I'm sorry that I'm talking so much about work now, but I suppose it's the single, most shocking thing in my life right now and I'm sometimes not even sure how to deal with it ... so I guess I blog. I'm almost certain that 99% will find this rather boring, because it's quite hard to relate to and it's not like anyone can do anything about this situation, but still. I feel like it helps as opposed to bottling all this up.
Last week when I started work I met this one resident and he was highly intelligent and responsive. I believe I even mentioned him in one of my blog posts (the one believing that his sandwich was made of metal and guns were pointing at him, which is why he couldn't eat). He joined everyone at the lunch table and was able to fully eat himself. I saw him yesterday (exactly a week later) and he is now completely in bed, unable to move, muscle spasms, hallucinations, etc. This other nurse walked in, while I was trying to feed him and she told me that he had CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Disease), which is basically a variation of mad cow disease (BSE). Today I worked again and I wanted to feed him again, because in a weird sort of way I enjoy his company entirely and to my surprise he had deteriorated even further and this is less than 24 hours! *sigh* I asked another nurse later and they told me that they reckon he has less than a month to live. It's so depressing really.
I went home and I read up on CJD and it's really quite scary. Luckily it's not transmitted through body contact. Anyhow, basically from the time of infection (eating infected beef) until death, a maximum of 6 months elapse. The firsts signs will then be depression, hallucinations, changes in mood and disruptions in the short term memory. Patients are fatigued and don't really respond to any medication. After a couple of months, shivers, paralysis and muscle spasms occur. Eventually, hallucinations and confusion sets in. CJD is now in its acute stage and all brain functions will now very rapidly deteriorate. Patients will refuse food, after which death usually occurs.
In summary: you brain will basically look like a sponge.
Aiyoo ... I'll see him on friday. Let's see how it goes.
Today I also had this workshop on palliative care ... so many DEATH issues in one day .... seriously ... although it's super interesting and very busy I just want to cry sometimes it's THAT depressing, but I guess what do I want to expect when I work in high care, where people only have months to live (yes and they mention this as if it's something so matter of factly ... I suppose it is matter of factly to them).
BUT to snap out of it, there are a lot of residents who are very happy and talkative and lovely to be around, which is fuuunnn i.e.: someone just became a great grandfather, so he was super happy about that ... I guess where there is death there is life too ? I think I actually enjoyed work today. I still am a bit slow, but I'm sure ill fix that soon :). Besides, I LOVE afternoon shifts. The staff is so much nicer too for some reason and smells aren't as bad as they are in the morning *winkwink*.
Anywaaayyy happy thoughts happy thoughts! I'm going for karaoke on saturday ... how exciting is that going to be :D. *yay* can't wait for that to happen. Seriously something to look forward to.
[Tune]Last week when I started work I met this one resident and he was highly intelligent and responsive. I believe I even mentioned him in one of my blog posts (the one believing that his sandwich was made of metal and guns were pointing at him, which is why he couldn't eat). He joined everyone at the lunch table and was able to fully eat himself. I saw him yesterday (exactly a week later) and he is now completely in bed, unable to move, muscle spasms, hallucinations, etc. This other nurse walked in, while I was trying to feed him and she told me that he had CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Disease), which is basically a variation of mad cow disease (BSE). Today I worked again and I wanted to feed him again, because in a weird sort of way I enjoy his company entirely and to my surprise he had deteriorated even further and this is less than 24 hours! *sigh* I asked another nurse later and they told me that they reckon he has less than a month to live. It's so depressing really.
I went home and I read up on CJD and it's really quite scary. Luckily it's not transmitted through body contact. Anyhow, basically from the time of infection (eating infected beef) until death, a maximum of 6 months elapse. The firsts signs will then be depression, hallucinations, changes in mood and disruptions in the short term memory. Patients are fatigued and don't really respond to any medication. After a couple of months, shivers, paralysis and muscle spasms occur. Eventually, hallucinations and confusion sets in. CJD is now in its acute stage and all brain functions will now very rapidly deteriorate. Patients will refuse food, after which death usually occurs.
In summary: you brain will basically look like a sponge.
Aiyoo ... I'll see him on friday. Let's see how it goes.
Today I also had this workshop on palliative care ... so many DEATH issues in one day .... seriously ... although it's super interesting and very busy I just want to cry sometimes it's THAT depressing, but I guess what do I want to expect when I work in high care, where people only have months to live (yes and they mention this as if it's something so matter of factly ... I suppose it is matter of factly to them).
BUT to snap out of it, there are a lot of residents who are very happy and talkative and lovely to be around, which is fuuunnn i.e.: someone just became a great grandfather, so he was super happy about that ... I guess where there is death there is life too ? I think I actually enjoyed work today. I still am a bit slow, but I'm sure ill fix that soon :). Besides, I LOVE afternoon shifts. The staff is so much nicer too for some reason and smells aren't as bad as they are in the morning *winkwink*.
Anywaaayyy happy thoughts happy thoughts! I'm going for karaoke on saturday ... how exciting is that going to be :D. *yay* can't wait for that to happen. Seriously something to look forward to.
The Caesers: Jerk It Out
... I'll go dance to that song now and dance it all out :)
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