Saturday, March 14, 2009
Fear is the best motivator
Not much time to write tonight ..... I will be on call for pediatrics tomorrow, and I just found out that there is a very unstable 8-year old girl in the ICU. She has second- and third-degree burns to approximately 40% of her skin plus a myriad of other problems. The Air Force pediatrician assigned to the hospital will take care of her overnight, which will require hourly blood draws and virtually constant "tweaking" of her medications and ventilator. In the morning, I will take over for him for 12-24 hours so that he can get some sleep. I haven't cared for any PICU patients in nearly a year, and I've never cared for a burn patient before, so I must admit that I'm a little scared. This is why I say that I can't expound too much on my day or my thoughts about this patient .... I have a lot of studying to do before morning!!
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I wish I could tell her parents what a great mom you are, and that they should worry about their daughter's injuries but not about the care she's getting ... good luck honey!!
ReplyDeleteI've got confidence in you -- I saw you paying close attention to ventilator settings a few years back so that you'd be ready for this day.
ReplyDeleteYou know, the support I've received over here is amazing. Within 2 hours of this post, I received no less than 4 emails telling me that everything would be alright, that I would be just fine in the ultra-scary ICU, that the patient is in good hands. Thank you for all your thoughts!! :)
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Autumn -- with your keen intelligence, mother's intuition, huge heart and dedication your little patient couldn't be in better hands. You'll do your best, and that's considerable. We love you!
ReplyDeleteJust a quick update .... the little girl is doing well. She has been to surgery for debridement and skin grafting twice this week. She is off her blood pressure medication and is being fed through a tube. There is even talk of taking her off the ventilator, which would be a gigantic step! She has a long road ahead, but the worst part may be behind us. :)
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