A to Z Blogging--{Almost all the way caught up!} Yesterday

Yesterday

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Matthew 5:37

In our lives here on earth there is very little we can count on to be the same from day to day. Often our circumstances change dramatically in a very short period of time, with an unexpected death…or the loss of a job…or a devastating betrayal.

Society changes take place almost day-to-day as well. Not so many “yesterdays” ago, it was a given that marriage was between one man and one woman. Life—from conception to death—was sacred. Children were rarely born out of wedlock. Honesty and hard work were something to be proud of, something expected of everyone. Sunday activities included church and Sunday School before anything else.

I am a nurse and in my job at a surgery center—we do mostly eye surgeries—I have seen many changes in the last year—changes in medications, changes in surgery techniques and changes in how different eye problems are treated.

Within the last few weeks I took several classes—ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support). These classes teach the steps to take and medications to give when an adult or child is critically ill. Many times during the classes we talked about the changes that had been made in diagnosis and treatment over the last few years. 

When your head is spinning due to the changes in your life—be they good or bad—be reassured that one thing will not change—Jesus. His Word remains the Truth. You can always count on His promises –He will always keep them—no matter what. His grace and forgiveness will always be free to us, just for the asking. Thank Him today, for not changing.

(I’m also blogging at www.achristianmomsguide.blogspot.com. Check it out!)

A to Z Blogging: Catching up: L, M, N, O, P, Q, R and S

by Shelly Burke, Editor

What’s that line about the “best laid plans of mice and men”? (After looking it up to make sure I got the quote right I realized the tragic ending of the book it came from, “Of Mice and Men.” Why do so many “classic” novels have sad/disturbing plotlines and endings? Guess that’s for another post.)

Anyway, I knew last week would be busy; it’s the week of the month that I gather all of the articles and other information needed to put out the next issue of the “Nebraska Family Times” newspaper (if you would like a FREE sample copy of the paper, please e-mail your request, along with your mailing address, to shelly@shellyburke.net. I promise I won’t put you on any other mailing lists! My goal with the articles in the “Nebraska Family Times” is to “inspire, encourage, and motivate you on your Christian walk.” We cover local as well as state and national news from a Christian point of view.)

The previous Saturday, when I usually get a start on the paper, I spent shooting guns—as a part of the Citizen’s Police Academy. The CPA is a 14 week class for civilians. During the time we learned about many of the different things that the police force as a whole, does. I’m planning to write an article about the Citizen’s Police Academy in the June issue of the “Nebraska Family Times.” It was a nice day to be outside—we haven’t had many “spring” days in Nebraska yet—and I learned a lot about firearms.

On Saturday afternoon we began setting up for a book signing for my friend Deb Burma’s new book “Stepping Out: to a Life on the Edge.” You can read more about her book on her blog, Fragrant Offerings and an excerpt a Stepping Out  . The book signing was Sunday afternoon and we had a great turnout! A lot of people put a lot of work into arranging the signing and it was nice to see things come together. Deb’s talk left people encouraged and her book will too. (I already read it when I did some editing and proofreading back in September, before she sent it to the publisher).

As well as putting the paper together and working on the book signing event I worked at my nursing job on Monday and Wednesday morning. I work at Columbus Surgery Center and we do cataract and other eye surgeries (OK, “we” don’t do the surgeries, the doctor does, but “we” –the nurses--get patients ready for surgery and care for them during and after surgery). I only started at the end of January but I really feel like I’m learning my jobs—and loving my jobs—and all of the people I work with (on Mondays I’m the circulating nurse in the operating room; I make sure patients are ready for surgery, take them to the operating room, help as needed with medications and supplies during surgery, and take them to the post-op area after surgery, and on Wednesdays I’m one of the pre-op nurses who gets patients ready for surgery).

On Tuesday I spent the entire morning in a police car! It was fun to post that as my status on FaceBook—I try to be a “good girl” so I think it shocked some people! I spent the morning in a police car as part of the CPA.

Being busy is not an excuse for getting behind on the A to Z Blogging—but as we all are, I’m doing the best I can! Here are my thoughts on the letters I missed:

L – I am loving my new job and thanking God for it!

M-Morals.  I had a great devotion, about morals, planned for the A to Z Challenge. It’s based on 1 Corinthians 15:33, which says, “Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” This is a good lesson for our kids—and for adults too. (I’m still planning to write the devotion!)

N-names in the Bible. It struck me last night how many are so strange—like Aristarchus, Agrippa, Lycia and Cauda (the last two are locations)—and how many are still used today, thousands of years later—like Paul, Rachel, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and right here in Nebraska—Syracuse!

O-Opportunities. I’m so thankful God has given me so many, with the “Nebraska Family Times,” writing, friends, job, etc. What opportunities are you thankful for today?

P-Citizens Police Academy—one of the most interesting, most fun things I’ve done in a very long time. Many cities hold their own Citizen’s Police Academy—check it out in your city!

Q-I am so thankful for the quietness of the last few days…after some really busy days, and having a cold, I needed them!

R-I was going to blog on Resisting Sin for the blogging challenge. I’ll still write the devotion, but for now I’m going to share the verse it was going to be based on—James 4:7b “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Thankfully James also gives us some suggestions as to how we can do this—with God’s help. Immediately before this verse he says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God…” and right after he tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

S-is for the stuffy nose and cold I picked up last week! Thankfully it’s going away…but slowly…

Ecclesiastes tells us that “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (Eccles. 3:1). Last week, my time didn’t go as I had planned…so today is time for catch-up. Come back tomorrow when the letter for the day is “T”. On the “Nebraska Family Times” blog the devotion will be based on “thought” and on the “Home is Where the Mom Is” blog I’ll give you my thoughts about teaching your kids about “temptation” and what they can do about temptations in their lives.

God’s blessings to you today! 

A to Z Blogging Challenge "Monitors"

 Monitors

David wrote, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…When I was woven together…your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:13-16 (excerpted)

My mother-in-law recently had knee surgery and I sat with her as she was recovering after the surgery.

As a nurse I’m naturally interested in all of the monitoring devices—many things have changed since I was in school! Various devices monitored her oxygen level, blood pressure, and temperature.

A device collected her own blood from the surgical site; later her own blood was infused back into her body to help speed recovery. Although her oxygen level is fine, she is breathing extra oxygen through prongs in her nose; this has also been found to speed healing.

IVs administer antibiotics to prevent infection.

A device automatically moves the leg that was operated on to speed healing. A device on her other leg periodically squeezes it from toes to thigh to prevent blood clots from forming.

Special nerve blocks, in which medication was injected into nerves that lead to her leg and knee, should keep the surgical site free from pain for hours.

Lab techs come in to draw blood and check if her hemoglobin level drops too much.

All of this technology is necessary to monitor my mother-in-law’s condition and speed healing.

But for One, none of the monitoring is necessary. He was there when she was being knit together in her mother’s womb. He created her inmost being. He knows the number of hairs on her head and the number of days of her life has already been written in His book (Psalm 139).

He knows her temperature, blood pressure, pulse, oxygen level and hemoglobin level without the use of any machine. He has designed her body so that it will heal; the man-made devices will help speed healing but He has formed the cells, the fibers, the muscles that will actually heal, and He has set in motion that process that is more complicated than we can imagine.  

Despite all of the technology, the devices and tools to measure function and speed healing and prevent complications—we remember that He is the Great Physician. He is the true Healer.

I praise You, Lord, that I am so fearfully and wonderfully made. Even as we are thankful for “modern” equipment that helps us maintain and regain health, we know that You are the ultimate Healer. Amen.

I’m also blogging at Home is Where the Mom Is.

Check out the post today about “Making Preparations for Severe Weather

and Spiritual Storms.” 

Another Sad Day

Several days ago the private duty patient with whom I'd worked for several years, became sick and died.

Today, while I was at her visitation, I found out that another patient of mind had died. I'd supervised Josh's care for several years; he depended on the care of his parents and aides after a very rare progressive brain disease left him unable to care for himself.

I will never forget the first day I walked into Josh's home. I introduced myself to Josh and his parents, and his mother said that it seemed like she knew me from somewhere. We talked about the various organizations and groups we belonged to, but there were none that we both belonged to. I got to know Josh, did my nursing assessment, and made arrangements to visit again in two weeks.

The next few times I visited Josh, his mom and I continued to try to figure out where we had met, discussing extended family (we both have small families), past jobs, and so on. We still couldn't figure it where we could have met before.

Then one day when I walked into their home, Josh's mom immediately pointed at me and said, "You're Shelly Geil!" (Geil was my maiden name.) Since I had been a "Burke" for almost 20 years, I was very surprised to find she knew my maiden name! But something I had said on my previous visit had jogged a memory in her mind, and she realized that my dad had been the principal at the Lutheran grade school in Battle Creek, NE, where she'd taught many years before. She had even been at my 5th birthday party!

After that I felt a special bond with Josh and his parents. When I received an e-mail that Josh was in the hospital, I visited, and he appeared to be doing much better. He'd given everyone a scare, but we thought he'd be home soon. Instead, his condition became worse and he went to his heavenly home. In her e-mail to friends and family, Josh's mom wrote, "The victory has been won. Josh went to heaven this afternoon."

I will never forget either of my patients, who, for a reason unknown to us, died within just a few days of each other. Both of the families taught me so much about life, love, and God's love...

I am blessed to have been able to work with them.

A Sad Day

I have been a private duty nurse for a little over 5 years, caring for a 20-something patient who became disabled at the age of 9 months after having meningitis (due to privacy laws I can't give too much identifying information).

Private duty nursing is unique in that it's usually long-term, and the care is done in the patient's home. I love private duty nursing as I only had one patient to care for, so was able to really get to know her (and her family) and take my time in caring for her. A private duty nurse can become part of the family, and I feel like I became part of the family after being there several times a week over 5 years.

When I first started working with my patient, I was very intimidated by her medical problems and the procedures I did every day. She was unable to communicate verbally, but I learned to read her mood by her facial expressions--she let me know when she was not happy with me! Over weeks of working with her I became more comfortable with her needs and the procedures I did. I also got to know her family and enjoyed talking with them.

Over the years she was periodically sick, but usually recovered fairly quickly with medication and the care of her nurses and her mom. Several weeks ago she became sick again. I visited her on a Sunday morning and although she was sick, she was glad to see me. I got an order from the doctor and thought that when I went back on Monday (my regular day to work) she would be recovering.

I was unpleasantly surprised Monday morning when I got there and it was obvious she had quicly become VERY sick. Her mom called the ambulance within minutes of my arrival and assessment. I went to see her in the hospital after she'd been there for several days...she opened her eyes and gave me a smile when I talked to her. We thought she was on her way to recovery, but after several days she was transferred to another hospital, as she just was not getting well.

I was very sad when I got the call from one of her other nurses early this morning, to say that she had died during the night.

While I know she is in heaven, healthy and whole, I am still sad for myself and the other nurses, who will really miss her. And of course I am so sad for her parents and siblings, who will also miss her!

She and her family taught me many lessons, few of them related to nursing. I'm still sorting through all of those thoughts and will write about them later.

Meanwhile, please say a prayer for her family...I pray that they will feel God's love and comfort and peace during this difficult time.

Visit to the Emergency Room

About two hours after we returned home from Grandpa’s funeral in Missouri, Tim called me from the ranch, where he and the kids were doing chores. “Morgan got hit in the head by a gate and needs stitches. I’m bringing her home right now; get ready to go with us to the hospital.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: many days, before Tim and the kids go to the ranch, I tell them, “Be careful—no trips to the Emergency Room today!” Today, however, I forgot to say that!)
On the way to the hospital I got the whole story; Morgan was letting the show cattle out for the night, and a cow kicked a gate that Morgan was standing by. Unfortunately the gate bounced into her head, knocking her down and making a big gash in her forehead.

The Emergency Room wasn’t busy, so she was seen immediately by a great nurse, and then stitched up by a very compassionate doctor. Morgan was brave throughout the ordeal.

We are so thankful that her injury wasn’t worse, and that Tim was close by and we could get her to the hospital immediately! Morgan is kind of proud of her injury and not at all worried about a scar (the doctor said it shouldn’t scar much at all, especially if she doesn’t allow sun on it this summer).

I think from now on I'll remember to remind everyone, "NO TRIPS TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM TODAY!"

My Nursing Job and "How to Find Your Perfect Job in Nursing"

I worked at my nursing job today.

I’ve wanted to be a nurse since I was a little girl—I gave ballpoint pen “shots” to my dolls and set them up with IV’s that were taped together straws. I’m so glad I went into nursing—I love taking care of people and it’s a career that offers so much flexibility in the way of jobs.

The job I have now is private duty, meaning I go into my patient’s home to take care of her. My “commute” is only about 15 minutes, mostly on country roads! Another nurse and I “share” our job; I work 1-2 days every week and she works the other days. We get to make our own schedule so it’s easy to work around our kids’ activities and days off and other appointments.

I enjoy my nursing career so much that a friend and I wrote a book called How to Find Your Perfect Job in Nursing. The co-author of the book, Martha Whited, and I became friends shortly after Tim and I moved back to Genoa and I got a job in the local nursing home, where she was the Director of Nursing.

Several years later we decided to write the book. We want it to encourage people who are nurses but not happy with their job, to look for a job that is perfect for them! The book is also ideal for people considering a nursing career—almost 100 different nursing jobs are described, along with techniques for determining during an interview and tour if that job might be the reader’s perfect job. How to Find Your Perfect Job in Nursing is just $15, including postage and handling, and would make a great gift for any nurse, or anyone considering nursing or entering nursing school!

For more information contact me at shelly@shellyburke.net or call (402) 750-3496 or (402) 993-2467.

Starting the Week

I work at my nursing job almost every Monday. I enjoy working Mondays; it gives me a good start to the week. While I’m at work, I have a chance to think about what I want and need to accomplish during the week.

I usually do errands after work, since I’m on the way to Columbus anyway. It’s a good feeling to get home and have the groceries and supplies I’ll need for the week.

Today I also worked on the paper; I need to have all the articles to Jennifer by Wednesday so she can get the paper set up. My mission is to find articles that will inspire, encourage, and motivate readers in their Christian walk, and sometimes it’s hard to find articles that I think will benefit readers. This was one of those months; I searched my usual good sources, but the articles just weren’t “good enough.” I will work on the paper again tomorrow, and pray that I’ll find articles that you’ll enjoy.

Back to work!

Write What You Know

My dream of writing was put to the side during high school and college and the first few years of marriage. I was too busy learning how to be a nurse (I'm a Registered Nurse; I graduated in 1989 from Midland Lutheran College in Fremont with my BSN) and a wife, and later, a mother (Tim and I were married in 1989; Cody was born in 1991 and Morgan in 1993).

During my first few years as a nurse I worked in a variety of jobs; Child and Adolescent Psych, Telemetry (heart monitoring), Home Health, Private Duty, Long-Term Care Employee Education, teaching at the local community college, and teaching Lamaze.

Eventually I became interested in writing again. The main advice I have for all writers and aspiring writers is, write what you know. And that's what I did! I became interested in communication with patients--how to ask sensitive questions, telling a patient bad news, and so on. I wrote an article about communicating with patients for a nursing magazine. When I taught Lamaze I discovered a magazine called Childbirth Instructor. At that time I'd taught Lamaze for several years, and faced some interesting people and classes, so began writing articles for that magazine. It was a huge thrill to see my name in print and know that I'd accomplished my childhood dream of writing. (It's still a thrill to see my name in print!)

Several years later a nurse friend and I were talking about all the people we'd met who were unhappy in their nursing jobs, yet felt stuck in their current job. Both Martha and I had had a wide variety of jobs . . . some we liked, some we didn't . . . but through the years we'd both had a "perfect job" or two, and we knew that "perfect jobs" in nursing are available, if the nurse knows how and where to look. We had a brainstorm and eventually co-authored our first book, How to Find Your Perfect Job in Nursing.

We eventually decided to self-publish, and what a thrill it was to see our names on the cover of a book! It was--and continues to be--very gratifying to hear people say how our book has helped them find their "perfect" job in nursing . . . or at least a great job in nursing.

In the near future I'll post about how I used the advice to "write what you know" and wrote about my favorite job of all, being a mom.