RAM Clinic: Wise County, VA: 2009 Volunteer Event

RAM: Remote Area Medical Clinic, in Wise County, VA, 2009 event. This is where I had the room mate from hell last year. Though I had that bad experience, it truly is a worthwhile event to go and volunteer; teamwork and dedication rules, the people receiving services never gripe, they thank you for volunteering, and the people in this area are in true need of health care. The present health care system in Wise County is overworked; the need is greater than the services/providers available.
If anyone knows of a similar event in their area, I encourage you to volunteer and make a difference in the lives of others. (You do not have to be a health care professional to volunteer at these types of events)

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Roommates from Hell

Giving back to society is a part of the human experience, a part of our whole being, so I believe. Sometimes, in our efforts to give back, we go through Hell, and that was exactly my experience while I volunteered in southwest VA for 4 days last year. At this event, we were required to be present at the fair grounds by 06:00 a.m., and we volunteered/worked 12+ hour shifts.

Night #1, I met my roommate, conversed with her for a short time, went for a walk with co-workers, and then returned to my room to text my husband. My roommate would not leave me alone, while I texted my husband; she continued to talk non-stop. When I attempted to sleep, and the lights were out mind you, she continued with her non-stop bantering. Eventually, she drifted off, and then her snoring began. Her snores were so loud, the neighboring tenants awoke, per their statements the following day.
Sleep time = approximately 1 hour.

Night #2, I went out with coworkers, and on my return, I thought my roomie might allow some privacy to text my husband. Why on earth did I think that? She again started with her non-stop bantering, which lasted well into the wee hours of the morning. Her snoring began almost immediately after her chatter stopped.
Sleep time = 0. I gave up, showered, and sat in the lobby.

Night #3, I could not take the snoring or chatty chat any longer. I begged for my room assignment to be changed and it was. My former roommate would not even look at me the next day; so sad, I know, I know...
Sleep time = 5 hours.

This year, I prearranged my rooming assignment, so I had a somewhat pleasant experience. A former co-worker, Mike, received the roommate from Hell. I pitied him, but laughed wildly at his outrageous story. Mike observed full frontal nudity from his roommate who was 5'5" and over 250lbs; his roommate continued to prance about nude, as if this were normal behavior. Mike grabbed his belongings and ran. He will have to bleach his mind to erase the scar of those images!

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Smile though your heart is aching

The news media has pretty much been crawling all over the death of Michael Jackson, and I am sure many are tired of all this coverage. I have limited my viewing of the media frenzy, as much of it is mere speculation. Today though, I chose to watch the tribute/farewell as closure for myself, because I grew up listening to and loving the music of Michael Jackson.

In more recent years, Michael's image had been greatly tarnished; I sincerely hope that everyone remembers his humanitarian efforts. In the words of Bernice King, Michael rose above his own needs to meet the needs of others. He was a humanitarian, he wanted to "heal the world, make it a better place, for you and for me."

Though I do not always agree with Al Sharpton, today he made a statement to Michael's children that is so true,"You're father was not strange, what he had to put up with was strange." That statement holds many truths; I will leave it to individual readers to contemplate that statement.

Michael should leave us with inspiration to be the best possible, to do for our fellow man what we can, to give back to society, to thank those around us, and to always fight the good fight. When I continue to think of Michael, I hum his tune Man in the Mirror, and that gives me the inspiration to better myself so that I can continue to give back and fight the good fight.

Here is a link to a wonderful video of Michael singing Man in the Mirror
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwu3D-Luo-E

Thank you Michael; God Bless you and your family. Heaven is gong to have one heck of a choir now!

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Go with the Flow

Dropping my phone has become a habit; a bad habit that to this day I have not overcome. The back of my phone will not even stay on now, unless assisted by tape. Ahhh, but I love my phone; my phone and I have been through a lot and into a lot of things. She is a girly phone too, all shiny and pink like a princess.

There was a day when my little princess phone became a dirty girl. On the day she became a dirty girl, I made the mistake of carrying her in the breast pocket of my scrub top; I was eagerly awaiting a call, she was set to vibrate when calls came in, and the only pocket I could place her in where I would feel that vibration was the breast pocket. I thought to myself, when I placed her snugly in my pocket, that I was going to drop her today, and the question for the day would be onto or into what would I drop her? Early afternoon, that question was answered. A patient rang out to be assisted to the bathroom, only this patient was in the Chest Pain Center, actively experiencing mild chest discomfort. I, being the vigilant and thorough nurse, would not allow this patient to ambulate to the bathroom that was 6 feet from her stretcher--she was destined to void on the ever popular and loved plastic bedpan. After my patient completed her business, I removed the beloved bedpan, placed it on the floor, and carefully assisted my patient in redressing herself. When finished, as I bent over to pick up the bedpan, I felt a sense of dread, and then I felt my little princess slipping out of my pocket; I watched and heard her plop into the urine filled bedpan. My cat-like reflexes kicked in, immediately plucking her from her dirty bath. Ohhh, she was now a dirty girl!

After cleaning her multiple times with toxic wipes, alcohol, and again with toxic wipes, she functions beautifully. Now, she no longer rides along in the breast pocket of my tops, and when people ask to borrow her, my princess phone, I never tell her dirty secret.

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Just the Other Day...

I like to think that I have a strange and a somewhat sick sense of humor. Working in the healthcare field only helps this along, and it was just the other day that I realized, yet again, just how sick my sense of humor is. At the lunch table, we were discussing roads we have all travelled, and I mentioned the creepiest place I have travelled to, Berkeley Springs, WV. At the time I travelled to WV, I had just watched the movie "Wrong Turn," and I found myself with paranoid thoughts as I drove down poorly lit, poorly marked, narrow, unpaved roads. My co-worker, who lives in Beckley, WV, mentioned a creepy encounter a homehealth nurse had while visiting a man who lives in the Appalachain region. Apparently this man had an above the knee amputation, and asked for his leg remnant to be returned. I jokingly stated that he must have wanted a new chew toy for his dog :) The man actually strung his leg in a tree on his front lawn and used it for target pratice. Imagine the homehealth nurse's surprise on her first visit?!

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