It's been a while. Visit to distant children and then a brief stint in hospital took me off my game. At the moment…no excuse. I don't feel as though I have anything to say.
Oh wait…hospitals. Things have changed a good deal over the dozen years since I left the Spiritual Care service. Volunteers deliver meals a lot of the time. On some units, there is no choice given patients about the meals. It's "Take it…or leave it." Actually, the meals were quite good…better than five years ago. Thin staffing for a surgical unit. Better pray there are no emergencies. No medical Residents running around, either. Just nursing students. And they were delightful, and competent. Great commitment to learning. My student was doing "vitals" on me (heart, BP, etc.) and excused herself to find her instructor. The Instructor came in and listened to my heart, then said, "Yes, there is a murmur there." GREAT excitement. A. The student recognized it, and B. She identified it correctly. They told me that the student had never heard a murmur before, except on DVD. Could she bring hr partner in to hear it too? Of course. Within five minutes I had eight beauties lined up at the foot of my bed just to hear my heart beat! I explained that I knew about it, that it wasn't judged urgent, and that surgery will come after a bit. What a blast.
Some surprises came with the surgery. It wasn't serious serious, but it took a lot out of me (forgive the pun.) Can't believe how quickly I tire four days post op. I'm convinced they should have kept us until today, as they said they would at the start. The unit closes for Sunday, so they have to kick everyone out. I imagine to get transferred to another unit, you'd have to be really sick. They avoid the paperwork. In any case, I was sweaty and weak all day yesterday, better today, but my attention span is very short. I have agreed to preach next Sunday, and at the moment I'm regretting that choice. Let;s see what Monday and Tuesday bring.
This afternoon I started teaching Beatrix how to run the snow blower. The boy with whom we had arranged snow clearing is nowhere to be found this weekend, after a major/minor blow. I am not allowed even to wrestle the machine or shovel for six weeks. Beatrix is a quick study, but the machine is heavy, and I was trying to do the odd thing. She spent some energy screaming at me, but the machine is so loud I couldn't hear her…mercifully! In any case, she has the basic, and with supervision, can do it again, with me alongside to guide her. So"if the boy is a no-show, we blow snow."
Speaking of short attention spans, mine has disappeared. So I'll stop. Too many preachers keep on talking long after they have run out of things to say. Til next time…
Oh wait…hospitals. Things have changed a good deal over the dozen years since I left the Spiritual Care service. Volunteers deliver meals a lot of the time. On some units, there is no choice given patients about the meals. It's "Take it…or leave it." Actually, the meals were quite good…better than five years ago. Thin staffing for a surgical unit. Better pray there are no emergencies. No medical Residents running around, either. Just nursing students. And they were delightful, and competent. Great commitment to learning. My student was doing "vitals" on me (heart, BP, etc.) and excused herself to find her instructor. The Instructor came in and listened to my heart, then said, "Yes, there is a murmur there." GREAT excitement. A. The student recognized it, and B. She identified it correctly. They told me that the student had never heard a murmur before, except on DVD. Could she bring hr partner in to hear it too? Of course. Within five minutes I had eight beauties lined up at the foot of my bed just to hear my heart beat! I explained that I knew about it, that it wasn't judged urgent, and that surgery will come after a bit. What a blast.
Some surprises came with the surgery. It wasn't serious serious, but it took a lot out of me (forgive the pun.) Can't believe how quickly I tire four days post op. I'm convinced they should have kept us until today, as they said they would at the start. The unit closes for Sunday, so they have to kick everyone out. I imagine to get transferred to another unit, you'd have to be really sick. They avoid the paperwork. In any case, I was sweaty and weak all day yesterday, better today, but my attention span is very short. I have agreed to preach next Sunday, and at the moment I'm regretting that choice. Let;s see what Monday and Tuesday bring.
This afternoon I started teaching Beatrix how to run the snow blower. The boy with whom we had arranged snow clearing is nowhere to be found this weekend, after a major/minor blow. I am not allowed even to wrestle the machine or shovel for six weeks. Beatrix is a quick study, but the machine is heavy, and I was trying to do the odd thing. She spent some energy screaming at me, but the machine is so loud I couldn't hear her…mercifully! In any case, she has the basic, and with supervision, can do it again, with me alongside to guide her. So"if the boy is a no-show, we blow snow."
Speaking of short attention spans, mine has disappeared. So I'll stop. Too many preachers keep on talking long after they have run out of things to say. Til next time…
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