Jesus Loves Me

hello friends...long time no see. life is good...can't believe i'm done with school. i feel like i'm still in limbo...my body and my brain haven't figured out all this free time yet. the other day, i laid in bed from 1:30 AM until 6:30 PM. it was F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. to be able to do that just because. the unit's census has been low, so we've all had lots of off time (more than we've wanted, really...especially with the holidays here). yesterday, though, we finally picked up...got four admissions during one 12 hour shift (i'm posting this about a week and a half after i started typing it...).

i was supposed to be off on thursday (the 15th), so i didn't bother to see if my ringer was on or off on wednesday night when i went to bed.

the next morning i got up around 6:20 am to let the dogs out and feed them. happened to look at my phone and what do you know but i have two missed calls from work and one from my manager. called my manager back and hear that there's a set of twins about 45 miles from here...25 weeks. we're taking two teams. if you hurry, you can go.

i flew into my clothes, out the door, jumped in the car, and made it to the hospital in record time. got a dr pepper out of the machine on the way down the hall with the transporter. the helicopter team had already left, so we (me and the other two nurses i was with) were going in the ambulance. i tell you what...laugh all you want, but it still makes my day to be hauling it down the hall pushing the huge, bulky transporter, med box and bag with every supply i could possibly need in tow.

when we get to the ambulance (HOLY CRAP it's cold outside!), we jump into the captain seats in the back and kick it into high gear. we'll be going "code 3" all the way to the referring hospital...that means sirens screaming, lights flashing, hauling as much butt as we can in town and going 90 on the highway...because these twins are not born yet and they're holding the c-section off until our teams get there. our team leader (the RN leading our group) starts going over what we need. the isolette is already turned on and warming up in preparation for the tiny life it will soon carry. monitoring equipment (EKG leads, etc.) is already in there. we grab IV stuff and rip tape to hold it. we grab a bag of fluid and draw a syringe full of sugar water to keep the baby hydrated and its blood sugar stable until we get back to NICU. several warm packs are in the transporter...we'll break and activate them and place them under the baby when we get going, to keep him warm. breathing stuff...i set to work hooking up the ventilator tubing on the transporter while my partner tears still more tape to hold the breathing tube (less than the diameter of a drinking straw) in place on baby's face. we fill out as much paperwork as possible ahead of time. 35 minutes after leaving, we arrive at the ER. bags in tow, we weave our way through the hallways to the nursery, only to be pointed to the OR, one floor below. we roll into the OR suite and don masks, hats, and shoe covers. i take my station next to a nurse who has had a license for two months less than i have been ALIVE and start checking equipment. we've got suction, warm blankets, adhesive, tape, CO2 detector (to see if the breathing tube is in the lungs versus the stomach-it changes color if it's in the lungs), ET tube (breathing tube), laryngoscope blade (which will be used to hold the baby's mouth open and act as a guide so the breathing tube can be slid into the baby's lungs, and which i quickly flip open to make sure the bulb is good...it is, so i snap the blade down so the bulb doesn't get hot and burn the baby's tongue). a few more minutes, and we hear a nurse call, "0745! baby boy!"

the tiny bundle of life is gently laid under the radiant warmer, a team of four people waiting expressly for him. he is gently dried off and then repositioned. the laryngoscope blade slides into his mouth and down his throat. the breathing tube is inserted and someone verifies with the CO2 detector that the tube is indeed in the lungs. it is secured and then the little one is draped with sterile drapes and IVs are placed in a vein and an artery in his umbilical cord, allowing us to monitor blood pressure, draw blood, and give antibiotics and fluids.

in the meantime, the OR team is having some difficulty getting baby "B" out of mama. finally..."0749! baby boy!" he is bruised from being manipulated out of his mother's womb. after a few tries, he is intubated and lines are placed. the nurse practitioner on our team takes over "bagging" (breathing for) baby B, and i help get baby A ready for transport. then we encounter a problem. no matter how many ways we try, we can't get the ventilator on the transporter to work. that means that we will continue bagging baby A...all the way back to the hospital...approximately a forty minute drive. we load the impossibly tiny bundle into the transporter and head out. i start the paperwork on the way back, and it's a relatively uneventful drive (minus the screaming sirens and the fact that we are flying down the highway at 90 miles per hour). we get back, get unloaded, and are just pulling into the unit when the nurse who is breathing for the baby says that her bag is losing pressure. that means no more air...which means baby is not getting oxygen...we pump it up and run the rest of the way through the unit until we arrive at the room where the baby will be for the next several months. after quickly untangling IV lines and other supportive equipment, we reattach the baby to a special ventilator that will not only breathe in (push the oxygen in) for him, it will take the oxygen back out (breathe out). it does this at the incredible rate of 600 breaths per minute...very fast, very quick puffs of air that work to improve gas exchange in the lungs and have the added benefit of never allowing the air sacs in the lungs to completely close, which additionally enhances gas exchange.

i was there for another 45 minutes helping the nurse who admitted baby A to get him settled and finish my paperwork. it amazes me more and more each day at how much i'm learning...and how much i'm trutsed with. as we were settling baby A into his new environment, another call came in...this time from a town about two hours away. they had a baby that was now 3 weeks old and 29 weeks adjusted age. since i couldn't go on the transport (i'm not quite experienced enough to go just me and another nurse), my boss offered to let me admit the baby.

suffice it to say, this precious little one ended up not having the problem we suspected, which is good. he's going back to where he came from later this week (this is getting posted a little late...started it on the 16th...). i'm glad he'll be closer to his family, but they are such sweethearts and i'll miss them. the parents only speak spanish, so his 15-year-old sister translates for them. never have i seen such a sweet young lady...i've never heard her complain about having to spend her weekends with her mom and sick brother as opposed to hanging out with friends, and she loves this little boy as though he were her own. she gets just as excited about positive updates as her parents do and is such a breath of fresh air...

did i mention that i love my job? in case you hadn't picked up on that...well, i do. :) now, on a lighter note...

1. Put your iTunes/Mp3 Player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this.(no pressure i just thought it was funny.)

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? These Are the Days (Sugarland)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Fly (Sara Groves)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Love is Neverending (Brad Paisley)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? No Eye Had Seen (Joy to the World PraiseBaby CD)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? She Said Yes

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? For My Love (Bethany Dillon)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? I Have Nights Like This (Clay Walker)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? 5 Minutes of Fame (BarlowGirl) hahaha!

WHAT IS 2+2? I Am the Way (Mark Schultz)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Journey to the Well (Jeff Berry)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Joey (Sugarland)...but i don't like this answer, because in that song Joey dies!

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Beautiful One (By The Tree) love it...

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Because You Loved Me

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Aimless (Bethany Dillon) oh...this is so apropos...so many of them have been aimless...probably why i don't like anyone in particular right now...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Speed of Life (Sugarland)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Here I Am to Worship (Lincoln Brewster)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? So Long Self (Best Friends)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Be Thou My Vision (PraiseBaby God of Wonders) hmmm...i must think a LOT of my friends!

HOW WILL YOU DIE? Welcome to Our World (Michael W. Smith) hmm...little ironic...

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? Out in the Parkin' Lot (Brad Paisley) oh dear...what did i do in the parking lot? i don't remember any parking lot... :)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Make His Praise Glorious (IABC)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? I'd Love To Be Your Last (Clay Walker)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? Midnight Bottle (Colbie Caillat)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Send Your Rain (Jeff Berry)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? Jesus Doesn't Care (Point of Grace) oh man...even Jesus doesn't care for me? uh oh...

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? I Know Now (Bebo Norman) well yes Bebo...but what exactly IS IT that i know?

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Jesus Loves Me :)