Kanan

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Dahil ako ang may hawak ng rapid respond na bleeper kagabi, kaya naman kahit hindi sa cardiology ICU ang assigment ko na area kagabi ay tumakbo ako para tignan ang pasyente nun senior staff ko na therapist (kasi tulog siya! Toink!)

Hindi ko na siya ginising. Kawawa naman napuyat ata pag aalaga ng baby niya. Since single for life na ata ang drama ko, at wala akong baby...kaya nakakapahinga ako sa bahay ng wagas! chos! Isiningit na naman ang sarili'ng miserable na lovelife e noh? hahaha

Ayun.

Pagdating ko sa room nung patient. Sabi ng mahaderang Bumbay na nurse na prenteng nakaupo sa table niya.

"Brother, there is no oxygen saturation in the monitor. Make it 100%". sabi nya. Walang ka worry-worry sa Fez niya ha.

Nagpanting ang tenga ko. Hanep mag utos. Senyora?

Normal oxygen saturation kasi sa katawan ay 98-100%. May sensor na may redlight yun na sinusuot sa daliri ng patient. Sa case ng patient namin. Blank! flatline yun tracing! LOL

typical cardiac monitor at our units. touchscreen yan :-)

"Did you check your sensor? Maybe there's problem with the sensor. Did you change it?" sabi ko sa equally na mataray na tono. " Sister its your monitor, its your responsibility to fix it, not me".

Nag -auscultate ako sa lungs...may air entry naman ako. May crackles, pero sadya naman talagang madaming sputum si Ba-ba maski noon pa na di na maubos ubos!

ba·ba/ˈbäˌbä/ -- Father (often as a proper name or as a familiar form of address).

Basta problema sa breathing, or anything na may kinalaman sa lungs ng pasyente, sa akin yun. Kaya di ko matanggap na area ko ang may issue at ang mahaderang nurse e nakaupo lang samantalang ako e problemado na pano papanormal-in ang hangin sa katawan ng pasyente ko! hahaha

Oo daw. Wala daw problema yun sensor nya. Inayos na daw nya. Tumayo siya nun makita na naiinis na ko sa knya, kaya daw malamang ang problema ay ang breathing ng patient. Isinuot ko sa sarili kong daliri yun sensor...nagkareading naman! 100% ang sats ko! so okay nga yun cables at monitor!

Inilipat ko ng daliri dun sa kanan na hinlalaki. Sa hintuturo. Sa hinliliit. at dun sa gitna ng daliri, di ko alam sa tagalog yun e. Hing-gigitna?

Waley pa din... blank!

Nun nagka reading 38% !!!!

Ay taray! 38%!!! ocean deep sa lowness! h0ngbaba!!! Buhay ka pa ba lolo? LOL

Pero di ako convinced! feeling ko may mali! e pano ba naman normal ang BP at ang Heart rate sa monitor tapos saturation e 38%??? No! No! No!

Kinalikot-likot ko na ang settings ng ventilator ko! iniba ko na mga strategy of breathing support nun makina na diretso sa lungs nun patient pero WALEY pa din akong saturation!

this is my ventilator. I'm responsible for this machine and troubleshooting it. touchscreen din toh! hehe

Sinubukan kong alisin yun tube sa ventilator ko at inumpisahan kong i-valve-bag manually ang patient. Baka kasi mag arrest na naman toh!

Pero wala pa din pagbabago!

Shitness! Panget na nga lagay nito sa isip isip ko!

"call the doctor immediately!" sabi ko kay sisterette! Dun palang siya nagka emosyon sa katawan! pag nagpatawag na kasi ako ng manggagamot, ibig sabihin di na kaya ng powers ng therapist at serious na ang problema.

Ipinasok na nila ang crash cart at nagdatingan na ang resuscitation team. Standby na ang lahat for code blue. Habang nakatingin sila sa akin kung may mangyayari sa kalokohang pinaggagawa ko sa pasyente! hahaha

Pero infairness may pulse pa naman si Ba-ba.

Nagpakuha ako ng stat arterial blood gas sample (ABG) dun sa nurse. Sabi ko tawagin nya ko kapag may result na. Kumuha siya ng blood sa kanan kamay din.

Paglabas nun result, napamura ako, bagsak nga lahat ng values!!! consistent sa values sa monitor, indicator na hindi nga maganda ang oxygen saturation sa blood ni lolo!

Itong ABG ang magsasabi ng tunay na nangyayari. Ito ang holy grail ko! chos

Nag order ang doctor ng mga kung anik anik. Nagpapalit din ng settings ng machine ko. Tinodo ko na lahat.

Nagpalit din sila ng cable nun pulse oxymeter. Nilagay ulit sa kanan na mga daliri. Nakailan nang palit ng cable at machine, wala pa din mabasa!

Sumuko na ko! Ginising ko na si senior therapist ko! sabi ko di na kaya ng powers ko! ikaw na dun! Toink!

Hindi pa din nya mapataas ang saturation. Natatawa ako kasi kung ano ang ginawa ko earlier yun din ginagawa nya ngayon! angtagal din nya nakatitig sa monitor praying na may magbago sa values! ganun ganun din ako kanina! yun parang tanga nakatunganga sa screen!

Inabot pa ng another 30 minutes bago naayos ang lahat!

Ito lang ang masasabi ko:

Kami ay mga stupid.

Kami ay nagpakahirap ng walang kakwnta-kwnta.

Kami ay nagtiwala sa mahadera'ng nurse na assigned sa patient.

Kami ay nagsayang ng oras sa katangahan naming lahat.

Ang Katotohanan:

Naglagay kami ng sensor sa kanan kamay.

At dun lang ng dun din namin nilagay at pinagpalit palit sa mga daliri sa kamay na yun. kahit na ilang portable sensor at ilang cable na ang ipinalit namin.

Kumuha ng ABG sample, dun ulit sa kanan braso.

Nagpakuha ulit ng ABG sample for the second time, sa kanan braso ulit!

Dahil sa totoo lang:

Wala man lang nakaisip ni isa sa amin pala na maglagay ng sensor sa kabilang kamay!

Dun sa kaliwa!!!

Ang putakels na pinagpupuntiryahan naming lahat ay dun isaksak lahat sa kanan na kamay at mga daliri! Aba di ko alam kung ano meron sa kanang braso at dun kami nagsiksikan lahat! LOL

Nun dun sa kaliwa nilagay ang sensor...konting patience lang ang requirements dahil after a period of 10 minutes: nag 100% ang sats!

Nung nagpakuha ulit ng ABG sample for the third time, this time sa kaliwang braso na kumuha at lumabas ang result:

Normal na normal na ang lahat ng values!

Tang ina! ang tatanga nyo! LOL

Ang hatol ng mga doctor after almost two hours of katoxic-an:

May problema sa blood circulation ang kanang braso ni Babbaa...walang masyado'ng activity sa kanang braso nya... kaya naman sa sensor ay bagsak siya...kaya naman sa ABG sample ay bagsak din siya!

Whew! Buhay nga naman oh. Minsan engot lang! LOL

Nagtatawanan nalang kaming lahat nun endorsement na nun umaga! tapos na ang night shift namin at magaan na ang pakiramdam ng lahat kahit na nag busy kami sa katangahan naming lahat sa kaliwang braso ni ba-ba!!!

Lesson-learned to sa buong medical staff team! ahahaha

Come Inside

My friends are funny, they are reporting to me every possible gay guy at the hospital they've met and would say: Mac, there's a new guy upstairs and I'm pretty sure you'll like him!

And me being so...curious! I'm about to say, slutty!LOL would go up and check him out!

Meet RJ. Pinoy, registered nurse at the ICU, 5'3'' in height,and cute hehe. I immediately have a crush on him.

My friends helped me to get a way with him, they did some strategy so that I could talk to him and introduced my self.

And yeah, after many days of talking to him I finally got his attention and we became facebook friends hehehe. We've been chatting for a while now, just talking about anything. There's one thing bothering me though...

He said he has a girlfriend.

"Hay naku, I'm pretty sure he just made that up!" my friends keep on assuring me. I had a hard time accepting that fact too, I mean he's way too obvious to me. He is one of us. And besides he kept on telling me we should go out sometime. I'm just waiting for the right moment to ask him out on a date.

The other day, I visited his patient assignment at the ICU, I was just hangin' around to have some moment with him, and he didn't disappoint me, he's too entertaining. He wanted to know things about me, he's way too curious on knowing me. Well, i might be wrong too, but I don't know. Im just enjoying this while it lasts.

You know what's funny?He's friends with R.A! whateva!!!

He asked for a mint candy because he saw me chewing one. When I returned he asked:

"Where's my mint Mac?"

"Oh here, i got you two...I was about to give you three...(for I love you) but I only got two instead!" Im not sure he gets what I mean haha but I laughed!

I was standing at the nurse's station waiting for my colleague when he called, he signaled me to come at his patients room. I didn't realize what he meant at first so I did not move. He called again, this time much clearer

"Mac, come over here...inside."

For a brief second, nalibugan ako! (got horny!LOL) its as if he's calling me to make out inside the private room with his patient inside! He look so hot while at the door calling!

I was curious what are we gonna do inside...

"come...close the door..." he shut the curtain close as I closed the door when I got in...taena talaga...tinigasan ako promise!LOL

"why am I here?" I asked

"nothing, just be here while I clean my patient..." he said while preparing his things

"ah..."

huwat???biglang lambot pututoy ko tuloy LOL! I was disappointed of course, but its alright at least we get to spend a little time alone, me and him solo on this room with a comatose patient! Things are getting better and better.

I moved closer to his side...so close that my body are squeezing his while he's busy with doing the oral care...I was rubbing my skin against his in a not so obvious way....well, maybe a little obvious, because he moved to the other side of the bed!hahaha I scare him off?! LOL

I wonder how it felt like making out in front of a comatose patient!hahaha.I was thinkin pa naman what if I kiss him right there or lick his earlobes! would he run off too?

Anywayz, we just talked. I noticed he's avoiding topics about his girlfriend. He was also asking about where I grew up, my family, etc, and he also shared some stories of his childhood, and how typhoon ondoy destroyed their house and properties.

Its a nice moment for us. So decent that my nose bled out!LOL

After a few minutes I told him I need to go. Because the other nurses might notice us spending so much time inside a closed room.

Baka isipin nila bakla ako!charr!

Disaster

When I came to our department on an evening shift, they told me immediately that the hospital activated THE DISASTER CODE...

I was like: Come again?

Disaster Code, they repeated. I asked why, what happened? We only activate this code during earthquakes, bombing, big fires, or anything which involves a lot of people being hurt. We already have standard plan for that, we already know what we're about to do in case of disaster like that.

But I haven't heard of anything, or news at all! that's why I'm confused.

The patients will be coming from Libya!

OMG!

It all sinked in to my tiny mind! Due to the current situation and war going on in Libya, their own hospitals cannot accommodate their own patients. They need assistance to take care of their sick and unstable patients. They don't have enough health care providers left since many of them already flew back to their own country for fear on their own lives.

They'll be bringing about 5o patients. We don't know how many are critical. So everyone must prepare everything we need to assist in the emergency room. My senior staff continued.

5o people? Oh noooooo! I cannot imagine it! that much? we could receive many patients at our ER but not this much and all together at once! This would be chaos...I mean that's crazy!

and besides I'm not in the mood to be so busy today!LOL

On the other hand, I kinda felt excited, I thought, maybe this is what I'm missing, the action, the adrenaline, the craziness of the hospital when its too busy and too crowded when everyone was pressured to save more lives as much as possible!

parang yun napapanood ko sa Greys Anatomy! you know, yun may darating na sabog ang paa, labas bituka, putol ulo or puro tama ng baril. Nakaka excite un di bah? Its like we're inside the warzone!

They even asked me to join the team who would go take a plane to Libya and help pick up patients and bring them back here!

Huwat? me???? with eyes wide open pa yun ha! haha yoko nga! ano ko tange mabomba pa ko dun hahaha! Ibang bomba ang trip ko hindi mga bazooka!LOL

So, No way. I refused. yun lang! charrr!

The whole emergency room prepared for the worst, we brought many ventilators and bag-valve mask and all respiratory aids kit. I could feel the tension in the air. We are all first timers here. We don't know what to expect. We were oriented on what to do but its still nerve wracking when you're actually on the situation!

I saw CB. That flirty straight cute nurse that I have a big crush on.

Mac, you're covering our area?

Yes, I would be responding to all critical cases.

Good, but i want you on my bed. My bed only.

I wanna burst into laughters when he said his bed. He meant, the bed he was assigned to. That I should assist only on the patient to his assigned bed. It just sounded so dirty when he said it with eyes directly looking at me. That slut!LOL

Wag ka selfish! i-share mo ko sa ibang nangangailangan sakin haha!

He even helped me assembling my machine on his bed. "My hose is not fitting on the sucket, CB, this is difficult..." I continued.

"Maybe its still a virgin Mac...you gotta put some lube..."

I threw a pen at his face! good thing he was able to dodged it.

He came near me and took the hose Im holding and tried it himself, aww and sweet naman ni CB hehehe! Its been days that I imagined him on my bed. Every part of his body screams SEXY.

Taenang CB to! ang hot ng hayop!LOL

When everything was set. The time those patients are expected to come passed by...an hour...three hours... four hours...still nothing...

They even asked all nurses to stay till 12 midnight! e hanggang 10pm lang dapat sila!

One in the morning, they arrived...I was ecstatic.. I checked the room...one...two...and three...not critical...

more came...one by one...some are comatose and burned... some are victims of gunshot but stable, some are intubated already...and that's it!!!

What?!

that's it???? where's my crazy-chaotic-warzone-scenario????LOL

Anywayz, I was so disappointed big time, as in to the highest level of disappointment haha but I still helped managing the patients though, till my 16hrs shift ends in the morning.

hay naku!

OA yun nag inform na disaster code yun! tanga siya!LOL

FYI: di po ako nurse. I'm a therapist :-)

Ah Ganun Pala Yun!

Bago pa dumating ang pasyente sa trauma room ng emergency room, nakahanda na kami, naitawag na ito 15 minutes palang ng ambulance team. Naka ready na aketch. You know, gowns and everything....

ay hindi yan!

ito ang sinasabi ko LOL!

Kasi alam ng lahat na kapag trauma code, lalo na pag aksidente sa daan, expect mo na, na madugo, malansa, mabaho, mabantot, maanta, mabaho, ay nasabi ko na pala un! in other words, madudumihan ka, e sayang naman ang ganda kung matatalsikan ka ng kung anik anik na galing sa pasyente da bah. :-)

Nagbiburuan pa kami ng mga nurses habang mega wait, isa sa mga yun si julius na taga davao may strong bisaya accent, aliw na aliw ako sa knya. My asawa at anak pero....wag kayo maingay, tingin ko bading siya! LOL. halos masira ang gaydar ko sa pag fluctuate e!

Tapos ayun dumating na ang isa, duguan, pero di pa daw ito un inaantay namin na team, e si Julius bilang nurse in charge, nagmamaganda , lumapit at mega interview sa pasyente:

"Whats your name brother? Do you have an ID?"

"yes, its in pocket" sagot nun biktima na mukhang palestinian

"ay potah!ang ang baho ng hininga nito, taena..."

sabay talikod ng Julius na ang mukha e matatawa ka sa pagka imbyerna! E nakatungo pa siya sa mukha ng patient habang tinatanung. Langhap na langhap niya! Pinigil ko na lang mababunghalit ng tawa kasi baka mapagalitan ako ng team leader na nerbiyoso!

Dumating ulit un iba, binibilang ko, unti unti napupuno ang room, maya maya lima na! Andami naman involved sa aksidenteng to!

Sabi ni cute na pinoy na kasama sa ambulance, nag karambola daw yun mga sasakyan kaya madami involved. Sabi ko: "ah ganun ba..." tumango tango pa ko, pagtalikod ni kabayan, sabi ko sa katabi ko: "ano ba yun karambola?" LOL!

Maya-maya dumating na ang main event! dala ng mga canadian! malala nga ang itsura ng patient hmpf! Toxic na naman ako nito sa isip isip ko!

Ang galing galing nun leader...habang tinatransfer nila un patient sa bed namin, nag eendorse siya with his super slang canadian accent ha, di ko nga maintindihan e! as in ang galing! saulado niya lahat ng ginawa at ibinigay nila with matching time ha!

Pagkalipas ng 30 minutes na stabilized na namin yun biktima, naibigay na mga gamot, nabutas na ng mga manggamot ang kabila niyang baga at nilagyan ng tubo, nasaksakan na din namin siya ng tubo sa ilong, sa bibig, at naikabit na sa monitor and machines.

Monitoring nalang ang ginagawa ko. So, nakahinga na kami ng maluwag. Sabi ko sa katabi ko na pinoy nurse,

"ate ano bang lahi to?"

"di ko din alam, unknown pa din siya till now, la makita ID"

"ah ganun ba, mukhang indian e..."

"hindi, parang somalian..."

"baka iranian..." sabat nun isa pa

Narinig ni Julius ang huntahan namin. Lumapit siya at sinabi:

"isa lang ang paraan para malaman natin ang nationality nito..."

"paano?" sabay sabay namin tanung.

" sa tite...tignan nyo sa tite..." seryosong sagot nya

Muntik na ko mapatambling sa sinabi nya! hahaha! kaloka! dahan dahan siya lumapit sa patient at pasimple sinilip, inalis niya ang kumot na nakataklob sa walang kamalay malay nilalang na ito! Mega abang naman kami sa makikita...chos!

Nun tuluyan na ma expose ang nakatagong laman na ito, bumungad saming mga mata ang maitim, mejo mataba taba na pag aari...ineksamin ang cut and itsura...

"ah, tuli siya...(isa pa ulit niyang tingin) ah, malamang egyptian..." pag kumpirma ni Julius:The Great!

Paglipas ng ilang sandali, nun may dumating na mga kasamahan, napag alaman namin na...tama nga siya!

Egyptian nga!

Panic Attack

Duty ko isang hapon, wala kami ideya kung san kami ilalagay ng senior staff namin, may lima kasing ICU sa ospital,( may pang bago opera, may para sa mga naaksidente (trauma), may pang puso, may pang bata/sanggol, at pang kalahatang sakit na hindi na sakop nun ibang ICU).

Although, madalas sa pangbata'ng ICU ako nilalagay, which is, mas gusto ko. Dahil komportable na ako sa area, equipments, machines at sa mga nurse dun. Nung hinati na, tama nga hula ko, dun ako sa pangbata nilagay.

Naghanda na ako mag rounds, isa isa ko pinuntahan lahat ng pasyente na para sakin, nagsulat, nagcheck if nagana at wala problema machine at stable ang pasyente. Habang ginagawa ko yun, naririnig ko ang ingay ng mga bata, may mga baby na naiyak, nagwawala. Nakakarindi minsan, sarap pasakan ng unan ang mga bibig ng matigil na LOL!

Dito sa area na to, masasanay ka na din sa mga kantahan, kasi di lang mag care sa pasyente trabaho ng nurses dito, dapat songer ka din! Kasi kakantahan mo mga sanggol para tumahan! gaya ng bad romance ni gaga, or kaya single ladies ni beyonce!

Sa kabuuan, tahimik ang area ko. Meaning wala masyado procedures, orders ek ek. Nagpasalamat ako!

Itunuloy ko ang duty sa pamamagitan ng pakikipagdaldalan, pakikipaglandian (chos!), at pag browse sa net gamit ang laptop ko! Naka 2 episode din ata ako ng grey's anatomy bago mag second rounds naman!hehe. Saya!

9:30 pm, lahat ng mga kasamahan ko busy na sa kani-kanilang ICU, akala ko ligtas ako sa ka-toxic-an, but im wrongness! Tinawagan ako ng nurse-in-charge, maghanda daw ako ng makina na hihinga para dun sa pasyente na darating 10 y.o, nabagok daw ulo, parating na ambulansya, bilisan ko daw~!

Atribidang nurse! kakatawag lang gusto now na agad!!! di kaya ganun kadali mag set up! letse!

Paglabas ko ng department namin, nakasalubong ko na ang team ng ambulansya na dala-dala yun pasyente na inaantay namin! Crapppppppppppppp! wala pa ako nape-prepare!

Hinubad ko ang damit ko na parang si clark kent at na expose ang costume ko sa loob na may nakasulat na S... hindi Superman, kundi: She-ra!

Nagmamadali ako, sabi on the way palang, un pala andito na! pawis pawis na ko nun, nagmamadali ang lola nyo, jusko day! Pero dahil may taglay akong powers, na-set-up ko naman siya agad.

Ililipat na namin sa bed yun pasyente na kasalukuyang nasa stretcher ng ambulance ng mag alarm ang monitor! Sobrang bilis ng tibok ng puso nya! Nag-madali magpakuha ang doktor ng mga gamot, konting minuto lang kasi titigil na yun bigla sa pagtibok at mamatay ang bata.

Nawala na ang tahimik kong mundo!!!

Nagkagulo na! Kinuha ko ang ambubag, pumuwesto ako sa ulunan at inumpisahan pisilin yun para tulungan huminga ang pasyente. Nagpahanda ng defibrillator, kukuryentehan na ang puso.

Every body clear? sigaw ng maitim na manggagamot.

Sumagot kami ng "clear-ness" with my baklang-baklang accent! Kidding! LOL. Kaso nakadikit naman siya sa bakal, sabi ko doktor, usod ka, makukuryente ka din! Tange di ba?!

Pinundot nya, pero walang nadeliver na kuryente sa pasyente! palpak! Inulit, wala na naman!

Juskoooooooooooo! kaloka!

Nagkagulo ang mga Pana (mga ibang lahi,nagpapahulog satin ng 5-6 gets nyo na?), nun shift na yun wala pinoy, andami nila,e dapat mga 5 or 6 people lang dun, pero nasa 15 ata sila! bakit daw di nagana, nagsisisihan sila, ang iingay kairita. Ang bilis magsasasalita sa lengguwahe nila.

Hindi organized.

Nagpapanic sila.

Para akong nasa palengke! yun tipong lahat sabay sabay nagsisigawan: Ale-ale bili ka ng isda, mura lang! oy suke, bili ka ng talong ko, mahaba, mataba, titirik mata mo pag sinaksak mo sa pwet mo, dito ka bili bili suke!

Sa isip ko nun time na yun, yun ang scenario, muntik na ako mapatawa!

Tapos nadiskubre di pala nasuksok un cord ng makina kaya di nagana nun una! O di ba buhay na buhay ka talaga dito!LOL

Ipinagpatuloy ang pag CPR sa bata. Inabot na ko ng 10:20pm dun, teka lampas na ako sa duty ko a!

Late yun kapalit ko!

Nabalitaan ko kinabukasan na nabuhay naman pala yun bata.

Buti naman!

I Survived on Christmas!

Christmas eve went well last night, as you all know I was on duty, and I'm here at Doha, we are in a hurry to start working so that we could finish early before 12am and eat together at the department, but there are many enemies...the nurses!LOL asking so much of us, pls do this, pls help me with this, pls check patient is desaturating, there's new doctor's order blah blah blah and before I know it, ITS ALREADY 1:00 am!fuckkkkkkkkkk!

But anywayz, we still manage to have a great time, yummy foods, some music and some good talks and laughs. I'm glad I'm on duty instead of being off and just stayed home all by myself (teka, kanta yun a LOL).

My sister is killing me when she told me they're having crispy pata, cakes, buko salad, carbonara etc. I miss pork!!!!!!!! (does dick counts as pork?LOL)

Anyway, I need to go to sleep now, still night shift later.Yeah I know, I'm just going to sleep this Christmas, hooo-hooo how exciting!!!

Merry Christmas to all of you guys!

Salami?

I don't mean to offend anyone on this post.But what can I do, this is a true story!LOL

Working in a different country is hard for me at first, since its my first time working outside our beloved Philippines LOL! Anyway, handling the machines/ventilators are one of them, i studied them and manipulated them until I get familiar with the knobs and controls, next is, I always get lost!haha damn,its a big hospital with lots of hallways and turns and everything!!!

And the biggest challenge for me: the Indians!

Why?

Because I cannot understand them quickly when they speak to me. They have a strange way of speaking in English, they eat the words and they have a unique sound. Its a big issue since most of them are nurses and I have to communicate with them almost all the time!And there are more Indians here than Filipinos!

One time I was inside the isolation room, the Indian nurse came to the door and asked me:

nurse: Why is salami?

Me:huh? (clueless...in my mind:WTF is she talking about!)

nurse: salami!

Me:I don't know what you mean with salami?( is that the food?LOL i thought.) sister,please say it s-l-o-w-l-y...

nurse: why-is-it---a-l-a-r-m-i-n-g....????

Oh my gosh!hahaha I almost laugh so hard after I realized what she meant!

I have to ask them to repeat what they are trying to say 3 times before i could understand. That's why i have to focus my eyes on their lips when i talk to them so that i could read their mouth.

For my third month here, I guess I'm improving, I can get what they mean for asking them to repeat for only 2 times now!LOL

What The Hell is an RT?

I'm sick and tired of telling people about my job,I am a respiratory therapist! but they don't know what it is !hahaha and they were like,what the hell is that?! Every time I'm chatting online or meeting some one on a date and they would ask about my job,they have no idea about it.Unless of course if you work on a hospital like me.

So i decided to give you guys an idea about the nature of my work,I searched some pictures so that you would have a much clearer understanding.I worked as an RT for 5 years at a tertiary hospital in the south.My course in college was B.S Respiratory Therapy.But i gotta admit,only few are getting this course we are not as popular as the PT's or the OT's and the Nurses,well maybe because this is not a glamorous job.

So here it is :

When a patient arrived at the ER and have a difficulty of breathing (nangingitim na kuko at mga kamay and lips) and all signs indicating that he needs an invasive help to breath (OR any patient confined at the hospital) we immediately do a procedure- intubation where-in the doctor will insert a tube into his mouth directly to his trachea(lalamunan) and lungs to breath.We are required to be there when they start to do this.We assist the doctor together with the duty nurse.I was the one responsible checking the air sounds if the doctor inserted the tube right.If I say "out" he will do it again until he's "in" hehe taray!

Code blue-this is the craziest time! If I'm on duty especially at night!(tanggal ang antok ko!haha).When they call our laboratory and say its a code blue humanda ka na!This is when a patient suddenly stops breathing or suffered a cardiac arrest.Everyone was like running here and there giving this and that medication and injections to make the heart beats again.What is my role?I am the one giving the CPR,the heart compressions(like you see on the pic,kapag napagod salitan kami ng doctor or headnurse) and sometimes using defibrillators.The staff included in a code blue are: the doctor,me(RT),head nurse,nurse,med tech,x-ray tech,midwife and an orderly.This usually takes 30minutes to 1 hour,and I gotta tell you its tiring you have to make that patient alive in 30minutes to an hour,if not,dedo na yun!

Once we revived the patient's heart,I have to rush to the ICU to prepare this machine:the mechanical Ventilator-responsible for breathing for the patient until he can completely breaths on his/her own.I have to set and manipulate this machine with the doctors orders on how many breaths it have to give and how much air does a patient needs including the alarm systems.

Then here it is,after checking if the machine is ready,I will hook the patient in its tubings and check again if there is an equal air going in and out of the lungs.If there are too much secretions(like plema or dugo)we need to suction it using a suction machine sometimes an entire bottle was filled with this secretions so kadiri talaga!Pero sanay na me!hehe.I can compare it to a Bavarian fillings hehe

Same procedure with the infants.Then we have to monitor these patients whether adult or babies every now and then and coordinate with the nurses.That's why the nurses are my best friends!hehe

we do check their tubings and conditions if they are comfortable and if they are ready to breath on their own,we asses and do some suggestions to the doctors.

This is a less invasive gadget,we call this the oxygen hood.That plastic container was sealed and oxygen are inside to help the baby breath.

This is the PFT machine,this procedure is sooo tiring for me and the patient! I takes 30minutes or more to be done!especially if the patient cant understand your instructions (they may be too old or too weak or deaf to follow! lagott)This machine measures your lung's capacity and functions.Most of our patients are those with complications due to smoking and those with asthma and patients who will undergo a surgery.

This is my favorite,I'm good in extracting blood from the artery. This is called arterial blood gas or ABG.This is really really painful!When we were just students,we are required to do this with our partners!Ang sakit nito waaa!According to my instructor we have to experience this so that we have an idea how painful it is so that we will be gentle to our future patients.

This is the most boring part of our job,the nebulization-this treatment is given to patients who have difficulty of breathing,the medicine inside release mist and absorbed by the lungs once you inhale it,dilating the airways and air sacs.I'm glad we have an assistant to do that job.In other hospital the nurses are the one doing this.

Whew!this is long haha.But those are only few important part of my work, there are more procedure and gadgets we use for the therapy/monitoring of the lungs,I'm afraid it will just bore you guys to death so I rather not talk about it anymore.I hope I gave you an idea of my exciting and tiring job.But I love this job.I hope I can work abroad na,wala pa ko visa!!tagal nman!hehe.

A Little Bit Of Fun

I visited my old friends from my former work at the hospital today,it was a good day to travel all the way to lipa city,its sunny but not too hot.I cant see my boyfriend because he is busy at work,and he sleeps at the day,as a matter of fact when I told him I'll go to lipa city he didnt even bothered to ask what am I going to do there or what time Im going home,well he said he' s insensitive and not the sweet type of guy at times,now is the proof of that.I just thought what if I try to date another guy or whatever he wont even know it haha(ofcourse it doesnt mean I'll do it ok).He's kinda diffrent from my previous
partner so Im adjusting a bit with his "i dont care attitude",you might think he dont love me,I just hope I can cope up with it(*fingers crossed).Since I dont have anything to do so I decided to go the hospital to have a fun day with mah old friends,and fun it is that I found haha.

They were excited to see me when I arrived at the ER,I stopped by at the ICU,and my former lab,the pulmonary dept.I was waiting for Brendamage (its only brenda I just love to call her that) to arrived and she was so late!Im glad most of the people I wanted to are on duty.They were practicing this dance steps for their christmas party on the 16th which by the way invited me to come ofcourse hehe

And I begin noticed the choreographer,he is a cute little thing,a gay guy...hmmm i liked him and Brendamage told me he seems to be looking at my direction when Im not looking at him(I dont know maybe she just imagined it haha) well.atleast he made my stay more worthwhile.(Pero sympre hanggang tinginan nalang kami!No can do im taken!)

I went home very late,i felt tired and hungry due to the trip,im kinda hoping I will find a cold text or atleast a cold offline messages or something but ofcourse there's nothing,Oh wait I forgot there was this message at YM : ".........." !!!! That's it.dot dot dot .Nice!Maybe this "I dont care attitude" gonna need a lot of getting use to for me,...hmm...maybe I should do the "I dont care anymore attitude"too?hahaha.kidding!Anyway i cant wait to be at their christmass party for sure it will a lot of fun and foods! Ciao!

An Unexpected Call

Last night around 11:30pm I got a call from brian (he was my ex-boyfriend, we were together for 8 months and the closest to my family then) and he was using the globe unli-call, I said, this is so sudden, what made you call? he just said he's just saying hi and how am I?

I said Im good, I asked him about the nursing board exam last november 29-30 and kept on denying that he took the exam, he just told me he will take it up next year but i didnt believed him maybe he dont want me to find out that if ever he failed that I will think less of him as a nurse.

But thats not true of course. So I just ride along with his "I didn't take the exam thing" hehehe. He was in a happy mood and I cant break it to him the news that Im with JL already, because last months I was joking and teasing him about getting us back together that I still like him and all, but it was not that serious, you know. But I think he kept that idea still. Until the call was cut-off and I just sighed...

"Wrong Signals Part 1"

I received a text message today from a person I never thought will ever talk or even text me after what happened between us months ago! His name is Perry (not his real name).He is a nurse at the hospital I used to work in,(I resigned last april) and I am the therapist. We are lucky because we have our own laboratory where it is airconditioned and we have the privacy to do whatever we want inside as long as we lock the door and close the blinds! hehe. And that includes taking a nap during night shifts! We wait for calls if they need us, and most of the time there’s none for like 3 or 4hrs and we take that opportunity to sleep and rest. Unlike nurses they stay at the stations, they cant take a nap, and they can be seen by everyone approaching them including patients and relatives.

And Perry becomes close to me he ask for some help or advice with regards to patients care, which I gladly do, and by the way I have a crush on him! Hehe .I don’t know I get attracted to those a bit effeminate or “malamya” guys. Im not much into those very musculine and manly guys, I like my “guys” to be a little on the feminine side hehe but not much ok I like to clear that haha. After a while he shyly asked me if he can stay at our lab after his duty (because he’s on the 2-10pm shift and he cant go home there’s no more ride so he has to stay at the hospital till 5am) so I say ok why not (and Im kilig inside) I have Brenda as my assistant that time and I told her Perry coming over. So I prepared our mattress on the floor there’s a wall between my area and Brenda’s and she have her own mattress. She told me “O, Mac pagkakataon mo na reypin mo na! haha” and I laughed at the thought I said "no"

I cant do that! haha and besides I think he’s in the denial stage of his sexuality.
And so he came and he didn’t say anything when he was told by Brenda that he will sleep beside me that my mattress was big enough for two people (I have told Brenda to say that to make it convincing haha) He took his polo off and I saw him in his sando (he is skinny but his arms and chest are sexy) he still wearing his pants.

And we go to sleep.. but I cant help my self but watch him sleep.. his breathing. .his lips.. I wanted to kiss it…then the phone rings..its from ER and according to the nurse I was needed there at once! And so I rushed to the ER and saw that there was a stab wound victim and he is not breathing we did a quick intubation and did a CPR but the patient died…and I’ve been there for 2 hrs and now its 5am when I got back at the lab Perry was preparing to go home.

He said thanks and added “sa uulitin” and I smiled secretly at Brenda hehe. And she said “I will tell Brian that ur such a slut!!” and my eyes open wide and told her (Brian was my bf at that time) “No, your not gonna tell my wife that! Haha” Of course it was just a joke from her I have her loyalty or I’ll have her assassinated!hehe


............................to be continued..................................