RN2B...er RN!

These 2 pics are for my UBPN/BPI Friends. A while back, my friend Amy asked me if I had any pictures from when I had a tendon transfer (I was 14 going on 15) and now that I have a funtional scanner I managed to find a couple taken at my 15th birthday party (this was 10 days post-op) 1990.
I had this tendon transfer to get external rotation as I have a brachial plexus injury due to a traumatic birth. I had the surgery at the Montreal Shriners.

I just bought a new printer-scanner and so have been able to scan some old pics into the cpu, YAY! So I figured I would put in some of my skating pics from before I was paralyzed (Transverse Myelitis in 2004)... so here are some from over the years (1997-2004) from various competitions in Canada and in the USA:

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

the "too" part in my title refers to my friend Cathy's results... again, I say we ARE sisters seperated at birth!

Well, yesterday I went to see Body Worlds at the Old Port with my bio class. It was amazing to see. Sometimes I forgot that I was looking at real people, and not statues. The method of plastination is neat and really conserves the body well. I especially liked the one with the nervous system, you can see all the nerves (CNS and PNS), they were thicker than we thought. I've included a few pics I got off the website (as we are not allowed cameras in the exhibit) and one of me and my bio teacher afterwards (we went to Pub St-Paul). Great day!

Take a look at thisvideo it's neat!

Well, I passed Med-Surg II and A&P IV! So I am moving on up to my 3rd and final year of nursing school come next August! WOW! What a long and intense year this has been. Both school-wise and personal-wise... But I survived it all and even enjoyed most of it.

Now I can relax and not freak out over exams and grades anymore! Woohoo... party-time!

Am going to Body Worlds on Friday. Will post more about that soon.

Your Birthdate: October 14

You work well with others. That is, you're good at getting them to do work for you. It's true that you get by on your charm. But so what? You make people happy! You're dynamic, clever, and funny. And people like to have you around. But you're so restless, they better not expect you to stay around for long. Your strength: Your superstar charisma Your weakness: Commitment means nothing to you Your power color: Fuchsia Your power symbol: Diamond Your power month: May

Ok, so the hip/pelvis X-rays came back as normal, no bone problems/calcifications... good in one way, bad in another. Good because that would mean more problems and possibly a future career issue, bad because it means I have to re-learn how to walk without compensation (or at least not too much compensation). The pain is still there, though less since I got a new shoe orthotic for my "good" side.

The bloods came back as normal too. YAY! Even my cholesterol levels were great, odd since I have lived of fries and salt and vinegar chips and other junk food since September (2nr yr nsg school makes me crave junk food.. must be the stress or something!).

My neuro ordered more bloods this past week (cause I haven't had enough poking already!). She wants to see if my fatigue, and lack of eating (or not much eating, I do eat after all, just not much) has anything to do with my thyroid and my poor eating has affected my B12 levels and such. So I did that on Tuesday and now I wait to find out if anything comes back as LOW or HIGH or WEIRD!

Well it's been a week since I got the Botox. 4 injections in all in my left calf muscle, 2 of which really really hurt (I have hypersensitivity in some parts of my leg). It seems to be working, not completely yet, I was told it could take up to 2 weeks to be able to see the effects. Already I have less spasticity and much les clonus.

The problem is my quad... either it is MORE spastic or i am just noticing it more as the lower leg is "quieter". I have to see my doctor in another week and a half so will discuss it then.

I had some side effects, mainly fatigue and headache, but being a nursing student also does that, so who knows!

I'll post more updates as they come...

This is not a pic of me, but it's what it looks like when they do it..

Here are a few new pictures taken recently... some at the RVH where I did my med-surg II rotation, one at home with me and the cats!

One more week of class followed by a week of exams (Nursing final, Bio {A&P IV} final and Nursing OSCE) and I AM DONE until August! Wish me luck for exams!!!

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

Well, the day has come. This Friday I will get Botox for my spasticity/clonus in my left leg. I am nervous, scared and excited! I am nervous because this is new for me, scared because I think it'll hurt and excited because the thought of being less spastic and less clonus is, well, amamzing. It's been 3 years of this and I need a break.

The Botox lasts for for up to 3 months, so this means that if it works for me and I think it's worth it, I will have to do it again... and again.

Wish me luck! And yes, i will blog about it... I may even bring a camera and get my friend to take pics.

After the Dawson shooting there were 3 more school shootings in the US. And now there is another, this time over 30 dead and another 30 injured. I had hoped that I would not be writing about another school shooting, but here I am. This one is being called the worst school shooting ever in the US. I believe it. It's sad, it angers me. I saw it when I got home from school and just sat there and cried. Memories of my own school shooting and the aftermath still very much in my thoughts. Many of us at school are still going through some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. These memories may fade eventually, but not yet.

My thoughts are with those at Virginia Tech. The pictures bring back many scary memories, and those living through it now will not soon forget or get over it.

As many of you know by my previous post, I have a foster baby elephant that I sponsor in Africa. She is rather cute and gets into all sorts of trouble (funny, good trouble) and is a real mischief maker! I recently got an update with a few new pictures so thought I would include them here!



One of Makena alone and one with her and her stockade mate, Sian. She loves Sian and really loves sucking on Sian's ear which drives Sian absolutley nuts... but she eventually gives up and lets Makena do as she pleases. (Makena loves being the baby!)



And if any of you wish to foster an elephant, look at the link I have on the right I named elephant rescue. It's $50 USD a year, and they are a reputable organization. Please check them out, it's well worth it.

Happy Easter! Hope the Easter bunny was good to you... this little guy is pooped after all the egg hidding he had to do!

And this is just funny, had to add it in!

I am slowly going bonkers. I have a class test (#2) for nursing on Wednesday and am slowly losing it. I am having a hell of a time focusing on studying. I am so distracted at home, that I have to get out of the house to study, even the noisy (and I do mean LOUD) school cafeteria or upper atrium is better than home! Doesn't help that it is now "warmer" out and lately sunny! I finished clinical last week and walked out of the Vic to a bright sunny day, only I was too damned tired to enjoy it! But I chose this profession (why? oh ya right, I LIKE it... can't wait to graduate!).

As you can tell I decided to take a break, so am writing this blog entry... or I am procrastinating, AGAIN! I will get through this semester and PASS because the thought of doing it all again makes me want to cry, so, that being said it's back to the books (medical-surgical nursing... blah) and class notes, and there are a ton of them!

Oh ya, and my camera and/or software for the camera is messed up and I cannot download (upload?) any of my pics onto the computer!!! Grrrr!

Ok, back to it...

So I had my last 2 appointments today... I went to the IRM and I got my new shoe orthotic and so far so good. It feels good to walk on, no pain or cramps. Then I went to the MGH for hip and pelvis x-rays... let's hope the doctor calls me soon to tell me what's next, apart from the Botox for my leg. I want to know if the x-ray shows anything or not.

And the saga continues...

And so, I am nearly done with hospital appointments for a little while at least... 2 more next Tuesday. Today I had bloods drawn, fun stuff! I now have a bruise and welts from where the stupid tape was. I never used to react to the tape, now it would appear that I do.

I must say that I much prefer it when I am the one poking my patients, and not the one being poked, though I admit I am so very used to it now!

So next week, X-Rays of my hips and pelvis and getting my new shoe orthotic!

OK, had test #2 at the neurophysiology lab. This one was called a cutaneous electrogastrography and using the water load/water challenge test. I was sitting/lying in a huge recliner (Lazy-Boy style) with 3 electrodes on my stomach. They took readings for 10 min, then I had to drink as much water as I could until I felt full, and then they took more readings for another 30 min. Basically I caught up on sleep! Yes, I fell asleep!

So after downing nearly 500cc of water and waiting 30 min I seriously had to pee. Thank god the washroom was NOT occupied!

The above pics are of an autonomic neurophysiology lab... this is one of the tests I went through last week. I'll see if I can bring my camera and get pics taken of me...

Ok, so the title makes it sound like I am at some fancy beach resort... I'm not, I'm here in cold Montreal.

What I mean by this title is the fact that now that I have some "down-time" I am still running around! I have doctor/hospital appointments scheduled all week!

Monday: MGH doctor appt for my hip
Wednesday: JGH test in the neurophysiology lab
Thursday: blood tests
Tuesday: IRM for my new shoe orthotic and after the MGH for x-rays
(5 appointments in 4 days)
in between these, I am studying, doing errands and hopefully a bit of shopping!

At least by going to the MGH I get to see my friends as in my ex-nurses/PT/dietician/neurologists... same for the IRM, makes it more fun. I was speaking to one of the neuros I had 3 yrs ago, she could not get over the changes/improvemnents. Pretty neat to be able to amaze doctors!

Well, I have made it through the first 6 weeks! AND I LOVE IT! Who knew? I am learning so much each time I go and really find that nursing is what I am meant to do. I am doing new skills and feel like a "real" nurse. I still hate the fact that the place is a maze, and as long as I don't stray far from where I know I am ok, hehe.

My group is great, we all help each other and really do work well as a team. The nurses on the floor are really nice and most enjoy teaching us too. Some really take the time to explain things to us and let us get a ton of hands-on experience. My clinical teacher is nice and trusts us and jokes with us (she changed her opinion about me having a disability and no longer doubts my abilities). It is a nice feeling not to be intimidated all the time. I find I learn so much better this way.

6 more weeks to go.. or 7, not sure, what with March break... (which I am on now!). Wish me luck!

Today also marks 3 since I got Transverse Myelitis. In a way, it is a "good" thing; made me want to become a nurse even more, gave me insight into how patients feel and will make me a better nurse. So I guess it isn't all bad (paralysis and all), more challenging for sure and I still have some doubts, but what student nurse doesn't?

(The pics are of me now, participating in my school's Open House and of me back in 2004, when I was in the hospital and saying that I would become a nurse!)

I am on a medical ward at the RVH, a hospital where I did my med-surge 1 rotation (on a surgical ward). I hate this hospital mainly because it is HUGE and built like a maze... but I am there for the next 12 weeks and so will have to deal. So far it's been alright. Wish me luck!

No one ever said school was easy, especially nursing school... 3 years of insane amounts of studying. Speaking of which, I have spent my day reading and re-reading my bio notes. Have a test tomorrow, first one of the semester. It shouldn't be that bad, after all there wasn't much covered in class. 40 questions, 20 for class material, 20 for lab material. It's the lab material that is worrying me. Ear and Eye and review of nervous system/muscular system. The ear and eye are driving me mad! It's not complicated, just there are so many little details.

Between the stress of school and wanting to get through med-surge II ALIVE and with a minimum 60%, and the stress of clinical rotation I am not gaining weight, rather losing weight. Most people wouldn't complain I know, but you see I don't have weight to lose. My MDs are always asking me if I am eating enough, that I shouldn't lose more weight... I know I need to eat more, but for me stress = nausea and not wanting food!

My new problem, or rather an old one that is getting to be really annoying, is that my BP is low. You'd think with stress, it would increase, but no, mine drops... so I am now in the process of playing with meds (with my neuro of course). Hope it works, because frankly as fun as it is to see how low it can go before I pass out, I need to be functional! I didn't come this far to be knocked down with hypotension.

Just wanted to share a pic of my "foster" elephant Makena. On the side you'll see the website where you too can foster a baby elephant. Mine is the smaller one, she is about 18 months old now.

My dad came home yesterday, saying he had bought the cats a treat... turns out he bought DOG food! Small cans, fancy ones, for small dogs... No we didn't try it on the cats, though I am sure Sjoukje would have tried it as she puts everything in her mouth (she thinks she IS a small dog!).

He is too funny! He squeezes into the smaller of 3 boxes I put out for the cats with a look that says "What...?"