1 week and 36 hours of driving later...

I made it home from a wonderful vacation spent visiting my aunt, Jodie, and her family in North Carolina and my brother at Wake Forest.

The road trip itself was a beautiful drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway, mountains, and valleys. You just can't beat the beautiful scenery of the east coast. I quickly recognized West Virginia as the "White Trash State" due to its only major city, Charleston, being taken up with half factories and plants and the other half just plain dirty. On top of it, it seems like every destination (gas stations, hotels, etc) I hit in West Virginia, a fight broke out or sleezy men were easy to find. I don't think it helps that I saw a special on how half the population of West Virginia is doped up on Oxycontin. Needless to say, I think I could move to any state but West Virginia and I apologize for being negative about WV if you're from there.

I did finish painting my half bathroom before I went on my vacation and I absolutely love the color. Of course, it's the only room I painted at this time...

Now, I must settle back into my routine at work (not too excited about that) and earn some more money.

Light the Night Walk...

Tonight, a group from my floor and I signed up to walk for "Light the Night" in Forest Park. We signed up to walk with the family of a former patient of ours who passed away almost a year ago and left a daughter behind. Her daughter is now almost two years old and looks like her mother!

Here's Bentley with Megan's favorite nurse:


Bentley's sign on the back of her shirt:


Amber and Jenny at the start of the walk:


6900 staff Marching for Megan:

Floating with Amber and Jason...

This past weekend, a large group of us went floating with Amber and Jason (who are soon to be married next month) in Bourbon, MO. We all had so much fun! It wasn't warm, but it wasn't chilly (until nighttime). We definitely want to do it again, but when it's warmer.

I'm looking forward to working just 3 days this week! Siteman doesn't need me so I actually get 4 days off to get stuff done around my house! I am definitely going to try finishing painting my half bath and my basement closet.

Family pictures

So this afternoon, we decided to get a family picture done in the summertime, something we never done before. Somehow, we've had our family pictures taken in the winter or fall time. Of course, we had to get the dog in some of them!









While Abby did an amazing job taking the pictures, the priceless picture came on my camera courtesy of Andrew, Laura's boyfriend from Michigan. Kudos to Andrew for capturing my family in a family moment that mirrors us perfectly. It is my absolute favorite!

Petless...

Due to unfortunate circumstances, I had to put down both of my cats today. It was one of the most incredibly heartbreaking decisions I had to make. My house is eerily quiet and I find that I can eat without a cat sitting on my lap in front of my plate. I no longer need to chase the cats off the counter with a water gun and I have nothing to keep my feet warm at night. Yet, I miss those little things about them. I will definitely miss these two...

Do we have a right to complain?

After taking care of a wonderful patient that I couldn't help but get close to for the past month, it looks like I will finally be able to send her home tomorrow. What makes this patient so great, above others? She's only 21 years old and in her lifetime, battled two different types of cancers. As if battling two different types of cancers alone isn't inspiring enough, it's even more inspiring how she greets me with a smile each time I walk into her room and one of the most polite woman I have met.

So where does this post take me? Last week, I got an e-mail from my grandparents and once again, it highlighted on their medical woes. Don't get me wrong, I love them dearly and appreciate everything they do for me, but I have a hard time feeling bad for them when I have patients that have it worse than they do. There are parents who don't get to live to see their children go off to grade school or graduate high school. There are people who never got to enjoy the privlege of being a grandparent. There are people who haven't gotten to travel the world in their lifetime. And I certainly have a hard time feeling bad for them, knowing this patient I'm taking care of now is only 21 years old and has faced more in a lifetime than they have with medical problems. Yes, I do care if they have chronic back problems or gastric reflux. Yet, the problems are so minor compared to what my patients go through day in and day out. It is definitely nothing to complain about. Cortisone shots are nothing compared to bone marrow biopsies. An overnight stay in the hospital is certainly nothing compared to spending a month in a hospital for chemo and/or transplant. If they were to die tomorrow, I would think they lived a good life still, regardless of these medical problems. At what point, do we accept that life ends eventually, regardless if death is our fear?

Ethical dilemna or not?

Is it wrong to give a 93 year old man with an agressive type of leukemia chemo when he has congestive heart failure and a painful diabetic ulcer and lesions for the past four years that haven't healed?