Priests and staph infections

Yesterday at the ER was pretty busy. I was there for six hours, and normally I'm only "scheduled" for three. At one point there was just ambulance after ambulance pouring through the door, and the ER doc threw his hands on his head and said something about the black scrub top he happened to be wearing.

In the midst of my "travels," I got to spend time with an 82 year old retired Catholic priest and his caretaker. The best word to describe the priest is that he is a "gem." We really clicked...I mean really. We spent a lot of time talking about the art of visiting people while they are sick or in the hospital or both. We were both in agreement that going that one extra step with people, to find out what makes them tick and how to relax, makes the world of a difference. He shared with me some fun stories from when he was a working and how he was able to make people laugh, and I kind of wished I had been able to see him in action! (For instance, one of his parishoners told him (in a very morose manner) that she was now legally blind, and he kept on asking her if she was sure...when she got up to the altar later on in church, he thumbed her nose at her right in the middle of the service, and she started laughing! Turns out she could see shadows but that was it...but still, how funny is that! Especially during mass).

Anyways, things got busy, the doc was in and out dealing with him, and he was actually admitted while I was with another patient (but not before he asked for my address so he could write to me). I do my best to always follow up with my admitted patients the next day, particularly the older ones, because I know how much they enjoy the company. So after my basketball game today, I scooted over to the hospital and found his room. His caretaker (who is a character!) was so glad to see me, and used it as an excuse for her to go get food and let Father J nap (which I guess he kept on saying he wasn't tired but was struggling to stay awake). I went to the cafeteria with Ms G (his caretaker), she even offered to buy me lunch, and I was able to sit and get to know her for a good half an hour. We went back upstairs and watched a little bit of college football. Turns out Father J has been to every home BC football game for the past 50 odd years, and this was his first time missing one. Not only that, he was bumming since they were playing Notre Dame, and he used to drive out to South Bend to hang out with someone high up in the Catholic administration. I'm not quite sure how that system works yet...maybe it was a bishop? But how cool is that! 50 plus years of football! And again he had some great stories. Overall I was there for almost two hours and I definitely walked away with two new friends. They are even taking me to a BC hockey game if I have the night off for it.

PLUSSSS it turns out that the person treating them was a PA!! It was funny, he came in to update Ms G, and after she was done talking she told him "Hey, would you mind talking to Beth for a couple of minutes?" (She had known that I want to be a PA). I asked him two quick questions, because I knew he was wicked busy, and he says "I'm going to give you my card, so I can set you up with shadowing me and some of my friends." SCORE!!! Believe it or not it's harder than you think to find PAs to shadow, so I couldn't believe my luck. (Oh yeah Barb, I forgot to tell you today, have your students shadow PAs. It is looked upon favorably by most schools and actually some schools require it).

I love volunteering. It really is the best job. I don't have to deal with paperwork, and I can spend as much time with a patient as I want. I don't really have a boss or anyone to answer too. Plus I have met and made so many friends. Just being able to see someone leave the ER in a much better mood then when they came in makes it completely worthwhile. Yesterday I sat with a married couple in our family room (the place where we have family members go if the situation is serious) and unfortunately, the situation wasn't good for her mother. However, she left the ER a completely different person than when she came in. I hate to belabor the point, but asking people about what is important to them in their lives, or having them teach you about something, really helps relax them and make them happy. That is one of the biggest things I have learned while in the ER. So yesterday...from my convos with patients and their families I learned a ton about gastric bypass, and it was confirmed by a patient being treated for his umpteenth staph infection that it is actually very possible that a spider bit my leg and laid eggs in it while I was at the Grand Canyon with the bball team my freshmen year. Let's see, what else did I learn about...it is possible to hyperextend your knee to the point where the tibia (shin bone) and knee cap make a 45 degree angle...oh yeah, the economy is really bad in South Berwick, Maine. OH WAIT! The best thing of all! Ms G (Father J's caretaker) has a cousin who is from my hometown and I actually had her kids in my summer camp! Small world!

Time for this post to end.

All this studying is hurting my eyes. It feels like someone is squeezing the back of my eyeballs whenever I try to focus them on something. How ironic when the mom that I live with keeps on telling me that I am going to ruin my eyes. ;)