Sickness Sucks!

Sitting here at 3:54 a.m. coughing, I am reminded why I hate being sick:

  IT SUCKS!!!

I am at the tail end of the "flu" or a similar virus.

Yes I got my flu shot this year.

That thought doesn't comfort me from the extreme congestion in my sinuses and now the cough.

I missed two days of work plus spent my off days sick.  

This illness has cost me money, time, and sleep.

I was sound asleep when my eldest came in at 2:30 a.m. awakening me and the sleeping beast that is mucus.

Thanks son.  I wish I could share the favor….

Hopefully after dosing myself with extra strength mucinex/sudafed    

I will be able to return to sleep before I have to be awake to go to work.

I hope you are all healthy and well because I don't wish this misery on anyone.

Cough, snort, wheeze.

It's That Time of Year

As a nurse working in long term care there are different seasons than normal people recognize.  Right now is the season for death.

I know, not a happy topic.  In the past month we've lost four of our residents.

The latest was a man in the unit I work the floor on eight hours a week.  He was on hospice, though, funnily, I felt we did most of the work.

He was unconscious, all of a sudden one afternoon.  After that it was sub-lingual morphine and making sure he was as comfortable as possible.

He managed to bite my finger through his unconscious state!  He was a stubborn guy to the end.  And no I should not have stuck my finger in his mouth but I was checking to see if he'd absorbed his medications.  Next time, I'll use a flash light.

What a strange journey I've taken since 1996 when my son died in my arms, at home, thanks to hospice.

Now I'm the nurse.

I find myself empathizing with the residents with dementia that I care for two evenings a week.  Many of them with no visible family members.

Not because I'm losing my mind, that was gone when my kids were teenagers.

Because everyone deserves some kindness and a hug.

Even someone who won't remember that hug five minutes from now.

I suppose that's my take away thought-every one deserves some kindness and a hug, especially towards the end of their life.