NaBloPoMo - Day 18 - Seriously...?

I haven't watched "Grey's Anatomy" in the longest time, 

but one of the taglines from the show that I remember vividly

was "seriously..?"

It covered everything from boy problems, to work problems, to all general life problems.

Often, when I pick up a chart in the ED, I read the presenting complaint of

(what the patient came into the ED for) and immediately go "seriously?"

Others, I go in and interview the patient then walk out and go... "seriously?"

Still others are given the benefit of the doubt, worked up,

found to have, um, something like meth or cocaine in their system,

to which I say, "Seriously...?"

I really wish I could say it to the patient...

As in,

"Seriously..? You came in concerned that you were having a stroke because

you "couldn't think straight," or couldn't "find the right words,"

and your head and your body hurts and you're not sure why...

Well, let's see... your CT of the head was negative...

your EKG, labs, vitals are all normal...

oh, but let's focus on that drug test:

positive for cocaine

positive for methamphetamines

positive for benzodiazepines

positive for methadone (which you're not prescribed, by the way)

and you wonder why you alternatively:

don't feel right...

have been really tired...

can't seem to focus...

etc...

Seriously...?

People wonder why health care costs are so high...

I think it's in part because of all the patients like this I see on a daily basis...

Today it was like this for three different patients...

All different genders and age ranges...

I can't discount you're not having some physical symptoms which are bothering you,

but if you had initially just been a little honest about your social habits

I probably could have avoided about $5000 worth of a work-up.

Don't do drugs, seriously...

And, especially, don't do uppers which you then take downers for

which leads to more uppers, then downers, then uppers, etc, ad nauseum...

I wish we did have levels instead of just positive/negative for drugs

because I think some patients have perfected the meth/heroin ratio...

However, combining uppers and downers can 

lead to a potentially lethal combination...

Then there's the "what's this on my body...?"

Seriously, you came in for that...?

NaBloPoMo - Day 17 - My Own Back Yard

Still recovering from our annual party...
The food was AMAZING, the wine flowing, and this year my caterer made a warm apple cider, cinnamon and Southern Comfort drink that really hit the spot... or many spots depending on how much you drank of it...

Thought I would share the following pics:

This is our backyard before the party...

And this is our backyard after the party...

It was a gorgeous night, little wind, the bonfire was just perfect

and even the moon popped out for a bit...

Another successful soiree in the books...!

NaBloPoMo - Day 16 - TYOFWM Wine and Mushroom Party

 

Every year we hold a Wine and Mushroom party and invite all of our friends. It's during the month of November that we usually get the first rains of the season and chanterelles grow in the moistened undergrowth of spruce trees. Our friends come over and hunt for these delicious fungi, and we have a splendid dinner and lots of wine.

This was the first year without my Momma being there. She really didn't come out of her room; she never was very social. But, I would make her a plate of all the delectable treats and rarely she might sneak out of her room and smuggle some desserts or sweets of her own choosing.

I make a small welcome speech before dinner and this year we raised a glass to my Momma and her memory.

There was no sunshine all day because of fog, but about an hour before people were going to start arriving the sun came out and I was able to capture this shot of the sunshine coming through those spruce trees at the top of our property... I like to think Momma shone down and was present in spirit...

Salud, Momma!

NaBloPoMo - Day 15 - Mommy Loves Purple Shells

So, I was getting our house ready for our annual party,

and I went into my mother's room to move stuff around

and have her bathroom ready for guests...

While cleaning stuff up, I found this...

And the first thing I thought was:

"Mommy loves purple shells.."

one of the quotes from one of my favorite movies

"Finding Dory"

Momma did love purple. It was her favorite color.

Yep, mommy loved purple shells...

NaBloPoMo - Day 14 - Cows in My Dreams

Don't know if you've ever seen this photo... 

It's been around for a while...

I recently joined Instagram and most of my new contacts

are artists whom I met while doing #inktober...

So one of the artists I met posted this on Instagram this week:

Love it!

Almost everyone knows I love squirrels,

but I have really liked cows for a long time,

which is great because I live in the middle of Cream City, CA...

They got a bunch of lauds and affirmative comments

then they went and did this...

Now that is a happy cow...!

And, I'm in California which is the land of happy cows...

Love their clouds by the way...

I've got to learn to paint them like that... 

NaBloPoMo - Day 13 - Please Don't Touch the Doctor

I am not a hugger...

Never really have been.

I'll allow certain people to hug me

but it took a long time to really get used to being

touched by other people.

Even now I have a very small select

group of people whom I'll tolerate hugging me,

Very small...

At the hospital, I don't shake hands, 

mostly because I immediately have to wash my hands

because I can't get the sensation of having been touched

removed from my hands fast enough...

Hugs, yeah, nope...

Today a patient's family hugged me...

A family that I gave bad news to...

A family that understands that their loved one may not survive

despite all our best efforts...

And they hugged me...

I explained what needed to happen,

what was going to happen,

asked what else I could do for them

and they thanked me for everything I had already done...

And then they hugged me...

I stood for a moment stunned as they put their arms around me...

As I patted their back, the hug grew tighter and I felt the familiar

heaves as their tears started...

And, even I have to admit I got a little misty...

I guess it's the ultimate in trust...

this family trusted that I had done everything I could,

the rest they (and I) believed is in God's hands

because their loved one is in a serious condition,

and those few moments I gave them before I put a breathing tube

in their loved one I sincerely feel may be their last chance

to let the patient know how they feel...

And despite being uncomfortable,

at least I could feel good about that...

NaBloPoMo - Day 12 - Going My Way

In July 2021, I plan to walk the Camino...

If you don't know about the Camino de Santiago, let me tell you a little bit about it...

It's a long walk...

616 km or about 383 miles along the Portuguese Route from

Lisbon to Compostela de Santiago in Spain

or 780 km or 485 miles along the French Way starting in Saint Jean Pied de Port 

which is the traditional route.

It's a pilgrimage...

St. James the Apostle is said to have been buried by some disciples in the Galicia region

of Spain which is in the Northwest corner. A chapel and then a larger temple were built near

the burial site to encourage pilgrims to come to this area.

Soon, thousands of people began the pilgrimage.

In modern times, there are several routes to chose from

and everyone walks (or cycles) the route of their choosing.

There are albergues or hostels along the camino where you can stay 

cheaply (about 10 - 15 euros) and now there are porter services 

that will carry your bag from hostel to hostel so you can

walk without the added weight.

It's a quest...

By tradition, you have to walk the last 100 km of any of the routes

and collect a number of stamps in a pass book of sorts to get the

Compostela which is a certificate of completion.

When you go to pick up the Compostela you have to tell the administrator

why you walked the Camino... so...

It's a Journey...

"Everybody walks their own Camino"

This is a common quote which people say.

I've read so many stories about how people's lives have been changed

after walking the Camino.

Some go with no expectation,

Some go hoping to change something about their life,

Some go with a purpose...

I am going to walk in honor of my mother,

and to honor her during my walk.

It's a party...

I plan to walk in June/July of 2021.

The Feast of St. James is held every year on July 25th, but

the Feast falls on a Sunday only every 10 - 11 years 

and 2021 will be the next year it does so,

and that's when they have the biggest Festival

and the botafumeiro is swung in the Cathedral...

It will be quite a sight!

It's tradition...

The final walk is the 81.5 km or 51 miles to 

the "End of the World" at Finisterra

There you end your travels at the Atlantic Ocean

at the Costa de Morte the "Coast of Death"

named by the pilgrims as they followed the Milky Way

to the end of all they knew

and what they thought was a magical place

where you got "closest to the land of death."

I hope to come to this coastline one day in July of 2021

having followed the steps of thousands of others going all the way back

to the 8th century or earlier

and reflect on what will have been an amazing

6 weeks of walking hundreds of miles

and reflect on what my Camino has shown me...

I promise to share it with you when I do...

I did set up a blog for those wishing

to join in on the Camino...

or just support those of us going...

I haven't written much,

but in the next year I will probably start writing more...

Bien Camino!