It was a chilly day on March 6, 2007. Me and my family were on 495 going to the Holy Cross Hospital with a slight delay of traffic. For some reason, I kept fiddling with my fingers, I was really nervous to see him. We took the exit 31A and we all shifted to the left since it was a sharp turn to the right. My big sister, Maisie, was on my shoulder and we shifted her head fell on my lap. She woke up and asked where we were. “We are almost there Maisie” my Dad said. We stopped at the traffic light and I fiddled with my fingers some more. “Stop fiddling with your fingers!” Maisie whispered to me. In my head, I say “I can’t, he is the first boy of the family, the first! Besides me!” I stopped fiddling and looked at the huge structure in front of me, The Holy Cross Hospital.…
It was a cloudy Wednesday morning in February when an unfamiliar number popped up on my cell phone screen. I answered.…
The ER waiting room smelled stale. Sick babies and toddlers were crying, waiting to see a doctor. My brother was laying on the tan tiled hospital floor. He was shaking terribly as the antibiotics from the previous hospital wore off and the infection set in more. Both of his hands were red and swollen. His right hand, had a black mark from where the IV initially infected. His left hand was swollen to the size of a small balloon, kind of like a blown up rubber glove I used to get from the doctor when I was younger. My mom took her jacket off to cover him. His skin was hot to the touch but he was still freezing. His fever was 101.2 but there were no open rooms in the ER at our second attempt at a hospital. We had to get him antibiotics…
On January 12, 2017 in Sioux Falls, SD, I job shadowed at Avera Hospital with Teri Ruiter who is a midwife. When I first got to the hospital I had to find a place to park at plaza 1. I went inside and a guy behind a desk asked me where I was going, I told him the Avera Women’s on the 4th floor. From there he showed me where the elevator was. I went up to the Women’s center and the lady behind a desk asked how she could help me, I explained to her I had a job shadow with a midwife. She then brought me back to the midwifery section. There I met 4 ladies, one of them was Ruiter. We introduced ourselves. Then got busy.…
On my first day of clinical ride time after we dropped off our first patient at the hospital and had given turn over I asked Bruce, “Do you ever wonder what happens after we leave?” He gave me a shrug and a knowing smile replying, “Sometimes but you will get used to it.” To me it felt unfinished. What was going to happen to the patient, would they be admitted, would they be sent home, what would their quality of life be? As an EMT these questions have always intrigued…
the Logan Regional Hospital, on February 17, 2004. My family includes, my dad, my mom, my brother Ben, my sister Rachel, my sister Selina, and my sister Emma. There are eight people in my family. We then relocated to a fabulous farm with fields and grazing in Cache Valley on the outskirts of Newton. Then later on my little brother William was born.…
The moment I woke up from my surgery I remember my surgeon say that "everything thing went well, that the gallbladder came out fine with no complications." She must have turned to my mom because she had said that she wanted me to stay overnight to monitor me, crazy thing was is that I was a actually still pretty drugged up, the room was a little fuzzy my mouth had a weird dry nasty taste inside of it that I really can't put my tongue to, they wouldn't even give me water right away As I looked down i wasn't in the baggy tan robe gown any more that they had given me when i had first arrived at devos children's hospital. I looked down at my stomach i had three little cuts along my side covered in little butterfly stitches and…
I feel like I’m in an episode of ER or Grey's Anatomy without the pretty people. There were rows and rows of people on gurneys in the hallways. Waiting for a room? Is Michelle going to be one of them? Then there were cops everywhere and they were taking reports and I looked in one room and a woman’s face was completely bloody. And then I heard the word attacked and realized this must be the norm here. Well I guess Michelle was lucky because we got right in a room. So now Michelle is still really, really out of it and they hook her up to oxygen and try to get her hydrated. In the course of being there we saw about six different nurses and two different doctors. She had a chest x-ray, EKG and blood work done and little by little her blood pressure started coming back to normal. All I wanted was to take her home. I hated to leave the room to find a bathroom because I was afraid of what I was going to see out there. You see I can't watch TV medical shows because I faint at the sight of blood. I kept my head down and found a bathroom without getting lost. Finally 14 hours later at 10:30 p.m. we got to go…
Hospital Internship: Eight hours a week I travel to Catawba Valley Medical Center where I shadow nurses in the oncology unit. Thus far in my internship I have been given a first hand look into the various jobs that make up the oncology department, how medications are administered and what their purposes are, patient care techniques, etc. This internship has not only allowed me to explore my intense interest for the study of oncology but radiology as well seeing as how I am able to rotate between the two units depending on the day. I have also gained an extensive knowledge through observations at the infusion center located downstairs when I travel with patients who are receiving treatment.…
We arrived at the hospital, fairly early in the morning. Paxton my nephew was having surgery today on his ears at proctor. he had to get this surgery since he has had many ear infections and he was only one. they got him all set up by checking vitals, blood pressure, weight, height, and many other things to get ready for surgery. after they got him all set up they said we needed to go into the waiting room so they could get started. we gave hugs, kisses and headed out to the waiting room. This surgery lasted about a half an hour, but it felt like forever. While he was in surgery my heart was racing, my head was pounding, and my palms were sticky and sweaty. His surgery lasted about forty minutes long so it worried us after it had already been…
Today was the day. The big day. My election for Lieutenant Governor of Division 2B for Key Club, an international service club, was today. Fear and anxiety pricked my skin in rapid movements emanating from every pore. I rehearsed my speech for the fifth time that day. Upon arrival at the Fairfax Library, I urged myself to remain calm. I quickly scouted out the other girls who were present; one girl was dressed professionally with a folder in her hand. I knew that was my competition. The girl spoke eloquently and genially, she radiated enthusiasm and a certain warmth that I did not have. With every question that was asked, she answered with a smooth smile and high-pitched tone that was dripping with sincerity. I bristled inside; I had just been slapped. I was shrouded in a cloud of anxiety and anxiousness. Suddenly, I was dragged from my reverie.…
When I was in nursing school, I never thought about the dangers that lurk in the darkness, the things I…
While medical care was available growing up, there were financial or situational periods where it was not necessarily accessible. I am from a single parent family. My mother moved in with my grandparents after her divorce and works two full time jobs to help provide for my brother, grandparents, and I. Since my father went to jail and my grandfather passed, we have had to make many adjustments financially. This was the case due to my father not providing payments for child support for the time he was incarcerated nor occasional months prior. There has also been a complication with my mother and I having our identity stolen, which has created additional problems when applying for governmental aid throughout my undergraduate years. I worked…
There I was laying on the field, during the second half of my football game, tossing and turning as I held my right shoulder in agonizing pain. I looked up only to see the trainer looking down at me with a concerned look. “What’s wrong?” he asked. Repeatedly I tapped my shoulder as I was struggling to get the words out. He helped me up and walked me back to the sideline. I waited for what seemed like hours for the game to end. A few days later, I went to a local doctor to get an X-ray. The doctor told me that there was nothing wrong and that the pain should subside in a couple of days, and it did. Later in the season as I went in for a tackle, I felt my shoulder pop. Immediately I was in pain and thought to myself, “ It happened again.” This…
My neighbor, who I was very good friends with from across the street, called my phone. I was not home.…