Time to breathe

The last few weeks have been crazy, and not all of it has been good crazy.

Last week, I had my "off-site" experience for my pediatric rotation. I spent time in the PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) and in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). The PICU was the most emotionally awful experience I have ever had in nursing school. There were two "non-accidental" traums (aka: child abuse)--including shaken baby and a child that was beaten so terribly that her liver lacerated. There was the teen who attempted suicide and failed (yet, if she survives, will be left so severely impaired that she may never even be able to eat again). I came home and cried. To see the hurt in this world--the evil in this world--so up close and personal was devestating. I can't imagine the parents that would hurt their children, and I can't imagine the pain that would cause a young person to think suicide is a better solution than life.

I really enjoyed being in the NICU. There are sad cases there, too, but it's a different kind of sad. Maybe I have a double standard, but I have loads more compassion (and "loads more compassion" is still not a lot of compassion!) for the drug addict mom who delivered a preemie than for a person that shakes a baby. Maybe it's because the addict is fighting a terrible chemical addiction and probably has been fighting it for years. The person who shakes a baby just loses control. I know what it's like to have a baby that won't stop crying--I put my youngest in her crib many times, while she was screaming her head off, just so that I could have a break. It's a much safer solution than shaking a baby.

On a happier note, we went with our small group to see the movie "Fireproof." It is a movie about the importance of fighting for your marriage and the importance of faith to sustain marriage. There were parts of the movie that were funny, parts that made you think, and parts that made you get emotional. There was enough action that the husbands liked it, but enough emotion to keep everybody's attention. I highly recommend that ALL couples, whether engaged or married, see the movie!

Oh yes...Mandy has now missed 5 days of school this year. Her latest illness is an ear infection. Of course,the tube JUST fell out of that ear. Sigh...I wonder if that means she's going to need a third set of tubes?

I better go and get Mandy from school. We are going to go to the grocery store and then to the apple orchard. I plan on making homemade applesauce today!