RAMBLINGS OF A RETIRED MIND

Authored by BlueAngel on
Wednesday, February 02, 2005

This little bit was evidently found by a Willie Janik and put on the Internet by him to his friends and forwarded on by other friends to their friends,etc. So now you are blessed with this rendition without pictures--I haven't learned how to insert the pictures yet. At any rate I hope that you enjoy it.

This also reminds me of another rambling mind that I reprinted somewhat earlier from another Internet source that starts out essentially the same but does add some other reminders of the so-called golden age events.

It, also, kinda reminds me of the Ramblings and Observations of a Retired RN. Just thought you all might enjoy another type of a Rambling Mind

Ramblings of a Retired Mind -

I was thinking about how a status symbol of today is those cell phones that everyone has clipped on. I can't afford one. So, I'm wearing my garage door opener.

You know, I spent a fortune on deodorant before I realized that people didn't like me anyway.

I was thinking about old age and decided that it is 'when you still have something on the ball, but you are just too tired to bounce it'.

I thought about making a fitness movie, for folks my age, and call it "Pumping Rust."

I have gotten that dreaded furniture disease. That's when your chest is falling into your drawers!

I know, when people see a cat's litter box, they always say, "Oh, have you got a cat?"
Just once I want to say, "No, it's for company!"

Employment application blanks always ask 'who is to be notified in case of an emergency.' I think you should write, "A Good Doctor!"

Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are we supposed to do -- write to these men? Why don't they just put their pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen could look for them while they deliver the mail? Or better yet, arrest them while they are taking their pictures!

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older. Then, it dawned on me, they were cramming for their finals. As for me, I'm just hoping God grades on the curve.

RAMBLINGS OF A RETIRED MIND!

Authored by BlueAngel on
Tuesday, December 14, 2004

This will find an audience some where, any where there are people who can relate to the sentiments expressed. Enjoy! Happy wishes for your particular HOLiDAY.

RAMBLINGS OF A RAMBLING MIND.

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older. Then, it dawned on me, they were cramming for their finals. As for me, I'm just hoping God grades on the curve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jerry's Thought for the Day :
Wise men speak because they have something to say.
Fools speak because they have to say something.

HINTS FOR QUIETING A "BUZZZZY" MIND FOR REST & SLEEP

Authored by BlueAngel on
Sunday, December 05, 2004

Every once in a while you run across a suggestion to help the general population from the different LISTSERVES like the one from St. John's University which happens to be dedicated to allowing the members to ask & answer questions regarding POST-POLIO SYNDROME (also known as "The Late Effects of POLIOmyelitis") (Scout@skally.net)

It works for some and not for others ---- It might be worth a try!

POST-POLIO-MED@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The posts to Post-Polio-Med are the opinions of the authors;
SJU and the listowners make no claim to their veracity. Always
confer with your own doctor. To UNSUBSCRIBE from the list and
other PPM List commands and info please go to
http://www.skally.net/ppmed/

ACTUAL CHARTING ON HOSPITAL CHARTS

Authored by BlueAngel on
Wednesday, November 24, 2004

These particular chartings are very true to life. If you pick up an old hospital record or even a new one (chart), you would be truly amazed at the comments -- both humerous as well as the "? stupid ones".

A retired RN friend sent these remarks (she found in one of her internet sources) on to this "ole" retired RN (knowing that the remarks would be very appreciated). Hope you enjoy them also.

ACTUAL CHARTING ON HOSPITAL CHARTS

1. The patient refused autopsy.
2. The patient has no previous history of suicides.
3. Patient has left white blood cells at another hospital.
4. She has no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was
very hot in bed last night.
5. Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
6. On the second day the knee was better, and on the third day it
disappeared.
7. The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be
depressed.
8. The patient has been depressed since she began seeing me in 1993.
9. Discharge status: Alive but without my permission.
10. Healthy appearing decrepit 69-year old male, mentally alert but
forgetful.
11. Patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
12. She is numb from her toes down.
13. While in ER, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
14. The skin was moist and dry.
15. Occasional, constant infrequent headaches.
16. Patient was alert and unresponsive.
17. Rectal examination revealed a normal size thyroid.
18. She stated that she had been constipated for most of her life,
until she got a divorce.
19. I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical
therapy.
20. Both breasts are equal and reactive to light and accommodation.
21. Examination of genitalia reveals that he is circus sized.
22. The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
23. Skin: somewhat pale but present.
24. The pelvic exam will be done later on the floor.
25. Patient has two teenage children, but no other abnormalities.

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

Authored by BlueAngel on
Wednesday, June 02, 2004

The following essay was sent to me via e-mail by one of my retired nurse friends in our Polio Survivors Association. It is indeed a very thought provoking essay. It is something that you will take away with you and as she says you will never look at coffee in quite the same way again.

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

WELL worth the read...

This is very profound & you will never look at a cup of coffee the same
way again....

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how
things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to
make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and
struggling.It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.

She filled three pots with water.
Inthe first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the
last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without
saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed
it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do
you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted that they got soft.

She then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.
The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked. "What's the point,
mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity-boiling water-but each reacted differently.

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the
boiling water they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee
bean?"
Think of this:
Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and
adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and
stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water,
the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it
releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when
things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you
elevate to another level?

How do you handle Adversity? ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE
BEAN?

Don't tell GOD how big your storm is. Tell the storm how big your GOD
is!

Perspective: (or Role Reversal from Nurse to Patient)

Authored by BlueAngel on
Saturday, May 15, 2004

This column was written by the author of this site several years ago. The thought behind the article was attempting to show how little most professionals know about teaching others how to use certain types of mobility aids to others, particularly when they don't know how to operate the equipment correctly for themselves.

Little did I realize that the very act of retirement would thrust me into a role reversal so quickly. For years I had been trying to obtain a post polio syndrome work up which finally happened (diagnosis of post-polio myopathy with sensory polyneuropathies of the lower extremities). I had polio as a child of five in Manila, Luzon, Philippine Islands. The polio affected mostly the lower extremities with the right leg being predominately affected. The right leg is shorter and smaller than the left leg. The only time this was perceptible in walking was when I was extremely tired I would have a slight limp. As the years went by, the ability to climb or step up on curbs would diminish as did the climbing of steps without some type of assistance. Then I noticed that I could not stand up to cook and wash dishes without low back pain. I could no longer reach for dishes or cooking materials over my head without my arms feeling like leaden weights. My arms also became extremely tired with the simple act of combing my hair or brushing my teeth. With the advent of these symptoms, I compensated by getting a step kitchen chair that I could sit on while I cooked and washed dishes or used the steps to climb to get things off of the top shelves (albeit with care to prevent a fall). I also compensated by taking my time to do things and listening to my body. I also had a history of falling in my youth and middle age which fortunately has not been frequent in the so called “golden years”.

I finally got my neurology work-up which included EMG, nerve conduction studies as well as pertinent blood work. The doctor prescribed a four prong cane to help stabilize climbing curbs and stairs as well as maintaining balance. This worked for a while until the respiratory problems became pronounced. I could only walk for a short distance until I became very short of breath and the right quadriceps muscle began to sting and burn. The neurologist suggested the use of a wheelchair or a motorized scooter. Medicare nor the HMO would not approve the motorized scooter due to the fact that I would not use the motorized scooter in the house and that it would be a matter of convenience not one of necessity for mobility in the house. This decision was rather disturbing to me since I was under the misapprehension that the HMO was into the maintaining independence of the individual. I have found this all very interesting, enlightening and frustrating. I can now understand better what my patients in the past felt regarding the bureaucratic nonsense and red tape that really did not help that much.

The main thrust of this article is that no-one ever taught me either as a nurse or now as a patient how to use the wheel chair properly. People seem to assume that because you are a nurse that you automatically know the correct and proper methods of using the wheelchair. You know what assuming something makes out of you and me. Never did I realize how hard it could be to accomplish what appears to be a simple task like wheeling yourself in a wheelchair! It is a very tiring job particularly when you have unknown diminished upper body strength. (You are really “sore” after the first attempts.)

Is there a proper way to place your hands on the wheels to propel you? How do you position your hands on the wheels to turn the wheelchair in the direction you want to go? What are the proper mechanics of propelling the wheelchair? How far back on the wheel do you place your hands in order to propel the wheelchair? What is the proper method of propelling the wheelchair using both your hands and feet? What is the proper method of using just your feet to propel the wheelchair if you can not use your hands and arms for any reason? These are but a few of the questions that have come cascading into my mind. It is very daunting! I can now imagine how patients felt when they were placed in this circumstance.

You quickly learn to ask questions of other wheelchair bound people. You also learn how to ask for help in getting your wheelchair placed into the trunk of your car when you are physically unable to lift the chair. All of these things can be very depressing if you allow them to be. It is very difficult for someone who is not use to asking for assistance to ask for it. It takes a lot of “guts” to do something so foreign to you, your self-image and self-esteem. I am beginning to accept the idea that the wheelchair can, indeed, be a friend. It can be a vehicle that allows me greater independence to go outside the house and do more things. The main problem now is to get my children to accept the frailty of their mother that she can no longer do the things she use to without some help.

I could ramble on and on about the role reversal but it would get very tiresome for you. The main thing I am trying to say is that you should be aware that if your patient happens to be a health care professional (i.e. Nurse) don’t automatically assume they know and understand how to use routine equipment or how to do things that all of us take for granted. They need as much help as routine patients do. When you become a patient you automatically become somewhat of a blithering idiot and seemingly have forgotten all you ever knew about the health care field!

Thankyou for listening!!!!

Repectfully submitted by Ethel E. Killgore Taylor, RN, BSN

15 May 2004: I wrote this article for the now defunct Medical Gazette in the begining of 1990. I thought that it might be usueful now to bring attention to the same issue. This is the fact that quite a few of us do have role reversals whether it is from a healthcare professional to someone in other fields of endeavor. The aging process does bring these events to the fore.

I know that I can no longer walk except around the house in limited amounts of time. I use a rollator to elevate me enough to cook, wash dishes and sometimes sweep up the kitchen with limited success. I do have to use a power chair for mobility most of the time both insiude and outside.

The main purpose for all of this is to encourage you to maintain as much independence as you can for as long as you can. You feel much more as ease and comfortable when you do. This is documented by other Post Polio Survivors.

Ethel E. Taylor, ret. RN, BSN aka "Blueangel"

Ruminations and Observations of an Obsolete Retired Nurse/Mother/GrandMother ?

Authored by BlueAngel on
Tuesday, April 13, 2004

Over the next few days, weeks, months and (hopefully) years, I will be trying my hand at putting down my remembrances of years gone by of my life as a nurse (student and RN), Mother and GrandMother. Some, may be, a little too serious and some might be a little entertaining but I hope none will be too terribly boring. None of the "ruminations or observations" will be in chronological order or in any particular order for that matter----that way it will keep you guessing.

I have been told in years past "You ought to write a book", "that would be good enough to include in a book or story"--Well, the ought to be's and the good enough's are here to either entertain or torture you (whichever the case may be).

I do hope that some of the ruminations and observations that have been made by myself will be of value to the reader in some form or another. Well, here goes nothing--as has been heard to have been said.

RETIREMENT:

As a way to introduce my attempt at writing, I thought that I would start off with this particular article which I wrote several years ago for the Medical
Gazette here in San Antonio. The Gazette had a column which was called The Forum. The idea behind the column was to have Nurses from different areas of Nursing to write articles (to be published in the weekly paper) of a subject that might be of interest to themselves and hopefully to the readership. It was a good idea while the paper was being published. I eventually had two articles published which I never saw myself but was told by people who had read them. The consensus was that they were good (nothing like patting yourself on the back).

Retirement is, by definition, is kind of scary and pleasant to think of at the same time. Everyone looks forward to that particular time of life (the so-called "Golden Years") as one of being able to fulfill a lot of delayed desires and dreams because we now have time to do anything and everything. Little do we realize that it won't necessarily pan out as planned. We learn due to whatever frailty we might have (be it chronic illness or the so-called aging process) puts a damper on our most grandiose plans of travel, loafing, learning new things that we alwys wanted or just existing. This is not some great tome but a little tweak, so to speak, to get you thinking of some of the opportunities awaiting you in your retirement.

There are many opportunities for taking courses at some of the colleges and universities in our area at little or no cost to someone 65 and over (on a space available basis with the permission of the different colleges/universities). All you have to do is call the registrars or administrator's offices to find out what their programs are. You would be surprised at the number of senior citizens in our community that avail themselves of these programs. "You are never too old to learn new things" according to the old saying. It can give one a joyous sense of accomplishment. It also keeps your mind alert and active. Who knows, you might actually encourage someone to perform to the best of their abilities and guide them into an area they have never thought of before.

There are different social and health groups that can help you to maintain your health and social skills to your optimum level.They have programs for social gatherings to help you meet and form friendships with people that are compatible with your life style. Some health programs are also available through community programs, HMO's, Hospitals, Health Agencies, Support groups, etc. available at little or no cost to you. You would be surprised at how you find comfort and enbcouragement if you are surrounded by programs that are not "pity parties".

You can keep being a productive person by voluneering your time and skills at something you like to do----like mentoring, telephoning people (person, to person) to check on their well being or using your talents to encourage someone along the way. You, not only, help someone else but you help yourself by keeping your spirit and mind active and healthy.

One of the most frequent problems that we have as senior citizens is depression. It can be from mild to severe. Some of the causes of depression are very predictable like the loss of loved ones, friends, colleagues, and our life's work. Some are not so predictable like the changes that occur "normally" when you are aging. There is still some stigma attached to depression as being mentally ill and most don't want to admit they have depression for fear of being thought of as being "crazy". The symptoms can mimic symtoms of other physical illnesses and can be very difficult to diagnose. Talk with your physician or your health care provider and even a community mental health program.

I think that I have rambled on long enough this go round. Now, it is your turn (both old and young) to offer your comments, suggestions and opinions. I have been retired from active nursing now four a few years after being active in the field since 1953. I have seen a lot of changes---some good and some not so good. It is difficult to remind oneself of age when the mind and spirit is more like that of a twenty or thirty year old than that of a 69 year old. (I am now 72 -- and not much has changed that particular perspective)

Thank you for reading and listening!

Respectfully submitted by Ethel E. Killgore Taylor