The Good Old Days

Today was a beautiful Spring day with sunshine and temps in the 50's.  It felt great to stroll around the Pines this evening and take Arnie out for a walk this afternoon.  I felt like my last post was a bit on the whiny side so I'm going for a little more upbeat today!  I'm sure many folks are yearning for the "Good Old Days" of a few months ago but there are positives about the "Good Old New Days" happening now.  I think many families are getting closer and without the rushing around we usually do we can take some time to organize, regroup, set  priorities, check on friends and neighbors...even remotely...and perhaps find ways to do more service for others that doesn't involve face to face action.  You probably have many ways that you've found to serve others.  I know lots of folks who have sewing skills are making masks for friends and families.  Food gets dropped off at the hospital daily by businesses that are saying thanks for those on the front line. I was at the hospital today and noticed the chalk drawings on the sidewalk.  I wish I had clicked a pic! The messages of thanks really uplifts the folks working there under more stress than usual.  This time away from surgery has made me appreciate my coworkers from the "Good Old Days" more! We see each other in passing now and then, and can't hug, but the smiles and the "I miss you!" greetings are truly heart felt.  We'll look back on these days and remember how we felt, how we worked, how we survived, and how we appreciated the good moments in every day life.  Today a friend who was cleaning out "stuff" in her home found an old newspaper clipping from 36 years ago.  I was featured as the cook of the week in our local newspaper. I had just had my last son, Jordan, who was around 6 months when this appeared.  Thanks Bryn for the memory!

Ahhhh...the "Good Old Days!" 

Late Easter Greetings

I usually do post Easter happenings here at the Pines but since we didn't do the regular Easter happenings I really didn't have much to post about.  I miss the traditions we usually do but there will be another Easter and maybe we'll be able to have some fun in May.  Seems like a little light is shining at the end of this crazy virus tunnel. Curves are flattening, cases are down, social distancing seems to be working.  I just know that I'm really over it.  I shouldn't be complaining since I'm not at home all day, I'm actually out in public. That can be a bad thing too since the public I'm around are in the hospital or doctor office. But we're good so far and I hope I'm helping in some way. In my real job I don't usually talk much to patients since they are typically getting ready to fall asleep before surgery.  Mingling with the public that's awake has opened my eyes.  I realize the pajama wearing crowd isn't just at Wal-Mart.  Nope, folks come in to see the doctor, go get lab work done, or x-rays in pj's, flip flops, slippers, dirty clothes, bedhead hair, bad attitudes and frequently forget to put in their hearing aides. I have to ask 3 questions when I'm screening patients: (1) Have you been out of the country in the last 2 weeks?  So far nobody has left the USA. I'm glad because I can't imagine going on a cruise with Christmas fuzzy pajama bottoms and an old t-shirt on.  (2) Do you have flu symptoms today?  So far everyone says no...even the ones that are coughing, look like crap, and say: "No, I just have pneumonia and my Covid test hasn't come back yet"...oh and they aren't wearing a mask. (3) Have you been around anyone who has had Covid 19 in the last 30 days?  So far only one person said yes.  Well, at first they said no then said that they've only been around their daughter who tested positive but that was just to leave food at her doorstep.  Huh?  After taking their temperatures I let them enter in.  I've only had one guy who had a temp. I consulted with the powers that be and because he was feeling fine we let him get his lab work done.  I also gave him a mask and told him to monitor his temp and be on the lookout for flu symptoms.  Yes, I have my favorite phrase going through my head daily...:I LIKE PEOPLE...UNDER GENERAL ANESTHESIA!" Yesterday I was on call and we did have 7 surgeries scheduled.  I was on the bowel resection that took 6 hours and was glad they let another team work so it wasn't a repeat of last Tuesday where we were there until the next morning.  Life is going on and I'm sure we will be getting permission to lighten up on lock downs.  I miss my coworkers. I miss doing my job in surgery.  I miss lunch.  I miss my regular routine.  But so many folks are not working, or getting a paycheck, or are sick so I have nothing to whine about. Forgive me! I hope everyone had a nice Easter even if it was a bit unconventional. I made my lamb cake as I showed on my last post and then I made 2 more to give away:

A little herd!

I made a new recipe of chocolate chip cookies.  They are Joanna Gaines's  recipe. I took them to work today and I guess they liked them.  That's what they said anyway!

Did my first mowing of the season.  It felt good last week when it was warm.  We had snow today so I'm thinking it might be next week before it gets cut again.

Last of the daffodils. The cold and time have ended their season. It was nice to see them and welcome in Spring.

I'm not sure if Arnold is getting fatter or just fluffier.  Anyway, I did get to talk to my Mom on Easter and will be talking to her again tomorrow.  She's hanging in there, still a bit confused and asks if she's ever going home. It's been a struggle for her to be isolated from all she knew and hopefully she'll hold out until we can come and see her and also get her home with some home health care. Midge continues to get dialysis and is doing good so far too.  I'm glad she's been home.  Mom has asked about the dogs and doesn't know that we had to get them a new home.  They are living with a nice family. It was a hard decision for my sister to make but necessary all the same.  Take care everyone. I can still say Happy Easter since this weekend is Greek Orthodox Easter.  We used to celebrate both Easters when I was younger.  So Easter Greetings to all...stay safe, stay healthy, and wash your hands!

What Are The Pines Whispering?

 When it's windy...like it is today...the pine trees do seem to be whispering.  What's on their minds?  First,  work has had it's moments this week.  Tuesday was a bit of long haul.  After starting work at 7am and finishing at 3:45...called back at 6:30 (I wasn't even on call but they needed some help)..home by midnight...up on Wednesday morning to get to work by 6:30 am...home early only to be called back at 1:30-5pm (I was on call this day)...up today and back at 7 to do Covid19 screenings until 1pm...and so it went.  It matched the crazy weather this week.  The Cleveland area had 3 honest to goodness tornado touchdowns on Tuesday night into early Wednesday.  This morning started out raining...then hail..then snow...then sleet....then rain...then sun..then sun while it rained...need I go on?  The whispering was coming out like a shout!  Stop the madness!  So I'm happy that tomorrow is Friday.  Good Friday to be exact. Because virus or no virus it's still Easter weekend.  We're joining our Church and others across the world and participating in a world wide fast and prayer day tomorrow for an end to this Covid19 mess and for the health of our families, friends, healthcare workers and others so we can get back to normal soon.  I hope our Whispering Pines send that message to the Powers that be heavenward.   Here's my pics for this week:

Anyone missing an Easter Bunny?

He's hiding in our Whispering Pines.  Sort of friendly but not friendly enough to catch him. I do believe he lives next door so hopefully he hopped on home!

I made this Easter lamb for my Granddaughters..Lex and Addy .  Since we can't be together I can leave this with their Dad for Sunday.  However it did remind me of something...or someone...or some Arnold:

A little Easter grass and candy, throw in a bow..just sayin' !  The Pines are whispering that it's time for bed...night all!

April has brought the Spring season closer to us.  Our weather has been mild with only a few really chilly days sprinkled in here and there.  Rain was pretty strong last week but thankfully we've had some sun to dry things up a bit. Here's a pic of the farmer's field near us that turns into a lake every Spring:

That's the field from my car window. Surf's Up!  Makes it hard to plant without a submarine I guess! On the covid 19 front we're bracing for the surge that's predicted to hit us this week. My son, Jackie, works at a hospital in Wooster, Ohio just about 30min. from us.  They have 5 cases of corona and a couple of them are nurses.  I heard that they are suggesting we don't wear our scrubs out of the hospital because some weirdos are blaming healthcare workers for this virus and are attacking nurses when they are seen out of the hospital.  Like I always say: "You can't cure stupid".   In the mean time I'm doing health checks on folks going into one of our facilities that has lab and x-ray along with doctor offices. Most people are pretty nice about having to do a screening before going into the facility.  Then there's the jerks who act like I made up this whole thing and the virus is a conspiracy. Yep, I'm thrilled that I worry daily about my family who are healthcare providers, my Mom who's in a nursing home and can't have visitors and is getting more confused as the days go by.  My sister who's going to dialysis 3 times a week and is a perfect candidate to catch this. Yep, I just love not going to my real job like normal.  I'd much rather beg you to let me take your temperature to make sure you're OK. 

Here's my little desk..yep, I read while waiting.  I do this for 6hrs a day and it can be a bit boring...but hey, it's a paycheck!

Wear a mask!  One of the things that does make me smile is when I ask folks for their phone number.   Maybe my male blog buddies can clear this up.  How come most men don't know their phone number?  They have to think about it, hem and haw, check the phone, and one man had it written on a piece of paper in his wallet.  Women just rattle it off, no problem.  Just a little mystery here!  So that's what's happening in my world.  This weekend had nice weather and I did get outdoors and work on my flower beds.  Jack and I cleaned up the yard a bit and hopefully I will get the first mowing done next week.  We need some maintenance on the mower first.  I managed to bake some pies:

Strawberry..don't laugh at the crust.  A little whip cream made it look prettier!

Dutch apple.  I'll have to find someone to give a pie to.  That's really more than we'll ever eat! But it's fun to bake and it makes the house smell good too.

I ordered this Easter Creche and it came in the mail the other day.  I thought it was different and a good way to decorate that brings the real meaning of Easter.  It's not all bunnies and candy!  This is the week before Easter and usually I'm getting ready for the kids to come and have a nice dinner and an Easter egg hunt and going to Church on Sunday morning.  Not this year, but I hope we can celebrate in our own quiet way and not get too sad that it's totally different.  Please pray for an end to this madness and for the safety and well being of your families and friends.  For all those that are sacrificing in any way and helping everyone cope.  We will get through this.  I know that I will look back on posts and remember how it was and be so glad it's over.  Take care everyone!

March Madness

I believe I stated when March began that it came in like a lamb.  I never would have guessed how lioness it would be come by it's end.  The weather has been mild and Spring sprung with my daffodils in bloom:

I'll need to get out and pick some for inside but time has been flying by with work and all it's crazy schedules.  Because we're not doing elective surgery we've taken on jobs all over the hospital.  I had the opportunity to actually work in our cafeteria kitchen. I'm here to tell you that some of the heroes of this virus war are certainly behind the scenes. I had no idea how an institutional kitchen ran and how the food was created for us and for the patients.  My coworkers were excited I was going down there and said I needed to add some flavor to the food! I had to laugh because after watching how it's made I really had no intention of actually cooking anything.  I hung out with Ann..someone I've known here at Samaritan for a long time.  She gave me the skinny on making salads, sandwiches, checking stock, filling patient food orders, making some cookies and desserts along with cleaning, dating all the food that's prepared in packages, standing and chopping, sorting, washing, and anything else I could handle that didn't ruin the food! It was exhausting! I started at 5:30am and ran until around 12:30 until I took a 30min. lunch break.  The head cook never even took a break or lunch!  I won't be back there because I'm moving on to another position of checking temperatures of people coming into the lab/xray at another facility for the hospital.  I'll be doing that for the month of April along with working in the operating room when needed or on call.  The nurses and the other surgical techs are elsewhere.  Most hate it and miss our regular schedule but do it anyway.  Working 12hr shifts on the front line.  I also want to take a second to thank our housekeeping crew.  Everyone is working hard, doing special cleaning and making sure we do all we can to keep ourselves, our patients, and the community safe or at least getting through this time.  I've always said that hospitals are not Doctors and Nurses...it's EVERYONE!  Every job is important.  Healthcare cannot be healthy care without a team effort.  Thanks everyone!

Thanks Ann!

Thanks Becky!

The kitchen is safe...I'm moving on!

Thanks Ashley for letting your sweet face get all red from those N95 masks!  Call with you is always a good experience!

Night all!  Don't forget to wash your hands!

Just For Today

I realized when looking at my previous post that my title might make you think I was positive for that stinkin' virus thing going around. (I'm sure you've heard of it)  Well, I'm still trying to stay "positive" in thought and hope for a new day with things getting back to normal or what might be a new normal after all this is over.  I do have hope it will be over if we all do our part.  My Mom is having a pacemaker and a heart ablation today.  It's hard on us because we can't be there with a no visitor policy. She's wondering where we all are and it make me sad that she doesn't understand what's happening.  Her hearing aides were lost in the rehab facility and when she fell again and hospitalized on Friday it made it really hard to explain what's going on.  On a brighter note, my sister is still doing well at home.  So just for today we will smile, have hope, pray for Mom, and for all of our neighbors and friends and family.  I'm home today and will be cleaning and putting up some decorations for Easter.  I don't know if we'll be able to have our annual Easter celebration but I'm still going to prepare for it anyway.  It's a favorite time of year for me. Ohio put out a mandatory stay at home policy for non essential travel and work.  I will be working the rest of the week at the hospital and doing my part to help where needed.  Since the OR is closed for elective surgeries our nurses are spread out over the facility working where they are not really comfortable and also hours that are different.  But they go anyway...they are the best.  Take care everyone! I was glad to visit my blog buddies this morning and find some laughs, good music, and just for today catching up!

I'm glad that Spring has sprung.

Taking this scripture to heart today and every day.

I'm Positive!

Jack said I needed to put a new post in and he's right! I'm home and getting caught up with our lives and the town and the empty store shelves.  Oh, and work.  All a bit on the sad side and it takes everything I have to stay positive. Elective surgeries have been stopped for the time being.  Only emergencies.  That being said everyone was wondering where we're going from here. Will we be working and earning a paycheck?  Lots of things have stopped but not living, eating, and paying bills.  There was a big meeting this afternoon to let us know what to do next.  Everyone will be working in some capacity but not all will be in surgery.  We have screeners who will be testing folks who think they may have covid 19.  The med/surg floor will need help if it gets too busy and the emergency room is short staffed. For now I'll be staying in the OR because I'm not a nurse...I'm a surgical technologist and my skills are for the operating room mostly. I mean, I can do general patient care without giving meds and such but my boss is trying to keep me away from the sick patients because I'm in the "danger zone" being age 67.  I'm glad about that because I hate being out of my element!  We may have to work different shifts, different days and even may have to drive to Cleveland to work at University Hospitals up there. I draw the line at that! But for those who want to do it, I'm glad they can still work and get paid.  I'm still worrying about my sister and Mom in Chicago but they are doing good for now.  I just hope it stays that way and they continue to progress on the path of health and rehab.  I do hope this virus runs it's course quickly and the economy, schools, and all around general life gets back to normal....or as near to normal as possible.  I really hope my hairdresser will be back on the job one day too!  I will probably be working longer than I planned..especially if my pension took a huge dive!  So I try to look at how positive nature is right now. Spring is around the corner:

Daffodils are peeping up...

See the purple crocus? They're closed up because it's been raining but they are there!

Daylilies are springing forth.  So Mother Nature doesn't let a little virus ruin it's day!  It's 7pm and still light out...sunrise will come and sunset too.  I guess we need to take a cue from the earth and just chill out.  Stay safe, stay home, stay positive!

Update #2

First, my sister is doing really good. She has made improvements daily and will be out of ICU today and going to a telemetry floor.  She still will need dialysis but also still hoping it's temporary.  So now for the really fun part.  Tuesday morning my Mom fell in her bedroom and fractured her tibia.  Thankfully she didn't need surgery but now she's also in the hospital, two floors up from Midge.  So as my sister's kids are with Midge, my siblings and I are staying the hospital room 24/7 with Mom.  She has been confused of course which is the nature of the beast with the elderly when medicated and in a strange environment.  So for now we're making arrangements for Mom to go to a rehab facility for PT and care. She should be there at least 3 months.  Midge will be able to go home with in-home care when she's ready.  We're taking everything one day at a time.  Prayers always appreciated. I would also pray for the stupid corona virus over reactors. Seriously people.  Never mind, don't get me started.  Maybe because as a healthcare worker we'll go to work as usual. Even if every idiot in the county has taken all the masks and toilet paper.  All I ask is please don't take all the diet Pepsi...actually, just asking for a friend.

Update

This has been a very rocky weekend.  Emotional, scary, and also finding answer to prayers. Thanks to all of my friends and family who sent well wishes and prayers. That certainly includes all my wonderful blog friends!  As they were getting Midge ready for the emergency surgery,  the doctor said over and over again that she only had 5% chance of survival.  But he never met my sister and she made sure she was in that 5%.  The surgery was very difficult because of other health issues in the way.  He said it was the hardest case he's ever done.  She did well and the next day she was extubated and breathing on her own.  Unfortunately, early Sunday morning she took a turn for the worse and had to have CPR done.  Her daughter, Amy, is a  nurse..a super nurse! She's been with her Mom nonstop and she was the one who noticed the heart attack.  She did the CPR and initiated the code.  The nurses working weren't the best and Amy just told them what to do the whole step of the way.  Again, Midge defied odds and after being shocked twice came back to  us.  Again she was intubated, had to have dialysis because her kidneys stopped working. They are hoping the kidneys will respond again but it could take months.  She made it through Sunday night and is doing well today.  The endotracheal tube was taken out and she was actually sitting in a chair and talking and joking.  She has a very long way to go and is in no way out of the woods.  So for today, for now, it's good.  God willing it will be that way until she can come home.  In the mean time we need a plan for Mom. None of us live in Illinois and we are trying to find a way to take care of her also.  She's healthy but at 93 has issues that make it necessary for somebody to be with her.  So for now my siblings are here and we're hoping for a recovery that brings her home...no matter how long it takes! Love you Midge! Your family is here for you always!

Asking For Prayers

I don't usually do this...shout out for prayers...but I'm going to today.  My dear sister is in the operating room as I write this for a repair of an aortic aneurysm.  She's been battling some other issues this past week and after a CT scan they found this aneurysm. So they re-scanned her today using dye. It showed a leak in the aorta and they rushed her to surgery. Having helped in this type of surgery I know the seriousness of it and also the high chance it could be a bad outcome.  She's my best friend as well as my sister. We are connected in a very special way...almost like twins.  I've packed my bags and will head out in the morning for the drive to Chicago.  Jack will stay here and hold the fort down.  Just keep her in your prayers if you think of it.  I know they help and I'll let you know how things go in the next few days.  Midge lives with my Mom and takes care of her so that will be my focus as well as taking care of her dogs.  I won't be blogging for a bit except for any updates.  Thanks so much.

Get Well Midge! And I'm not kidding!

12 Years Ago Today

On February 29th, 2008 I did my first blog post.  I never imagined I still be at it 12yrs later but here we are today and yep, here I still am today!  This will be short and sweet tonight but I just had to mention this milestone.  So what did you do on this "free" day?  This one extra day we've been given this year?  I hope it was a good one for you all.  Yesterday was my birthday (everyone always asks me if I was a leap year kiddo but alas...nope!  Mom planned better than that!) I took the day off yesterday and I'm also off on Monday.  So I haven't done anything super great but it's been a lovely weekend so far.  We went to the Temple in Columbus this morning which is always a nice, quiet, recharge time for us.  Throw in some shopping and such and I'm ready to call it a day.  Jack says that's what happens when you get older...smarty pants...he's 6 months younger and feels the need to remind me every year!  That's OK, I'm over it and ready to take on a new year.  12 blogging years have flown by so fast.  But not as fast as the past 67 years!

Happy Leap Year everyone!

A Person By Any Other Name...

We're required to do a lot of education at work.  The medical field is always changing and requiring many "mandatory" inservice  requirements.  We do a lot of this online.  If I could go to a computer daily I might actually catch up on all I have to do but usually I'm scrubbed in all day.  However, this month has been a bit slow so I hit the computer area and sat down to be educated on yet more info than I'll ever remember.  Yesterday I had the opportunity to learn more about people.  In our society we have male and female people.  Transgender people.  No gender people.  Gender neutral people. Nonbinary gender nonconforming people.  Cis-male people. Cis-female people. (and even people from Indiana) Then there's the pronouns for people...she/her/herself....well, you get the picture..oh wait..the gender neutral are: zhe, zhim, zher, etc.  Confused? Maybe you're not. I was and frankly still am confused.  When I got to this part in my reading I had to go back to the OR but I snapped a pic that might help you understand my plight.

Yes, it's the "Genderbread Person".   I'll look forward to the rest of this story.  I guess my thought on all of this is it doesn't matter to me how you identify yourself.  I know it matters to you and I've never met or worked with any surgical person that doesn't respect that.  But mostly we care about how best to take care of you. If you were a woman but you're now a man that's fine but did you know if you have a colonoscopy that even though you're now male, your insides are still female and you need a female colonscope? (yes, here gender does matter since male scopes are bigger...sorry guys) We don't care if you're overweight, a smoker, an alcoholic, drug addict, any race, or religion, or just a super jerk.  We always greet you with a HI and a promise that we will take good care of you and be with you the whole time of your surgery.  I've only heard the nurse, doctor, technician, use your name.  I hope that's OK.  I may need to know all this other stuff for some reason.  Not sure how I got through over 40 years in the operating room before knowing this, but this I do know:  A person by any other name is still a person...someone who needs help, someone who's probably very nervous about being in the hospital, someone who's somebody's family member or friend.  And people, that matters the most.  Amen

And "SNAP"...The Weekend Is Over!

The weekends slide by so fast.  I'm even on call this weekend and I'm usually happy to see it go by quickly.  I really don't like to wish my life away but call can be the pits.  This weekend hasn't been too bad. I did one case this morning and I would have had one on Friday night but another Tech asked if she could have my call and I said a big: "YES!"  They ended up doing one on Friday night so I'm sure she was happy with the overtime pay.  The weather was really beautiful and a little warmer so I could get the car washed. We did our usual errands and grocery shopping on Friday night and Saturday morning.  I got a few things done around the house too.  But the most important time spent this weekend was celebrating our Grandson Anthony's birthday. On Friday he turned 18..can't believe it! Saturday afternoon we all gathered for a lovely dinner at his girlfriend's home.  He's going to graduate high school this May and will be attending Bowling Green State University in the Fall. (His PawPaw's almamater) He's a wonderful young man and such a nice kiddo.  He played basketball during high school and we went Tuesday to Senior Night:

He's number 24. They won the game by 14pts so it was a good night for the team and for his almost farewell game.  The parents walk the seniors out and the boys get honored and given some gifts. I sat in the bleachers thinking that I just did that with his Dad not so long ago..OK, maybe it was long ago...27yrs...but it sure seems like yesterday!

His birthday dinner last night was delicious. His Mom made lasagna and his other Grandma made a wonderful chocolate cake.  We laughed and just enjoyed the company and celebrating with him.

Not too old to enjoy the silly hats! (not that he had a choice I think!)

He and Noel have dated most of high school.  She's a sweetie too. Her family is also very nice and it was good of them to open their home for all of us.

Some of the family that was able to be there.

Anthony with his little brother Cameron.

His sister Summer and her fiance', Brett.  Our other Granddaughter,  Driana, had to work and couldn't make it. That's the trouble with being in healthcare!

My oldest son, Jack...another good kiddo!  So Happy Birthday to Anthony.  Time sure has flown and there will be many new roads ahead for him.  We wish him the best in all he does.  I do have to show the card I made him.  Have you ever made a candy bar card? You use candy bars to substitute for words..it's fun to make and looks super cute too:

It took two foam boards to get it all done but he loved it!  Night all!