The Magic of an Ordinary Day

PRIDE

Dwayne and I took some time out this week to celebrate his nomination for the Critical Care Pride Nurse.  Pride is an acronym for Presbyterian Recognition of Individuals Dedicated to Excellence.   You get nominated by a peer, and it is quite an honor to be nominated.

Thursday was the dinner, and it was great to hang out with the other  Pride nominees and socialize.  Here are some photos from our night...

Here are James and Marsha.  Honestly, is there a more beautiful couple?  They are the other husband-wife team at the CCU, and James and I do flight nursing with the same company.

And the newlyweds Brian and Cassy.  I didn't get a great photo of them but wanted to put one up of them anyway.  Sorry, guys.

And here's Linda with her adorable boyfriend -- who I am embarrassed to say that I forgot his name!  But he's very nice, a firefighter and apparently a good boyfriend.

I really had a good time, high heels notwithstanding.  It makes me think I should be a little bit less of a hermit sometimes.

Houston, again

Another run to Houston with a really sick patient.  This one had a balloon pump.   Same kind of team--two nurses and a medic, and I was brought in to be the balloon pump nurse. 

In my three trips to Houston so far, I've come to the conclusion that it's never going to be good when we go to Houston.

Without going into details (mostly because I'm just too exhausted!) there were all kinds of monkey wrenches thrown into this particular run...malfunctioning equipment, unstable patient, transportation problems in Houston (to the point where we had to call 911 to get to the hospital) and then needing to shock the patient in the rescue truck en route to the hospital in Houston.  Whew!

The good news is she was stable when we turned her over in Houston, and that is what it's all about.

What this ride was also about was teamwork.  I had never really met this nurse before, but had worked with the medic so we weren't an established "team" that was used to working together and knew each other's strengths.  So on the ride down to Waco we talked everything out and as a team decided on responsibilities and tasks.  As our perfect little plan broke down piece by piece we continually reassessed things and formed a new plan.  We all did what we did best, and although it wasn't by any means the smoothest transport ever we all came out of it with a true sense of respect for each other.

We all had a "debriefing" at the office the next afternoon with the Chief Flight Nurse, Medical Director and Assistant Chief Flight Nurse, in which we discussed the flight, the problems and things that were done well.  It was a very positive meeting, and at no time did any of us feel the need to defend ourselves from the day after armchair quarterback.  The bosses made it known that they were very proud of our responses to the obstacles we had.  I feel good knowing that our organization is that supportive of the staff.  That is SO huge, in my opinion: supporting your staff when they are making life and death decisions in the most unusual of circumstances. 

I love my new job.

going native

I'll have lived in New Mexico for 10 years come July.   This is an entirely different culture than Wisconsin, and in many aspects I think I have gone native.  Here are some examples:

Wrangler butts.  I've always been a Levi's girl, honestly.  The Wranglers were too tight, and then there was that big W on the back.  But as I was admiring a Wrangler butt the other day, I realized I had defected to the other team. 

(And yes, I know I didn't really have to put that photo up there.  But it's a little gift, a little eye-candy for my female readers.  Even the Levi's girls have got to appreciate it.)

The same thing with cowboy hats.  At first I noticed them and thought "how odd."  Like we were at Disneyland or something.  That it was cute or quaint. 

Now I don't even notice them on men who are working.  And I can appreciate that when I invite my (native New Mexican) friends over for a dinner, holiday or party that they will be wearing their "dress" cowboy hat.  And usually a nice belt buckle, too.

And then there's the chile.  Everyone is addicted to the chile.  The only question is "red or green?"   The use of chile has become a part of my life.  Posole on Christmas Eve.  A fresh ristra in the fall.  There are few things that don't benefit from liberal application of chile: eggs, soup, macaroni and cheese, muffins, cornbread, dressing (both salad and the kind some people stuff into poultry).  I actually crave it when I go to visit my family in Wisconsin.

The wind.  When I first came here, I would always hear the natives complain about the wind.  But in 1998, I loved the wind.  I find wind chimes to be one of the most soothing sounds in the world and was happy to have them almost constantly making a gentle tinkling sound.

But now in 2008, my love affair with the wind is over.  The hot, dry winds that are present in spring are now a thing to be avoided.  It kicks up dust and pollen, spreads forest fires and makes take offs and landings harder (okay, that one is kind of specific to my job).  I close my house and car windows to the wind.  It's no longer new and exciting, and the magic is gone. 

I'd like to say that, as a neo-native of New Mexico that my Midwestern accent is gone and that I'm fluent in Spanish.  Sadly, no.  People still ask me "where are you from?"  and I am just getting by with the tiny bit of Spanish that I know.   

I do love this place, though.  The mix of cultures, the beautiful climate, the land that makes me feel grounded and whole.  As a very restless person, this is the only  place I've been where I'm not thinking about where I want to go next.

I'm home.

one year

Dick died one year ago today.  I really miss him. 

September 1st

We will know on that day whether or not we will have another child in this family.  If we do not have a referral from Vietnam by then, they will close our file and return it to the United States.

The whole process, the irregularities in it and the United States Embassy statement are described well here.  I don't have the mental energy to summarize it now.  I'm just bereft of feelings... wanting to hope for the best, but having a feeling that this just isn't going to happen for us.  I'm just in this numb state of limbo. 

The fact that children are languishing in orphanages when they could have a loving family because of politics and greed sickens me.  The amount of money involved with this business is disgusting, and we're with an agency that doesn't bribe people and buy babies. 

If this doesn't work out, I'm done.  I don't have the emotional energy to do this again.