The Hobbit Hole XXXV - ...is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

[Rose in RoseBear]

And, in other medical news ... something, probably a spider, bit my right ankle Saturday. I didn't realize it was a bite until Monday(!), when we noticed the marks.

Not necrotizing, no red streaks ... just swelling, and a moderate amount of pain that first night. The more I keep it elevated the less it swells. Benadryl, too ...

Corin, did you do anything else when you were bitten?

[2Jedismom]

Oh we have patients pull them out all the time! Sometimes the doctor will go in to talk to them and say “Oh, we can stop your iv fluids now.” and the patient will pull out the IV themselves and the fluid will still be coming out via the pump!

Listen...sometimes they’ll stop the IV fluid and put on a “saline lock”. Sometimes they call it a “Heplock”. That just means they can cap off the IV with a special cap that can be accessed only as needed. So say you need to get IV antibiotics, but you don’t need IV fluids otherwise...they can hook you up, give the antibiotics (usually over an hour) and then disconnect you, flush the port and you aren’t shackled to an IV pole.

[JenB]

So how do they take out the needle once the iv line is in?

[Corin Stormhands]

Mine developed into a big white blister that kept spreading. I also got a terrible case of the chills.

But I didn’t have any of that with whatever got me a couple of years ago. Just the spot.

[2Jedismom]

You hold on to the actual IV (which is the soft tube which is attached to a port) and the needle simply slips out. Then you push a button on the needle “handle” for lack of a better description and it goes “POP!” and retracts into a hard plastic safety sleeve (so you can’t accidently poke yourself.)

I would be holding on to the port with my left hand thumb and index finger and retracting the needle with my right. After the needle is retracted into the safety sleeve, I can set it down and then apply tape to the port to keep it in place. Then my hands are both free to apply a nice dressing. Usually a clear film.

This all takes literally seconds if the person has easy to access veins.

[Corin Stormhands]

This all takes literally seconds if the person has easy to access veins.

I've been told I have "deep veins."

But I found out that's just a medical term for "fat arms."

[Rose in RoseBear]

I'll bet you have a real smooth action when doing a blood draw, sis. Some people can pull blood out of me and I honestly have to ask if they did anything.

That's a gift, I tell ya ...

I love that you show the patient the needle. Lets the patient feel that they're a part of the process, and not just a thing that has to be "done for."

[TalonDJ]

Did I tell you how beneficial it has been that Empress the DMV is there with mom being hospitalized and all. For example with they moved her between wards her nose feed tub got clogged. The doc sort of mentioned it in passing like ‘it happens sometimes’. Emp spoke up and said ‘well that only happens if someone does not blah blah blah like they are suppose to.’ Chopped him off at the ankles. If she and the other Vet (whose horse mom was on) were not there when she fell she would not have survived they had to manually keep her airway clear of her tongue as she was convulsing. What delayed her recovery a bit was the fact that her tongue was so swollen for the first few days that it would not fit in her mouth.
She is doing a lot better now. Might be out of the rehab hospital soon.
She is up and about and functional and has her strength back. But she is not at 100%. Short term memory is not 100%, conversation tends to take strange jumps. The other day she told be dad, in a panic, that they had to get out because they were surrounded. He of course told her there was nothing to worry about because he knew a secret passage. And she asked Empress once how the magic guerilla bombers were doing. She is making stead progress though, just a bit more on track every day.
.

[2Jedismom]

~giggling~

Well, I gotta go to work now. See ya!

[TalonDJ]

I love that you show the patient the needle. Lets the patient feel that they're a part of the process, and not just a thing that has to be "done for."

No kidding. I know just enough to know when I am being talked down too or ignored and it pisses me off. But not enough to not need the details filled in and real explanations.

[2Jedismom]

Wonderful!

[JenB]

Heh, my acne must be bad today, one of the ladies asked me in the restroom if I was having seasonal allergies or was pregnant :)

[FrogInABlender]

*snort* Well if that’s not just the pinnacle of rudeness then I don’t know what is! Most women know better than to ask a loaded question like that.

[JenB]

Nah, she’s an immigrant to this country and is a very friendly person. Also she and I are both engineers so we are more direct than most women. I wasn’t offended at all.

[TalonDJ]

Why, do those cause acne?

[FrogInABlender]

Nah, she’s an immigrant to this country and is a very friendly person...

Ah, well then she's due some slack. Social nuances are a tricky thing in a different culture. Sorry I gook offense for ya when it wasn't warranted.

[JenB]

Apparently...

[JenB]

:) it’s hard to communicate emotions with nothing but text. I thought it was a funny incident but without tone of voice that doesn’t come through.

[TalonDJ]

Jen is hard to offend. After all she has to put up with me so it is a critical trait.

[FrogInABlender]

...Jen is hard to offend...

That's always a good trait to have, 'specially since she's so good with guns. ;o)