Wowza

Did I earn my vacation last night...?

So, husband was out of town for the football game and his grandfather's surprise 90th birthday. I slept for 3 hours on Saturday night/Sunday morning at work, came home, laid down around 10am. Various animals conspired to keep me just barely awake for 3 hours. I finally conked out, then woke up an hour before I had to get up. So... I got maybe 3 hours of sleep before my last 16 hour shift.

The night started out slow for me as far as new patients. However, we had several very sick patients in the hospital that I had to attend to (2 abdominal ultrasounds, a hepatic lipidosis kitty, etc). I hoped the night would stay quiet. It twas not to be. Cue hit-by-car #1 around 9. Followed by hit-by-car #2 at 11. Followed by hit-by-car #3 at midnight. Then came the 2 week old kitten gravely injured that I foolishly took as a Good Samaritan, thinking that I could fix it.

Then one of my two technicians received a phone call informing her that her grandmother had just died suddenly (not ill or expected, though she was elderly). She dissolved into hysterics, understandably. We all cried.

In the midst, I had to euthanize a patient. Followed shortly afterwards by euthanizing the tiny kitten that made biscuits on my thumb. (Also made me cry)

Then the ICU quieted down around 3am. I thought "FINALLY, I can get my paperwork finished and lie down for a few hours." Nope. The phone rang announcing the imminent arrival of a dog in respiratory arrest. Shortly after, it rang again, letting us know that another likely hit-by-car was coming in.

2 massive cups of coffee and 5 Dove chocolate squares later, the exhaustion was somewhat at bay, and I finished what I needed to do. Charts, notes, and phone calls kept me busy until 8am. I fell asleep standing up in the ICU briefly.

When finally released, I came home and collapsed. It is 7pm, and I have just stirred from my coma. Time to pack...because come 9:40am tomorrow morning, I will be on a plane bound for San Francisco. Catch you on the flip side - hopefully rested, rejuvenated, and slightly tanner.