Go Buckeyes!

So even though Ohio State didn't win the National Championship this year, Jared still made out with his new official team jersey for his birthday! (Here he is showing off his moves!)

Yea! 25 weeks to go!

My 1st quarter is over and before you know it I am already into my 2nd! By the way I passed with flying colors, 3 A's & 3 B+'s (had to add the + sign) Here I am with some of the other students, just after our grades were posted! As you can see the smiling faces tells alot about how everyone did! Although, I have to report since we have started this quarter, we are down to 64/85 students to begin with.
Since we passed Pharmacology, we are able to give shots and pass meds to patients. I gave my first flu shots just a few weeks ago! Woohoo! Man it was fun! None of my clients made a wince. The key is to stick and stick it fast! Don't push the needle in a mm at a time. (Which is what I did witness from some of the students, they were nervous.) Our next clinical rotations will begin next week. We are going into OB, Rehab and the OR. Those should be some good times. Right now we are studying the fetal development & birthing process in OB, Cancer & HIV/AIDS in Med Surg, Anti-hypertensives in Pharmacology and Charting Documentation in Nursing Principles. My load is only 4 classes this quarter, but the exams are covering diseases more in depth, so I still have late nights of studying.
You would think with having 3 babies, I would know what the heck a woman's body actually had to go through just for the baby to come out safe & sound. But, man I am telling you there is alot more too it than you think. There is definitely a miracle happening every moment! With all the complications I had with each boy, I can't believe they don't have 2 heads or something crazy! Another issue that has impacted me is the HIV/AIDS patients. These folks suffer some great ordeals from the moment they are infected. In the U.S., most of the patients are men (from male to male sexual contact) which has given me a whole new outlook at homosexuals. It is hard as a Christian to not look at their activities with disgust, because I do not agree with them. I think I am starting to feel more of a sense of compassion and sorrow for them rather than being appalled by their choices. Which is what I am being taught as a nursing student, that although, I may not agree with the choices that a patient is making, I still have to accept that they are a person. And every person to me is a child from God, that is what makes each one of us special.

Can you believe it? Eric is a teenager!

OK, so the fact that I have a son who is 5ft 1in tall, weighs 100lbs and is 13 years old shouldn't be a big deal right? Wrong! The fact that I have a son that is so great, smart, good looking and people think I am his big sister, is fantastic! But, the teenager part I am having a little trouble with.
Some of you may not know this...Eric came into this world after just 32 weeks in the womb. At about 12 weeks along during my pregnancy a doctor said to me, the baby "is trying to abort itself". With many complications including bleeding, early labor, ruptured torn membranes (fetus still in amniotic sac, with little or no fluid), where I could place my hands on my belly and see the outline of the baby, 2 weeks hospital stay bed rest and pneumonia. At just 3 lbs 15 oz, Eric came into the world as a Little Old Man. No hair, eyelashes or nails. Wrinkly skin, with just enough strength in him to breath.
For some reason or another, Brent & I were so worried about Eric when he was little! I would almost say overprotective. (Not psycho, just wanted everything to go right for him!) God's plan is big for Eric, I have always known this. (I just wish God would have included me in on what it is) I can see Eric inventing something to save people's lives. I can see Eric creating a masterpiece for all the world to see. I can see Eric as a person that people come to when the world is ending and there is no hope, just so he can tell them about Jesus. Man is this guy great or what? I am a bit biased of course. But, the point is this kid amazes me just with the words that come out of his mouth. You can tell by the sparkle in his beautiful green eyes, when he has an idea or thought. He wants to read & learn about everything.
So, when I think about that fact that Eric is only 13, already knows that he wants to go to the Air Force Academy, is teaching himself to speak Russian and play several instruments so he can teach other kids when he grows up, blows me away! I think to myself, here I am just starting school and this guy has already planned his future. As you can see I am having a hard time with the whole teenager thing. I remember being a teenager, I'll admit, I was bad. Talking back, giving attitude, arguing with my brother Nathan, and knowing it all were a few examples that I would rather not have to endure with Eric. Although, I would have to say a few are starting to creep out of him. I have to accept the idea that he is going to be one. It's not that I don't want all those things to happen, I just don't want them to happen so quickly. Especially when he says things like, "How old do I have to be when I get to move out?" And "What is an STP?" (He meant to say STD) So, I have to talk to him about STDs (because he read about them while at the doctor's office!) and of course this is why he is staying a virgin until he is 35.
But, what I was glad to find out when I had his friends over for his B-day party and Laser Tag, they were all as big of Nerds as he is! Yea, for me! I was rather impressed with the guys he has chosen to hang out with.
I know Eric will turn out great in the end, God willing. It's just watching him get there that is the tough part for me. Happy Birthday, Eric.

Never too late to learn something new

One day about 2 1/2 years ago, Eric said to me "Mom, I've read more books than you have your whole life!" That one line got me to thinking about how right he was. That bothered me, since it was true. We would get these progress reports back from Eric's school saying he reads 190 words per minute. And that he retains what he has read, specific & detailed information that he can recount if asked. Eric loves to read. Plain and simple. Not only does he love to read, almost obsessed with reading, can't get enough of it, he is bothered when he has to stop to do something else. He reads an average of 5 books a week. Fact that he has read the Harry Potter series 3 times each at an average of 500 pages per book, finishing Deathly Hallows in just 2 days...it amazes me! I could never figure it out, though, what the big deal was. I was never a reader, I didn't see it as enjoyable. When I was younger, Rocky would be reading a book and I would ask him about it, but I never thought to pick one up and find out what the big deal was.
About the same time Eric had said that line to me, one evening, Brent told me about a book he was reading that Chris Lawler told him about, he said he "couldn't put down!" He was so scared, and intrigued by the story, he said he felt as though he was right there in the room with the characters. He said, "Tina, you have to read this!" Finally, I agreed to. The book was called The Taking, by Dean Koontz.
Ok, so not only did this book scare the crap out of me, I was definately in the the room with the characters, and could not only see all that they could see, but smell all that they were smelling. It took me just 3 days to read it... on my lunch hour, the moment I got home, and every second I could in between. Great thriller!
When I finished The Taking, I went straight to the library (had to get a new library card, since I didn't own one) and checked out another book of Koontz's. Ever since then, I have been hooked. I love to read, it's hard for me to think of all the wasted time I have spent watching tv or doing nothing, when I could have been reading. Now, I see. Now, I get it. And I understand Eric's passion. What's more important, is that since I began reading, I am faster! Now, when I sit in class and have to read an article, or I am at home and I have to read 4 chapters, it is easier for me. I watch people in my class struggle to finish that same article I am reading or see them finish minutes after me, while I think to myself "maybe I skipped a page?" "why am I always finished first?"
A little lesson, huge reward. Brent knows that I have great potential and great skill, it's just applying them that will enable our family to do great things. I totally agree. I think I would be struggling right now, if I had to spend more time trying to just read a chapter, than just reading it and being able to retain it. So, thank you Eric, thank you Brent, and thank you Dean. You've made a world of difference and opened my eyes up to many exciting worlds!
Although, I have read other books in the last 2 years, I tell people, whenever I get the chance to find one of Dean Koontz's books, or ask them which have they read? I am hook on him! He is a fantastic writer, and I have enjoyed many of his novels, thus far.

Surgical Asepsis, Don't touch anything!

Sterile. That's what it means. Don't touch anything outside of the sterile field, don't reach over the sterile field, don't breathe on the sterile field, don't even look at the sterile field. Did you wash your hands, and put your gloves on without touching them? Did you open up your kit, away from you, by only holding onto the corners? Did you? Did you tell the patient why you couldn't touch them? Oh, crap, my forehead itches. Too bad. Don't turn away, your sterile field will become contaminated, and then what? You will have to start this whole thing all over again! So, don't. Just don't.
I learned how to do my first Female Foley catheter insertion this week...I can tell you this much, I never thought in my life I would be looking at another woman's vagina, and saying "This is so cool!" But, that's me. And it is really cool to be where I am right now. I am so glad to have this opportunity. I am learning so much!
Besides that fact that I have a few diseases, I'm pretty sure, and I definately have one sleeping disorder that I diagnosed myself with. And, according to Jared (who, might I add, asked for the church to pray for me because I "drink too much". Who, left out the "Pepsi" part for a few minutes.) I drink too much carbonated soda. I have a high intake of sodium which has left me dehydrated. ha ha. Er-go, I am trying to cut back for Jared's sake. Who's face I see, each time I open up a new can. We did invest in a new coffee maker recently, actually my mom bought it for us since she "accidentally" broke the other glass pot thing that holds the coffee. I have made good use out of it, starting at 7 am and also 7pm. As, I said before, sleep deprivation disorder...Hyperinsomnia. Anyhow...Doing well on Exams, but I have one last one this week tomorrow afternoon, so I have to get back to studying. Love hearing from you....Thanks for all the encouraging remarks!