Breathe- that was my patient's task today, and she failed. All day, we did the oxygen ramp up- mask at 8 liters, Non rebreather at 8, then 10 liters. Non rebreather with albuterol- nope. NRB with racimic epi- nope. Meanwhile, Dr. Napoleon is strutting around asking who'd like to make a bet that the kid "eats some plastic" before morning. Blessedly, Dr N goes home and Dr Gestalt comes in. Dr G takes one look at my struggling, crumping patient and asks for Respiratory to bring a vent, X-ray to come for a stat portable chest x ray, and could I please draw up some versed, fentynl, and vecuronium? I do and a 4.0 cuffed endotracheal tube slides down nicely. She is now a paralyzed, sedated, intubated baby, and her sats are quite nice. If all goes well, she will heal, she will rest, and in three to four days she will be extubated, get better, and a few more days she will go home. I wish her mother knew all this, in the same way I do.
It is now, of course, well past the time I should be going home. The next nurse looked a bit overwhelmed, and why shouldn't she? My life was a no lunch, no breaks, no peeing kind of day. May she do it with more grace than I.
Knitting- uhmm. Haven't. I have a yen to crochet an afghan for Son Two's babysitter. Son One's teacher is getting a seaman's scarf.
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1 comment:
Me thinks that as long as you didn't wet your pants you did it with grace!
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