Here a few stories that some of you will enjoy and some of you might not. So if you don't read I won't be offended. :)
#1 - organ donation
By far the coolest nursing experience I've had was in my last semester. I got to observe an organ donor harvest from a girl who was brain dead. It was sad, of course, but absolutely amazing. Her heart was still beating, but she had absolutely zero brain function. (For those of you concerned about ethics, this was different then a case where someone would be taken off life support because they had no higher brain function or no quality of life. That person would be considered alive until their heart stops beating. This is when someone has lost even their involuntary brain function, and is legally considered to be dead. Their heart and vital organs can be kept functioning with drugs and machines and stuff, but they are dead. There are really strict guidelines and a lot of tests and stuff that have to to done to determine this.)
So anyway, I got to go into the operating room and watch them cut open her chest and abdomen and rinse everything out with saline. While this is going on a guy from Midwest Transplant Network is on the phone with doctors from all over the U.S. offering them the available organs for their patients who are on the donor list. One surgeon and his team were flying in from California to get the heart. Other teams were flying in from a few other states to get the kidneys and liver. I don't remember what else was donated, but those were the major ones.
So in the operating room it was really hot, because they were trying to keep the body warm and everything functioning. The donors chest was completely open and we could just watch her heart beating and see her lungs expanding and relaxing with the ventilator. The heart surgeon lied about when he would be there, so she was sitting on the operating table like that for over an hour. The surgical teams flew into the downtown airport and were brought to the hospital in ambulances. they brought their own ice chests and everything. It was so interesting.
Once the heart surgeon came and got started everything in the room completely changed. He clamped the vessels going to and from the heart and it stopped. Then all of the sudden the room was freezing cold, because now they were trying to preserve the body instead of trying to make the environment as if it were alive. They flushed some special fluid through all the major organs so that blood wouldn't sit there and clot. Then the other teams came and got the other organs. One interesting thing the guy from the transplant network told me was that both of the kidney's would be transplanted into the same person. The donor was only 3 years old, and the blood vessels going to the kidneys are small and hard to work with. So instead they cut them off from a larger vessel that both kidneys are attached to, and put both kidneys in place of one adult kidney.
#2 - cool heart drug
Also in my last semester of school I got to observe someone getting a really cool heart drug called adenosine. This girl had a heart arrhythmia, which was making her heart beat at over 200 beats per minute. It had been going on for several hours, and they had her on a continuous infusion of one drug, but it wasn't working. Because her heart was beating so fast it wasn't working that efficiently. She was very tired and sweaty, and if had gone on for too long it could wear her heart out. So we tried this "cool" drug called adensoine, that actually stops the heart for 3 to 5 seconds, with the hope that it will start again in a normal rhythm. So to give it we had to have her on a heart monitor and have a defibrillator right next to the bed in case it didn't work. The nurse I was working with actually gave it. It didn't really work for her - her heart just slowed way down for a few seconds and then went straight back to the 200s. But it was neat to see, because it's something I had heard about in school but that is used to rarely I didn't know if I'd ever actually get to see it.
A few hours later the girl sat up in bed, yawned, and laid back down, with a perfectly normal heart rate.
#3 - embarrassing story
So, this one isn't all that cool or interesting, but it's funny so I might as well share. This week one of my patients was a 16 year old girl who was recovering from septic shock. She was well enought to get up and use the bedside commode, but she also had diarrhea. Well, she calls me into her room and tells me that she has to go to the bathroom. This is while a couple of drugs are running into her IV. I move the pumps closer to the bed, and I was just sure the IV tubing would be long enough that they would reach to the commode. I was wrong. I help this girl stand up and turn half way, but they she can't go anymore. I tell her to sit back down on the bed so I can move the pumps, but she starts yelling, "No, I have to GO, I have to GO!!!!" And she does. Gross green diarrhea. \ All over the bed, all over the floor...and then of course she won't sit on the bed becuase it's dirty, but I can't go get help because she's not really strong enough to stand there by herself. So I'm standing there yelling "Help!" but no one hears me for a little while because there was a lot of commotion going on in the room across from us. Finally my preceptor comes in and helps me get her moved and cleaned up.
That's all the stories I have for now. Hope they were enjoyable, or at least bearable. Don't hate me for thinking it's cool so see people cut open or to try to stop their hearts with drugs. :)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
herro from nicore.
hey everyone! i miss you all!!
right now i'm sitting in my dining room, eating dinner, and listening to viva la vida.
viva la vida reminds me of abby, which reminds me of all you guys, and so i thought maybe i'd come say hi to everyone and update you all on what i've been up to.
mostly...just working.
which is fine with me since i'm currently at a financial deficit. not working for 3 months really does it to your bank account i guess...
besides that i've just been hangin out with my friends. it was hard to be home at first, in an environment where everyone didn't have the same common goals and priorities. but it was really cool to work through that with God and see where He has me and where He has my friends and how we're all in different places of growth for a reason. my room mates were defintely under attack from the enemy, and he was certainly succeeding at dividing them. but we've all begun to unite in our Savior and really come together and learn a ton from eachother through prayer and Bible study.
it was really great to get back into jr high ministry as i was hungry for some kind of ministry work since coming back. it's quite the jump, going from working with college students to jr highers. haha. they are wild, obnoxious, crazy, hilarious, and so much fun. i turned down a second year of internship with the ministry which was unexpectedly, a crazy hard decision. but i know with the classes i'm taking i'd be fooling myself if i said i'd be able to give 100% to both school and interning.
umm...what else?
i love watching the olympics. can you believe michael phelps? daaaaang boiiiiiii.
i'm reading changes that heal - good book.
i think about you all a lot! and randomly remember funny moments and laugh to myself.
i can not wait for reunion!!!!!!!!!!!
i love you all.
blessings,
nicole
p.s. i updated our profile - click on our picture to see it and go add something to it :)
right now i'm sitting in my dining room, eating dinner, and listening to viva la vida.
viva la vida reminds me of abby, which reminds me of all you guys, and so i thought maybe i'd come say hi to everyone and update you all on what i've been up to.
mostly...just working.
which is fine with me since i'm currently at a financial deficit. not working for 3 months really does it to your bank account i guess...
besides that i've just been hangin out with my friends. it was hard to be home at first, in an environment where everyone didn't have the same common goals and priorities. but it was really cool to work through that with God and see where He has me and where He has my friends and how we're all in different places of growth for a reason. my room mates were defintely under attack from the enemy, and he was certainly succeeding at dividing them. but we've all begun to unite in our Savior and really come together and learn a ton from eachother through prayer and Bible study.
it was really great to get back into jr high ministry as i was hungry for some kind of ministry work since coming back. it's quite the jump, going from working with college students to jr highers. haha. they are wild, obnoxious, crazy, hilarious, and so much fun. i turned down a second year of internship with the ministry which was unexpectedly, a crazy hard decision. but i know with the classes i'm taking i'd be fooling myself if i said i'd be able to give 100% to both school and interning.
umm...what else?
i love watching the olympics. can you believe michael phelps? daaaaang boiiiiiii.
i'm reading changes that heal - good book.
i think about you all a lot! and randomly remember funny moments and laugh to myself.
i can not wait for reunion!!!!!!!!!!!
i love you all.
blessings,
nicole
p.s. i updated our profile - click on our picture to see it and go add something to it :)
Oh, herro! Nate McGraw edition
Well herro errbody. How's life been treating you? Everyone getting excited for school? So what have I been up to lately? I think most of you know. I have been busy posting in the mass FB thread. Mainly because work is boring. I know I've told some people, but I might as well let everyone know: I'm working on campus at the Pre-Award Services office. The other people that work in the office are grant specialists and are trying to help professors at KSU to get grants approved. I am basically a secretary. My main task is to go around campus to various professors and deans to get signatures on the grant proposals. I also run files in between the administrative buildings, which are just across the street from one another. Other than that I just do boring office busy work. Like enter data, prepare shipments, etc. It's really boring. Today there has been nothing to do. Absolutely nothing. And when there's nothing to do I end up reading a lot of cnn.com. Which is also boring. So if I post a lot in the thread you know why now. Sorry if I've been annoying anyone. :-) (smiley of choice)
So other than that what have I been up to? Not much, really. I moved into a new place a little while ago. I'm really excited about living there. I was living with my friends from high school, who like to party, and I moved in with Michael (Jen's fiance) and TJ (another guy from CRU that I led a Bible Study with last year). I think the atmosphere is going to be a lot more conducive to spiritual growth, which is what I'm most excited about. We are planning to have a roommate Bible Study, which I think is going to be awesome! Plus, these roommates will be better in general for keeping the place clean, washing dishes, etc. It got kind of out of hand last year, and toward the end it was a big hassle. Oh and another big plus -- Jen comes over a lot and sometimes cooks for us! So that's always fun.
In other news, the guy who was going to be the worship leader at CRU this year did not get back in to KSU. He had been on academic probation and they didn't let him come back. Now Mike and myself are wondering what is going to come of it. There will be a leader's meeting I think next Thursday and I'm sure it will get brought up. Mike and I have been talking amongst ourselves and honestly, there isn't really anyone in CRU right now who can step up and fill the spot that the last guy took up. So prayer for that would be nice. Right now, as it stands, we have a 2 bassists, a violinist, a guy who plays a lot of stuff (not including guitar), 2 drummers, and various singers. No one who plays guitar as a primary instrument. I know some chords, as does Mike, and a couple other guys but we're kind of in a pickle. I will gladly be the organizer of the team but I don't think I can sing too well (haven't had a class since sixth grade) and I'm not confident enough in my guitar skills (though I'd be willing to try). So in short, we need God's guidance, because it's kind of a mess right now. I have faith that we will get everything worked out though. I'm not worried about it.
One thing I am worried about, though, is the fact that with school and work I'm going to be busy everyday from 8-5. I have been working that shift right now and to be honest it has affected my spiritual life. Keep those hours and throw in studying and I don't know what its going to look like. If I have to I will quit my job, but I'd rather not do that. So prayer for focus and guidance on what God wants my semester to look like. sigh I just miss the African days where all I did was wake up, have time with the Lord, then go on campus...
Anyway this has been long enough. Good way to kill some time. Leave me a comment! I want to hear from all of you! I miss you guys a bunch.
Lots of love,
Nate
So other than that what have I been up to? Not much, really. I moved into a new place a little while ago. I'm really excited about living there. I was living with my friends from high school, who like to party, and I moved in with Michael (Jen's fiance) and TJ (another guy from CRU that I led a Bible Study with last year). I think the atmosphere is going to be a lot more conducive to spiritual growth, which is what I'm most excited about. We are planning to have a roommate Bible Study, which I think is going to be awesome! Plus, these roommates will be better in general for keeping the place clean, washing dishes, etc. It got kind of out of hand last year, and toward the end it was a big hassle. Oh and another big plus -- Jen comes over a lot and sometimes cooks for us! So that's always fun.
In other news, the guy who was going to be the worship leader at CRU this year did not get back in to KSU. He had been on academic probation and they didn't let him come back. Now Mike and myself are wondering what is going to come of it. There will be a leader's meeting I think next Thursday and I'm sure it will get brought up. Mike and I have been talking amongst ourselves and honestly, there isn't really anyone in CRU right now who can step up and fill the spot that the last guy took up. So prayer for that would be nice. Right now, as it stands, we have a 2 bassists, a violinist, a guy who plays a lot of stuff (not including guitar), 2 drummers, and various singers. No one who plays guitar as a primary instrument. I know some chords, as does Mike, and a couple other guys but we're kind of in a pickle. I will gladly be the organizer of the team but I don't think I can sing too well (haven't had a class since sixth grade) and I'm not confident enough in my guitar skills (though I'd be willing to try). So in short, we need God's guidance, because it's kind of a mess right now. I have faith that we will get everything worked out though. I'm not worried about it.
One thing I am worried about, though, is the fact that with school and work I'm going to be busy everyday from 8-5. I have been working that shift right now and to be honest it has affected my spiritual life. Keep those hours and throw in studying and I don't know what its going to look like. If I have to I will quit my job, but I'd rather not do that. So prayer for focus and guidance on what God wants my semester to look like. sigh I just miss the African days where all I did was wake up, have time with the Lord, then go on campus...
Anyway this has been long enough. Good way to kill some time. Leave me a comment! I want to hear from all of you! I miss you guys a bunch.
Lots of love,
Nate
Monday, August 4, 2008
Yes Scotty Knows!!! Or Maybe Not...
Hey guys, first off I love you and miss you guys like crazy. So yesterday at church, I spoke to my congregation about our project. It's been a week or two since I really got to talk about it to anyone, and it felt like I was reliving everything as I went through pictures talking about it all. I was supposed to have 10 minutes to talk, but ended up talking for about 45! I mean, there was just sooooo much to talk about, and I felt that I couldn't leave anything out of it because everything we did was not only amazing, but important, and had an impact. It was great talking about it to all of them, but it really made me think of you guys and about everything we went though together.
So yea, I wrote on the facebook thread about how Culture Americana was really bothering me, especially after my cruise, and I really appreciate the encouragement and prayer that you guys were able to give me. It really helped and since then things have gotten so much better. I've been able to gain some peace in the past week. Things are still busy, in fact busier than ever, but God has still been able to give me the ability to think on him as I go through all of this. Things aren't working out for me the way I thought they would, but that's ok. I know that God is in control, and I'm going to do what he taught me to do this summer, go with it.
So, I was unable to re-enroll into Mizzou for this upcoming semester. I screwed some stuff up pretty bad, and it's going to take more than a few weeks to fix it all. Instead I'm going to be enrolling into Columbia College for this fall, which for those of you not local to Columbia, is more like a community college. This was reall hard for me at first. Out of pride, the idea of regressing to a community college was really difficult, and depressing. But God is helping me deal with that pride issue day by day. Things aren't going to be easy, but like I told someone this summer on campus, the way that God chooses isn't the easy way, but it is the right way. And I'm going to do this the right way.
So, just in case you didn't realize how much you guys meant to me, I just wanted to say it again, I love you guys. You were, and are, twenty one of the greatest blessings of my entire life. I wish that I could be with all of you every day again, but I know that God has plans for each of you to impact tons of people wherever you are now, and wherever you end up. I hope that this finds you all well and thriving.
Your brother,
Scotty
So yea, I wrote on the facebook thread about how Culture Americana was really bothering me, especially after my cruise, and I really appreciate the encouragement and prayer that you guys were able to give me. It really helped and since then things have gotten so much better. I've been able to gain some peace in the past week. Things are still busy, in fact busier than ever, but God has still been able to give me the ability to think on him as I go through all of this. Things aren't working out for me the way I thought they would, but that's ok. I know that God is in control, and I'm going to do what he taught me to do this summer, go with it.
So, I was unable to re-enroll into Mizzou for this upcoming semester. I screwed some stuff up pretty bad, and it's going to take more than a few weeks to fix it all. Instead I'm going to be enrolling into Columbia College for this fall, which for those of you not local to Columbia, is more like a community college. This was reall hard for me at first. Out of pride, the idea of regressing to a community college was really difficult, and depressing. But God is helping me deal with that pride issue day by day. Things aren't going to be easy, but like I told someone this summer on campus, the way that God chooses isn't the easy way, but it is the right way. And I'm going to do this the right way.
So, just in case you didn't realize how much you guys meant to me, I just wanted to say it again, I love you guys. You were, and are, twenty one of the greatest blessings of my entire life. I wish that I could be with all of you every day again, but I know that God has plans for each of you to impact tons of people wherever you are now, and wherever you end up. I hope that this finds you all well and thriving.
Your brother,
Scotty
Update from Tabby
Hey! So we've been home for almost a month now. Weird! So what have I been up to....
It was so great to see Mike again! And it's fun to hang out with my family a lot. I actually haven't had many of problems adjusting to being home. I miss Africa, and of course all of you! I have felt a little disconnected. I haven't been staying in touch with people very well, which is typical for me. My roommate that I am closest to is in St. Louis for the summer and working nights, so we haven't been able to talk much. Both of my other roommates are working two jobs each and aren't around much. But I've been able to get together with several friends from school, and it was great getting caught up with them.
I started my new job 3 weeks ago. The first two weeks were classroom orientation...just a whole bunch of lectures on all sorts of random things, mostly not all that interesting. Then I had a few days off and took boards, so now I'm officially an RN. Then this Friday - Sunday were my first 3 days actually working with patients. I work 12 hour shifts, so it was kind of rough working my first 3-in-a-row, especially over a weekend. I also felt a little overwhelmed, like I'm not ready to do this on my own. I won't be on my own for at least 3 months, but the patient I had this weekend was really sick, and I was constantly busy and didn't have time to develop a routine or look up a lot of stuff, and just generally felt stressed and like I was forgetting something all the time. Not a good feeling when a child's life is in my hands. I know it will get better, but I'm feeling a little drained right now.
I think one thing I'd like prayer for is figuring out where God wants me to invest my time and energy in ministry. I know that He's put me a Children's Mercy for a reason, and I'm excited to see how He's going to use me there. But I also still want to be involved in CRU. It seems this summer got me more excited about campus ministry than I've ever been before. I'm still living less than a block from campus, and most of my friends are still students. I don't know how much of my wanting to stay involved is being afraid of moving on and how much is really because that's what I'm supposed to be doing. There are also a lot of opportunities for ministry at my church. A few of the other people my age at church are wanting to try to get something started for our age group. I think it would be good to start seeking more community in my church now that I'm not going to be as involved in CRU. Anyway, I'm kind of waiting for my work schedule to get established before I make any big decisions about what to with my time.
That's about it for now. I got to share some stories and pictures at church last week, which was fun. I miss you all! I really hope I'll be able to get off work to come to the reunion. That's right about the time I'll be finishing orientation, so I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to request days off or not. As of right now I can't, but maybe....
Love you all!
It was so great to see Mike again! And it's fun to hang out with my family a lot. I actually haven't had many of problems adjusting to being home. I miss Africa, and of course all of you! I have felt a little disconnected. I haven't been staying in touch with people very well, which is typical for me. My roommate that I am closest to is in St. Louis for the summer and working nights, so we haven't been able to talk much. Both of my other roommates are working two jobs each and aren't around much. But I've been able to get together with several friends from school, and it was great getting caught up with them.
I started my new job 3 weeks ago. The first two weeks were classroom orientation...just a whole bunch of lectures on all sorts of random things, mostly not all that interesting. Then I had a few days off and took boards, so now I'm officially an RN. Then this Friday - Sunday were my first 3 days actually working with patients. I work 12 hour shifts, so it was kind of rough working my first 3-in-a-row, especially over a weekend. I also felt a little overwhelmed, like I'm not ready to do this on my own. I won't be on my own for at least 3 months, but the patient I had this weekend was really sick, and I was constantly busy and didn't have time to develop a routine or look up a lot of stuff, and just generally felt stressed and like I was forgetting something all the time. Not a good feeling when a child's life is in my hands. I know it will get better, but I'm feeling a little drained right now.
I think one thing I'd like prayer for is figuring out where God wants me to invest my time and energy in ministry. I know that He's put me a Children's Mercy for a reason, and I'm excited to see how He's going to use me there. But I also still want to be involved in CRU. It seems this summer got me more excited about campus ministry than I've ever been before. I'm still living less than a block from campus, and most of my friends are still students. I don't know how much of my wanting to stay involved is being afraid of moving on and how much is really because that's what I'm supposed to be doing. There are also a lot of opportunities for ministry at my church. A few of the other people my age at church are wanting to try to get something started for our age group. I think it would be good to start seeking more community in my church now that I'm not going to be as involved in CRU. Anyway, I'm kind of waiting for my work schedule to get established before I make any big decisions about what to with my time.
That's about it for now. I got to share some stories and pictures at church last week, which was fun. I miss you all! I really hope I'll be able to get off work to come to the reunion. That's right about the time I'll be finishing orientation, so I'm not sure if I'll be allowed to request days off or not. As of right now I can't, but maybe....
Love you all!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Hey Fam from Mel and Sarah
Hey guys! Me and Sarah have just been hanging out over here in Colorado and we have been thinking about you all! We miss you :( !!
Sarah came over on Tuesday night and we went to subway and shared a sub for dinner (we went to subway and shared a sub the first time we met in Chicago)! And then we drove to my house and went for a walk and then popped in She's The Man and laughed a lot. And then we stayed up and talked for a couple hours. By the way since my house is only half finished, we were sleeping in this huge unfinished basement, I was scared at times even though it was my house (when the toilet flushes upstairs it makes a scary loud noise)! Then we woke up and decided to take our sweet time getting ready....it was a while, Sarah did my ma
keup haha...then we drove into Boulder and ate lunch at this Panera with an awesome mountain view. Then we shopped around and ended up in Borders and read for a long time. Then we went down
to Pearl Street and got Ben and Jerry's ice cream and it was so good that we decided we had to go get a carton of it for after dinner. Then with some confusion with Dottie (she took us to a walmart that wasn't really there) we were on our way home! Oh yeah and we picked up some hair dye for Sarah at Target along with the Ben and Jerry's ice cream.... :) !! Then came home ate dinner and dyed Sarah's hair mediu
m golden brown!!!! It's a lot darker but soooo pretty!
Then we went to blockbuster and rented Funny Face, everyone should see it because it's an Audrey Hepburn classic! While we did that we sat on our little camp out in the basement and did pedicures and painted our toesies! And then watched Sydney White and by that time it was 2:30 so we were really really tired.
Today we are thinking Starbucks and then the pool :). Then Sarah will head home
:(
Anyways we've been thinking about you a lot and reminiscing about all our awesome times in Africa together. We CAN'T wait for our reunion in October, it's going to be here before we know it!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!!
-Mel and Sarah
Monday, July 28, 2008
Bonjour from Natan
Hey everybody! How's life been going? I thought I'd give you all a little update on how I'm doing. After I got back from Chicago I stayed in Salina with my family for a couple of days. At first it was really good. My family and I generally get along. For those of you who don't know I have an older brother (who is going to be a 5th year at KSU next year) and a younger sister (who is going to be a freshman at KSU next year! woohoo!!). Speaking of my sister, I found out she is living in the dorms that are right across the street from my apartment, and I am pumped. She is good at baking, and she wants to come over and make cookies, which I think is a fantastic idea. After living awhile with my family, though, it started to get to me. My mom and sister argue a lot, which they find pretty normal. They aren't even really mad at each other, its just how they communicate, but after being on project with all of you fine people it was really tough. So I was ready to move back to Manhattan.
Once I got back to Manhattan things were pretty much normal. My roommates were happy to see me, and they were the ones who were most excited to hear stories about project, which honestly surprised me. They are pretty big partyers and atheists/agnostics, and it was weird that they were asking questions about my ministry and were genuinely interested in what we did. After a while, though, I got bored in Manhattan, because I don't have a job. I applied at the hospital today, so we'll see how that works out. I visited Lawrence last weekend, and that was pretty cool. It was great to see Geoff and Tyler again. After that, the PPD kind of hit me. I'm not depressed, I'm just sad sometimes because I feeling kind of worthless laying around here all day not doing anything. Adding on to this is the fact that my quiet times haven't been very good, if they are there at all. I just feel like I'm falling back into my old habits, which is not something I want to do. Tyler gave us all some good words of encouragement on this, though, and that was really uplifting. I've been praying about it a lot.
So anyway that is just about all that's been going on with me. Just kind of being lazy/looking for something to do. Overall I'm doing good, but if you guys could pray for persistence in my walk with the Lord, I would really appreciate it. I am praying for all of you.
I miss and love you all!
Nate
Once I got back to Manhattan things were pretty much normal. My roommates were happy to see me, and they were the ones who were most excited to hear stories about project, which honestly surprised me. They are pretty big partyers and atheists/agnostics, and it was weird that they were asking questions about my ministry and were genuinely interested in what we did. After a while, though, I got bored in Manhattan, because I don't have a job. I applied at the hospital today, so we'll see how that works out. I visited Lawrence last weekend, and that was pretty cool. It was great to see Geoff and Tyler again. After that, the PPD kind of hit me. I'm not depressed, I'm just sad sometimes because I feeling kind of worthless laying around here all day not doing anything. Adding on to this is the fact that my quiet times haven't been very good, if they are there at all. I just feel like I'm falling back into my old habits, which is not something I want to do. Tyler gave us all some good words of encouragement on this, though, and that was really uplifting. I've been praying about it a lot.
So anyway that is just about all that's been going on with me. Just kind of being lazy/looking for something to do. Overall I'm doing good, but if you guys could pray for persistence in my walk with the Lord, I would really appreciate it. I am praying for all of you.
I miss and love you all!
Nate
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