".....Oh, what a night......."

Sometimes on my long drive home into the morning sun, that little bit of a song goes through my head. 


Last night was one of those nights. 


On my second night shift of three I arrived (on time unbelievably) after driving two hours through a snow storm on roads that resembled blocks of ice beneath the blowing snow. This after a day of my children and their somewhat adult father(who really should know better) waking me up at least once an hour to ask me questions like "Did you know it's snowing" and "Hey Mom, look at this Lego alien I made!". 


After receiving my assignment of all different patient from the night before, I chose to see the potentially sickest patient who also happened to be confused and kept forgetting that he had a HUGE life changing surgery(i.e. he thought he was fine, at some kind of hotel and that he could get up out of bed on his very shaky legs and walk away from the cords and tubes that were basically keeping him alive). As I am explaining to Mr. S, for the fourth time in 15 minutes, why we cannot "just take out" the tubes coming out of his nose and chest my pager goes off.


Code Blue Room 544


(here is what raced through my head all in about 30 seconds)
Crap! Which rooms are mine tonight!? 
Think, think, think. 
Ahhhh, I can only think of the rooms I had last night! 
Where is that sheet of paper! I've only been here 15 minutes! 
I really should be in there if it's my patient! 
Where is that stupid paper. 


To Mr. S "Please don't pull on that!  No sir I can't just take it out. I just explained why. Please sit down, I really don't want you to fall. "


After making sure that Mr. S is in no danger of falling or removing any equipment from his body I run down the hall. Twenty people already in the room, the 5 outside the door who are taking turns running for supplies update me and together we all agree on why the patient's suddenly unresponsive, though the 15 doctor's(I use the term to include medical students, residents, and other assorted gradients of the profession) in the room haven't quite gotten to the solution yet. We try to help them along, I yell "Check his blood sugar!" With everyone yelling at the same time, they will just assume someone "important" said it. A glucometer is called for and what do you know? Blood glucose < 30! D50 in and patient is breathing and asking "What's going on". Sometimes the doctor's want a really complicated answer when it's really the most simple. And most of the time they certainly don't want a nurse to figure it out before they do. So give them there moment, as long as the patient comes out OK. 




All this in the first 20 minutes of my shift. ".......Oh, what a night"


On to patient #2 of 4. Oh, doesn't speak any English, no translator, no family, confused, fall risk, having problems breathing.




Yep, it's going to be a long shift. I hope I get a lunch.