Bedpans and Blood Pressures

So I know I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. Its been an exhausting couple of weeks. I started clinicals last Monday, which means I am training at facilities to be a nurse's assistant, hence the pictures on Jeff's blog. That being so, I'm up at 4:45 every morning and out the door by 6am to start working. Its been fun, but a lot of work. Last week I was at a nursing home, which was a lot of fun, except that almost all the residents suffer from some form of mental confusion. So communication was difficult. You ask a resident how they're doing and what they want or need and you get, "Ghgabgignrngng brrrrr brrrb brrrp." Riiiiight. Although we did have this one guy that was a lot fun. When he needed something he just repeated it over...and over...and over...and over. So we would sitting in the cafeteria helping feed people and all of a sudden we hear him say, "Cuppa coffee cuppa coffee cuppa coffee cuppa coffee cuppa coffee!" I did enjoy it, though. We got to get pretty comfortable with a lot of them. Then this week we moved onto the hospital. Oh man! The joys there are at the hospital. The past few days I have changed more diapers than a mother who feeds her baby mexican food. I was up to my ears in poop today. I was giving a lady a shower and she even started pooping in the shower! And we're not talking a solid stool here. Oh, no! She had EXPLOSIVE diarrhea...all over the shower. That was a treat to clean up. I don't mind, though. The old lady was so funny. I turned around to get her a towel then turned back around and she had ripped off one of her patches that her heart monitor hooks up to and was handing it to me. I freaked out...but she was laughing. Oh my gosh, the first few days in the hospital were disasterous, though. I got a cord stuck in an old ladie's hair while taking her blood pressure. I walked into a highly contaminated room without putting protective clothing on and was completely oblivious about it. And I can't tell you how many catheters I have had to clean and how much perineal care I have had to do. I've seen more genitalia this week than Pamela Anderson has in her dating life. Yikes! With all that said and done, it has been fun and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I fly out early in the morning and get to see my family that I haven't seen in 3 monthts. It should be fun. Expect stories. Everybody have a Happy Thanksgiving.