andhow5.com

I miss my best friend!!!!!!!!!

What’s the point?

I hate Spam. Doesn’t really matter if it’s the fake meat in a can, or unsolicited emails. I also hate Spammers, and believe they will all rot in a level of hell reserved especially for them.

Lately, I will receive an average of 500 emails a day, now even in foreign languages. This must stop! I think they’ve hacked my domain and messing with my email servers.

Someone must pay!

Can we say that it’s felt like a permanent full moon lately versus a nuclear winter at work?

With all the codes, traumas, MI’s, and actual sick people - it’s like we’re a REAL ER!

Sick, sick, sick… 

I think it’s strep - whatever it is, it’s bad enough I haven’t eaten for several days.  (And for me, that’s saying something!)  Sore throat, fever, body aches, extreme fatigue, no appetite, dehydrated, post-nasal drip,  inflammed sinuses, and I’m hacking up shit that looks like it could crawl away on its own…  And yet I continue to work.  I look like death warmed over. 

The response from my “sick for 10 minutes” patients really is pretty funny…  I can’t possibly imagine why I make them nervous!

Hmmm…  I’m going downhill in my old age.

I tell ya’ what - I think I have scarred the lining of my lungs, and am now trying to cough them up and out through my nostrils…  The other day before work I had time to color my hair.  While I was waiting I figured I’d kill 2 birds with one stone and clean the shower as well.  So I happily sprayed mildew remover in and got all my stuff out and ready to go. 

I started coughing, gagging, spitting, eyes watering (and squinching shut), snorting, gasping…  You get the general idea.  I figured I’d hop in the shower and let the spray rinse my face off and I’d feel better.  Well - I forgot that the new water heater gave HOT water, so the hot water hit the cleaner and I had a lovely fog of cleaner fumes meeting the hair color fumes.  Of course, the gagging got worse.  It took me at least 5 minutes to realize I forgot to open the freaking WINDOW for ventilation!

I jumped out of the shower, threw the window open, and stood there dripping wet with my face mushed against the screen.  I’m sure it had to be a lovely site…

So - fast forward to today.  I spent ALL day long in the basement.  I cleaned a portion the back half with bleach water (and it took forever to dry), and spent the rest of the time on the front half - painting 2 coats of primer on the paneling.  Talk about fumes!  I’ve started coughing, gagging, and sneezing again.  I think I’ve hacked up a portion of bases of my lungs…

And to tell you what a persistent idiot I can be; tomorrow I plan on cleaning another portion of the back half (with bleach water), and then painting the ceiling and the walls with at least 1 coat of paint, if not 2 coats…

My nose is running, throat is sore, I have a headache, and my lungs hurt.  I think I gave myself a good chemical burn while attempting to clean the primer off my hands!

Ouchie!

The incision on my shoulder had been healing well, until a few days before the sutures were due to come out.  It started swelling, becoming red around the incision line, increasing pain, and was becoming warm to touch.  I had the NP at work take a look at it and she agreed with me that I probably needed antibiotics.

So I call the doctor’s office (and lucky me - my doc and his nurse was out so I got to talk to the on-call doctor’s nurse) that did the procedure and explained to the nurse that the site was swelling, warm to touch, reddened, increasing pain, but I was afebrile (without fever), and there was no drainage; that I had someone from work look at it and they thought it needed antibiotics, and what would THIS doctor’s office like to do - call a script in, or have me come in so they could look at it and then give me a script?

Dead silence.  Then - “Well, do you want to come in and have us culture the area?

Man, it took everything in me to remain calm, polite, and quasi-professional…  I repeated the information, especially the fact that I was AFEBRILE and that there was NO DRAINAGE.  Then I asked, “What exactly would you be culturing if there is NO drainage?  I’d be happy to come in to be seen if that is what is needed, but why do a culture if there is nothing to culture?”

Dead silence.  Then, “Well, what do you want us to do?”

I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth and wondered what the hell was wrong with this woman that she couldn’t put 2 and 2 together.  Any regular Joe-schmoe could figure out that if a wound starts to get red, warm to touch, and swelling ISN’T right.  And the fact that it was a surgical wound from where they had removed CANCER…

So I asked again would he prefer to call in a script for an antibiotic or would he like to see me and then GIVE me a script for an antibiotic.  Long story short - they called a script in for me for antibiotics, but nothing for pain AFTER I had explained I was taking 800 milligrams of Motrin three times a day and 650 milligrams of Tylenol every 4-6 hours.

I was amazed that they didn’t bother with anything for pain control…  So that made me think about the eye surgeon and him becoming pissy when I asked for something for pain and he gave me 4 tablets. 

You know - I’m an average citizen, not some hyped-up, tweaked-out, POS junky.  It just irked me that I was not properly managed for pain, when at work we give out scripts for pain medicine like candy to people that blatantly lie in order to get their fix.  Any dirt bag without a job, that abuse the EMS system, that’s able to get to the ER, that have NO reason for their “pain” and give Emmy-worthy performances for the “worst pain of their life, ever, for this hang nail” - gets their scripts, and out the door they skip.

I’m normal, and NOTHING.  I don’t get it.  I’m just saying…

I wanted to give a shout-out to my best friend’s son, Josh.

Happy 18th Birthday, Joshua!

Well, it’s Monday evening, 3-31-08.  Of the last 48 hours, I’ve slept approximately 44 hours.  I’ve been under a lot of stress (basement flooding,financial, et cetera), I’m healing from two surgical procedures, and I’ve been fighting the cold/flu bug that’s been floating around.

The kids have been coughing and hacking about a week or more…  I’m tired if messing with it.  I know the virus will eventually go away on its own, but it pisses me off that everyone and their brother tries to tell me they need antibiotics.  Uh, NO.  And when I tell you, “No, they don’t”, don’t come back at me with the I am an unconcerned parent shtick.  I do this crap for a living, so repeat after me, you morons…

“Antibiotics are only for bacterial infections, NOT viral infections.  There are NO cures for a virus.  It has to go away on its own, and you treat symptomatically.”  So kiss my lily-white ass!  Now that I’ve had to repeat that to you AD NASEUM, that will cost you at least $300.

But - I find myself pulling further and further away from society in general; almost making myself a shut-in.  So that makes me wonder if I’m just fed up with people in general, or if I’m trying to give myself time and space to heal, so I can continue to fight the good fight?

Self-preservation, or healing?