March has meant ICU for me. I have a great team with which to take all-night call, a wonderful fellow who sends teaching articles every evening. The ICU itself has been an incredible place to learn. It's where the 30 or so sickest patients in the hospital come to see if they can gain enough physiologic ground to get back to the regular hospital floor. SBT's (spontaneous breathing trials), ABG's (arterial blood gases), PAD's (pain, agitation, delirium meds) have become a part of my daily lingo. The ICU has some of the most committed nurses and doctors in the hospital. I cannot overstate how much I've learned. It's also incredibly sad at times, but I can confidently say we do the best we can even in the toughest times.
Of course, I've missed my family. The time we've had together has been short and sweet. I did get to go to Mazie's science olympiad meeting and half of her choral concert...and I'm off on the girls' birthday.
Richie had an open house for his project. So many people turned out to see his project. I am very proud of him. I had finished a 15-hour night shift, but I was glad to attend part of it. Vivian is brushing up on the 7's family and working on her Google Doodle submission. JJ is just JJ - a big furry joy. I fed him a lump of chicken tonight on the sly.
Cindy almost got picked up today by a passerby, but she was too standoffish, so the guy left her alone. We all watched from the window just laughing at the situation because Cindy is very good at fending for herself. If he did happen to take her, we didn't expect he'd keep her for long because she tends to vomit on the carpet if she doesn't get her exact food. She habitually wakes her people between 4 am and 5 am every morning to be let out to play with other neighborhood cats. That's why we sometimes dress her up and laugh at her...she takes herself way too seriously. We feel we have a tenuous equilibrium with Cindy that we feel takes experience and finesse that he may not have the patience to achieve.
