Thought you all would enjoy seeing a shot of the boy's safely out of Rita's way in Ft. Worth this weekend. Too sleepy to write much - will check back soon.
Monday, September 26, 2005
Out of Harm's Way
Thought you all would enjoy seeing a shot of the boy's safely out of Rita's way in Ft. Worth this weekend. Too sleepy to write much - will check back soon.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
The Calm AFTER the Storm
Aside from the fact I'm wandering around the hospital gathering up linens used by the staff to sleep everywhere they could - and on a Sunday to boot - today feels very normal in the hospital. I'm not sure normal has ever felt so good.
Everyone on the staff who wanted to go home last night was able to go home, with less than 10 employees needing to sleep over in the hospital. People working today no longer have that "Night of the Living Dead" look about them, which is a good thing. People look clean and rested and grateful and familiar, like we just licked a hurricane together (which we did).
Austin waited up until I got home last night at 10pm, and we sat and had a bowl of cereal together, visiting a little about this and that before going to sleep. Could we all just take a moment together to appreciate sleep? And beds? And ceiling fans? And my wife? And my children?
Had a little time this morning to wrestle with Braden before coming in to finish up with my responsibilities here, and will be home tonight in time for dinner with my family. Can we all take a moment to appreciate dinner with your family? And encouraging comments on your blog from family? And...oh, you get the idea.
Phillipians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."
Everyone on the staff who wanted to go home last night was able to go home, with less than 10 employees needing to sleep over in the hospital. People working today no longer have that "Night of the Living Dead" look about them, which is a good thing. People look clean and rested and grateful and familiar, like we just licked a hurricane together (which we did).
Austin waited up until I got home last night at 10pm, and we sat and had a bowl of cereal together, visiting a little about this and that before going to sleep. Could we all just take a moment together to appreciate sleep? And beds? And ceiling fans? And my wife? And my children?
Had a little time this morning to wrestle with Braden before coming in to finish up with my responsibilities here, and will be home tonight in time for dinner with my family. Can we all take a moment to appreciate dinner with your family? And encouraging comments on your blog from family? And...oh, you get the idea.
Phillipians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."
Saturday, September 24, 2005
The Power of a Shower
I just got back from making a quick trip to the house - the family is back safe and everyone looks beautiful. The power was out for just a few hours at our house, and everything is in fine shape. Took a shower, talked with Sheila for a bit, and got extremely sleepy.
Poured a Coke Zero (which is delicious, fyi), let the caffeinated goodness of it wash over me, and back to the hospital. I've got a lot of bone-tired staff who are coming off the day shift, and we still have a disaster code in place so none of them can go home tonight. It could be a very interesting evening.
I've been told I am released to return home tomorrow at noon, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I can handle that...
Poured a Coke Zero (which is delicious, fyi), let the caffeinated goodness of it wash over me, and back to the hospital. I've got a lot of bone-tired staff who are coming off the day shift, and we still have a disaster code in place so none of them can go home tonight. It could be a very interesting evening.
I've been told I am released to return home tomorrow at noon, barring any unforeseen circumstances. I can handle that...
So far, Rita owes me a shower and a good night's sleep
I saw the Director of Rehab walking down the hall earlier today, and he was spraying air freshener out of a bottle about every 2 or 3 steps. I asked him what he was doing, and he said "this place is starting to smell like people". I don't think I've ever heard that expression before, but it described perfectly the condition within the hospital.
Everyone is trying to get this placed cleaned up now, more family members are leaving and it could almost, sorta fell normal around here again by dinner time. Of course, it will still be unusual to be roaming the halls later with a clip board making sure we have mattresses available for staff and only one employee per mattress. That won't be normal.
But I usually only have the chance to put people to sleep in new hire orientation!
Everyone is trying to get this placed cleaned up now, more family members are leaving and it could almost, sorta fell normal around here again by dinner time. Of course, it will still be unusual to be roaming the halls later with a clip board making sure we have mattresses available for staff and only one employee per mattress. That won't be normal.
But I usually only have the chance to put people to sleep in new hire orientation!
And the Crowd Goes Crazy
There was an eruption of applause and laughter in the cafeteria when the power came back on at lunch around 1:00pm. I know it is entirely psychological, but I actually felt cooler as soon as the lights came back on. Crazy, I know.
After a mad rush to close all exterior doors and windows which had been opened this morning, it's back to business. Most of our family members and visitors left before lunch. A bad night's sleep on the floor, waking to no air conditioning and apparently safe travel around town, and away they went.
I remain hopeful that I will be able to go home for a little while tonight, especially since Sheila and the boys are headed home already! That's my baby!!
Things are looking up.
After a mad rush to close all exterior doors and windows which had been opened this morning, it's back to business. Most of our family members and visitors left before lunch. A bad night's sleep on the floor, waking to no air conditioning and apparently safe travel around town, and away they went.
I remain hopeful that I will be able to go home for a little while tonight, especially since Sheila and the boys are headed home already! That's my baby!!
Things are looking up.
Still Rita
Things remain a little chaotic. The air conditioning being out has stressed patients who do not have the strength to handle more stress. Staff are tired but performing magnificently.
We have had all our weekend staff call to say they will not be here, so the clinical staff we have are going to have to stay until we get relief staff. No patients appear to be going back to their evacuated hospitals today.
We have had all our weekend staff call to say they will not be here, so the clinical staff we have are going to have to stay until we get relief staff. No patients appear to be going back to their evacuated hospitals today.
After-rita
The power went out here last night at 1:00am, and we went on generator power. No a/c, and the phones have gone out also. Night staff, visitors and family are free to leave the hospital if they like.
Minimal debris in the parking lot, no flooding, hardly any rain at all, lots of power out throughout the city.
Everyone is safe and well, if not smelly and grouchy. I will tell more when I can.
Love to all.
Minimal debris in the parking lot, no flooding, hardly any rain at all, lots of power out throughout the city.
Everyone is safe and well, if not smelly and grouchy. I will tell more when I can.
Love to all.
Friday, September 23, 2005
The Little Storm You Can Take With You Anywhere!
Sheila sent me an hysterical email today and I wanted to share it, because the story she told is the real reason I started the blog, not to update you on the weather.
It seems Shelley and Jamie took Braden to the park in Fort Worth today. While they were there, he met a little boy and began to play. Come to find out, the boy was with his Dad and his Uncle, and they were from Houston, too. The Dad and Uncle came over and starting flirting with, er, talking to Jamie and my wife about the hurricane, and that caused a little storm of its own.
Braden, sensing that his Dad would want someone to intervene, walked over to the four of them, placed his hands on his hips and sternly warned the men to "QUIT TALKING TO MY PARENTS"! Everyone had a good laugh at the cute little guy, until he told them to quit talking or he was going to punch them in the "tummick" (stomache). Sensing that words alone were not getting the message across, he picked up a rock and threw it at one of the men.
And that was the end of their trip to the park.
[Note to self: take Braden to Baskin-Robbins the first night they get home from Ft. Worth.]
It seems Shelley and Jamie took Braden to the park in Fort Worth today. While they were there, he met a little boy and began to play. Come to find out, the boy was with his Dad and his Uncle, and they were from Houston, too. The Dad and Uncle came over and starting flirting with, er, talking to Jamie and my wife about the hurricane, and that caused a little storm of its own.
Braden, sensing that his Dad would want someone to intervene, walked over to the four of them, placed his hands on his hips and sternly warned the men to "QUIT TALKING TO MY PARENTS"! Everyone had a good laugh at the cute little guy, until he told them to quit talking or he was going to punch them in the "tummick" (stomache). Sensing that words alone were not getting the message across, he picked up a rock and threw it at one of the men.
And that was the end of their trip to the park.
[Note to self: take Braden to Baskin-Robbins the first night they get home from Ft. Worth.]
Rita 7
Got to make this a quick post as my money has been invited to a poker game in the cafeteria.
We have had a tiny amount of rain today, and the wind is blowing a little bit, but we haven't seen anything worthy of the time and energy we've put into preparing for this gal.
I have earned a reputation today as a mean, mattress-stealing rat for leading a mattress-squad around the hospital taking extra hospital mattresses (about 20 in all) that had been pigeon-holed all over the place by visitors. Took four from a very hateful family who had taken over an entire waiting room, earning me at least one f-bomb and considerable grumbling. The two guys on my mattress squad are my same size though, so they didn't grumble too much!
Took four from an employee's family and hurt their feelings so bad that the employee (maintenance man) and his family left 15 minutes after my visit. I was painfully polite and apologetic, all the while wanting to suggest that maybe their 3 teenaged children didn't need the mattresses as much as the 50+ year old ICU nurses that are asleep on them even as I blog.
I was in charge of employee bed control, making sure that all the mattresses we have were used by employees in patient care areas and not surly teenagers. That made me a very popular man for about 1 hour ("hey, I understand you can give me a bed") and a sorry son-of-a-gun for the next 2 hours ("what do you mean there are no beds left"). I think only 5 or 6 of about 50 clinical employees sleeping here tonight do not have a bed, and they are the younger rehab staff and a couple of strapping young respiratory therapists. Oh, and the diva blonde nurse who "needs a king size bed and a ceiling fan to sleep", who refused my offers of a cot, a stretcher, a sleeping bag and a fully-reclining neuro-wheelchair. I refrained from offering her a minute or two alone somewhere to get over herself, demonstrating that I'm not quite out of patience yet. (By the way, how often do you see a list of things to sleep on and "a stretcher" looks like the best option? Only during a hurricane, I guess.)
Wish there was something more colorful to share about the weather, but all I have is these goofy vignettes of human behavior under stress. My next blog will surely be more weather related. Surely...
We have had a tiny amount of rain today, and the wind is blowing a little bit, but we haven't seen anything worthy of the time and energy we've put into preparing for this gal.
I have earned a reputation today as a mean, mattress-stealing rat for leading a mattress-squad around the hospital taking extra hospital mattresses (about 20 in all) that had been pigeon-holed all over the place by visitors. Took four from a very hateful family who had taken over an entire waiting room, earning me at least one f-bomb and considerable grumbling. The two guys on my mattress squad are my same size though, so they didn't grumble too much!
Took four from an employee's family and hurt their feelings so bad that the employee (maintenance man) and his family left 15 minutes after my visit. I was painfully polite and apologetic, all the while wanting to suggest that maybe their 3 teenaged children didn't need the mattresses as much as the 50+ year old ICU nurses that are asleep on them even as I blog.
I was in charge of employee bed control, making sure that all the mattresses we have were used by employees in patient care areas and not surly teenagers. That made me a very popular man for about 1 hour ("hey, I understand you can give me a bed") and a sorry son-of-a-gun for the next 2 hours ("what do you mean there are no beds left"). I think only 5 or 6 of about 50 clinical employees sleeping here tonight do not have a bed, and they are the younger rehab staff and a couple of strapping young respiratory therapists. Oh, and the diva blonde nurse who "needs a king size bed and a ceiling fan to sleep", who refused my offers of a cot, a stretcher, a sleeping bag and a fully-reclining neuro-wheelchair. I refrained from offering her a minute or two alone somewhere to get over herself, demonstrating that I'm not quite out of patience yet. (By the way, how often do you see a list of things to sleep on and "a stretcher" looks like the best option? Only during a hurricane, I guess.)
Wish there was something more colorful to share about the weather, but all I have is these goofy vignettes of human behavior under stress. My next blog will surely be more weather related. Surely...
Rita, Rita - Wherefore Art Thou, Rita?
1:00pm and no sign of bad weather. The trees are starting to sway a bit, and there are a few more clouds, but it still looks like a normal September day.
We locked the doors to the hospital at 12:00noon today - only people allowed in at this point are family members we were notified to expect and staff. Staff have shown up in enough numbers to cover the weekend, so we are going to be ok. There are easily 100+ family members of staff and 100+ family members of patients in the hospital in addition to the staff.
Everyone will miss their beds at home, but there are plenty of places to sleep tonight, though not everyone will be able to sleep on a mattress or cot. I expect to hear grumbling at bedtime as the cots and mattresses run out, but there's not anything we can do.
We got an order of Ozarka water this morning - lots of it - so water will not be a problem. Seems to be plenty of food, so if we don't run out of coffee, I will survive!
Seems awfully strange to have been busting it under our disaster code for the last 48 hours and we still don't have any sign of the disaster! Was joking with Mom yesterday that a tornado would almost be easier to deal with from a disaster point of view. "It's coming, 'everyone duck', it's over let's assess the damage." All this sitting around waiting is enough to make you go crazy independent of the storm we're about to face.
Finally, there are two distinct subgroups starting to develop among our visitors. There are the ones volunteering to help, and there are the ones complaining about their choices for a free lunch!
We are full of patients, but what we are all going to need more of is patience!
Two personal notes if you will permit: Blair, please feed the spider while I am here this weekend; and Sheila please check your email for a weird-good message.
We locked the doors to the hospital at 12:00noon today - only people allowed in at this point are family members we were notified to expect and staff. Staff have shown up in enough numbers to cover the weekend, so we are going to be ok. There are easily 100+ family members of staff and 100+ family members of patients in the hospital in addition to the staff.
Everyone will miss their beds at home, but there are plenty of places to sleep tonight, though not everyone will be able to sleep on a mattress or cot. I expect to hear grumbling at bedtime as the cots and mattresses run out, but there's not anything we can do.
We got an order of Ozarka water this morning - lots of it - so water will not be a problem. Seems to be plenty of food, so if we don't run out of coffee, I will survive!
Seems awfully strange to have been busting it under our disaster code for the last 48 hours and we still don't have any sign of the disaster! Was joking with Mom yesterday that a tornado would almost be easier to deal with from a disaster point of view. "It's coming, 'everyone duck', it's over let's assess the damage." All this sitting around waiting is enough to make you go crazy independent of the storm we're about to face.
Finally, there are two distinct subgroups starting to develop among our visitors. There are the ones volunteering to help, and there are the ones complaining about their choices for a free lunch!
We are full of patients, but what we are all going to need more of is patience!
Two personal notes if you will permit: Blair, please feed the spider while I am here this weekend; and Sheila please check your email for a weird-good message.
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