Nurse on the Run

You know the saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all?”  Well, what about, “If you don’t have anything to say, then don’t say anything at all?”  I’ve never been a huge fan of talking just to talk (remember “participation points” in classes?  I was never good at that), and after five months of back pain, I’m not sure I have much to say right now…so I’ll sum it up for you:

My back still hurts.

That’s about all.  I could talk about how I have thoughts that I’ll never run again, that I’m ready to let any eager intern (it’s July, after all) stick needles in my spine as long as those needles contain steroids and lidocaine (going to the orthopedic surgeon again on Thurday, fingers crossed), or how I’m putting off making any running related plans (just bought a plane ticket to San Francisco for twelve days from now, that was expensive, oops).

So that’s exciting.  I’ll keep you updated on if I can ever run again…I’ve apparently developed a flair for the dramatic in my life.

Speaking of drama, I’ve been to a few shows in NYC over the past week (like my transition there?  Who knows how I ever passed English class or got into college).  (Little known fact:  My English teacher senior year of college told me that I’d never get into college with the application essays I wrote.  LOOK AT ME NOW.)

Sorry for the side notes.  My parents just wrapped up an NYC vacation, and they packed a lot into the week that they were here.  I worked three days and spent some of the rest hanging out with them.  I’m proud to say that they didn’t take a taxi once and managed to maneuver the subway system, go Mom and Dad!

So because I don’t want to write about running (I’ll sum it up for you…back pain after four minutes of running, gah!), let’s talk about what I’ve done in the past week.

cubs vs mets

Conveniently, the Cubs played the Mets on Saturday, so we headed over for a game after my parents arrived last Saturday.  It happened to be the only game they lost during the series here in NYC, but it’s still fun to go see the Cubbies…and yell, “…for it’s root, root, root for the CUBBIES” during the seventh inning stretch.

New  York Botanical Gardens

My mom is an art teacher, and the New York Botanical Gardens currently has an exhibit of Monet…they recreated his garden in Paris where he painted many upon many of his famous pieces of art.  It’s a huge location up in the Bronx, and incredible that it’s in such a big city.  So many old trees and lots of flowers.  The Monet exhibit was pretty cool too:

Mom on Monet’s bridge.

SO MANY WATER LILLIES.

We also took a tram ride around the gardens, which was a nice way to see it without having to walk everywhere.  Definitely recommended to take a trip up to the Bronx if you’re interested!

lots of shows

People from outside NYC always ask me if I go to shows since I live here…and while Broadway really isn’t that far from me, it’s expensive!  My parents wanted to go to some shows, so they got tickets to three different shows.  They were all very different, which allowed for a very diverse theater experience.

newsies

If you’re alive, you’ve probably heard of Newsies…I remember watching the movie in junior high during some “all seventh grade movie” or something like that.  I admittedly didn’t remember much about it, although I was excited to see the musical.

Newsies!

The sign underneath says, “An exhilarating jolt of energy!” and that it was.  So much dancing, singing, more dancing, tap dancing, and gymnastics on stage, and you could clearly see the actors breathing hard after each number…I can only imagine what great shape they were in!  The show was very energetic and fun, and I would definitely recommend going to see it!

slowgirl

Our next show was called Slowgirl, and it was at one of the smaller theaters in Lincoln Center.  The theater only had eight rows in it, and only two actors were in the entire play.  The tickets were $20, which only slightly more expensive than going to see a movie!  The whole point of this theater is to help develop new artists and a new audience…prices that might otherwise keep people away from Lincoln Center are not a problem here.  Check it out!  I think Lincoln Center also has some discounted tickets for people ages 21-35, which is nice.

once

Our last show was Once, which is a show adapted from an Irish film.  The accents were a little hard to understand at first, but we got used to it fairly quick.  This show was very different than Newsies, not a lot of big, energetic songs that seem to be in many Broadway musicals, but instead more talking and ballad-like songs.  (I sound like I know what I’m talking about, but I might not…)  The music was very well done and the actors had great voices.  Also a great one to see!

As you can see, I’m clearly not all that picky…it’s great to have so many options here in the city to check out, and I really should go to more shows because when/if I ever leave, I’m sure that’s one thing I’ll say that I should have done more of.  (Taking recommendations, as well!)

top of the rock

This one is fairly self-explanatory…we went to the top of Rockefeller Center!  Now, I grew up  in Chicago and have probably been to the top of the Sears Willis Tower at least seven times.  Chicago is my city and first love, but if anyone asks me, I will tell them that I love NYC.  That being said…I think Chicago is a much prettier city when viewed from above.  NYC is great, but the beauty of Chicago with the lake right next to it is hard to beat.  Sorry, NYC, all your buildings are a bit brown.

Mom and me!

Gatsby man.

Empire State.

others on the list

Some other things that my parents did that I either didn’t do or didn’t take pictures of included walking on the Brooklyn Bridge, walking in Central Park, a Yankees game, Roosevelt Island, lunch with my Aunt Robina (she’s 91 and still flies airplanes, crazy!), MoMA, the Met…and lots of restaurants.

As a recommendation if anyone has people visiting for a week, check into Craigslist to rent a place…my parents got a studio on the UES (a block from me!) for much, much cheaper than a hotel would have cost for the week…and they had a kitchen!  Very nice.  Food for thought.

nursing related

I had a patient last week who was on CVVHD (continuous veno-venous hemodialysis), which is basically continuous dialysis for people who can’t tolerate dialysis three times per week (which is what most people on dialysis usually get).  The machine is crazy and high fives to whoever made it because I know I’m not that smart.  Anyway.  We don’t work with this machine all that often on my unit, but we’ve had enough patients on it that I’m familiar with it.  The machine works great until…it doesn’t work.  Usually meaning that there’s a clot somewhere in the system, which despite all the troubleshooting you do, usually means that you have to replace the cartridge.

CVVHD, hooray!

So I had my patient and at around 2pm I was finally at a good point in my day to take a break and each some lunch…which, of course, is when the machine started to alarm.  I got a second opinion from one of the other nurses, and we both decided that nothing was going to work and that the cartridge needed to be replaced.  It may sound silly to you, but this was the first time that I set up the entire CVVHD allllllll by myself.  It took almost an hour (even if I was good at it, it would still maybe take thirty minutes), but I did it…and it worked!  I was really proud of myself, although this probably means nothing to all of you.  Oh well.

that’s a wrap

That’s all I’ve got for now…hopefully I’ll be back to writing about running soon, but I’ve been saying that for five months now so who really knows.  In other news, I’m back to night shift tonight…let me know if you want coffee at 2am, it’ll be fun!