<h3>I did it!!</h3>

I successfully completed my clinical rotation at Children's Hospital!  For a fleeting moment today I had the thought that I could work at Children's.  Then my patient started to cry and my heart broke for her as I just about started to cry and I thought once again, "I can't do this!"  It is tooooo hard for me to see other children in pain.

I can't reveal too much b/c of HIPPA regulations, but my patient was a teenager who had to have major surgery at the base of her brain.  Her diagnosis happened in a matter of weeks.  She was in pain from the surgery, tired from not sleeping well at the hospital, and weak from not eating much the past two days.  I had a hard time getting her to talk to me, but once I kept asking about pain, any other discomforts, or if there was anything else I could do to help, her eyes started to well up with tears.  I could tell she was trying to fight them back and then one trickled out of her eye and that was it.

I wanted to sit on that bed and just scoop her up in my arms and tell her everything would be okay.  I could tell she was scared and in extreme amounts of pain.  At times like this, I feel very conflicted as a soon-to-be-nurse.  We are not to get too "involved", but yet we are to give compassionate, patient-centered care.  I haven't found that balance yet.  Sadly I think I blubbered something to try and comfort her and then excused myself out of the room.  One, to collect myself and two, to try and remove my emotions from the situation.  I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.  I have definitely realized it takes a very special kind of nurse to work with children.

Phew, that was a very emotional 5 weeks for me.  Next up, labor and delivery!!!

Here are some fun pics of the girls taken this past weekend.  I know I haven't blogged as frequently lately.  I've slacked off in school and have been trying to catch up.  Ooops!  I need to stay on top of my reading.

Sunday as I was getting ready to meet my parents at Easton, Reagan successfully cleared off the bottom bookshelf and found herself a box of crackers.

Caught red-handed!!

"Umm, I wasn't doing anything mom."

"Here!  Do you want some?"

Ruthie got to have a sleepover in mommy and daddy's bed this weekend.  This is something we used to do one night a week before Reagan was born.  Ruthie LOVES sleeping in our bed.  Right in between us.  I have to admit, I love snuggling with my Ru Ru. :)  Won't be long before she's too big to do this.  

Anyway, when I woke up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, this is how Ruthie was sleeping...horizontal in bed!!

Brendan hadn't come to bed yet so it was no big deal, but it was definitely a moment to capture on camera.  That morning we told her how she was sleeping and she said it was because she was hot.  Well that explains why she wasn't under the covers, but what about her arms folded behind her head??  Maybe she was dreaming that she was chillaxin' on the beach under the warm rays of the sun!!