Dead girl walking

I've heard stories, but never seen it until now.

61 yo female outside smoking with her friend complains of chest pain &
collapses. Paramedics get there within 5 minutes & begin CPR. It takes
them exactly 30 minutes to get to the hospital. In that time, she
gets...
Epi x 4
Atro x 1
Ami x 1
& is defib'd 4 times. She goes from
Vfib to pea to asystole back to vfib to jr.

Now she is in our er. We take over CPR. Here she gets...
Epi x 4
Defib'd 3 more times

Still nothing. So they decided to stop & everyone leaves the room.

A minute or two later, a nurse goes back into her room & guess what?!?!

She's alive!!!

The doctor gives her a grim prognosis & the family makes her a dnr.

Four days on the vent, weaned & extubated.

She is currently on tele on the floor. Absolutely fine neuro-wise. She
can't believe what happened.

She does, however, complain of sternal pain where her chest is
bruised :)

Small price to pay for life.

Wrong, just wrong

Skunks should not live near hospitals...

Draw your own conclusions

I am old

My dad used to do it during church...
My father in law does it all day long...
Night shift does it during report...

And now I do it too...

I have found myself closing my eyes to catch a 2 or 3 minute nap when
there is some down time.

I only knew old people to do it. I guess my life is catching up to me.
A husband, 3 kids, 3 dogs and a full time job.

I am old...ok, ok, maybe just exhausted.

34 isn't THAT old

Concern from a 'nobody'

Growing up in Southern California, I have had former friends go from
'nobody' to 'rich and famous'.

I went to high school with a now famous politician. A semi famous
model. A few pro football players. An awesome pro baseball player who
is the pride & joy of my high school. I saw Gwen Stephani of No Doubt
once at a Japanese resturant in the oc. I saw Mark McGuire once at the
gym.

I also was friends with Travis Barker of Blink 182 way before he was
famous. I haven't seen or talked to him in 10 years or so, so I can't
say we are friends, but we were & I am concerned & worried.

He was just in a plane crash in South Carolina & is now in a burn
center in Augusta, GA in critical, but stable condition. 4 died, 2
survived.

When I worked at Big University Hospital, they had the only burn unit
in the county. My least favorite place to work, BICU. Holding an ETT
during hydro is torture for me. I can't stand the smell & the torture
the patients go through. Unbearable A burn nurse has my uttmost
respect. I could never do what they do.

Anyways, the long road ahead Travis now has ahead of him. I have seen
it. My heart breaks for him & his family.

If any of you work where he is at, I know, I know, hipaa, blah, blah.
Take good care of him.

This 'nobody' RT wishes she could take care of her former 'nobody'
friend.

Happy birthday to me!!!

On a hiatus...it's my 34th birthday weekend.

I do have a good story for you. I'll post it on Monday.

You have got to read this

My sister turned me on to this blog. This is riveting. I can't stop reading, which is why I have been MIA for a while.

Start with this page to find out what happened, then start from the beginning. So happy and so sad. Just heartbreaking. Trust me, you will want to read this...

http://www.mattlogelin.com/archives/2008/04/13/what-happened/

Firsts

Remember when you were a student and saw your first? First code, first
status asthmaticus, first death, first birth. How exciting it was.

Today I felt honored and humbled to watch people experience their
'first'.

I was called to a csection. The nurse & I were scrubbing, and she told
me that she had nursing students with them. No big deal, just means
alot more talking instead of just doing.

As we were waiting for the baby, I noticed the two students in the
corner trying to watch the doctors do their thing. They had their hand
covering their mouth with their eyes as big as saucers. They applauded
when the baby was born with tears streaming down their faces. Their
first birth.

They came to the warmer & we explained what we were doing. Dry &
stimulate. Heart rate < 60. Positive pressure. Now good color & heart
rate. Everything went exactly how it was supposed to. This was
textbook NRP.

Then the dad walked over. Tears streaming down his face, he couldn't
even speak. His first son. That got me. Now there's a dad, two
students, an RN and me, the RT, all crying. It was awesome.

We took the baby to the nursery. The family was waiting eagerly,
looking through the window. As soon as they saw their first grandson &
first nephew, the tears started again. Next the dad walked up to the
window holding a little girl just about 2 years old. He was just
bawling as he showed his daughter her new baby brother.

How lucky am I that I get to see this so frequently. I had forgotten
how amazing it is to be there when a new person is brought into the
world.