Back to School

Well it's been sometime since I've posted here. But Dyslexic Girl is back to school (while working full time)! Despite how hard school is for me I'm hooked, I love learning. So here is the story about how I decided to go back to school to peruse a Masters in Emergency and Disaster Planning at Royal Roads University:

I am currently working as a respiratory therapist (RT) at Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). I love my job, it's everything I could ask for. I care for patients by evaluating, treating, and maintaining cardiopulmonary function. I cover all areas of the hospital but particularly high-risk and critical care (Intensive Care, and Emergency) areas. While I enjoy all aspects of my job I thrive when I am working with the code blue team or the trauma team in the Emergency Department (ED). I have always worked well in stressful situations.

Last summer I was working in the ED and I got a call that a large motor vehicle accident what going to arrive in 15min. We only know that it was multiple vehicles and we would receive up to 10 patients and that at least four of them where critically ill. I had to jump to action. I called for other RTs working in different areas to come down as I would be unable to manage so many patients on my own. I started organizing for intubation and getting various bedsides ready. I was in charge of leading an organizing our group of RTs to ensure each patient coming in could be managed, I would also be in charge of prioritizing who receive our care if we became overwhelmed. We ended up receiving three very ill patients (a fourth passed away on route), they all required to be incubated an put on breathing machines, two required massive transfusion protocols, and they all needed to get life saving operations. At one point we ran out of blood to transfuse them with. It was the most chaotic hour of my life but it was organized chaos. We had teams and leaders for each team and we coordinated via the charge nurse who was overseeing the entire event. All three of them survived but we where stretched to our maximum. I started thinking about what if we had more critically ill patients, one more patient and we may not have been able to offer them the same level of care as the first three. What if there where many more?

That event started me looking into disaster and emergency planning. I read books on disaster planning and past disasters. I started talking to various managers about Code Orange planning and how our hospital would deal with a major event. I found out that most of the people who are in charge of code orange training were self taut and do not have formal training. I found the Royal Roads program via web search and it really clicked with me. There was an actual program for what I had become profoundly interested in. I want to enrol in this program because I want to know how best to prepare for emergencies and disasters. I want to learn about all aspects from pre-planning for emergencies and disasters, to how to manage an actual disaster. 

End Note: So here I am already five weeks in! I should be doing school work but procrastination comes along with school for me. So far I'm loving the program, it's incredibly interesting and engaging. I'll write more on the program later. What I have realized as I go along is having a learning disability does not make me any less capable. I am proud to say I am an excellent RT and an excellent student. I just have to adapt sometimes. Most of the time it's not even noticeable, I wish I could tell my younger self this. I turn 30 in 2 months and I cannot complain about life. I have an amazing job, an amazing boyfriend, an amazing dog, an amazing family, amazing friends and an amazing life. The one greatest thing my job has taught me is to love life... you don't know how much time you have, so do what you love and hug people you love. 

The Jouney so Far and the New Adventure Begins

Well I'm done school. It's been three crazy years of my life and I really cant believe  it's over. The overused Dickens quote "It was the best of times it was the worst of times", is very applicable.

I can't believe how much we learnt in three years. I went to a code last night as an RT. I felt so proud of myself when someone introduced me as the code RT. I mean shit I've only been working as a real RT for 2 weeks. It's pretty neat but I got orientated to the T12 ward 1st (they have patients on the wards, carry the code pager and attend codes). It was also the very 1st rotation I did in level two as a student. As a student I thought it was the best rotation ever, I had four codes in 3 days. I've come full circle back to T12 now as a staff, it's poetic really and I love T12 just as much. I'm a code junky, high energy, high adrenalin.

Level 2 presented different challenges than level 1. In level 2 you find your groove. You start to put the pieces together, develop a style, carry a patient load. You are no longer learning individual skills but how to put these skills together. You learn to stay calm when shit literally hits the fan. And like all the semesters and levels before you work your ass off. You start feeling like part of the RT team. Level 2 is more self directed learning. If you put yourself out there you get to see cool stuff. I've also learnt that my definition of cool is not everyone else's definition of cool. Oh yeah and I had my OR rotation, I intubated a bunch of people, no big deal. ;)

It was a good year to be a student. We all had multiple job offers for full time positions. I chose VGH because as it would be an easy transition from student to staff as I already knew the hospital. I also really like the staff. Ten of my classmates/friends got hired here with me, so we don't feel like the new staff at all. But let me tell you that first paycheque is amazing. It's been a while since I've seen cash flow and it feels good to have some coming in.

Like I've said before deciding to become an RT was the best choice I've ever made. I scarficed a lot and it was all worth it, because now I have a job that I'm absurdly passionate about and I know that will never change. Not everyone can say they love their job but I can. I am very excited to see what the next year brings as a new staff. I'm told you learn just as much if not more in your 1st year of work than you do as a student. I've always loved adventures.

New Years Resolution Vinyl Street Cafe Style

Years ago I was listening to CBC's Vinyl Street Cafe; and Stuart McLean was talking about New Years Resolutions and tomatoes. He commented on the fact people always make resolutions that for the most part they don't keep. My personal resolution that I enjoy failing at every year is: This year I will eat less sugar! Yeah right. I consume sugar like it's my life line. Removing sugar from my diet feels like I would be taking a part of who I am away (Ok, I know it's weird associating my person being with sugar but really I love the stuff in all forms). Anyways... Stuart McLean decided to make his resolution something he would enjoy keeping, so his resolution was to buy nice tomatoes. Ingenious I thought. I hate bad tomatoes why do I buy them anyways. So I borrowed his idea and made that my new years resolution. In the years since I have always bough nice tomatoes. I like the one's on the vine that almost always taste like summer.

I love tomatoes, to me they taste like summer!

For my Birthday this year my friend Natasha took me to the movie "Surviving progress". It's about over-consumption and progress. I felt it gave a sense of hope and I enjoyed how it made me think about social issues outside of health care. I have been so consumed with my job that I often don't take the time to examine other social problems. I started thinking about my own consumption and how I could do something small to move in a positive direction. I wanted to make it my new years resolution but having decided to make only fun resolutions I would keep I was unsure how to do this.

If I could dress like this everyday I would, and most days I wear a slightly toned down version of this outfit.

I decided to marry the two idea's together. I love clothes and shopping. I feel at one time I am a consumer and other that I just love to express myself through my often loud and colorful clothing. I sadly must admit, when I'm down I love the instant gratification of a new outfit. At the same time I believe I have my own style that does not reflect current trends and I have always been good with second hand clothing. And thus my new years resolution was born: "I will only buy second hand clothing for a year". Some people I realize already do this and without thought but for me this will be a challenge. Now there are two clauses I have included to help me stick to this resolution. 1) Undergarments do not count, call me what you may but there no way in hell I will buy second hand bras, panties or socks. 2) I can buy six new garments this year, call it a cop-out but I am unsure of my success if I do include this. So unlike my resolution of purchasing only "good tomatoes", this resolution severs a few purposes:  It is fun, it puts some constraints on my consumer behavior and it allows me to be still be expressive through the clothing I wear. Without turning into a fashion blog I will post pictures of my secondhand outfit journey here and there.

Three Rules of Life the Hospital has Taught Me

I've been thinking a lot of the things the hospital has taught me about life. Cliche as they may be they ring true to me (and these are merely my thoughts and opinions).

1) Don't Smoke
I don't care that your Great Aunt Edna smoked everyday and she's 89.I don't care if you only smoke socially or infrequently. Smoking leads to death plain and simple. I don't preach to my friends that smoke I know they know it's bad and I know they want to quit. People tend to say things like I'm going to quit once work is less stressful, once the kids are older etc.. There will never be a perfect time and it will always be hard, so get help talk to your Dr.; get your friends and family to support you. And for those of us who don't smoke; support people who are quitting when they get grumpy, don't guilt them if they slip up and be there for them, it is not easy. I don't want to see people I care for at a COPD or cancer clinic years down the road.

2) Everything In Moderation
Too much of anything is bad. Too much food, too much booze, too many drugs. If you choose to drink be responsible drink water, get a ride home. If you do drugs, don't mix them. More so than not people OD when there is more than one drug in their system. And for the love of god, do not mix MDMA and coke. It is a toxic mix that lead to heart attacks. One makes your heart stiff, the other makes your heart beat fast and essentially it explodes. No joke. Young or old bad shit happens when you do too many drugs.  Too much food leads to a multitude of problems down the road, try to eat healthy for the most part. Indulge but not everyday.  Everything in moderation applies to pretty much everything.

3) Live Life and Love

On a great adventure with awesome girls  xox

Tell people you love them every chance you can. Shit happens so make life count. Return anger and hate with love and understanding. Follow your passion. I've found a job that I look forward to going to. It's exciting, challenges and makes me think. Be happy at your job you spend a huge part of your life working. Try new things, and make fun goals. I'm going to learn how to surf this year. A day is never lost if you laugh at least once.

Celebrating life!

Allow people to have different opinions than yourself. This can be hard for me, and I can be dismissive when people have different opinions than myself, but I need to realize that different opinions/beliefs are what makes the world exciting. Take chances (not dangerous ones); how can we ever know if we don't try. Failure is not a negative word it just means try again or try something else. Do what makes you happy (so long as it doesn't hurt others). We only have one life, I am reminded of that everyday so lets all make the most of it.

Love

No I really can't smell..... Anosmia : The lack of perceiving odors

People always ask the same questions after I tell someone I can’t smell. The questions usually go as follows: “Like you always can’t smell?”, “Can you taste?”, “You must be able to smell really strong things?” The funny thing is people usually don’t ask why I can’t smell. I can’t smell because I have nasal polyps. The technical definition is an abnormal growth from a mucus membrane; they are pretty much like little peeled grape looking things that block my olfaction (smelling) passageway so I can’t smell. They are associated with my good friends; asthma and allergies. Fun facts about myself like this are how I seduce men; “Hey baby, I have abnormal sinuses! Wink” 

I have an abnormal fear of skunks

“You must be able to smell really strong things?” My favorite question… A few years ago, I came home early from work felling a bit under the weather. I let the dogs out for pee; they ran around the yard barking for a bit and came in. I went to my room for a nap with the dogs. They snuggled up next to me and I fell asleep. Four hours later I woke up to my brother screaming bloody murder. “WHAT THE FUCK!!! THE FUCKING HOUSE FUCKKK!” Followed by him dry heaving in the front yard. I thought the house was on fire but no… I had just had a four hour nap with freshly skunked dogs. So no I really can’t smell.

Yup had a nap with they two mutts when they were skunked

I lost my sense of smell when I was 20 it’s not really a bad sense to loose. I work in the hospital. You have to find the silver lining in everything. I mean fuck, not being able to smell is almost a superpower in the hospital, and I really should get a cape. I have been in small rooms where everyone is gagging from something putrid and I don’t have the slightest care. When someone smells like Melena or Pseudomonas (look them up if you don’t know what they are, cuz they are gross and Im not about to explain) people have gone so far to say I’m lucky I cant smell what’s going on in the room.

Taste… My taste buds still work, the best I can describe it is that food is less full but I look for different things in food; texture being one and sensation being the other. Garlic, hot sauce, etc have sensations associated with it them. I still love to eat and bake; it’s just a different experience. I had surgery a few years ago to see if they could fix the problem, but ends up the polyps are very close to brain matter and look a lot like brain matter and since my surgeon decided he didn’t feel like giving me a frontal lobotomy (his words not mine) he didn’t take out the ones that are blocking my olfaction passage. To be honest it doesn’t bother me much, it’s just one more thing on the long list of quirks that makes me who I am.

One way

Without a word of lie, the best choice I ever made, was to become an RT. It was like the job was personally designed for me. I love the rush of a code, the machines, the hospital, shit I find studying for hours on end an enjoyable activity. I would recommend looking at becoming an RT to anyone interested in going into a heath related field. I also feel people need to go into this job with their eyes wide open. It is not an easy path. We spent a total of 2h talking about death; first semester of first year. I was lucky an amazing palliative care nurse came in to talk to us. She told us something that has stuck with me "It is just as big of an honor to be at someone's death as it is to be at someone's birth". As an RT the job of "one way" or "terminal extubation" falls to us. When it is decided to remove life support, the final act of  turning off the ventilator and taking out the tube falls to us. It's not something that should be taken lightly. Sometimes are easier than others, but I always feel bad for the family and friends that are loosing a loved one. I don't think there will ever be a time I don't feel a sort of "twang" of sadness, when I see a friend or family member trying to cope with the imminent death of some they love and care for. I just try to remember; It is just as big of an honor to be at someone's death as it is to be at someone's birth.

How to mess with the brain of a Dyslexic Girl…

I have been crazy busy with life recently. Between full time school, I also work part-time, hence the lack of posts recently. But here is a quick story. My father is an amazing man; I love him so much and am very lucky to have him as my father. That being said he is still my papa and has always enjoyed getting the last laugh.  Here would be such a story.

A while ago my father and I were taking a stroll in the park and came across a woman with a fairly ugly little white dog. The dogs face was smooched in, his eyes were crossed, he had what looked like skid marks on his white fur and look the result of some serious inbreeding. We chatted with the lady and like with an ugly baby told her how cute the dog was.
She told us her dog was a “Lhasa Apso and they were the best most prettiest dogs ever!”

As we walked away my father said to me “Lhasa Apso… that dog look more like a Lapsed Asshole!”  

This followed by a good laugh.

One week later, my mother and I were taking a walk and we came across, a much cuter version of the dog from the pervious week. With the confidence a girl who is not only dyslexic but lacks any form of a verbal filter I stated loudly…

“What a cute Ruptured Anus!”

My mother reaction was equally as spectacular as my statement. It took me an entire 2 second to figure out what I had just said. Somewhere deep in my Dyslexic mind I had gotten Ruptured Anus from Lhasa Apso and I had my father to thank for crossing those wires.

Returning from our walk I explained to my mother about the ugly Lhasa Apso from the week before which my father had called an Lapsed Asshole and how really anyone could have gotten confused and thought the dogs breed was that of a Ruptured Anus.

My father thought the entire things was hilarious and to this date is one of his proud moments as a parent.

So here are some deep parting words from a Dyslexic Girl!

“If life gives you Melons you may be Dyslexic!”