Friday, October 26, 2012

It's Finally Fall!


     It's finally my second favorite season of the year: Fall! I love everything about fall, namely the fact that they start making just about everything pumpkin flavored. I just found some pumpkin marshmallows the other day and I have one word to describe them: Yum! From pumpkin shakes to pumpkin beer there is nothing I won't try if you flavor it with pumpkin. There is something I love more than pumpkin ice cream though and that is the cooler weather. I love to be outside...but I hate to sweat more than a polar bear in Ecuador. I love having the doors open and feeling the cool breeze flow through the house spreading the scent of my pumpkin (can you tell I like pumpkin stuff yet?) candle. Yes, I love the fall season and I really wish we lived somewhere that the leaves changed color so we could go oooh and ahhhh at the pretty colors, but we don't. Cactus is always the same color. Anyways, enough of my day dreaming about autumn leaves.
     I can't believe the year has gone by this fast, it will be Thanksgiving before I know it...then Christmas...then it will be 2013 and we will be celebrating Roxas's first birthday! I know the time will just fly by and I'll be asking myself what just happened as I cut the cake. Things have been moving so fast and the holidays are just speeding it right along.
     Roxas is growing SO fast. He is 17lbs now and very tall for his age. He is getting a second tooth (finally!) and nearly crawling. Personality just shines through him, and he's always got a sweet smile for you. Watching the process of him learning to crawl has been so fascinating. He gets so, so, so close to cross crawling I am sure he will be speeding around by Turkey day. He gets up on his hands and feet, like doing a push up, all the time. We have daily baby training sessions where we put him on the floor and place things he really likes just out of reach to try and get him to crawl. He does have an amazingly long reach, but sometimes he will get the idea and make an honest effort to get whatever we put in front of him. He has been eating like a little piglet too. So far there are very few foods he isn't a fan of. Broccoli and green beans are about the only two foods he makes the "yuck" face for. We also have a puff addict on our hands. Gerber makes these awesome little baby snack things called puffs (for those of you without biological sub-unit experience) and Roxas looooooooves them. I swear I should buy stock in them. He also loves other finger foods like cheerios and cut up fruits/veggies. When we go out to eat he gets to eat "big people" food sometimes, which he thinks is about the coolest thing ever. I love watching him grow and learn all these new things. Just watching the neurons make connections is absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see him learn even more.
     School for me is absolutely insane. I'm thrilled to report I now have an "A" in the class thanks to a good grade on my last test, but I'm still unbelievably stressed out about this whole thing. They weren't kidding when they said this program would be one of the hardest things you would do in your academic career. We are held to an exceptionally high standard and it's nerve wrecking trying to live up to it. We began our clinical hours in the hospital this past week and I can honestly say I felt like just giving up and walking out that day. I was so flustered, upset, stressed, confused and just plain done. Our instructors are working hard to make us not just good nurses, but exceptional. That means we are put under an incredible amount of stress and given a monumental amount of responsibility. I understand why they do it, but it doesn't mean I like it. We only have five more weeks of school left and then we get a few weeks break so I know I can do it. I'm very hard on myself when I goof up and that makes for even more stress than truly needed. I spend a great majority of my time reading or studying for tests. There have been points in this past week or so when I've asked myself if this is really, really what I want to do. The answer is yes, but it is going to take a lot of hard work and I just need to hang in there until I can get to that light at the end of the tunnel. No, not death...although sometimes........but my end goal of being a labor and delivery nurse or maybe even a nurse midwife (still undecided on that one).

     So that is the update on me and Roxas. Since it is fall I just had to stick Roxas in a pumpkin and take some pictures. I'm no photographer by any means but I really wanted to do some of the classic, albeit cliche, fall baby pictures. It was a pretty fun afternoon. I hollowed out a pumpkin that I thought Roxas would fit it and when I went to put the lid back on the thing I found it to be missing. Now, pumpkin lids don't just wander off on their own....unless you have sneaky dogs in the house. I found the lid to my pumpkin being gnawed on by the three dogs in the backyard. That was the first of a series of hilariousness. Then I tried to stick Roxas in the pumpkin. Turns out my pumpkin wasn't quite the right size to get Roxas in it so I had to cut little leg holes in order to get him in it. Not exactly what I wanted but it worked. Then even more fun ensued when I tried to get him out of said pumpkin. He was stuck. So. I had to cut him out of the darn thing. It was a pretty fun afternoon for us and I think we got a few decent enough pictures to commemorate his first Fall and Halloween. So until next time...






Friday, October 19, 2012

Maintaining a Nurse You Can Trust Amidst Your Treatment


    As a nursing student in the clinical setting I've gotten to see some interesting and unique patients. I've also gotten to see some interesting and unique nurses caring for their patients. It is absolutely imperative that a nurse be somebody the patient and the patient's family can trust and look to for help, comfort and information. This post comes to you as a guest posting from a woman named Melanie who contacted me about the importance of quality nursing care for chronically ill patients. Please enjoy this well written piece! [Kayla]

      For those with a cancer diagnosis, life can become a whirlwind of different facilities, doctors, surgeons, treatments, and nurses; however, having a nurse you can trust throughout treatment can make a big difference in psychological health, patient hope, and compliance.  

     The nurse-patient relationship is important in medical settings as well as in home care.  The role of a nurse is to not only focus on the medical aspects of cancer, but also the emotional needs of patients.  In fact, the American Society of Registered Nurses, reported that studies show 80% of psychological illness goes untreated during cancer treatment because the focus is on the medical procedures such as chemotherapy and surgery.  They also reported that an optimal nurse-patient relationship would be one where the nurse is in tune with the patient’s emotions and in a position to identify possible psychological symptoms.


     When patients can trust a nurse to give them correct medical information, care about their physical and psychological well-beings, and care for them in a professional, dignified way, it makes the cancer treatment journey much more manageable.  Unfortunately, most cancer specialists and surgeons simply do not have the time to form lasting relationships with their patients.       Having a trusted nurse doesn't just benefit the patient; it can also benefit the patient’s family caregivers.  Especially in home-based care, it probably has become a luxury for family caregivers to leave even for simple errands.  It eases families’ minds to know that the patient trusts the nurse and is content in his or her company.  Families need to feel as if their nurse is a part of the team and know they can count on him or her to keep them informed of developments, complications, and changes in status.  
     Patients and families can also work to build a more trusting relationship with nurses.  One of the obstacles facing nurses is their lack of knowledge about all the aspects of a patient’s treatment.  If a nurse only sees a mesothelioma patient in the respiratory wing of a hospital, he or she might not be aware of the current state of chemotherapy or radiation.  By making an effort to keep nurses informed and engaged, patients are not only taking better control of their health care team, but they are also signaling to the nurse that they would benefit from a more trusting relationship.

     In conclusion, a trusting nursing relationship can help avoid and treat the psychological effects of cancer treatment, fill the need for more time to discuss treatments, and reduce the burden on caregiving families.  Nurses can build relationships by paying attention to patient expression, talking about treatment in a comfortable way, and taking time to discuss things other than cancer.  Patients and families can build this relationship by engaging and informing nurses.     Having a trusted nurse doesn't just benefit the patient; it can also benefit the patient’s family caregivers.  Especially in home-based care, it probably has become a luxury for family caregivers to leave even for simple errands.  It eases families’ minds to know that the patient trusts the nurse and is content in his or her company.  Families need to feel as if their nurse is a part of the team and know they can count on him or her to keep them informed of developments, complications, and changes in status.       Patients and families can also work to build a more trusting relationship with nurses.  One of the obstacles facing nurses is their lack of knowledge about all the aspects of a patient’s treatment.  If a nurse only sees a mesothelioma patient in the respiratory wing of a hospital, he or she might not be aware of the current state of chemotherapy or radiation.  By making an effort to keep nurses informed and engaged, patients are not only taking better control of their health care team, but they are also signaling to the nurse that they would benefit from a more trusting relationship.

     In conclusion, a trusting nursing relationship can help avoid and treat the psychological effects of cancer treatment, fill the need for more time to discuss treatments, and reduce the burden on caregiving families.  Nurses can build relationships by paying attention to patient expression, talking about treatment in a comfortable way, and taking time to discuss things other than cancer.  Patients and families can build this relationship by engaging and informing nurses.     Patients and families can also work to build a more trusting relationship with nurses.  One of the obstacles facing nurses is their lack of knowledge about all the aspects of a patient’s treatment.  If a nurse only sees a mesothelioma patient in the respiratory wing of a hospital, he or she might not be aware of the current state of chemotherapy or radiation.  By making an effort to keep nurses informed and engaged, patients are not only taking better control of their health care team, but they are also signaling to the nurse that they would benefit from a more trusting relationship.
     In conclusion, a trusting nursing relationship can help avoid and treat the psychological effects of cancer treatment, fill the need for more time to discuss treatments, and reduce the burden on caregiving families.  Nurses can build relationships by paying attention to patient expression, talking about treatment in a comfortable way, and taking time to discuss things other than cancer.  Patients and families can build this relationship by engaging and informing nurses.     In conclusion, a trusting nursing relationship can help avoid and treat the psychological effects of cancer treatment, fill the need for more time to discuss treatments, and reduce the burden on caregiving families.  Nurses can build relationships by paying attention to patient expression, talking about treatment in a comfortable way, and taking time to discuss things other than cancer.  Patients and families can build this relationship by engaging and informing nurses.


     Nurses should step in to speak to the patient about their fears and anxieties.  Sometimes a patient just needs some time to talk about something other than their cancer, and the best nurses will be able to notice this without the patient explicitly stating it.

Friday, October 5, 2012

7 Months Old!


     Our little boy is 7 months old today. I am shocked at how quickly he has grown and how much he has grown in such a short time. He is fast becoming his own little person with his special personality quarks and all. He is understanding an amazing amount of information. He knows two signs, one for food and one for milk. He isn't all that reliable on using them, but he gets them and sometimes signs for me. It's amazing how quickly he caught on to it. I can't wait to teach him more as he gets older. He is just full of new things every day it seems. He is starting to make attempts at crawling but can't quite figure out how to get his legs going with his arms. It's pretty cute to watch. He laughs up a storm and loves to be tickled all the time. I love blowing bubbles on his tummy and neck to make him squeal with laughter. He still only has the one tooth, but I suspect the top two teeth are trying to make their way out. He is loving being able to eat "real" food. So far the only food that hasn't been an instant hit is green beans. It's a blast trying new flavors with him and seeing his reactions.
     Things have been so busy around here it's no wonder I lose track of time so easily. I need to hire some magical elves to help keep me on track. I can't even begin to think about Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas coming up so soon. I haven't even thought about what Roxas is going to be dressed up as for his first Halloween. I had grand ideas of making him a little Organization XII cloak and a tiny foam keyblade but you would have to know Kingdom Hearts in order to even get the costume. Plus, I don't exactly have the time to be sewing little baby cloaks and making tiny keyblades. I'm still not sure what we are going to pick yet.
     School has been merciless, and intense as ever. We are getting ready to head out to our first day of clinicals on Tuesday which is pretty exciting. I've got a huge pile of homework that is staring at me right now so I should probably go finish that while Roxas is still asleep.
Roxas eating dinner with Daddy

This is me when I was a baby, I think we look a lot alike here.