-2 and 220

Good morning! What a beautiful day it is outside! Sunny and clear! And COLD! Here in Hubbardston, it is currently, according to my computer, -2°. Just for comparison, Bonners Ferry is at 32° and Yreka 38°. I am glad that I do not have to go out this morning even though it isn’t all that warm even in the house (it is certainly warmer that outside for certain).

I am all done with my internship. After thirteen days and 100 hours, I have 220 official venipunctures (one that I didn’t count because it was after I’d already filled out my paperwork) and 57 dermal punctures. I did a little math last night to figure out how many total venipunctures I’d have done given that we needed to perform them successfully at least 90% of the time and it was 245 which means I could have missed up to 25. Quite honestly, it was probably close to that number. I had at least four days of only missing one and two of only missing two which comes to a total of missing eight in six days which leaves seventeen for the remaining seven days which is 2.3333… for each of those days and that sounds reasonable. Quite frankly, I think there should be two columns for each venipunctures and dermal punctures: attempted and successful. Or maybe successful and not successful although I like the sounds of attempted and successful better. Anyway, now I wait for everything to be filled out and filed. Then I can take my papers and apply to take the certifying test which costs $135. In the meantime, I can still apply for phlebotomy jobs which I intend to do and in fact have already done one.

This morning before going out the door, Amena handed me a cookie and said, “Here, you should eat this one; it’s the last one of the good ones. The rest are burnt.” The rest aren’t really burnt but they are more baked. She can be very sweet.

Yesterday I got a text message from Laura saying that the principal had called and wanted me to call her. Well, by the time I got it, I couldn’t call her because it was too late. I figured I had some sleuthing to do when I got home. It didn’t take much. Cedric told me that the principal was going to call me. I told him she already had but that I hadn’t spoken to her. He said he took a phone and hid, waiting for her to call. His plan was to answer in a deep voice hoping to sound like an adult. I’m sure she would have figured it out but it was a bit comical. What happened is that Cedric was sent to the office because he said a word. There is a boy in his class who has ‘trigger’ words and actions. There are words that you cannot say and actions you cannot perform around him because they send him into a conniption. One of those words is ‘sideburns’ and two of the actions are rubbing the side of your face (where a sideburn might be) or raising your eyebrows. The kid would die here with all the eyebrow raising that goes on. Personally, I think it’s a child who has not learned self-control probably helped by his parents pandering to his every whim. I suppose it is possible that someone who had sideburns who was constantly stroking them could have done something to this child at an earlier age but where would the eyebrow raising and the fact that ‘potato’ used to be a trigger word come into play? Perhaps this presumed person who did something to this child also constantly raised his/her eyebrows and said or ate potatoes. I don’t know. What I do know is that I think it’s ridiculous that everyone gets in trouble when it is one child who has the problem. It’s like punishing the multitude for the sins of one.

This brings to mind the last child I saw yesterday afternoon. His mother brought him in for some bloodwork (ha ha, that’s funny, I know. Blood work at a lab? Who’d have thought?). This child had a Lego magazine in hand. Mother was asked if she’d like to hold child on her lap. She was very indecisive and ultimately let the choice be that of the child. He ended up on her lap. He wanted to see the needle and to know if it was small. He was shown the butterfly needles which are shorter and one is smaller in diameter than the straight needles. He was shown the largest straight needle (which could look fearsome to a child). Satisfied for the moment, he sat on his mother’s lap and began ‘reading’ his magazine. He said that he’d let them know when he was ready but did let the phlebotomist doing the draw tie the tourniquet and look at his arm so they’d be ready when he was. He was taking forever. When it came time, he had a fit; began crying and kicking and just generally not being cooperative. Bridgette offered to let him pinch her (I wouldn’t have). Nothing helped, nothing worked. He had to ‘calm down.’ Once he was calm on the outside, the phlebotomists asked if they could proceed. No, he still needed to calm down. He’d read this page and then do it. The phlebotomists were getting a bit annoyed. The waiting area was filling up and there were only the two of them left. Finally, it was decided that dad would bring child back in the morning (I wish I could be there to see how dad deals with child) when there were more phlebotomists on duty and they could take him up to pediatrics if necessary because they are trained to hold children for such procedures.

I tell ya, I would not have tolerated such behavior. This child was dictating and the mother was not doing anything other than encourage his behavior. In such instances, the phlebotomists are rather restricted because they cannot dictate to the parent what to do and certainly cannot do to the child anything without parental consent. What fun.

Today I have class. I don’t remember which one because I have two in the same room by the same instructor. One is Monday/Wednesday one is Tuesday/Thursday. I do not have books yet. The combined total for books if I have to get all new ones is over $700. What makes text books worth that much, I’d like to know. What makes people think students can afford to pay prices of over $200 per book, I’d like to know. I have $70 left of financial aid. I don’t think it’s going to go far.

There is much laundry to be done including the load I just put in the dryer which I need before taking a shower. For now, I believe I will be off.

Have a wonderful day!