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!
A Journey to a Simpler Life
11 November 2004
05 November 2004
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!
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!
28 October 2004
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
19 October 2004
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!
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!
09 October 2004
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.
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.
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