JenLand

It’s already happened. And perhaps my fearing it facilitated the occurance, my thoughts going there just often enough. The first two weeks on this job, I had a lot of dreams about getting a needle stick, getting a disease, blood, sick people, crying babies …. all kinds of weird dreams. And I’m really not all that neurotic (though I think a few folks might contest that! ha ha) Our thoughts are real and can easily become things…......... who knows. But it’s done now.

On Sunday, about 6:30 am, I was doing morning rounds in the hospital, knocking on doors, waking poor sick people up to poke them with needles and take their blood. I had entered a young man’s room, was getting him ready for his blood draw, looking around at him wondering what he was ‘in for’, didn’t see any casted limbs, but he did not look like he felt good. He coughed a few times. Then, my coworker comes in, with a mask over her face and says softly ‘Hey Jenny, come on out, I need to talk to’.

What?!! Apparently his nurse failed to post the required notice on his door, stopping all who enter from going in without a mask, to prevent being exposed to Influenza A. Yup. That’s right, this young man had Influenza A, which can be Avian, Swine, Whale, Seal and a couple of other kinds of flus. (Never heard of Whale or Seal flu, have you?! ha ha)

Great. Needless to say, I had to write up an event report, the nurse will probably be in a bit of trouble. Actually probably more than a bit, that’s really a HUGE mistake to make in a hospital. That could have spread literally all over the hospital since I go all over the hospital.

Our employee health and infection control officer brought me Tamiflu to take prophylatically. I’m not excited about that. It makes me feel sick, that’s among the side effects, flu-like symptoms. Yay. I may not continue taking it and switch to some powerful herbs my doc is recommending instead. Already not a huge fan of much of the whole alopathic medicine field in the first place, it’s really quite ironic that I find myself working in that setting and then having this exposure.

I’m not really all that worried (though it seems my subconscious is! ha ha) about actually having Swine flu though. I’m a normal, healthy, not too old! woman. My immune system is not compromised. But it does not bode well that within the first 5 weeks of my employment I’ve already had a health risk situation come about. Crap!

Never a dull moment…........... :o) I’ll let you know if I start barking like a seal or growing really really big! ha ha ha