I had 3 job offers! Oh yeah! All that hard work really did have a purpose behind it! I think I subconsciously thought the homework and clinicals and lack of money and working for free aside from a real job and sitting in classes was going to last for the rest of my life. Now I have
been working swing shift at Maryville Nursing Home for almost a month. I chose it because it is right down the street so I can ride my bike there. So far I love it! Money? What is money? What do I do with it? It keeps coming. Isn't it supposed to be going? I thought bank accounts got smaller and smaller not bigger. And I love to get out of work and have a nice relaxing night bike ride home to just unwind. Plus swing shift is the BEST! I mean, it's called SWING shift. How could it not be fun?Yesterday I saved someone's life! Well, that's what I tell myself to make it sound more dramatic and exciting. I was at work and one of the CNAs came up to me and said that one of the residents was complaining of leg pain. I went in there and "Mary" (I'll call her) looked anxious and her face was all grimacing. I pulled the covers down and looked at her legs. They were both swollen but this was usual for her. But one leg seemed to be slightly more swollen than the other. I remembered learning that this
could be a sign of a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) AKA a blood clot. 
I knew that if this was the case then it was very important not to move her leg too much or rub them because it could break the blood clot free and it could travel up to her lungs or her brain and could kill her. I remembered the test for DVT. You push their foot, causing it to flex. If this causes severe pain and this is only happening in one leg it's known as a positive Homan's sign and a sign of a DVT. I did this test and she cried out in pain. I told the CNAs not to get her up or move her until I let them know. I ran to get the RCM and she came with another more experienced nurse. They both looked at it and were not convinced that it was a DVT. They said, "Oh her legs are always swollen and she is always complaining of pain." I felt like such an overreacting new nurse fresh out of school making a big deal out of everything. Then they both clocked out and went home. They were right but something just seemed different and I couldn't ignore the thought. Plus the fact that she had the positive Homans sign. I continued to watch her throughout my shift and she was not getting any better. I don't know why but I just knew she had a DVT. I called her doctor and expla
ined what I saw and that I just wasn't sure and wanted his advice. This is a doctor who everyone is afraid to call because they say he can be really mean. I was just praying he wouldn't yell at me. He surprised me when he said, "That's exactly right. You don't know. You never can know with these things. Sometimes the ones that look huge and red are nothing at all and the small ones you can hardly see are the deadly ones." He said it needed to be looked at as soon as possible. I scheduled for her to have an ultrasound first thing in the morning. Today when I walked in to work the RCM came to me and said, "You had some good intuition on Mary last night. She does have a DVT. You may have saved her life." Oh holy cow! Now I give her a Lovenox shot in her tummy every night to break up the clot and she can't get out of bed for a while. I always pray before work that Heavenly Father will protect my residents from my ignorance and I am SO thankful He is! I seriously can't believe how much responsibility they give to new nurses. It's both exciting and scary!Other than work I don't have much of a social life anymore. I've found that I just have so many thoughts in my mind that I don't want to share or don't know how to so I just don't have a whole lot to say to people. I am so thankful for work to keep me
busy and happy. I also go on long bike rides with my mom. I'm starting rowing classes soon so I can join the portland rowing team! They race up and down the Willamette. It looks like SO much fun!That's all! Later gators!
