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hillarygayleThe flu is kicking our butts, y'all. I saw 20+ patients within the first 8 hours of my 12 hour shift and diagnosed the flu at least 6 times. I started to see a pattern: if the person came in with a fever in the triage booth, an elevated heart rate, and they were younger than 30, I was probably looking at influenza A. Influenza B was more in the older folks & didn't come with the elevated heart rate so much, though they did generally have a bit of a temp. It means a LOT of explaining about why I'm not giving antibiotics, and a lot of presenting the pros & cons of Tamiflu, the antiretroviral that can be given within 48 hours of flu symptoms onset. SO MUCH FLU. A good thing happened yesterday though: recently one of the main ER physicians, MD (which are funny initials, bc he's a DO and not an MD), had sent me an article recently about rib fractures in people older than 65. It turns out they're treated about the same as in anyone else UNLESS there are more than 2 of them. The combo of older than 65 and more than 2 fractures is a tipping point & people are at greater risk of pneumonia. It was extremely timely information as of yesterday! I also had a patient with pancreatitis 2 days ago and thanks to a misstep on someone several weeks ago (non-dangerous, but not optimal), I was able to be on top of things ensure my patient got the appropriate fluid bolus for their condition. So that's two cases this week that I KNOW I did correctly because of research & learning from my previous experiences. Feeling good about that!
Also feeling good about the appointment I have at 13:00 today at the gym! We joined a gym here in town. NEA Wellness is the smallest of the 3 main gyms, but it's also the least expensive for us because Bryan gets a discount as a teacher. It's also not particularly crowded like Trim Gym, which tends toward the "dude bro" crowd more than I prefer. NEA Wellness is mostly older folks & seems to be pretty sparsely populated, which is good for me as I want to get into weight training. I did legs on Monday; planning on arms today. That's in addition to walking on the track which overhands the weight machines, free weights, and cardio area as well as past the pool. My only gripe with the place is that Ganon, at age 11, isn't allowed to use the track or cardio machines even though he's a perfectly well-behaved kid. He can swim for free, but until he's 12 this summer we can't sign him up as a member, allowing him to use the treadmills, bikes, etc. This really burns me up. People are constantly saying that kids need to get more active, that people need to exercise as a family & incorporate activity into everyday routine. Great idea! But then you tell people that their kid can't do the gym with them? That's missing the most formative years to instill the idea of activity! We've decided we're going to take a swim suit every time & let him swim until July, then get him signed up as a family member as well. At least it's just a few months.
Bryan's beard...is gone. I'm in mourning! He agreed to a fundraiser at school: he & another beardy teacher would raise money & the one who raised more money got to shave the other one's beard. Thanks to a $500 donation right at the beginning, Bryan never had a chance. So at the pep rally on Tuesday, the other teacher cut Bryan's beard off with scissors, after which Bryan basically just finished shaving the whole thing. He looks like an entirely different person. He wasn't particularly upset about it because he likes the idea of growing a "yeard", which is when you grow your beard for a year to see how long it will get.
I feel like the beard just conveys his personality so much better. It makes him look smart, slightly serious, but with a dad-like sense of humor.
Have I gushed about the Instant Pot before? This thing is ridiculously awesome. I've cooked so much more at home since we got it. My favorite new thing is lentils; I'd never eaten them before, and I'd always avoided dried beans because they took so long to prep between the soaking & all that. With the IP, though, you put them in dry & they cook up under pressure. It's rather amazing. I've had a few IP fails; most notably the red beans & rice, but it wasn't bc of the IP itself. I forgot the rice we most often use at home is short grain, but when I realized, I substituted it anyway. That was a mistake--the glutinous nature of short grain rice makes more of a congee style concoction when cooked at the pressure/time needed for red beans & rice. It was essentially Cajun congee when it was finished and though the first bowl of it was good, it did NOT keep well. It turned into a gelatinous mass. Had to toss that. Some MAJOR successes, though: the egg bites made with a silicone insert, the giant IP pancake, and spicy Indian dal. The dal was my first lentil dish and OMG. A plop of yogurt into the spicy bean stew sort of texture, scoop it up with naan bread, and wow. I was so proud of myself. The giant pancake was a hit with my niece & nephew Molly & Konner. They were over when I made it, & when I took it out of the IP there was much squealing & generally having a fit. It made a very fluffy, very moist, almost cornbread like texture, with the bottom (it's the top when you turn it out) very crunchy & hard where the recipe says it should be crispy. I think I should've gone a few minutes shorter. Anyway, they liked it, & Bryan really loved it with strawberry jam.
In other news: Joe the dog is getting very large. When we got him, he had wee paws & we thought that indicated he'd stay small. Over the last 2 weeks he's about doubled in size. He outweighs Harry significantly & is now taller than him at the shoulder. In fact, he's about the same size as Pete & I wouldn't be surprised if he outweighs him, too. More amusingly, his ears have begun to do this interesting slightly backward turn that looks VERY reminiscent of an American Pit Bull Terrier. I don't think he'll be as large as a pure bred one, but I do intend to get one of those doggie DNA swabs to test, and when I do, I expect we'll see a not-insignificant amount of that in Joe's lineage. When a coworker asked what we'd do if it turns out he was a pit bull, I shrugged & said "Get a bigger dog door I guess." She laughed & said "That's what people love about you." I'm not sure what that answer says about me (or us as a family) but I'll take it.
Also feeling good about the appointment I have at 13:00 today at the gym! We joined a gym here in town. NEA Wellness is the smallest of the 3 main gyms, but it's also the least expensive for us because Bryan gets a discount as a teacher. It's also not particularly crowded like Trim Gym, which tends toward the "dude bro" crowd more than I prefer. NEA Wellness is mostly older folks & seems to be pretty sparsely populated, which is good for me as I want to get into weight training. I did legs on Monday; planning on arms today. That's in addition to walking on the track which overhands the weight machines, free weights, and cardio area as well as past the pool. My only gripe with the place is that Ganon, at age 11, isn't allowed to use the track or cardio machines even though he's a perfectly well-behaved kid. He can swim for free, but until he's 12 this summer we can't sign him up as a member, allowing him to use the treadmills, bikes, etc. This really burns me up. People are constantly saying that kids need to get more active, that people need to exercise as a family & incorporate activity into everyday routine. Great idea! But then you tell people that their kid can't do the gym with them? That's missing the most formative years to instill the idea of activity! We've decided we're going to take a swim suit every time & let him swim until July, then get him signed up as a family member as well. At least it's just a few months.
Bryan's beard...is gone. I'm in mourning! He agreed to a fundraiser at school: he & another beardy teacher would raise money & the one who raised more money got to shave the other one's beard. Thanks to a $500 donation right at the beginning, Bryan never had a chance. So at the pep rally on Tuesday, the other teacher cut Bryan's beard off with scissors, after which Bryan basically just finished shaving the whole thing. He looks like an entirely different person. He wasn't particularly upset about it because he likes the idea of growing a "yeard", which is when you grow your beard for a year to see how long it will get.
I feel like the beard just conveys his personality so much better. It makes him look smart, slightly serious, but with a dad-like sense of humor.
Have I gushed about the Instant Pot before? This thing is ridiculously awesome. I've cooked so much more at home since we got it. My favorite new thing is lentils; I'd never eaten them before, and I'd always avoided dried beans because they took so long to prep between the soaking & all that. With the IP, though, you put them in dry & they cook up under pressure. It's rather amazing. I've had a few IP fails; most notably the red beans & rice, but it wasn't bc of the IP itself. I forgot the rice we most often use at home is short grain, but when I realized, I substituted it anyway. That was a mistake--the glutinous nature of short grain rice makes more of a congee style concoction when cooked at the pressure/time needed for red beans & rice. It was essentially Cajun congee when it was finished and though the first bowl of it was good, it did NOT keep well. It turned into a gelatinous mass. Had to toss that. Some MAJOR successes, though: the egg bites made with a silicone insert, the giant IP pancake, and spicy Indian dal. The dal was my first lentil dish and OMG. A plop of yogurt into the spicy bean stew sort of texture, scoop it up with naan bread, and wow. I was so proud of myself. The giant pancake was a hit with my niece & nephew Molly & Konner. They were over when I made it, & when I took it out of the IP there was much squealing & generally having a fit. It made a very fluffy, very moist, almost cornbread like texture, with the bottom (it's the top when you turn it out) very crunchy & hard where the recipe says it should be crispy. I think I should've gone a few minutes shorter. Anyway, they liked it, & Bryan really loved it with strawberry jam.
In other news: Joe the dog is getting very large. When we got him, he had wee paws & we thought that indicated he'd stay small. Over the last 2 weeks he's about doubled in size. He outweighs Harry significantly & is now taller than him at the shoulder. In fact, he's about the same size as Pete & I wouldn't be surprised if he outweighs him, too. More amusingly, his ears have begun to do this interesting slightly backward turn that looks VERY reminiscent of an American Pit Bull Terrier. I don't think he'll be as large as a pure bred one, but I do intend to get one of those doggie DNA swabs to test, and when I do, I expect we'll see a not-insignificant amount of that in Joe's lineage. When a coworker asked what we'd do if it turns out he was a pit bull, I shrugged & said "Get a bigger dog door I guess." She laughed & said "That's what people love about you." I'm not sure what that answer says about me (or us as a family) but I'll take it.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-25 06:08 pm (UTC)I'd love to splurge on a DNA test for Pippin. She has a chihuahua face and a multi-colored terrier body.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-31 02:59 am (UTC)