Thursday, June 29, 2006
Demi did it better ...
Oh my goodness.. What are celebrities thinking sometimes? Britney is on the cover of a magazine au natural while complaining to paparazzi to leave her family alone. Pul...leeze. If you do things and you are in the public eye, expect scrutiny. Despite the fact that it caused controversy even then, I prefer Demi's cover.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Fire!!
So this afternoon, when I got home. All I could think was that someone was burning rubber, or BBQing really badly. I was on my way to a friend's place for a group get-together and when I got out of the elevator, there were three firemen standing in our lobby. That would explain the pounding on a door that my fellow tenants and I heard near the 5th floor. So we decided we should wait to see what comes of this. Odd that this occured while I was home, there was no firealarm, so I wonder who called them.
I went outside to see what was going on.. and I looked up at the action. There was a fireman on a balcony of the 3rd floor and smoke pouring out of the window of the apartment. So I called my friend to say I'd be a bit late. Why? There's a fire in my building and the firemen broke the door down. Really? when? uh, about 2 minutes ago. But I'm on my way now...
So when I got back just now, there was a locksmith who told me where it was.. Someone left a pot on the stove. The place still reeks, but not as bad.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Quotes from the Blue Man ...
"my funeral. Look a the mourners. Some did not even know me well, yet they came. Why? Did you ever wonder why? Why people gather when others die? Why people feel they should?
It is because the human spirit knows, deep down, that all lives intersect. That death doesn't just take someone, it misses someone else, and in the small distance between being taken and being missed, lives are changed. ... We think such things are random. But there is a balance to it all. One withers, another grows. Birth and death are part of a whole. It is why we are drawn to babies .. and to funerals."
That is why I stayed at the funeral. There is a recognition of the story of the life lived. The loss of yet another beautiful soul We are all affected by what is and what is not. I have learned in my work to deal with grief related to death, grief related to losses of life -- jobs, independence, dreams... The irony is that the closer you are the person who dies, the harder it is for you when you grieve. Despite the fact that it has been little over a year, and I knew my father was very sick, and I know he is not suffering and not in pain anymore, it is still hard to fully accept that he is gone. I don't have the momentary lapses of forgetting and start to phone him, as I have heard patients/clients tell me that they have done... but I lament the loss of future things. On the day of my ordination in October, it was barely 6 months since his death. I remember that I was nervous and I cried so much that my mother had to give me gravol to calm down. I remember I started crying in the shower and I thought of all the day, one of my dreams coming true. And I remember that I cried as I did at his funeral, because I knew that my father would not be at my ordination, he would not be at my wedding, he would never know my children, he would never see that I accomplished good things.. he would never see ...
And I still don't know who will walk me down the aisle at my wedding. My mother wants to, I have thought it would be nice to have my nieces do it, but they are young, I have asked if my sister's husband will do it. But I still don't know. We are embarrassed by our parents when we are younger, and we say I hope I never have to go through... whatever it is, but I would give anything for my father to be here on my wedding day. And he will be there.. but it's not the same.
Today's funeral was funny. I didn't realize that the man was so humorous. It is a twisted sense but good. We laughed so hard at the many things this man did, the joy that he brought to the world. And I remembered my father's funeral and what we said about him. And I thought about the things that were said about this man. I go to funerals for people that I may not know very well, and I cry. I cry at the story that has been lost to the world. And I also wonder .. how will the world remember me? What things will they say? There are some funerals you go to where there is not much that can be said. The person lived a troubled life, not that we are glad that they are gone, but they didn't seem to make a dynamic contribution to our society.... and there are others that contributed immensely in ways too deep to describe, in all things of their lives... Finances, professionally, and personally.
In the end, I wonder. How will the world remember me? What things will they say? It is challenging to the life that we hope to live today.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Remembering the good old TV...
Aaron Spelling is dead. He created a lot of shows... I remember some of them, but not all of them. I wonder at how some managed to stay on the air for so long, Beverly Hills 90210 lasted for 10 years!!! Those 30 year olds played teenager for SOO long... It is fun to watch the old shows. I am going to have to see about buying the old shows again.
Aaron's stuff
The Mod Squad 1975-79
Starsky and Hutch1976-81
Charlie's Angels1976-80
The Love Boat 1978-84
Fantasy Island 1981-89
Dynasty1983-88
Hotel1984-85
The Colbys 1989
Beverly Hills 90210 1992-
Melrose Place1994
Models, Inc.1995-
Savannah 1995-
But I would like to find other old shows like Facts of Life. When I asked my sweetie to find me this show, he looked at me like I was crazy. He had never heard!? of this show. It was around the same time as Jeffersons, Different Strokes, and Muppet Show
Of course we look at some of the things are wonder eh? I mean the clothes, the hair, the roller skates... Interesting stuff we grew up with huh?
Saturday, June 24, 2006
What to do with RUDE people?
Friday, June 23, 2006
In Their Shoes..
Can you imagine that one day you wake up and you aren't sure where you are? or who the people you see are? You look at their faces, and see familiar pictures but you don't know their names?
Welcome to the world of dementia, again and my work in Geriatrics. I sat with a woman today who told me that she doesn't really know why she is here.. she knows she is in the hospital and could tell me the right one, and that there reason she was there was because she had mental senility. (I have never heard of it described that way before ..) I asked her how she knew this? did someone tell her this? or did she feel that way? That she was senile? "Someone sort of told me and I kind of notice it myself." She went on .. "I feel so alone. I don't know where I'm going or coming... I don't what to do."
I remember when I first started working in geriatrics some 8 years ago. I was training in CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) in a nursing home in Nova Scotia. I was terrified of older people. I had not grown up with my grandparents nearby, so I was unsure of what I would say to them. (Mostly I was worried that my hearing problem would BE a problem, or hindrance of my work, but that is a story for another time.) I remember the first woman I ever met there. I call her "Lillian". She was in the beginning stages of dementia. She knew that she was forgetting things.. like words, or common phrases... (but then don't we all from time to time.. I can't remember what/if I had for breakfast somedays) and it distressed her. To know that she was forgetting and realizing that there was very little she could do for herself.
Another colleague of mine told me about her "lady" that would look at the pictures in her room and go through all of them repeatedly and name all of the family members. After a while, she couldn't remember them. She knew they were her family or people she knew, but she didn't know exactly who. My friend was heartbroken to watch this mental decline.
Over the years, I have worked in long-term care. Since moving to Vancouver, I have started to work in acute care. From November 2002 until January 2004, I worked in a long-term care facility(LTC) or extended care (ECU). My colleague and I met many wonderful people, residents, family and staff. It is still hard to watch the decline of the mental capacities. And there are many issues that complicate geriatric life. As we are chaplains, my colleague would allude to the biblical verse about being lead where you do not wish to go. (John 21:18)
When I first began to work with dementia patients, I had a hard time. I would cry for my lady, Lillian, and it was hard for my soft heart to watch. (coincidentally, I had cold hands and had to warn people about
it. They would reply "Cold hands mean a warm heart".) I hated the fact that I cried to see this. But I shared their pain and the burden became mine along with the staff and family members. I said to my own mother one day, "Mom I hope you never loose your mind and have to go into a facility". Of course, it was not the proper time to tell her this as she was trying to do some chores and I remember her harried response, "Dear, I am not old yet. And I don't plan to be for a long time. So stop this talk about nursing homes." (This
may not be exactly what she said, but is the general gist of it.)
It is hard to see your parents get old. It is hard to watch people age and succumb to illnesses. This is part of my work. To walk with them in what they are going through. I cannot take on their pain, but at least they are not alone. I am there with them to share the burden, and to remind them that God is with them too.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Canadian? What's in a name?
There is a definite characteristic on a national level, but it is still defined differently depending on where you are from in Canada. Maritimers, such as myself, will say it is about community, farming/fishing, and knowing how to hold your liquor. Kitchen parties, knowing pretty much EVERY one you meet, and knowing ALL their business "because that's Jimmy's cousin's sister's husband's mother's something something... ". He's my 4th cousin!" (Ok I exaggerate, but when your friend tells you that she and her brothers are really 5th cousins, doesn't that throw you for a loop?)
But here in the West, there is a lot of multiculturalism. I wonder.. tv shows show Lady Liberty and talk about the 'American Dream'... is there a Canadian dream?
Our politics are a joke, no one aspires to be the Prime minister eh? We are very good at making fun of ourselves.. look at comedy shows on CBC... Air Farce, 22 minutes, Just for Laughs... we rock. But that's about all I see on CBC nowadays as worthwhile. And how really talks about Canadian celebrities.. They've all migrated South. Shatner, Jim Carrey, Michael J. Fox, Dave Foley, you name a Canadian celebrity and chances are.. they live in the States.
So CBC is bumping the National... figures.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
When patients go AWOL
He was coming out the the ER and carrying the "Patient Garment" bag. He crossed the street at the crosswalk and I don't know where he went. I have often seen patients, usually men, standing in hospital gowns, with no shoes, bags of stuff, waiting on the other side of the road at the bus stop. I have also seen security outside.. looking for patients, or patrolling to keep the squatters off the benches. The problem is that once a patient leaves the hospital property, we, the medical staff, can't do anything about it. Also, I don't know these men, they may be aggressive, have mental issues, etc.
It is a hard place to be.. we talk about dignity and respect. Freedom of choice.. but are they making the right one.. are they rational enough to do so. What is "good care" of this person at this point?
Friday, June 16, 2006
5 People you meet in Heaven
The book is interesting and I underlined different parts (in pencil of course!)
Oh I have to digress for a minute though. You know how you start singing in your head.. well I have been singing a song I learned at camp I think... Heaven is a wonderful place, filled with His Glory and grace, I want to see my Savior's face. heaven is a wonderful place.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
New hats!!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Kiss the Blog
Friday, June 02, 2006
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Stuck
Oneof the units has a GI outbreak .. Norwalkish and hence this unit cannot admit new people or discharge, unless the patient is going home. So the surgeries are being cancelled because there is no place to put them. No beds. No beds emptying, no bed to put people into. So these beds block ortho beds, that block medical beds, that block ... someone. Everyone has cancelled surgeries, except for Cardiac!! and the ICU is full so where are we supposed to put these people?! Then we get people "clean" from the bug, only to have someone else with the "bug" and then we can't discharge and the cycle continues. Hmm... Stuck. Like you wouldn't believe.