What a week!

What a week this has been! Peyton had a ballgame on Monday evening and boy was it a hot one! We got home late Monday and the boys were messing in the bathroom when Aubrey decided she was going to go in there with them. They were slamming the door to prevent her from coming in and she kept trying to get in there...well, I no more had the words out of my mouth - quit slamming the door before someone gets hurt...when someone got hurt! Aubrey's right ring finger was smashed in the door - I ran to see how bad it was and there was blood gushing out - I honestly thought she had lost the tip of her finger! David was in the shower and he rushed out and got dressed and we rushed her to the ER. I had some toilet paper wrapped around it to keep pressure on it and off we went. They did x-rays and it came back that her little finger was broken. The doctor was all concerned about her ring finger and her wedding day - it was the sweetest thing, the only thing was it was the wrong hand, but he still wanted to make sure since she was a girl that her finger was perfect. He called a hand specialist at 1 a.m. to see if he wanted to come in and he advised at our follow up appt that if it would have been her left ring finger, he would have came in to make sure it was properly stitched up. I thought that was really neat that they thought of such a thing for a 3 year old. The boys were very upset over the whole ordeal and hopefully now will listen to their mother when she tells them to stop before someone gets hurt!

I left for Chicago on Wednesday afternoon and when the plane landed it was a smooth, dry landing. By the time we had taxied up to the concourse - the rain just came down in buckets and it was quite a sight. We ended up being delayed at the airport over an hour because they shut down the luggage carousel due to the rain/lightening. We barely made it to check into the hotel before leaving for orientation at the hospital - and what an experience.

This hospital is in the inner-city of Chicago and safety has been a big concern. It is really a humbling experience to be down in the hospital. This hospital is for the poorest of the poor and I can honestly say that most of us probably take for granted our healthcare and the ability to go see a doctor. I just got off from a 12 hour shift and wanted to type this before I forget anything from what I saw last night. The patients that come to the hospital are not coming just for an emergency situation - they are coming from what you and I would go to our primary doctor for - a pain here or there - a prescription and they sit in the waiting room for hours waiting. Not just a couple hours - there were people there who had been there before my shift started at 6pm and were still there waiting when my shift ended at 6am. The hospital ended up going on bypass at 11p.m. because the shortage of nurses couldn't keep up with the demand of patients. At 3am, we had a situation where a man came in to the ER in handcuffs escorted by a policeman and turns out he tried to beat his wife up and his son threw a crate in his face to defend his mother. The guy just needed some stiches, but to avoid going to jail for awhile was wanting an x-ray so the policeman stood there the entire time. At 5a.m., a prostitute came in escorted in handcuffs by two policeman, and had just got caught shooting up heroine. I thought it was rather funny that the lady required two policeman and the man only one...but she was dead weight and these cops were trying to hold her up. The doctor ended up using smelling salts to get her to come to life and to find out why she was there. When she was arrested she demanded to come to the hospital and they had to bring her. She finally yelled out that she was raped, which turns into a four hour process once a rape kit is involved. The policeman that was there with the man said that normally they use rape as a Get out of Jail free card. It is really sad that people get to that point in their lives and such a shame.
The nurses and doctors are all so nice and fun to be around. We didn't have any other outlandish things happen - but I'm sure tonight being Friday will pose some interesting characters...we'll see. I will be sure and blog about the next couple nights. It has truly been an experience to say the least and as I said - a humbling one at that.

Be thankful for the medical care that you are able to receive - I know I am fortunate to have what I have and I am even more grateful after experiencing this.

Dawn

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my husband, dad, grandfather's, father-in-law, brothers and everyone who is a dad!

The kids are enjoying their summer - sleeping in and baseball games - when it's not raining! We have had so many rain outs this year. We should actually be done with baseball now, but have games going into next week with all the make ups that we have. Zach has three make up games this week, which bummed me out because they are the three days that I will be in Chicago. One of the reasons I wanted to go during that time frame was because I wouldn't miss any games - I'm sure he will play just fine - I just don't like to miss out on them.

I leave Wednesday for Chicago and am so excited! Mainly I'm excited because Lori is flying out Wednesday too and we'll be hanging out in the evening together and on a couple days after my shift. I was on a conference call the other day regarding the conversion I am going on and learned that the part of Chicago I will be working in is well...hmmm, how do I put it...let's see - the majority of the notes I took were along the lines of - Stay in teams - if you leave your unit (even inside the hospital) make sure you are using the buddy system...take a cab to the hospital in teams...DO NOT take the "L" to the hospital stop - high gang activity...If you are a smoker (which I am not) make sure that you do not go outside alone to smoke...the area is rough during the day and rougher at night...needless to say - it's not the safest part of town. This hospital serves the poorest of the poor and is not in good neighborhoods. I'm sure it will all be fine as long as we keep the buddy system in use and keep safety our number 1 priority - I still wondered if I should go out and buy a bullet proof vest though to wear.

I'm sure I'll have some stories to share of my trip - I'll be working nights and I'm scheduled to be in the ER and I think being in the high gang activity area in the ER at night, should pose some interesting stories - especially Saturday night at the hospital. I'll be taking my computer, so I may have some updates when I get back to the hotel to share!

I hope everyone has a good week! I'm looking forward to mine - with the exception of missing baseball. :(

~~~Dawn

So...I was just reading my last post and noticed I didn't edit before posting...I actually plan on hanging out with Lori and Susan! Anyway, not a big deal - just a irritation of mine to not edit before posting...oh well - I hope no one holds it against me! I am so excited about going to Chicago. I found out the other day that I have been put on the night shift again! I have decided that my name must trigger a night reaction or something. This will be my third ACE and third night shift. I am flying out on Wednesday and have orientation at the hospital at 3:00 and then am free until my shift starts at 7p.m. on Thursday! This will give me plenty of girl time to hang out with my friends! I'm sure I'll have lots to report...other than at 3:00 a.m. I couldn't keep my eyes open! I am going on the 3rd team for this conversion and by then, you would hope they are up and running and are pretty low maintenance...I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Both my other conversions were like this - so I'm thinking I'm on a trend here.

I also noticed in my last post it was quite boring. I guess I talked about what we had been doing, but the writing seemed blah. Maybe just my opinion - didn't like it though. I won't ramble on though about how bad I wrote - because honestly, not sure that any of my writings are really "good", just my thoughts and all.

On another note, I think I have been having horrible anxiety attacks. It's nothing full blown - but this deep down uneasy feeling that I just can't seem to get rid of. Luckily I didn't experience it today, but it has almost been constant. I'm not quite sure what is causing it, but I can safely say that I'm not a fan! I decided to go the doc anyway - we'll see what she says. Probably that I'm loony and they need to lock me up - well, maybe it's not that serious.

I'm turning in a totally different direction now...I have a question that I posed to myself the other day. Why is it when your children are small, it seems like the days never end...yet in all actuality - the years fly by! What caused this thought? I dropped Zach off for football conditioning on Monday morning at the high school - seriously - high school? My little boy is going to be a freshman and I have to admit - I had tears in my eyes on my way to work. I cried everyday on the way to work for the first week he started kindergarten - hope high school doesn't bring back these tears. I was thinking though about the little ones and how our days sometimes seems like they will never end and how if feels like they will be little forever, yet they are growing up so fast in front of us. I don't know if this makes sense or not - but all I can say is enjoy them while they are young...for what feels like may never end goes by so fast - in the blink of an eye...it's really just that fast!

Until next time...

~~~Dawn

Great Weekend

sThe kids and I had a great weekend together. We got up on Saturday morning and headed down to my parents for the day. Aubrey, Tanner and I went to my sister-in-law Megan's baby shower on Saturday afternoon and it was a nice time. Megan got some really nice gifts for the baby. They are expecting a little girl and Aunt Dawn couldn't be more excited! I remember when Matt was born (I was 12) and I spoiled him rotten for years! Matt and Megan are just the cutest couple ever and I couldn't be more happy for them with the arrival of their baby girl in the next month.

We headed back to my parents after the shower and the kids outnumbered me in a vote to stay all night. Hunter, Tanner and I made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, because I wasn't prepared, but they were all excited when I agreed.

We got up early on Sunday morning and headed to Mass and afterwards we enjoyed a picnic in the park with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a nice day and everyone seemed to have a good time. Aubrey, Peyton and Tanner enjoyed checking out the new baby chicks in the barn - I took some pictures, but my memory card went bad for some reason and I can't get them downloaded.

I was happy that mom made me a Rhubarb-Strawberry Cobbler - my favorite! I love rhubarb-strawberry anything and since I whined enough about not getting any for my birthday she made me some. I'm just saying...what would I do without my mom to hook me up with some strawberry rhubarb and if I have to resort to whining...that's just the way it is! LOL

Lori and I had talked about taking a girls weekend to Chicago the end of June, but I decided that I wasn't going to be able to do it this time around...so I passed. Sad...I know - but sometimes other things take priority...well, don't feel to sorry for me! It just happened to be that they needed some people for an ACE in Chicago the exact same week!!! Who would have guessed - so of course, I got the A-OK from my boss and scheduled that right up. Nothing like getting your vacation paid for by the company - of course, I'll have to work - but I will have plenty of time to hand out with my friends Lori and Susan! Can't wait!!! Thanks to my work for needing some help this week - I really appreciate it! :)

David and I are planning a family vacation to Branson the end of July. I hope it's not too hot - it might be miserable...hoping for a nice time. We're going for a couple days and I got a couple free tickets to Silver Dollar City...I love mycokerewards! I'm also so thankful for his job at the Hampton - makes traveling for a couple days much easier!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Dawn