Growing up, I was very fond of the books, “What do you say,
Dear?” and “What do you do, Dear?” These books proposed ridiculous situations
and asked the reader what was the polite way to respond. Often times, I feel
like my career in nursing is a continual saga of these situations. For example:
1.
A patient jumps out at you from behind the door,
terror in his eyes and blood dripping from lines. He tries to attack you. What
do you do, dear?
2.
A patient starts crying because she feels
hopeless and is scared about her future. What do you say, dear?
3.
A patient comes in whining, complaining of pain,
and is a quintessential drug seeker. What do you do, dear?
4.
A patient is told he is dying and should
consider hospice. He then makes frequent comments that he is worthless and
wishes you would take a gun to his head. What do you say, dear?
5.
A patient calls himself a monster and other
derogatory names. Then he groans all day long and refuses to be comforted. What
do you do, dear?
6. You walk into a patient’s room, not knowing
anything about her. She then starts crying and telling you about her abusive
past. What do you say, dear?
The only way to be a faithful nurse is to be constantly
asking the Father to guide you through these situations.
These are real things that have happened over the last 5
months at the hospital. But there have also been funny and joyous things that
keep my going. Like the day I sent the patient in scenario #1 home after a
month in the hospital. And the time a huge IU fan told me it was OK that I went
to the “Toilet-Maker” school. And the time that a patient’s husband told me he
was going to “write me up” only to find out weeks later that he wrote me up as
a nominee for a caring nurse award. Or the time that my patient was dying and
he asked if we could pray together. There are many joys and sorrows working as
a nurse, and through them all, God is faithful.
Is growing old. The theme of this winter was put very well by a dear friend of mine. It goes something like this:
"The more it
SNOWS-tiddely-pom,
The more it
GOES-tiddely-pom
The more it
GOES-tiddely-pom
On
Snowing.
And nobody
KNOWS-tiddely-pom,
How cold my
TOES-tiddely-pom
How cold my
TOES-tiddely-pom
Are
Growing."
Thanks Pooh-bear. I agree wholeheartedly.
I'll be really glad when spring rolls around again!
You don't buy a trowel.
This weekend I decided that it was well worth $3.00 to have daffodils this spring and next by my porch. But it wasn't worth buying a trowel; someone I knew (namely, my brother) was sure to have one! But he didn't.
So I undertook the planing of my bulbs without any real digging tool.
This is the poor serving spoon after I was finished with it. It both washed up well and bent back into proper shape.
This is one of my little patches (with a matching one on the other side of the porch.) I am very much looking forward to spring now!!
...have been really busy here at the Bakery. Just a few highlights.
There was October Break! Which was great, but came to an end with three large papers due back to back. My professors really like making things due after breaks.
I locked myself out of my house for the first time. We had been warned by the girls who lived here before that it was easy to do, but up till now nobody had, so we hadn’t bothered hiding our spare key anywhere. My roommates were asleep and in the shower and didn’t hear my pounding on the door. So I had to scramble in through a window (about four feet off the ground) in a floor length skirt. The key got hidden outside not too long afterwards. (And the only injury suffered to either me or the house was a scraped knuckle. Pretty good, especially considering the only window unlocked was the one that fell apart in our hands earlier this semester.)
I also got myself laughed at by a car packed with guys this afternoon. I probably deserved it. While talking to my brother outside, I started walking the iron fence around my porch like a cat. Such is life.
Finally, I am becoming incredibly thankful for my Godly professor who pushes me towards Godliness in my care for my patients. It is so encouraging for to be stopped in the hall and be told of God’s goodness and how God displayed his power in this or that patient’s life.
There are lots of places in and around Lafayette that are beautiful.
This is the portion of Wildcat Creek that runs through the Clegg Foundation Botanical Gardens. It was such a beautiful day today and fall is really starting to peak through.
The place is a unique blend, going from thick woods to an oak savanna with few trees, to riverside life. One of my very favorite places and just outside Lafayette!
Then there’s this place:
Prophetstown State Park.
Prophetstown mainly has prairie with two great hiking trails, a historic farm, and the beginnings of a reconstructed Native American village. It’s a wonderful place to learn about local history and what life was like back around 1920.
The pigs are awfully friendly. 
Yep, he’s eating my foot. 
There are barn cats all over the place.
Milking time!
I thought the nesting boxes were pretty clever. Now if only the chickens would use them…
Gladys and I both love the bike trail there.
The Chief’s home on a moody day on the prairie.
