SHIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Everybody in nursing knows that in this business, shit is a way of life. Sometimes we put it more politely, but especially for those in critical care venues where techs are sometimes few and far between, it *is* a way of life. We are intimately familiar with excrement in all its permutations and can discuss it at length if called upon to do so. It’s also something we usually end up laughing inappropriately about.
In any case, last night was one of those nights. I had the same two patients as before, plus a new one who came in on day shift. All of them were total care but one of them could at least move some. It’s a good thing, too, because she was the one I was changing and cleaning up.every hour on the hour, it seemed! She’s maybe got a partial bowel obstruction, but there’s *something* going on there in any case.abdominal pain, nausea, and anorexia that’s not just from the cancer.
Then towards the end of the shift my patient who’d had the brain abscess was on the call light, and when I went into her room she said apologetically, “I think I’ve messed myself.” Boy, had she!
From her waist all the way to the foot of the bed!!! And she does not move well, so it took both of us (of course we had no tech) to clean her up. Thing is, there’s a gadget called a Flexi-seal, sort of like a Foley catheter for the other end, but it is only really effective for the liquid stuff, and people here are reluctant to use it. I’m not, but it’s a hassle to get an order. So, back to the cleanup.and cleanup.and cleanup. It’s a bad thing when you feel like you need a shower before your shift is half over! |
