Keeping Kosh

This last Wednesday night while at I was grading papers in my office I found myself to be a recipient of a rather unusual delivery. What was it, you ask; nothing other than a "kitty to go."
A family friend, who incidentally had 5 cats, suddently found herself in a pickle when she recently found out about a medical diagnosis on top of other major life changes including having to urgently move from her home. That leaves 5 homeless kitties. My grandma took two of them in while we found homes for two others. The fifth one, well...that's where the "kitty to go" comes in.
My sister called me Wednesday afternoon asking if I would like "a ministry opportunity." Suddenly I find myself the foster parent of a rather affectionate three year old female cat. I took her home and she hasn't stopped following me since. I'm trying to tell myself it's only temporary, that she's annoying and I don't have to keep her. I did however, make the mistake of calling her "Kosha" which means "kitty" in Russian; "Kosh" for short. I hear that once you name the thing it's all over, they're yours forever. It looks like I might be keeping Kosh.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

For the last two weeks my students have been taking care of an elderly lady with a recent amputation of the left leg. As I'm sure you can imagine, she has a difficult time getting in and out of bed. Last week my one and only male student came in the room to help her get back into bed from her chair. She was very grateful for his help and apparently hasn't forgotten it...
This week I went in her room to help the students change the dressing on her stump. The male student also came in to help. As soon as she saw him she said, "I remember you, you are so easy to get in bed with!" He immediately turned beet red and the rest of just couldn't stop laughing. It took her a few seconds to realize what she had just said but when she did, she couldn't stop laughing either.
It turned out to be "the best dressing change she'd ever had, and it didn't even hurt." They say that laughter is the best medicine!

Rice Krispie Bricks

If you know me well or if you have ever read the very first entry of this blog then you might already know what this about; if not I'll attempt to fill you in.
Several years ago in sleep deprived state I asked my friend Angela, "What are your rice crispies saying to you?" It became code for, "What's God doing in your life?" We've been sharing little tidbits of encouragement/testimonies even since and others have joined in! On day I came home to a package on my doorstep, inside... a giant rice crispie brick from a friend in Oklahoma! ;)
This last week I found myself once again the recipient of a rice crispie brick, only figuratively this time... I was blessed to indirectly be a part of something awesome, a gift that blessed and fulfilled the desire of a wonderful dear lady's heart.
I read her message in response to the gift on a day that was especially exhausting. I had worked all night at the hospital and then taught class in the morning and was getting ready to work night shift at the hospital again... As I was on the bus on my way to work that night I remember thinking, "I have no idea how I'm going to make it through tonight. This is almost (but only almost) an emergency." As I was walking up the stairs my unit on the the fifth floor I remembered what was said in the message from my friend, "God cares about the desires the of our hearts, He knows exactly what we need and is faithful to provide it." I prayed a little a prayer, "God I know that you will get me through this shift somehow." When I opened the door to my unit and saw the charge nurse at the desk the first thing she said was, "Would you like to go home on standby?" Praise the Lord!!!
My switch to day shift comes in March but with it I will also lose my shift differential and a significant chunk of my income. With raises being held and the economy what it is, I must say this makes me a little nervous. However, I think it's the right thing to do for health and sanity in general. Once again I was met with a rice crispie brick. My sister called with "exciting news about mortgage rates" and I was able to refinance the house at a much lower interest rate and save several hundred dollars a month. God is so good!

I'm Back!!!

Hello dear readers, I'm back. Ever since the heavy snow fall around Christmastime I've had trouble with my internet connection. After several weeks of trying just about everything, my sister finally fixed my connnection by disconnecting my wireless router completely and connecting my computer with a 50 foot ethernet cable.
Here's the update:
I put in request to change to day shift at the hospital after 10 years of working nights. It was granted! I will now rotate between working days and nights with the option of working mostly days. Hmm... I wonder how this will impact life in general.
I heard back from my friends Carlos and Carrie in Mexico City. They said that the Mexican Red Cross as well as other groups we have been working with have invited us back. Carlos and Carrie have volunteered to host us again! The hope is to take and alumni/nurse group this summer and deliver some of the medical supplies I've got stored up at the same time. Mexico City here we come!

A White Christmas

As I was working early Christmas morning I peeked out the window of my patients room and noticed it was raining. YAY, maybe the snow will melt enough so that I can get all the way home and to my sister's house for Christmas!!! Boy, was I ever WRONG... I ended up with about 7 or 8 more inches of snow on top of what I already had and I had to park my car at the bottom of the hill (where it is still stuck). As providence would have it, I happened to see a friend in her truck as I was trudging along the road making my way home, she graciously offered me a ride the rest of the way home.
I napped by my fireplace for a few hours and hitched a ride with Becky, Steve, and the their dog to Sean and Lisa's house. The festivities went as planned (mostly) with the highline being watching my mom try to play guitar hero. What a kick in the pants!

Barefoot in the Snow Up Hill Both Ways

I took the bus to work last night half anticipating that I might get stuck there in the morning waiting for day shift to come in with all the snow. I had "prepared" myself for such possibilities by packing an extra set of scrubs, socks and three times the amount of food as the usual.
All night long I found myself peeking out the window, each time expecting to see the promised snow. Finally at about 2am, I noticed some tiny flakes drifting sluggishly to the ground by the light of a lamp post. Next thing I knew it was 0730; the day shift was actually HERE and the snow was accumulating quickly.
I checked the sound transit website "just to make sure" and then headed out to catch my bus. We got rerouted on our way home due to road closures, bus spinnouts and thick layers of ice. By the time the bus finally dropped us off, I found myself in the northern portion of downtown Kirkland. So... It was nice morning walk up to the university campus in a winter wonderland wearing scrubbs and clogs. How invigoratine after having worked all night! Unfortunately the snow was little too deep for my shoes and I ended up with a good amount of snow in my clogs. (Yes, I actually had planned ahead for that too, but I had left my boots in the my car at the park and ride. I hadn't anticipated this bus reroute.)
When I arrived at the university, the campus was open and my nursing students were about to sit down to their final. Poor Dr. C. had left his house long before dawn to fill in and administer the test. I also learned (from the students) that he had left his car in Bellevue and walked over an hour and a half to get to campus. Now that's dedication. Had I beat him there I would have called him so he could get back home before he got too stuck and administered the test myself. We had roughly tied however, so it didn't matter; the exam was taken by all who showed up. Afterward I held a little improv. "Cable Chains 101" session with a student's car.
Fortunately I have the only office on the campus to contain 6 beds. Yep... I watched "the blanket show" in my little lab in the bed right next to my intubated Santa mannequin. When I awoke, it was still snowing!


I checked the internet once more before going back out and found that my busses had been canceled and all the other busses rerouted. Once again I had to walk to downtown only this time, no bus! Down to Lake Wa BLVD I went and finally got a different bus which at least got me across 520.

In a Good Place

It's that time of year again... Well yes, it's the holidays but that's not quite what I meant. What I'm talking about is the end of the semester with all it's finals to take, papers to grade, grades to report, etc.. Add all of those things on to working extra hours and the other sometimes not so pleasant surprises life throws at you and that can make for some overwhelming times for everybody!
Just last week I was lamenting over a situation in which I had zero power/ability to fix. I know, it's a nurse's worst nightmare. No matter how much I thought about it, there was nothing I could do to change the situation (or at least for the better). It wasn't longer however, before I was reminded by a friend that when you find yourself amidst (or even looking on) situations such as these in which you realize you are powerless and it looks like there is no hope that in actuality we are in a very good place. It is during these times we can rest in knowing that God holds all things in His hands, even this. (Whatever the 'this' might be.) We are forced to rely on His faithfulness to His promise. These are often the times where God grows our faith, reveals His truth, and draws us near. So... Before you have some "ineffective individual coping" just remember; if you know God you are in a good place.
Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."