The end of the semester is here!
I'm quite gleeful that the end of the semester is almost here even though it brings me to a torturous marathon of exams and finals. In reflecting over the past semester, I'm amazed at how much I've learned. I can't imagine how much more I've got to learn with another 4 semesters to go. I'm particularly frustrated with my inability to recall things I should know. There is so much knowledge coming at me that I struggle compartmentalizing it in my brain for easy access. Sometimes I feel I've reached my limit--NO MORE! But then I take a deep breath and plunge into the pool of knowledge and experience.
I'm so glad that nursing school is designed to keep one group of people together from start to finish. My class is so awesome! I feel as though I know a lot of them so well, and I've still got 4 semesters with them. A few of us were just discussing yesterday how comfortable we are discussing anything with each other. It amuses me to think that one guy in particular I didn't know at all at the beginning of the semester, and yesterday we were discussing male and female genitalia like most people discuss the weather. Before going to college, I would have felt a twinge discussing these things with a female I've known all my life, let alone a male I've only known for 5 months.
My last day of clinical I got to watch lymphedema therapy. Chattanooga has one of only 2 clinics in the country for lymphedema and I got to be in one of them! I was totally amazed to see before and after pictures. My heart goes out to people who suffer from this condition because it's not something that can be cured. They will have to treat themselves for the rest of their lives. The man who came up with the idea for the clinic was the one who allowed us to watch and gave us a lot of information that's not in the textbooks. One patient was from Sarasota, FL and her daughter from South Carolina was with her. They spoke of their search for years to find answers. They desperately spent money on any "solution" that was presented to them, all to no avail. They came across this clinic in an internet search. Now they just shake their heads in amazement at the success the treatment has had.
Saturday morning I awoke with a slightly sore throat. A feeling of dread washed over me as I realized that my annual or biannual bout of illness was about to befall me. I've experienced this particular malady every year since I "blew out" my vocal chords when I was teaching school. My voice is naturally low which makes singing soprano very difficult for me. Since I was the only teacher who could learn new songs by reading notes, it befell me to teach my students. I'd pitch the songs down to teach them and once they had it, I'd raise the pitch so they could carry on. But the strain was too much for my vocal chords and I ended up with a severe case of laryngitis. As the familiar first sign of sore throat hits me, I desperately start my rounds of every kind of cold pill on the market, hoping to avoid the inevitable trip to the doctor about a week into my self-treatment. Reluctantly, I agreed with my family that I should go to the doctor right away instead of waiting for a week. But I couldn't go on Saturday because I had to work, and they aren't open on Sunday. And Monday I had an exam, check off, and a paper due. So I decided I'd go on Tuesday with self-treatment of cold pills and NyQuil in the meantime. However, this time I progressed much more rapidly than before. By Monday morning, my throat was so swollen I was gagging myself and I had a fever of 100 degrees. So I took my notes and sat in a clinic studying for an hour while waiting to get in. Turns out I had a full-blown case of pharyngitis, laryngitis, and bronchitis. After my long day of classes, I headed for the pharmacy to get my prescription filled then went home and collapsed. I decided to forget about studying for finals and just sleep. I awoke in the middle of the night unable to breathe or swallow without going into spasms of gagging and coughing. So I dosed myself up with codeine cough syrup and spent the rest of the night sleeping fitfully while sitting up.
On the bright side, I have a very legitimate reason to call in sick. And I'm going to ignore all twinges of guilt, knowing how desperately they need me at work with all the overtime they've had. Since this gives me extra study time, I must see it as a blessing in disguise.
Speaking of blessings, I think my car is surviving on prayer alone. After they could find nothing wrong with it in Kentucky other than low transmission fluid, I retrieved it over Thanksgiving. I had to stop half way home and let it cool off for 15 minutes. But I made it home without having to call a tow truck. The next day it stalled 3 times on my way to work. I was praying desperately all the way. I just don't have TIME for car problems, much less the money. I was shamelessly begging God for a miracle cure. It hasn't stalled since!!! I now suspect the battery might be going out since the light keeps coming on, and my lights flicker a lot. But better the battery than the alternator.
I'm so glad that nursing school is designed to keep one group of people together from start to finish. My class is so awesome! I feel as though I know a lot of them so well, and I've still got 4 semesters with them. A few of us were just discussing yesterday how comfortable we are discussing anything with each other. It amuses me to think that one guy in particular I didn't know at all at the beginning of the semester, and yesterday we were discussing male and female genitalia like most people discuss the weather. Before going to college, I would have felt a twinge discussing these things with a female I've known all my life, let alone a male I've only known for 5 months.
My last day of clinical I got to watch lymphedema therapy. Chattanooga has one of only 2 clinics in the country for lymphedema and I got to be in one of them! I was totally amazed to see before and after pictures. My heart goes out to people who suffer from this condition because it's not something that can be cured. They will have to treat themselves for the rest of their lives. The man who came up with the idea for the clinic was the one who allowed us to watch and gave us a lot of information that's not in the textbooks. One patient was from Sarasota, FL and her daughter from South Carolina was with her. They spoke of their search for years to find answers. They desperately spent money on any "solution" that was presented to them, all to no avail. They came across this clinic in an internet search. Now they just shake their heads in amazement at the success the treatment has had.
Saturday morning I awoke with a slightly sore throat. A feeling of dread washed over me as I realized that my annual or biannual bout of illness was about to befall me. I've experienced this particular malady every year since I "blew out" my vocal chords when I was teaching school. My voice is naturally low which makes singing soprano very difficult for me. Since I was the only teacher who could learn new songs by reading notes, it befell me to teach my students. I'd pitch the songs down to teach them and once they had it, I'd raise the pitch so they could carry on. But the strain was too much for my vocal chords and I ended up with a severe case of laryngitis. As the familiar first sign of sore throat hits me, I desperately start my rounds of every kind of cold pill on the market, hoping to avoid the inevitable trip to the doctor about a week into my self-treatment. Reluctantly, I agreed with my family that I should go to the doctor right away instead of waiting for a week. But I couldn't go on Saturday because I had to work, and they aren't open on Sunday. And Monday I had an exam, check off, and a paper due. So I decided I'd go on Tuesday with self-treatment of cold pills and NyQuil in the meantime. However, this time I progressed much more rapidly than before. By Monday morning, my throat was so swollen I was gagging myself and I had a fever of 100 degrees. So I took my notes and sat in a clinic studying for an hour while waiting to get in. Turns out I had a full-blown case of pharyngitis, laryngitis, and bronchitis. After my long day of classes, I headed for the pharmacy to get my prescription filled then went home and collapsed. I decided to forget about studying for finals and just sleep. I awoke in the middle of the night unable to breathe or swallow without going into spasms of gagging and coughing. So I dosed myself up with codeine cough syrup and spent the rest of the night sleeping fitfully while sitting up.
On the bright side, I have a very legitimate reason to call in sick. And I'm going to ignore all twinges of guilt, knowing how desperately they need me at work with all the overtime they've had. Since this gives me extra study time, I must see it as a blessing in disguise.
Speaking of blessings, I think my car is surviving on prayer alone. After they could find nothing wrong with it in Kentucky other than low transmission fluid, I retrieved it over Thanksgiving. I had to stop half way home and let it cool off for 15 minutes. But I made it home without having to call a tow truck. The next day it stalled 3 times on my way to work. I was praying desperately all the way. I just don't have TIME for car problems, much less the money. I was shamelessly begging God for a miracle cure. It hasn't stalled since!!! I now suspect the battery might be going out since the light keeps coming on, and my lights flicker a lot. But better the battery than the alternator.
posted by Sara | 12:21 PM
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