I can't wait to come home!

I will be home in a little more than 36 hours!  I cannot wait!

I have the "Nursing Breakout Session" tomorrow, where I will learn about some of the equipment at the hospital.  It's kind of funny since I've been working in the ICU for 2 weeks and have experienced nearly all of the general equipment in the hospital.  Oh well!  I'll go with the flow.  The good thing is that it's most of the morning, so I will feel like the rest of the afternoon is going to fly by once I get back on the unit.  After work, there is a "Hail and Farewell" at a local amusement park.  I'm still debating whether or not I'll go, especially since I'm being "hailed."  I have to be up at 0400 on Friday to make my 0600 flight.  I'll let you know what I decide.

Today had an interesting beginning.  The NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge) caught me in the locker room.  She said, "Ma'am, I heard that your preceptor is making you do all of the hard work and she's not doing anything."  Wow!  That came out of left field.  I let her know that I appreciate the way my preceptor is working with me because she isn't holding my hand.  I ask questions when I have them.  Otherwise, she's letting me be a nurse and helping me learn the specifics of this ICU.  What I found even more ironic was that my preceptor today, the Captain who is my sponsor and I really like her, was so busy taking care of her upcoming deployment (going to Afghanistan on august 1st!) that I, maybe, had 1-2 hours with her today.  The great thing is that I finally have a code for documenting in the system, so I didn't need to look for someone to save my assessments, my medications, my vital signs, etc. You have no idea how much time that saved me today!

Last evening was great, too.  I had a nice conversation with my friend Karen and I got a chance to Skype with my friend Peggy!  That was great!  I love having contact with my friends back home.

Continuing with the positives, I received an e-mail from my Troop Commander with my Accession Bonus paperwork attached.  My recruiter finally got her act together and sent those documents.  I still cannot believe it took such a long time.  I had to bite my tongue when she called me on Monday and told me to feel free to call her if I need anything in the future.  Really?!?!?!?  I guess it's safe to say that she doesn't realize the amount of angst she has caused me. 

It was relatively cool today.  I think the high was only 99 degrees.  It was 107 yesterday and 112 on Monday.  I swear, I'm going to freeze when I get off of the plane on Friday.  What's up with the crummy weather in Wisconsin?  UGH!

I hope you are all doing well.

--DV

"Yes, deer!"

Jorge told me about a very funny thing that happened today.  He was working on the weed-whacker, in the garage.  Shadow was on a lead, attached to a tree in the front yard.  Jorge looked out to check on her and saw a huge deer right near Shadow, simply grazing in the grass!  Shadow wasn't paying any attention to the deer and the deer wasn't paying any attention to her.  How funny is that?

We've tried very hard to train Shadow, but she balks at so many things (like not jumping up on people). The one thing that has seemed to click with her is that she shouldn't bother anything that's a "baby."  This started with Snowflake (the ferret).  Any small critter she sees is completely ignored because it's a "baby."  I guess Shadow also felt the deer was a baby.  She's so smart!

Have a great day!

--DV

You won't believe this!

I got a call from my recruiter today.  Can you believe it?  It's been more than a month since I first e-mailed her, asking for my paperwork.  She proceeded to explain that she was on vacation, her step-father was really sick, she brought her phone and computer but forgot the chargers, she was so busy before she left for vacation, she took on the responsibilities of a chief investigator for something. . .blah blah blah!

She must've gotten an earful from my troop commander this morning, because she mentioned speaking to her today.  All I care about is that she's going to finally finish her job as my recruiter and send the paperwork.  She's sending it directly to my troop commander to get it expedited.

I had planned on hanging out at the pool today, taking it easy.  I got myself all prepared for some fun in the sun and walked over to the pool.  As I got there, I remembered that the pool is closed on Mondays for cleaning.  Way to go!  The way of the Army is to adapt and improvise.  Instead of sitting by the pool, I took my Coleman collapsible chair and sat on a landing, reading my book.  Not as great as being poolside, but it still worked.  It was 112 today, so I didn't last long.  Don't worry, I was covered head to toe in sunscreen.  Even after showering, I can still feel the sunscreen!

Only a few more days until I come home!  I cannot wait!

I hope you are all doing well!

--DV

Only in Texas!

I worked this weekend (which has been great to be working in the ICU).  On my way home from work, on Saturday, I saw an SUV in front of me.  Being that it was the end of the day, and I had worked 12 hours, I wasn't paying too much attention.  Suddenly, a strange movement caught my eye.  I looked closer to the SUV and saw that it had a cage strapped to the back of it with half a dozen assorted chickens and roosters!

Now, in Wisconsin, you don't look twice at deer strapped to a vehicle (of course the deer is dead).  Never have I seen chickens in a cage, strapped to the back of an SUV.   For some reason, I just don't think that's a very nice way of handling the birds.  Afterall, it was 107 yesterday evening (at 1930, mind you).  The birds were hot and crammed together because of the angle of the cage.  What a strange sight!  Poor little chickens.

Work went well this weekend.  I am still trying to get into the change in protocols, policies, etc.  I find it very interesting how things are staffed.  The ICU employs RNs and LPNs.  The LPNs take assignments just like the RNs do.  There are no nursing assistants at all (the bane of my existence when I still worked at St. Joe's).  Surprisingly, the rooms get stocked, linens get dumped, blood sugars get done on time; all of the things the nurses at Joe's used to complain about because the CNAs were supposed to do them and didn't.  It is really kind of a relief.  I don't get frustrated that my room isn't stocked.  If it isn't stocked, it's my own fault.  What a relief!

Speaking of relief, I accidentally left my cell phone at the apartment the other day.  It was so wonderful to not feel attached to my phone.  Granted, I hardly ever get phone calls during the day, so maybe it would be different if I was really popular.  You should all try it some time.  Mom says she feels panicked whenever she forgets her cell phone.  She said, "What if I end up dead in a ditch somewhere?"  Oh Mom!  If only you knew how that saying has stuck with your daughters.

I cannot wait to be home on Friday!   I hope the weather won't be too terrible!  It'll be a shock to my body to be in 100 degree weather and then land in 50-60 degrees in Milwaukee.  Oh well.  I cannot wait to have a steak from the gas station!  LJ might even be coming home for the weekend.  I haven't seen him since the middle of March.

I hope you are all doing OK and that you enjoyed your weekend.

--DV

A little bit of good news!

I know that a lot of you have been wondering if there has been an update on my frustrating situation.  Well, I got some good news today.  I received an e-mail that I am enrolled in the Officer Basic course in August, that I need to report to Ft. Sam on August 11th for a start in the field on the 15th.  I was sooooo happy when I read that e-mail.  There were so many people who pulled a lot of strings to make this happen.  I'm so pleased with the tenacity I have witnessed by my leadership.  Unfortunately, I still do not know anything about my sign-on bonus. 

Baby steps!

I have now worked 2 shifts in the ICU.  It's so incredible to finally be working in the job that I joined the Army to do.  My preceptor is being really cool, recognizing that she doesn't need to teach me how to be an ICU nurse.  She just needs to focus on how things are done at William Beaumont Army Medical Center.  I'm really looking forward to getting involved in the unit (big surprise, right?), learning how things are done, and getting through my 6 weeks of orientation.  It's neat to see the technology they have at this hospital.  I will finally get training on the computer charting system next Tuesday.  That will definitely make a positive difference.

I started a GRE prep course last week.  That's been interesting.  Of course, there was so much turmoil last week, I didn't get both of the lessons done.  I'll make up for it this week.  With any luck, I'll be able to take the second portion of the GRE prep course (it's for the math section) after I'm done with Officer Basic. . .and then take the GRE later this fall/early winter.  That will be one step closer to the CRNA course.

I can't wait to go home to see Jorge and Shadow!  Only 1.5 weeks until I'm home. 

I hope all of you are doing well.  I would've called everyone with these updates, but I didn't get home until nearly 8 p.m. (El Paso time).  That was too late to call anyone in my contacts list!  (-:

Take care!

--DV

Still treading water!

Nearly a week has gone by since my last post.  Unfortunately, I don't have any further news about what's been going on with my bonus or getting to complete Officer Basic.

When I went to work on Tuesday, I asked to speak with my Supervisor, Major Ruiz.  I explained all of the things that have gone wrong, since I joined the Army, and prior to that (I did not get orders until less than 2 weeks before I needed to report to Officer Basic).  Luckily, I already had an appointment with the Troop Commander, a Lieutenant Colonel, that afternoon.  MAJ Ruiz agreed to be there with me.  While waiting to meet with the Troop Commander, the Acting Company Commander struck up a conversation with me.  He's a Captain, prior ROTC, and is a nurse working on the Medical Floor at the hospital.  We went into his office and I gave him a brief summary of what's been going on.  Turns out that he is also feeling frustrated with the military and is looking to get out.  Believe it or not, he's looking for a job in Burlington, VT, which is near where my sister, Lori, lives!  Small world.  He ran into the Troop Commander before she came to meet with me and filled her in on what's been going on.  The two of them updated the Deputy Commander of Nursing.

So, to make this saga a little shorter, I have a Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel trying to get answers.  My recruiter still hasn't gotten the paperwork to me, despite getting a call from my Company Commander and the Troop Commander.  I'm still treading water, but at least I know some people have heard me and are looking into it.  That's all I can ask for right now!

On a good note, Ninette sent a couple of pictures from Shadow's stay with her and Sean.

Callie and Shadow-finally friends!

Check out the claws on this snapper!

I booked a ticket to fly home over 4th of July weekend!  I will leave El Paso on the 1st and have to come back on the 4th, but at least I'll get a chance to be home.  I cannot wait!

I went to a Spin Class yesterday.  The instructor was brutal!  His idea of "recovery" was at gear 5 (not very much resistance at all), but 100 RPM.  Crazy!  After 50 minutes of sweating my butt off, I went into a Yoga class.  It was the work-out kind of yoga, which is more like Pilates than the relaxing kind of Yoga.  That was another 50 minutes of sweating my butt off.  It was a great work-out, though.  I think I'm going to try and go to other sessions, on my days off.  I was able to do one really cool thing, though.  Imagine that you're squatting down, with your knees out like a frog and your palms flat on the floor in front of you.  As you point your hips towards the ceiling, you lift your legs off of the floor, so your weight is entirely supported by your arms.  It took me a few tries, but I was able to make it work.  It looks so cool!  If I get a chance to see any of you when I'm home, I'll try to remember to show you.  What an awesome power move!

Last night, I went to my first Dining In.  This is a formal dinner in the military that is steeped in tradition.  Only military members attend a Dining In (which is different than a Dining Out where significant others are invited).  I arrived 1 hour late, due to misinformation, but I still had a nice time.  It was my first opportunity to wear my Army Service Uniform (ASU), the dress blue uniform that has replaced the "Class A" uniform.

Yes, I look like a giant next to the other females!

Today is Father's Day.  I hope all of the Dads are having a nice day and that they've been told how much they are loved (even the Dads of furry kids, Sean)!  To those Dads who aren't with us anymore, you are still loved and missed every day.

Have a great day, everyone!

--DV

I'm at the end of my rope

I just need to vent.  Absolutely nothing has gone my way since I've joined the Army and I'm so frustrated right now that I could just scream!

I finally got in touch with someone today to help me get scheduled to finish Officer Basic.  Here's what she wrote me, "I can't get you into OBC until January or March."

I wanted to throw the computer onto the floor and stomp on it.  This comes on top of other wonderful news such as:
1) My recruiter was supposed to give me 2 forms so I can process my sign-on bonus.  The bonus is only worth $30,000, so why would I want to be on top of getting it?  Right?  Well, she's not returning my e-mails or my phone calls.  That's great, right?

2) This is the same recruiter who didn't know that I could go straight into the Nurse Anesthetist program after finishing OBC.  She and the idiot before her set me back at least 2 years!

3) My contact for OBC isn't returning my e-mails either, and I can't finish my on-line training without a certificate from him.  This means that I can't take leave or get a mileage pass until I've completed all of my training.

4) If I don't finish OBC before the Captain Board in December, I won't be promoted to Captain, despite the fact that I'm eligible for promotion next week.

Let's see, there are so many other things in my mind right now.  I just feel like exploding.

Let's just say it's not been a good day for me.  I just want to quit this crap and go back to doing what I was doing.  I left 2 great jobs.  My husband is having to manage the house by himself.  Shadow misses me and I miss her.  I'm missing out on the most beautiful time of the year at our house, missing all of my flowers.  I miss my friends.  I miss the flexibility I had in my jobs, allowing me to see my family members.  This, pretty much, sucks and I wish I could go back and undo my decision to join the Army.  I've tried to keep a positive attitude about it, but I'm finally at the end of my rope.  I completely understand why people go AWOL.

I hope all of you are having a better day than I am.

Some things never change!

I think you'll all appreciate some interesting things that have happened over the past couple of days.

On Thursday, I was at the clinic, waiting to get a "Periodic Health Assessment."  This is known as a PHA and is one of the biggest wastes of time.  Basically, you sit in an office with a physician or PA, they review your health records (which have already been done by at least 4 other people prior to getting to your PHA), ask if you have any questions or concerns, and then send you on your merry way.  Silly me, I thought it was going to be a physical exam.  Anyway, I was sitting in the waiting room, reading a book, when I see a Specialist running towards the waiting area, saying, "Who's our code team?  We've had a code in Lab!"  Most clinics, of course, don't deal with codes on a regular basis, so mayhem ensued.  I turned around and said to a Private First Class (PFC), "Private, I'm an ICU nurse.  Do you need help at the code?"  He looked at me and said, "Ma'am, I'm a student here, I can't make that call."  I told him to go ask someone who could.  He came out a few moments later and told me that I could go over the lab to help.  I went running after a few other people, assuming they were heading in the same direction I needed to go.  By the time we got there, the guy was awake, talking, etc.  He looked like crap, though.  He had passed out while they were drawing his labs (he had to fast and that's not the easiest thing to do when you're in the desert and don't have labs scheduled until 1030 in the morning).  So, I walked back to the waiting area and got back to my book!  It was the closest thing to "touching a patient" I've experienced since the middle of March!

On Friday, during orientation, we were going through a program called "Team STEPPS."  It's a program designed by AHRQ and John Kotter, one of the world's leading authorities on change implementation.  It was very interesting training (reminiscent of a lot of the stuff I've already learned).  The lead instructor (Major Carr) came up to me during one of the presentations and said, "So, I'm looking for people who would be good instructors.  Would you be interested in helping when we're ready to roll this out to the ICU?"  I told her I would love to help, that I have a passion for education, and that I was an educator and manager in education.   She then said, "I should just take you into my department!"  I graciously turned down her offer and told her that I haven't touched a patient in 3 months!

MAJ Carr asked if I would like to join her for lunch.  That was nice.  While in the cafeteria, I had to walk around a man in a wheelchair.  I excused myself and explained that I was going to walk behind him to get to the drinks.  He made some comment about making sure he didn't roll over my feet, then offered to rub my feet for me if he did roll over them.  He also offered to take me home with him.  Flattering, except that he had 5 teeth in his mouth!  Why is it that guys with no teeth like to flirt with me?  I'm sure LJ will remember the carnie who was hitting on me.  I think he might've had 3 teeth in his mouth.  UGH!

I had planned on going for a run and a swim yesterday after dropping my car off for an oil change.  I ran over to the pool and, of course, it was closed.  It as so stinking hot, my run back was brutal.  I walked more than half of the way.  I'm just not acclimated yet.

When my car was ready, I gave them a rebate coupon I had received.  It was worth $50, but the work on my car only cost $41.  The manager put it in as $50 and I got the change.  Pretty cool, huh?  I had a synthetic oil change, got my tires balanced and rotated, and they paid me $9 to do it!  (-:  Finally, things are going in my direction.

Today is supposed to be in the low hundreds.  I'm going to take it easy today.  I've worked out every single day this week, so I think I deserve a rest day. 

I hope you are all having a nice weekend.

--DV

You'll never believe this!

You all know that I'm a total klutz!  Who else could break their ankle twice by doing stuff normal people do everyday?  Well, the person who makes fun of my lack of grace the most is Jorge.  This morning, at 0400 my time, Jorge called me.  He needed to find out how he should go about getting to a hospital to have his ankle X-rayed.  He was out, in the dark yesterday evening, getting Shadow back indoors and twisted his ankle on one of her toy balls.  His ankle was swollen to twice its size (which is the size of a normal ankle in comparison to his bird ankles) and he woke up because he was starting to feel numbness and tingling in his toes.  Not the kind of phone call I wanted to get.  Luckily, the injury was to his right ankle.  Had it been his left, there's no way he would've been able to drive with his manual transmission to the hospital.  The good news is that he sprained his ankle.  There's no fracture.  Of course, they wanted him to take 2 days off from work.  Since he doesn't get more than 7 days off a year, there's no way he was going to do that.  He spent most of the day with his leg elevated and iced.  I'm hoping it will feel better in the morning.  Poor guy.

Tonight, he called me and said, rather nonchalantly, "So the tornado warning sirens have gone off 3 times in the past half hour."  Again, not the kind of phone call I want to get.  He's in so much pain from his ankle that there's no way he's going to hobble down to the basement.  Shadow is curled on top of him, because she's very upset about the wind, hail, and rain hitting the house.  With any luck, the bad weather will pass Waukesha in the next 10-15 minutes.  Jorge is so tired from not sleeping last night that he is going to sleep.  I am sitting here, however, glued to the weather channel. 

For all of you who are going through the eye of the storm right now, I'm thinking about you.

--DV

1st day of Hospital Orientation

Today was my first day of Hospital Orientation.  OMG!  I don't know if it was brutal because I've done hospital orientation for such a long time during my years with ProHealth Care or if it's just because orientation sucks no matter where you go.  I was appalled by the behavior of people in the room, though.  At one point in time, I had to ask people behind me to keep it down.  That was effective for perhaps 10 minutes.  Is it just society has broken down so much that grown adults don't realize how to act when someone is presenting information to them?  What a shame.

Tomorrow is clinical orientation.  That will be fun!  (-:  Ninette had asked that I share anything that might be a gem.  Sorry, Nin!  No such luck.

I made it through Jorge's departure yesterday.  It was really hard to see him go, but I felt almost like he was still here when I got back to the apartment.  His slippers are still here and the apartment is set-up the way he helped me.  I even have some of his cologne, so I can "smell" him whenever I want.  Karen called me to see how I was doing.  I really appreciate that, Karen.  Peggy picked Jorge up from the airport.  When I called to see if she had "my man," she said, "Debra, I couldn't find him.  I drove around several times and didn't see him, so I'm going to have another beer."  Funny!  I cannot believe I fell for that.  Thank you for picking Jorge up, Peggy, even if you nearly caused me to have a heart attack!

Peggy made it up to me, though.  She taught me how to Skype.  That will be a fun way to keep in touch with all of you.

Jorge picked Shadow up from Ninette and Sean's.  He said Shadow and their two dogs were getting along great.  I can't wait to see the video they shot of Shadow, Callie, and Riley barking frantically at a snapping turtle who was in the backyard.  Thanks, guys, for watching my baby girl.  I hope she wasn't too much of a problem.  I know she had a great time and Jorge said she was exhausted when they got home last night.

I had written that last Saturday was going to be a chill-out day and that the weather was only supposed to reach 77 for a high.  I was seriously mistaken.  First off, I vacuumed the apartment.  It isn't big, so the chore only took about 10 minutes.  As a matter of fact, the apartment is so small, I can get the entire place without moving the cord, except for the far corner of my bedroom.  How funny is that?  We spent the majority of the day driving around to see all of the places Jorge used to go; the 4-wheel drive place, the Harley Dealer, etc.  As we were driving around, we passed a bank that had the temperature posted. . .107 degrees!  We had been driving all day with the windows down and the sun-roof open.  No AC for us and we didn't even realize how hot it had gotten.

We went to see Pirates on base.  The theatre is really nice.  Tickets were only $4.75/person for military and $5.50 for non-military.  What a deal!  The Grand is the name of the theatre and it has 10 screens.  Really nice place.  We stopped for a beer at Buffalo Wild Wings before-hand (it's across from the theatre).  Let me tell you, that beer went down really easy as a result of the heat.

I know it's been really hot and humid in Wisconsin.  I hope that there will be intermittent rain to help with watering the garden and the lawn.  Jorge said the tomato plants are looking really good.  I appreciate all of the help I had in preparing my garden, planting veggies, and getting flowers planted.  Thank you, Peggy and Nin!

I hope you're all doing well. 

--DV

I'm in bliss

With Jorge's help, my apartment has finally turned into a home (granted it's a home away from home).

The drive back to El Paso seemed to take forever.  We slept for approximately 4 hours in Oklahoma.  Thank God there weren't any tornadoes that night.  My poor car did a great job pulling the extra weight of the trailer and my stuff, but the hills made it really tough.  I can usually go nearly 300 miles on 1 tank of gas, but we were finding that I could only get 180 or so.  10 miles outside of Santa Rosa, TX, we ran out of gas.  We had only gone 168 miles since our last tank fill-up!   That was another delay.  $100 later (after paying the wrecker to bring us 5 gallons of gas) we were back on the road. 

When we were 40 miles outside of Texas, we saw an unbelievable sight.  The sky darkened as if it was night.  But it was a strange, brown color as far the eyes could see.  As we got closer, we realized that it was an enormous sand storm that was underneath a thunder storm.  Imagine having mud raining down on you.  It was one of the strangest things I've ever seen!

Once we got back to the apartment, we spent several hours unpacking the trailer and setting up the place.  Jorge put my living room together while I tackled the kitchen.  We sat on the futon and watched a movie while sipping on some wine.  That was a great way to unwind after 1600 miles.  We didn't fall asleep until 0200, but we slept like the dead.

On Friday, I had a follow-up appointment for my ankle.  I got a clean bill of health and can start running again.  That was some excellent news!

Jorge ran into a few of the guys he knew when he was stationed here.  That was also great.  We went to the HR office at the VA.  His application was actually sitting on top of the HR Rep's desk.  Because I'm stationed here, he will get preferential treatment and be notified of openings before they're even announced.  I guess there are some benefits to him being my dependent!  (-:

Jorge surprised me with a new flat-screen TV for my living room and I bought a Blue-ray DVD player.  We watched a movie through Netflix last night.  Man, that was definitely better than watching it on my netbook!  Better sound, too.

So, today is a chill day.  I'm hoping to go see a movie on base.  It was 100 degrees yesterday, but only supposed to be in the high 70's today.  I might need a jacket!

Having Jorge here has been heaven.  Seeing my friends when I was home was great, too.  Shadow went crazy when she saw me.  It was a much needed boost.  I appreciate that everyone took the time to see me.  I know it was last minute for everyone, and I loved every moment I spent.  My flower gardens look beautiful.  And I got the vegetable garden planted (with help from Ninette and Peggy). 

--DV