#blessed

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I am grateful to be blessed by God and to be alive and well (!!!) and of course for my family, friends, Chimmy, my PillowMan, for a job, a roof under my head, my bed, a stocked kitchen, the ability to travel and enjoy what the World has out there... Just the opportunity to live.

We did our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon at a local hotel and of course it was good. It was great to spend time with my extended family.

And this was not all of them. One day we have to have ALL of them!

Be grateful. Be blessed.

Rima

Weekly Wishes

I decided to join a link-up created by the super cool Melyssa of The Nectar Collective. Super dig the idea of this. Pretty much the concept is to write your goals/wishes for the week with the intend of, of course, accomplishing them during the week. Hello, this girl here loves making to do lists. 

Wishes for this week:

To enjoy my family's company and eat like a cow and be thankful for what I have

This week is Thanksgiving week here in the States and I am one of those that DO NOT celebrate Black Friday. Seriously, just be thankful for what you have (job, shelter, food, water, air... you know, basic stuffs). I work in a hospital and at this time of the year there is always in influx in depressed & anxious middle age people who can't afford a good holiday celebration with their family. Some of these people lost their jobs and just can't provide anymore. It's sad. Really sad. Sometimes I really just want to give them a big hug (which I do sometimes). 

Situation like these always take me back and remember how grateful I am to still have a decent job, a house to stay in, food & drinks to consume and a family (and furry boy) to come home too. 

This week I just want to enjoy my extended families warmth and love during our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon, just enjoying each others company. Feasting and laughing. Hangout with GrandMa. Taking pictures with my cousins. Sharing funny Youtube videos. Just be thankful with what I have. 

And as for the picture above, it's part of the pictorial weekly theme: New Beginnings. I quoted one of my favorite Coldplay song, The Scientist. Why that certain picture? Because sometimes, when I have to think of like starting over (either a plan/goal/recipe/life in general), I tend to look down to my feet and think... and a new idea can pop up and a new beginning can start :) 

xoxo,
Rima

The List

Thanks to Setarra, she made me hop on to my blog and make a list. It's been awhile. 
feeling// hungry. girl, it's 10:16AM and I haven't had my cup of tea and toast! *on it* eating// nothing right now. On my way to the kitchen... drinking// will be drinking PG tea with cream and honey. Yum. It's pretty cold in SoCal aka 56F (it's cold for us, ok) so a cup of hot tea sounds so good right now. practicing// bikram yoga. honestly, I'm being reaaaaallllyyyyyy lazy. I purchased a 10-card class and only been to 1 class... and that was 3 weeks ago *shame* mastering// the art of getting organized with my life and the art of paying debt without spending like crazy. These tips from Michelle are really good. learning// how to do some mindless shopping. I was good until the past month or so. I need to get on the mindset of "Do You Need It or Do You WANT It? Buy it if you NEED it, not if you WANT it!" playing// candy crush. still on it. finishing// my handmade Christmas cards!

reading// Catching Fire (re-reading it), 1000 Places to See Before You Die (thanks Goodwill) enjoying// my days off!!! Since I moved back to the ER, I self schedule myself and have these awesome days off in between *win* listening// Rhythm of Love playlist on Pandora contemplating// on what to bake next... lusting// over these Le Creuset French ovens. I want one! Also this Nespresso machine. Or pretty much everything at Sur La Table! wearing// sweat pants and t-shirts. Perfect lazy day outfit :) baking// Probably Azuki Bean Sweet Bread wondering// when Rob & I can seriously talk about our impending wedding. Hahaha... #toolazytothink loving// this cuddle weather that Mother Nature is giving us in SoCal. YES. working// on my budget. It's like a never ending cycle travelling// to Cancun for New Years Eve! planning// well the Cancun trip! Also my sisterhood's reunion in May 2014 in Arizona.  wanting// saving dogs. I need to volunteer again. Oh and CINNAMON ROLLZZZZZ.
happy weekend, Rima

Life as a Nurse

If you didn't know, I'm actually a Registered Nurse by day. It's what I do for a living. My background is Emergency Medicine (my home) and Interventional Radiology (my second home). I did ER for 3 years and IR for 2 yrs & 7 months and now I am back to the ER again... Hustlin'... while still helping out IR too (the goal is to do half & half. Why? Because I like the variety of things).

Well yesterday, I took care of a patient with severe Parkinson's. He was there overnight (carried on from night shift) and pretty much needed a new placement for his on going care. His brother, who was his primary caretaker, was there too at bedside the whole time. After a little chit-chat, I found out that the brother isn't able to take care of the patient anymore due to his severe stage of the disease (if you are not familiar with Parkinson's, see Michael J. Fox... but this man right here was worse thatn MJ Fox). The brother was in the verge of losing his job & he even sacrificed his own medical conditions in order to take care of his brother *tears*. You can tell that he loves his brother so so much.

So Mr. Patient here has occasional delusions, he tends to get out of the bed no matter how we repositioned and staged his hospital gurney to prevent him of getting out and fall (he has history of falling due to his shakes). As I get to know him more during the day, it's not delusion. It's just his way of communicating is very difficult because of his Parkinson's. He has a hard time trying to blurt out words to express himself to the point he gets really frustrated. I felt really bad for him.

Meanwhile, my friend from Case Management took the time, out of her busy list of patients, to work on a new placement for this gentleman. She literally spent 1/2 of the day trying to get this man a new place. I owe her a beer, or two.

At one point during the day, the brother had to step out to make a phone call, so I decided to act as a sitter for Mr. Patient. As I try to reorient him and get him comfortable, the chitchatter in me decided to be friendly nosy. I started asking about his martial status (unmarried), his siblings (his brother & deceased sister), his ethnical background (South America), teasing about how his birthday is just 1 month away from mine ("But I am 30 years older than you, mija" he says) and where he used to live prior to being in California... You know, just trying to be personal with him. All the meantime, feeding him and giving him some Apple Juice and working our way together with our communication skills with his Parkinson's. I was being a ProActive listener.

So my Case Manager friend was able to find him a new place to stay and boy his brother was very delightful. They got him in right away as a direct admission. They were happy, we were happy, everyone was happy. The brother gave me a hug of joy.

After finishing their paperwork and discharging him out, I wheeled the patient to his car with his brother. Then Mr. Patient, with his shaky body, stood up & turned around slowly... And insisting to give me a hug, a big hug. With his Parkinson's talk, he said "Thank You for all of your help".

And that made me feel great for being a nurse.

Sometimes, you just have to stop and listen. Some of my coworkers who weren't in my area that day asked, "What's wrong with your patient? Is he drunk? Is he on drugs? Why does he shake a lot?" Us nurses, especially Emergency/ICU RNs, we have to desensitize ourselves from many difficult situation, so it's pretty common to see nurses being subjective with our own thinking, especially when it's based on a quick glance on a situation (we, nurses, are on the go). Sometimes, because of busy load of work, we tend to "forget" that we are dealing with humans who have emotions. AND, sometimes, patients & family members also FORGET that they too are dealing with humans. We are humans too, us nurses & doctors. We have emotions and feelings too.

Just like Ellen DeGeneres says all the time, "Be Kind to One Another"... If we only take some time to just listen wholeheartedly, not only you changed that other person's life, it changes yours too.

I hope Mr. Patient is doing okay today.

- Rima

linking up with Treasure Tromp :)