FINALS!

In a little over a week, finals will be over and the first semester of nursing school completed. Wow!
This has been a test heavy week that isn't over yet. Never knew that brain work could be so physically exhausting! I wake up in the middle night pondering words such as erthropoieten and glomerulus and trying to remember the intricacies of how B and T cells function, which leukocyte rids the body of parasites which one phagocytizes invaders and the chemical reactions that take place to make muscles contract and whether its the sympathetic nervous system or the parasympathetic nervous system that activates the fight or flight response... Along with about a million other pieces of important information I should really know and understand in detail by my first final next Tuesday!
And that's just Anatomy and Physiology!
Next semester is just around the corner and I'm looking forward to taking Maternal Child Health and being able to focus on my area of interest for a while. Also have classes in Human Growth and Development, Nutrition and the biggie, Med/Surg. Looks to be an intense semester, but exciting and interesting!
Before I get there though, a road trip home to Colorado for Christmas will provide a nice break. Looking forward to seeing my kids, my folks and hopefully a number of my friends over the holidays. And sleeping. Sleep would be a very good thing!
Nursing Fundamentals ended today with our last regular test of the semester. The final question?
You do know it's Christmas don't you? If you do, fill in answer A on the answer sheet.
Blessings of joy and peace to all,
Lisa

Thankfulness

Only three weeks left to go in this semester! It has gone by unbelievably fast. We registered for next semester already and submitted our request for graduation from the LPN portion of the program! Wow! That means we are half done already!
Last week was our first clinical experience. My first rotation is at Crest Haven Nursing Home here in Creston. We had one day of orientation and then were assigned a resident to care for for the second day. I must admit that it felt a little bit like diving off the high diving board when you don't know if you know how to swim or not. But, my resident was patient with me and we made it through the day! I have a new respect for those who love this work. Will have four more days there before the end of the semester and then will be assigned to a new facility.
This week is a short week with Thanksgiving and I have been enjoying a visit from Zach who is here in Iowa for the week. There are so many things I'm thankful for this year and I thought I'd share some of them with you.
I'm thankful for my family and how they have supported me in my dream to go to nursing school and for all they have done to help make it happen. The kids especially! I could not have done this without their full support and encouragement. They were willing to accept massive changes in their lives (and stay postitive despite them!) to help me do this. I'm thankful that they miss me. My children are a treasure and it has been one of my great joys this past year,to watch them grow in maturity and in faith to become fine young adults.

"What greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth." 3 John 4

I'm thankful for all the friends, family and co-workers who stood beside me and encouraged me on the days I thought I'd never be able to do this and gave me courage to keep trying. For those friends who believed in me, even more than I did myself at times, that I was choosing the right path and that I would make a great nurse. For the endless cards of support and encouragement, flowers, gifts of time (and sweat) and meaningful (and useful!) gifts I received along the way. You have all been a great blessing in my life.
I'm thankful for the friends and family, whose e-mails brighten my mailbox on a nearly daily basis! You are life's blood to me!
I'm thankful for southwestern Iowa and it's great beauty and peace. This land has been a healing balm for me. I'm thankful for Creston and the people I've met here, for the church and the way they welcomed me in with open arms. For the college and the quality of education that they are providing us with. For my apartment and the peaceful views from my windows and for the kitties who keep me company.
This has been a great year, filled with many wonders, challenges, renewed faith and great blessings.
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all." 2 Thessalonians 3:16

November Days

The weather here has gradually been changing and now the mornings are chill with an edge of frost to them. Last night, we had stinging cold rain and wind until about midnight. This morning, the only rememberances were puddles skimmed with thick ice crystals. The skies were brilliant blue and warm sunlight streaked across the pasture midst the purple shadows of barren trees on frosted green gold grass. Waking to such visions makes my heart sing!
The leaves have mostly fallen, but the oak trees are stingy and hang on to theirs in ragged clumps. Up close the leaves look like well worn tooled leather, but the sound of them in the wind is harsh and rattling. The milkweed pods have loosed their clouds of pure white down. It's ethereal in the rough brown and gray world of November.
School this week has been even more interesting than usual. We've been studying the process of grief and loss, a topic that has held interest for me for a long time. Birth is a beautiful experience and I've learned over the years that dying can be just as beautiful and that it has surprising similarities to birth. If you get a chance to see the PBS program, Moyers on Dying (2000), I highly recommend it. It is a four part series that is very well done and very thought provoking. There is a very good website associated with the program as well which has many resources.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/onourownterms/index.html
Among other interesting things we learned how to give injections this week. So far, we've just done them on manikens and practice pillows. Imagine that doing them on living breathing people will be quite different! We've also been studying heart and cholesterol medications, something that many members of the Plooster family need to take once they reach mid-life. Nice to increase my understanding of those things. Gives me incentive to work a little harder at preventative measures.
Tests this week have gone much better. Received an A on our unit test in Anatomy and a B on the latest Nursing Fundamentals test. Reassuring after last weeks disasters!
A parting thought: The more I learn about the intricacies of the human body, the more I believe in our creator God. The way our bodies are knit together is an awesome thing!
Peace and grace to you!

Ups and Downs

This has been a week of highs and lows. Recieved an A on Monday's Nursing Fundamentals test! Also did well on this week's chapter quiz in Anatomy, but totally bombed the quiz on hormones and endocrine glands and did poorly on a test in Pharmacology. But then got a 99%on our medical abreviations test!
I didn't have the balanced focus that was needed and it showed. Now to make up for it. Sigh.
Our clinical labs are finishing up. We've learned how to do things like do sterile dressing changes and clean wounds, do urinary catheters, enemas and care for colostomys the last couple weeks. Next week we learn how to administer medications. The week after next, our actual clinical experience begins! My first clinical rotation will be at the Crest Haven Nursing Home. I'm both excited about it and a little apprehensive. It's one thing practicing on plastic dummies in lab, and a whole other thing practicing on living breathing people!
In other news, Zach, Jessie and Paul have moved into their new home in Westminster! Sounds like they are getting settled in. Stephen is getting settled at 29 Palms, California and anticipates being there for over a year while he completes his aircraft radar technician training. He was pleased to have been made squad leader.
Peace be with you!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin

It's misty and grey here. Tree trunks are black with damp and light falls with a burnished golden glow underneath limbs of changing leaves. Earthy smells rise from beds of fallen leaves. Pumpkins and cornstalks sit on every porch. Halloween is in the air!
Enjoyed a visit with Zach and his girlfriend Jessi last Saturday in Ames, Iowa! On Sunday, his visit was extended when his bus broke down and he got to spend Sunday night and Monday with me! Didn't get much study time in, but was well worth it to spend time with him! Looking forward to his visit in November! He, Jessie and their dad move into their new house this weekend!
Hard to believe another month of school is past. In October, we learned to do things such as:

• Take vital signs (Temperature, Pulse, Respirations and Blood Pressure)
• Do physical assessments
• Insert urinary catheters
• Nursing charting (unbelievably complicated!)
• Wound care

Everyday is filled with new things to learn! It's challenging at times, a bit stressful at times, but I really love school and love what I'm learning! I knew nursing would be interesting to me, but I didn't realize how passionate I would be about learning and doing it! I always believed that each of us has an area in which we are gifted and something we are passionate about and that if we could just put those together and find a job that utilizes them, then working every day would be a joy and not something to dread. What exciting validation this is that I am following the right path!

Finding beauty and joy

Every morning on my way to class, the college's custodian greets me with a smile and a comment about what a lovely morning it is. Mind you, this is before the sun has even risen! This morning, it was misting, the clouds down close to earth and quite a nip in the air. But you know, he was right! It WAS a beautiful morning! It was soft and quiet outside and just the weather that makes being inside looking out comfie. But really, the weather had nothing to do with it. Most of what made it a lovely morning was to have such a positive greeting from someone I did't even know. Something to emmulate!
I think about my neice Elizabeth who has been fighting kidney disease and on dialysis for much of her college career. This summer she had a kidney transplant and despite the hardships of that, was eager to be back in school. I hear from family members that she has maintained her A average through all of this! The link to her weblog here. What an inspiration she is! http://nowlight.blogspot.com
I think alot about Elizabeth when I hear my fellow students complaining. "There is too much work. The work is too hard. There are too many tests. Too much reading. Not enough breaks." I certainly did my share of complaining in the working world. But now that I'm here, learning such a priviledge and a joy. I'm so grateful to have the opportunity to pursue something I love. It's all fascinating and even when I'm tired and can't see straight from reading for hours on end, I'm excited to be learning. Hoping to find a way to share that with my fellow students.
I'm reminded of the old saying "that nothing good comes easy".
It's all in our attitude. Whether it's our outlook on the day, or in what we are doing. I'm choosing beauty and joy! By God's grace, I will be able to maintain that attitude throughout my schooling.
Recieved my midterm grades and so far I have A's in Anatomy & Physiology and Pharmacology and a B in Nursing Fundamentals! Feels like an enormous accomplishment for this aging brain!
Blessings All!

Unity in Diversity

1 Cor 8:2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

During the past weeks, we have been studying the body from the smallest to the largest parts.
Atoms combine to make molecules
Molecules combine to make cells
Cells combine to make tissues
Tissues combine to make organs
Organs combine to make functional systems
Systems combine to make the body
How amazing to go from that to 1 Corinthans 12 and find the things I'm learning in school, right there in scripture!
1 Cor 12:14 For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.
I Cor 12:18-21 But as it is, God arranged the organs in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single organ, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.
1 Cor 12:24b-28 But God has so composed the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.
So as a human being, not only am I constructed of simple to complex parts, but as a believer, I am but one organ, tissue or cell or maybe even a simple molecule in the body of Christ! Knowing what I know about the human body and how important the small things are to the large, it clarifies that in the body of Christ, everyone is important whether they are a large "organ", a teacher or prophet, or if they are a simple cell, supporting and upholding the functioning of the larger organ. I think there is a whole series of sermons here! Are you a microbe in the body of Christ?
As far as practical skills, the last couple weeks have been focused on learning how to take vital signs (temperature, pusle, respiration, blood pressure and pain) and how to do basic nursing assessments. We've also studied wound care and pressure ulcers as well as learned about anti-microbials.
Practical application? Immobility (as in studying for hours on end) leads to the development of pressure ulcers as circulation in the vicinity of the bony prominences is impaired. Those tissues then begin to breakdown and become wounds. Which requires the use of antimicrobials and specialized wound care to heal. Vital signs indicate how well the body is functioning and whether or not it is fighting off infection and coping with the impaired circulation. I think they might also be necessary at the end of a long week of study and tests, to verify that there is still life and that I have not become a vegetable!;)
Truthfully, I am really enjoying my studies. They are invigorating and there is so much to learn. What a joy and priviledge to have the opportunity to do so! Everyday, the depth of understanding grows as new things are revealed. I have "known" the interconnectedness of how the body functions, particullary in regard to pregnancy and childbirth, but with new knowledge, there is new understanding. I look at what I have learned already and look at what I will learn throughout the coming two years and wonder if it will be enough. There is SO much out there to know!
1Cor13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.

Green Valley State Park

Green Valley Lake
This is my favorite spot to study! There is a picnic table sitting here and it's lovely and peaceful. One of the nicest things about it, is that it's only 2 or 3 miles from where I live! Even on the weekends, it's quiet with few people about other than an occasional quiet fishermen.
Today was church. I have joined the choir. My voice is rusty after many years of little singing, but I'm enjoying it! One of my fellow nursing students is also a member of the church. It's nice to have a little comraderie with someone else close to my own age!
Here is an update on my kids for those of you who want to know!
Stephen called this afternoon and was full of excitement about things he is doing and learning in Marine Combat Training! He's doing well and seems happy and content. For those of you who don't know, Stephen and Marsha are engaged and planning on a wedding in a year or two!
Talked with Jonathan yesterday and he is enjoying his new position in the maintenance department at TSI. It was a promotion and has the added benefit of being just a daytime job rather than the rotating day/night shifts that he had been doing. It's also much safer for which I'm very thankful!
Jessie has a new job, working in the Bakery at Safeway! She's wanted to go into the bakery field for a long time, and is really enjoying it so far.
Zach is in his Junior year at Broomfield HS. He's active in youth groups at Broomfield Presbyterian and Broomfield Community Church. He's intent on going into illustration as a career and trying to figure out how to work some type of ministry into that! Zach and Paul will be moving to Broomfield in the near future as Paul is in the process of purchasing a home there close to the school!
Gary, my "adopted" son is currently working at King Soopers. He is looking at Bible Colleges as he would like to become a minister!
As you can tell, there is lot's going on in my kid's lives as well as mine! God has richly blessed us this year!

Lessons Learned

Fun things one learns in the first month of nursing school.

• How to wash your hands (there really is a right way to do it!)
• How to put on sterile gloves (and keep them sterile ~ it's harder than you think!)
• How to move someone who can't move themselves (easier than you think)
• How to make beds with and without people in them (Stephen, I can do those military corners now!)
• How to brush someone else's teeth (or dentures)
• How to feed an adult (just like feeding a little one! Open wide!)
• How to give bed baths

Now we get to learn "real" nursing skills like taking vital signs. Looking forward to learning how to use the stethoscope that my fellow childbirth instructors at Boulder Community Hospital got me! We are also moving away from generalities and getting into specifics of care which I'm liking better.
The nursing program I'm taking at Southwestern Community College is a 2 year "ladder" program. That means that in the first year I will get my LPN (licensed practical nurse) and the second year I will get my RN (registered nurse). A number of individuals in my class are only doing the LPN portion, but if I want to work in OB, I need the RN, so I'll stick it out for two years. All the courses will transfer if I decide to go on to a BSN (bachelor of science in nursing) which is still an RN but would make me more eligible for advanced positions.
Thankfully, there are only 2 or 3 tests next week instead of the 4 we had this week. Nice to have a bit of a break before the first week of October. It's a doozy with 5 tests if I counted correctly! Lots of memorization and more math :( Study study study!

Whoo Hoo!

Whoo Hoo! This has been a great week as far as tests go! I got an A on my unit Anatomy and Physiology test and an A on my Pharmacology test (which was all math - my most dreaded subject!) and an A on my last Nursing Fundamentals test! Today we had group presentations in Fundamentals. Our group presented on bed positions and why they are used and on making beds. Not a thrilling subject but I was able to put together some stunning posters on the bed positions which got high marks from the instructor! Have another Fundamentals test on Friday so better get to studying!

Dreams

Here is the first post in my new weblog. Hoping that this will be a good way to keep all who are interested up to date on the progress of my dream to become an RN! This has been a journey of faith, of courage, and the grace of God. My heart sings with joy and wonderment at the enormous amount of encouragement and support I have received as I pursue this dream. Thank you all, from the depths of my heart and soul!
The history of my dream began way back, when I first got pregnant with Jonathan. I became enraptured with the miracle of pregnancy and birth. By the time Jessie was born, I knew I wanted to be more involved with it. By 1983, God had led me to working with single women in crisis pregnancy situations through Mother House in Boulder. Through labor coaching and teaching childbirth classes for Mother House, I knew I wanted to do more and the dream of someday being a midwife was born. By 1987, our family included 4 children and those dreams were set aside and I focused on raising my children and staying involved with birthing though teaching and labor coaching.
Through the wonderful mentoring of Helen, I pursued and recieved certification as a childbirth educator in 1986 through ICEA (International Childbirth Education Association). In 1987, I began teaching classes at Boulder Community Hospital and taught there until Spring 2004. In addition, I taught for the Boulder County Health Department from 1990 through 1995. From 1998 through 2002 I taught about labor and delivery in the health classes for Horizon High School in Thornton and for New Vista High School in Boulder. I recently counted the registration forms for all the parents in my classes through the years and found that I had taught over 3000 families! Wow!
In 1987, I was given the opportunity to act as the Colorado Coordinator for ICEA which I did through 1990 I also worked with ICEA on various conventions and committees from time to time. It was also my priviledge to evaluate a number of ICEA Teacher Certification Candidates over the years.
Through all of this, I've never lost my passion for the intricate and amazing process of birth. It holds just as much awe for me today as it did when I was priviledged to participate in the first birth I ever saw other than my own, that of my niece Elizabeth. So, after many other jobs which I've alternately enjoyed, despised and struggled through, the dream of being a midwife arose again.
As being a midwife requires at least 6 years of college, I knew that I had to break it down into smaller pieces. The first step is to get my LPN license. Then my RN license. Then I will most likely work as an RN on a labor and delivery or Mom/Baby unit. At that time, I'll make a decision on whether or not to pursue a BSN and then take the steps towards becoming a CNM or certified Nurse Midwife. I'm excited to be on the road to my dream after a long detour!
For right now, I'm just beginning down the road to getting the LPN license. I'm attending school at Southwestern Community College in Creston, Iowa. I chose SWCC as they have a quality program, a high rate of passing on the nursing boards and a low enough cost of living that I can afford to go to school full time and not have to work with the amount of savings I have. It's also on the Amtrak line from Denver and Chicago which is a convenient way for the kids to come visit and it's within a long day's drive of Colorado should I need to get back there quickly for any reason. I also have cousins who live a little over an hour away.
I need to add that without the grace of God, who has seen me through each and every step of this journey so far, I would not be here. I have seen miracles happen in the past two years, from the moment I prayed for God to show me my "gift" so that I might better serve him, to the day I sat in the park in Creston, Iowa in tears because I couldn't find a place to live. Over and over, I struggled with steps along the way and God would say to me, "Pray to me. Give it over to me. Let me handle it." The moment I would hand it over to him, it would be taken care of. Over and over again without fail! What a journey of learning to trust in Him and letting Him lead my life! What an incredible adventure it has been! Truely, through the ups and downs and unexpected events, this has been the best year of my life!