Tuesday, August 3, 2010

summer quarter~ almost time for break!

Hullo, long time no see! It's week 7 :< almost there!

I usually really like all my quarters because I like hospital days, but pediatrics has turned me into a big softie <3

I didn't have a lot of experience with kids before, with the majority of my family being older than me. So I was a little bit worried, because it's also been a really long time since I was a kid too.

Pediatrics is wonderful <3 Mind you, it's not all about cute cuddly kids; after all, these are sick kids in the hospital. I've already had my share of kids with poor prognosis, kids born with rare diseases, some no signs of parents all day... and I admit, for those kids, I start to get teary-eyed when I see them.

But, I also see other things. I've seen parents there day and night, obviously so in love with their child. I've seen kids who hold their arms out to me and want to play. I've seen kids who are happy just to even see the view from the window to the outside. To them, yes they are sick; but they don't dwell on it. Instead of thinking of self-pity, they jump. They run, they laugh.

The first time I brought a board game into a child's room, I saw the light in his eyes and the pep in his step. For kids, play is the world to them. It doesn't matter if it's a board game, coloring, or reading a book. To them, just knowing that there's someone there to play is enough. I'm not here to give you a shot, I'm here to take you to the playroom!

I've done many things already to make a child happy. I've played games all day with them, I've been kicked during diaper changes, I've run to catch/hold a child, I've even sang the Hannah Montana theme song. I've read books in broken spanish, then read other books in broken english, I've given hugs.

I guess you can say that I've been really inspired by pediatrics.
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Today, I was walking late to class when I passed by the Red Cross bloodmobile. I'd seen it before, but was always scared to donate blood. I thought about it, but it wasn't until today's lecture that I made up my mind. It was about heart disorders in kids, but it was when my professor told a story from her experiences about a child who had excess blood loss and shock that I decided to do it. I know my blood can go to an adult, a kid, whoever needs it. But, I felt that I can spare blood to someone who needs it to live.

Back in medsurg half a year ago, I saw a nurse do a blood transfusion on a patient rapidly losing blood. Their vitals were going down fast, and this was to prevent shock.

SO, I sucked it up and grew a pair. I set my mind that I really wanted to donate my blood so that someone could live.

The overall process was a bit intimidating, especially when it came to the actual blood drawing. I've always had bad experiences even when just getting labwork, because my veins aren't really visible to the naked eye. I've had many failed attempts to get it, or when it does get in it was extremely painful.

I felt like I was going to pass out any time. I quickly felt my arm grow cold, then go numb. I could still move my fingers, but I lost feeling. I had to keep pumping my fist to get my blood out, and as time went on my grip was getting weaker and weaker. It took like 20 minutes to fill out the pint I needed... I was shaking, getting weaker and colder, and probably looked horrible since the whole team in the mobile kept asking me if I was okay. They had me stay in there extra time to lie down and recover, and especially to eat something and rest before leaving. The actual process hurt so much that I considered asking them to just stop in the middle of it and take the needle out~ instead, I insisted that I was fine.

It took me a few hours to get feeling back into my arm though :/ and when I tried to remove the bandage, I instantly started bleeding again. Holy shit, where are you, clotting factors? ;3; I also had this branching bruise and of course my arm hurts a lot and I feel weak in general.

But, I don't care. A little discomfort and pain for me... is worth it to give someone an extension of life.

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