Yesterday proved to me that there truly is NEVER a dull moment in the PICU. I had my same two boys I talked about in the walking around post. And while in the morning I got a bunch of stuff done(ie: homework, research on the hardwood flooring we're putting in this summer, scheduling stuff etc.) because they boys were still sleeping, the afternoon definitely took a turn!
While I was supposed to be getting stuff ready for my little one to be discharged home, he decided he had other plans. He decided instead that he wanted to stop breathing and desat ( = your oxygen levels should be 100%...his was 70%!). It ended up in a bunch of excitement, me almost pushing the code button (but I didn't b/c the doc got to me SUPER quick after I stat paged him- props to you!!) but ultimately ended ok. The patient is fine, he just bought himself more time on his bipap machine ( pushes high pressure air in when you breath, and if you breath slower than a set rate, it will give you breaths)...and consequently more days in the PICU.
Just goes to show me that even though my assignment may seem boring, or like I am not doing much nursing that day, I always need to be on the ready. Anything can happen....patient's that look great can change on a dime. And I was ready! The adrenaline that comes with stuff like that is definitely what keeps me going....especially that day because Jon and I both woke up at 3am that morning! I was certainly not tired the rest of the evening...until I got home and crashed! But at the end of the day I could be proud that I was attentive to my patient, noticed his status was changing quickly and acted upon it. In the end, it was a great thing he hadn't gone home a little bit earlier as he was supposed to....the outcome might not been quite as great! I definitely believe that all things happen for a reason....this is one thing that helps prove that!
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