o lbs to lose and have been struggling with excess weight since I was about 24. (I started to develop PCOS around then though I didn't realize it until about two and a half years ago.) I was down 20 lbs, but have regained 4. I'm watching what I eat (except for today *lol*), walking a LOT, and have been taking phentermine HCL for the last three months. That seems to be wearing off now , so the goal is to get back to the 20 lbs gone and maintain that before trying another round of phentermine.

Nice to learn more about you all!

So how does this board work? I'm most familiar with my weight support group on Delphi. So, I know I can find you all in March Feathereights. will you always be here or will I need to be looking for you all in other sections of the board?

Is there a daily thread?

Any help would be appreciated!

Sorry, I'm not very good with this!Coffee Break Weightloss

Not to worry, we were all new once.

We do check in on this thread, and start a new one each month, so next month it will be April Featherweights (+/- an additional phrase). The history of the featherweight term is simply that we are all looking forward to (and working towards) the day when we will be featherweights.

Different people check in with different threads as they please, so thats up to you...there is no other common meeting spot for our fearsome foursome though. Sometimes posting is daily, and other times its more sporadic.

BTW, my 11 year old got me a HUGE cake so I'm leaving some here to share...enjoy! (and to think, it lost calories in the translation to net)

Okay, here goes my bio:

I am 43 years old and I have been married for 17 years to my best friend. I have two daughters and one stepdaughter ages 24, 20 and 20 and four grandchildren ages 8, 3, 8 months and 3 months old (2 boys and 2 girls). And I can't forget my dog Gizmo!! I am currently a full time college freshman who is hoping to get a degree in accounting.

I've been overweight most of my adult life. My highest weight in the last 4 years has been 188 and I'm currently at 161 (I was at 159). I have been doing weight watchers since last November. I am currently inching upwards and can't wait for warmer weather so I can walk outside more.

Ladies, I have four test scheduled for next week so I may not be around much between now and next Friday. I'll try to check in, but I know that the next few days are going to be filled with books.

Take care,
Ruth