Isn't "Exercise" Medicine? - MakeMedicineBetter.org

Isn't "Exercise" Medicine? - MakeMedicineBetter.org

hmmm..

i'm wondering what healthcare reform is really going to bring...

we DEF need one, but not sure if this one is "the one" we need...

and i guarantee it won't be "free healthcare for all"


thoughts?

a lil comic relief at work...

last night at work EMS brought in a young girl with chief complaint: abdominal pain. 5 min later she came through the ER doors hanging off a stretcher screaming "my rectum is on fire"

disposition: nothing is wrong with you. (she was just lookin for a "get out of jail free" card)
very sad, but true...this is not out of the norm.

oh, the life of an ER nurse..

Thanksgiving has come and gone...and I slept the entire day, I mean, what else do i do?? haha
I was thanking the Lord for my sweet Basil who kept me company in bed that day :)
And now it's Xmas time (and my bday month;) A girl from work gave me a lil fake xmas tree with lights and decorations on it! I love it..it sits on my kitchen counter...I love the holidays! I'm going to Chicago this wkend, and rumor has it it's gonna snow! Crossing my fingers...I would love to play in some snow, and would love to see what Basil would do in the snow.
Also, I woke up today w/ a scratchy throat...so I'm sipping on some green and lemon tea...I have yet to be sick this year, can't let it happen!
As far as my travel assignments....welllll, there are lots of opportunities in upstate NY and Boston and Alaska, and really really cold, snowy places....brrrr. Is this a sign?? lol-who knows where I'll end up. Tia, I can relate to you and feeling the uncertainties of life...I'm living the "spur of the moment" "get up and go" lifestyle that's for sure! And sometimes I think, "what am I really doing?" haha..
I'm just living life....writing a story with my life.. :)

Hope everyone had a great and warm Thanksgiving!
Thank you Lord for life, good health, and for the rising sun everyday.

Oooo can't wait to be home in 3 weeks!!!

My Sister's Keeper

I read this book almost 2 yrs ago, and just saw the movie tonight. It was amazing...very real, raw, emotional..I've never cried so much during a movie. Everyone should watch this movie (with a box of tissues) It makes me love my family even more, and reminds me of my family when my dad was sick for those 11 months. I remember saying goodbye to my dad in his hospital room, not sure what I said...but I know I was at his bedside while he was dying, and I remember how each of my family members reacted, and what they all said.

Dad...I know I didn't say these words then...but I always think about now..I hope you're waiting for me... and I hope you didn't hurt or feel any pain those last few months and weeks. And although I was not ready to lose you, I knew you were very sick, and very tired of being sick and suffering the ways I witnessed. And even though I was only 13 yrs old...I still knew you were dying...I hate that I was so numb, and didn't know the words to say, or the feelings to feel at the time...but One day Dad, one day...I hope you're waiting.

my first tat!

So, yall know I just got my first tattoo! I'm lovin it...it's healing up very nicely :) it makes me so happy...happy to remember and celebrate the life of my dad everyday, and think about how my life has been so impacted by him, AND to have amazing conversations with my sister like I had earlier tonight b/c of this tattoo ;)

So, i must say...wow, i've never felt pain like that before...it's hard to describe and put into words...i think it was good for me though -in retrospect. the tattoo only took like 15 min, but i swear, i have never before been more focused on my breathing! haha. i'm sure i was hilarious looking...i couldn't even talk or think about anything except..inhale SLOWLY, exhale. repeat. lol
by the end, when Mo did the coloring...I was good. I was able to hold a conversation and breathe at the same time. I was impressed w/ all those ppl sittin in there for hours gettin sleeves, and their entire backs inked.

*good things come in small packages, and sometimes with a lil (or a hell of alotta) pain! lol

insomnia brings out the best blogging... (i think) haha!

So, I worked 56 hrs this past week (have to get the OT when i can)....explains me being MIA, and being WIDE awake right now at 0318....the holidays are quickly approaching, and i can't wait to be home over xmas with my family and friends :) i have 7 more weeks here in stl...it's been fun, but it's that time again to start looking for my next destination! my plan is to keep heading west... (btw, anyone is welcome to accompany me on my cross country trips in the future :) i said i want to go somewhere warm in jan, such as the west coast...but i would also love CO, Salt Lake City..somewhere in the mts. austin, tx is an option too, which i would very much enjoy! wherever i go, it will be a blast- i will make the most of it!

On another note....Monday i'm getting my first tat! i'm excited and nervous at the same time! i will have to post a pic when it's all done :) this is going to be such a meaningful experience for me...nothing too fancy, or big...but very special to me. it's not something i'm getting for everyone to notice, but as a rememberance and honor and celebration of my dad and his life....all i can say, and what i have learned from losing a parent at such a young age is that you should never stop remembering or celebrating them, or anyone you ever lose in your life, as a matter of fact.
silence has a sound, that is for sure..

i've learned so much about these words over the past years. And everyone knows it's not because i'm always a very silent person! haha ;)
silence has a hugeness about it-- it can fill a room. it can fill a hike in the mountains (which is a beautiful thing to me) it can fill a family-- the hearts of a family, much like mine..it can be refreshing, and it can be destructive and secretly painful as well.
it was 10 years since i spoke your name Dad...
it was 10 yrs since my family ever really spoke about the life and the death of my dad. i remember all those thanksgiving holidays with my dad's side of the family after he died, being surrounded by all my dad's close cousins and aunts and uncles and sister...it was weird, nobody ever asked me, or my bro or sister, how we were doing, how we were getting along and living without our dad. and as sensitive as a subject as i'm sure it was for them, deep down i just wanted to hear about my dad, hear stories about him...but instead all the silence taught me to just forget, and to not think and to become numb....it really molded me...until i went to college, until i really discovered myself and who i was. i even had friends for so long that always wondered if I even had a father.. i became so acquainted with the silence, that i didn't even realize it was not normal.... i won't go on and on about this subject, but it is very close to my heart- it's something i can always talk about, and hopefully can use for the benefit of someone else's life.. (see comfortzonecamp.org)

i can testify to the beauty of conversation, and vulnerbility and falling on your face...
i've enjoyed seeing my family grow individually, and together over the past few years...my brother and i have had many of conversations that i will never forget, as well as my sister and mom...family is a work in progress- for everyone. don't ever lose sight of that, and don't ever take your family for granted...they are people that you will always have...it took my a very long time to realize all this, and to let go of resentment i never knew i had.

and i am grateful for all my true and loving friends who have helped me see in a better light, and have picked me up when i've fallen on my face ;)

thanks for reading my blog guys :) and think about me monday at 1:30...i can't be afraid of the needle..geezzz, i'm an ER nurse! haha

much love, and thumbs UP for another tiger victory today!!!