woke to a text invite for a walk to the beach..couldn't pass that up. it was Morgan's Birthday. the dogs had a great time. Rio stayed home. it was wet and rainy this morning. once she gets her paws wet in the morning she always opts for the couch. she is a fair weather walker at this point.
3 nights of work down. two in the ER. thankfully they kept me on the east side all night both nights. that place is a work out. my knee held up. Thursday night was nuts in the ER. it just never let up at all! you'd discharge someone and turn around and the room is getting wiped down for the next patient. Sat was steady but a much more reasonable night.
in between i was blessed with a more chill night in the renal care unit. i'm not going to say i lazed about. that night started with my drug addict patient flipping out about his pain meds. that was how i started my shift, being yelled at by this dude. i let him know that i was not going to be treated like this all night and wrote out my third "contract".
not sure how legally binding these made up contracts are, but i find when patients sign something they tend to believe they are legit. this really doesn't work on the intelligent....so you must select your patients wisely. basically, it said i would bring in his pain meds at these times unless there were further outbursts on his part which may result in a delay. he apologized, signed the papers and i had no further issues with him.
love my contracts!! hehe. these are commonly used in pain clinics and in psych from what i understand. i've been a nurse over 20 years now i think..."93...wow! so only 3 contracts. i have no desire to be verbally abused by patients. had a sweet older lady as well. 99 years...that is always amazing to me. felt happy as she was a bit confused and restless and i convinced her daughter to get in the bed with her. it was super sweet, the older lady told her daughter tales of the old days. it's one of those moments that you know that daughter will cherish the rest of her life...these are the great moments of nursing when you make a difference. a lot of nursing is emotional. that was probably my best moment of my stretch on.
when i opted to go to nursing school i never got that part. it's the part i love the most about being a nurse. each day i work, in these small ways that go completely unnoticed by anyone but you and the patient and/or their families, you make huge impacts. as they say, they may never remember you, but they will remember the kindness. many careers you just never have that opportunity.
even the guy with the contract...though it may appear that it was some antagonistic night, in the end he probably really appreciated my care and my honesty. sometimes a bit of that toughness and reality is needed. i remember another patient who had been a total pain to everyone else. i just gave it right back to him...nearly a year later i hear my name being called in Walmart. this guy and his family were rushing towards me.....he was walking after basically quadding himself...i'd even made the guy a tiara (i'd said if he kept acting like a princess i'd make him one and since he was a quad there wasn't a dam thing he could do)....they thanked me in Walmart profusely and told me i was their favorite nurse! go figure.
so a good week at work.
it was a nice break from my other "job" working on WARIS.
had my coffee meet with KT. i was actually pretty anxious that morning...what was i getting myself into? i really wasn't sure what to expect, could i trust this guy? was this all working into some sort of Walrusgate?
in the end i think he will be a good resource for us. he was nice enough. i think in general people who go into a career in fish and game are decent folk...some may get a bit lost along the way up the ladder...that seems to happen in every field.
who knows what motivates people. i do know that this island, this place, gets into your soul and years after you have been there it's still there. he said it was one of the most awesome places he'd been to in Alaska as well. DVL hasn't ever been. the good part seems to be that they talk on the phone and KT seems to be trying to convince DVL to correct this. i think he's been a bit frustrated with his friend as well.
it was good for me in that he is a good resource and i have a bit more understanding on how things work in F&G. their budget season goes from July 1-June 30 the next year...so this decision went into effect mid summer and will last until next middle of summer. hopefully we can help make a change for the first part of next year.
KT was also saying that the early part of the season is actually quite critical because the Herring run starts and fisherman are all over in that area...it's a time when many will try and stop by and look for ivory on the beaches and such. disturbances could be high and so it seems even more important that early part of the season to have staff out there to protect the walrus from these disturbances.
MT gets pics of her Birthday dog on the beach...thanks for the invite!!
also got some clarification of the hierarchy of F&G. Cora is over all then DVL is over wildlife and RB is over habitat. JM is right below DVL and then EW is below JM and directly in charge of the Walrus Islands. still a lot for me to learn.
anyway...my worries were for nothing really i think.
my nap this evening will probably mean i'll be awake late tonight..that is how it works.
sad story about some little zoo in Palestine that has been partially destroyed and abandoned. the animals that haven't died already are slowly dying of starvation and are living in deplorable conditions since there are no workers there taking care of them. doesn't sound like it was some legal or legit zoo as the animals were snuck in over the years. it's easy to forget the toll these various wars take on the animals populations be them wild, captive or pets.
innocent victims of all human violence.
the ebola outbreak continues to spread. trained workers/MD's are rare which worsens the situation. many aid workers from other nations were pulled due to safety issues. an article today was saying as example, Liberia is a nation of over 4 million people...they only have 250 MD's! 7 of those have been stricken with Ebola and 2 have died. there just isn't enough aid workers/medical persons to make a dent in this spread. seems just a matter of time before it makes it's way to another continent.
manatees are on the cusp of possibly losing their endangered status. they continue to have high death tolls though so removing them from the list could really be detrimental. over 2500 have perished in the past 4 years, red tides, cool weather and boat collisions seem to be the culprits of late. so cute...the article called them walrus like...i knew i loved them for some reason!!
wave action in the arctic appears to be increasing. mostly the arctic is wave free...but new studies are showing increased wave action due to less sea ice which then churns up more warm water which leads to more melting of sea ice...this sort of research is important as the sea ice melt may greatly impact Polar Bears and Walrus...my beloved arctic breeds.
beautiful day out there at the beach. my body was a bit sore by the end. woke too late for a swim today...bummer. swimming was good for me the other day. really want to get back at that more consistently. winter is the best time for these goals. summers you just want to be outside enjoying.
no point staying in when the weather looks like this.
my neighbor pulled our fence back up...it was totally sagging into my yard. hopefully we can get it repaired without having to replace the entire thing. i'll have to get them a gift card to help cover costs. not sure he'll take cash.
i think Blossom was leading these guys into the various puddles left over in the mud by the receding tide. she loves a good soak in the mud. her buddies were more than happy to share in her joy out there.
thankfully, by the time you get back to the car the dogs have dried a bit and the mud begins to fall off.
saw a few friends on our return trip...they were out there biking. always fun.
liked this one of the ducks in the grass. this may be goose lake from the other day or today...in my tired state..".i just can't remember". this is a quote my grandpa used to say over and over after he'd come to live with us post stroke. such a sweetie. loved my gramps!
no august posting is complete without a mushroom or two
rebellious fall leaves changing a bit early...
Goose Lake.
took a little walk that way with Blossom after my meet with KT.
there were some guys out there collecting mushrooms..not this one below of course, it's poisonous.
those early colours are always bright against the greens
bought tickets for the "River of Bears" movie this friday at UAA. want to support these guys as they were out on Round Island this summer to do another one...great timing. should really help bring attention to this great place. they will be needing funding. if anyone wants to join me out there it's friday at 6:30 pm! tickets on sale at UAA.
little Ketchikan video on the web shows a poor sea lion being taken out by a killer whale. sea lions are not small but that killer whale tossed that sea lion like it was a rag doll. poor sea lion had been hiding under the boat filled with tourists while the killer lurked nearby, when the tourist boat went to leave the sea lion was exposed...doubt it lasted long once that killer whale was able to get to it. that is how the wild world of animals works...kill or be killed. sad to watch, but it is what it is.
election on Tuesday....can't wait as i get so tired of all the pre-election calls and noise... with all the money that goes into these things we could save all the nations financial issues. it's outrageous how much money goes into elections.
my favorite tree in Kincaid..i feel obligated to take a picture every time i pass.
never took any black and white pictures today. probably just half asleep.
never occurred to me.
another non-fatal bear mauling in Cordova this week. woman out hiking and one of the dogs she was with came back with a grizz chasing. the article said she was 57 years old..she looks much younger than that from the picture i saw. she is tough lady, walked out. both of the dogs returned unharmed. the one dog made it's way back to the car at the trailhead. that is always a worry for me that in an attack the dogs would be harmed or just lost.
i do think many dogs that get lost work their way back to trailheads. they also say you should leave a bowl of water out in the area with clothing with your scent which the dogs often come hang near.
one patient in the ER asked me about my marital status and child status...this often comes up...i have never married and have no children, which causes some people to feel very badly for me. this one patient immediately held my hand and started praying for me. not sure what she was praying for...at 50 i'm not keen on having a baby at this point.
of course, then i read some article about how yet another kid has murdered their parent. a womans body was found beaten and stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in the boot of a taxi. the daughter and her boyfriend have been arrested..this happened in Indonesia. just a little reminder...having children is no guarantee that you will be cared for in your later years...
on that pleasant note i shall end my entry. thanks for stopping by. hope i have not rambled on to much..that happens when i'm sleepy...
thankful for... 1. those moments at work that remind me how great the human side of my job can be 2. a positive meeting that i was nervous about and clarifications...a lot to learn, but i'm capable. 3. a rainy day becoming a beautiful day.
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