Wednesday, August 29, 2007

"Aw....." Moment of the Day

Otters Holding Hands

I think this is cute - as if them holding "hands" isn't cute enough, watch through to the end for the bonus "aw" moment :-)

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Surmising Sunday

Welcome to another edition of Surmising Sunday.

Today's entry is being changed from what I originally had prepared to post for today, as an at home incident made me decide to post on the topic of personal interest.

How to save a choking small dog or cat.

(click above link if currently experiencing a dog/cat choking incident)

Literally, a few minutes ago, I was just forced to save my dog's life.

Story: I was sitting upstairs on my bed with my laptop, playing around on facebook, when my beagle, Molly, came upstairs carrying her water dish. I filled it with water and she took one gulp. Suddenly she started pawing at her mouth, and then finally threw up the little bit of water. She tried again. Same thing. I assumed she couldn’t swallow, but otherwise she seemed fine. And was obviously breathing.

Next, I tried one of her treats, same result. I also had some free Caesar dog food I received in the mail for small dogs – teeny tiny dog food kernals. I gave her one of those, and she caught on to chew it thoroughly then swallow it. It was taking her quite an effort though.

She was obviously still breathing, but every now and then she would paw at her mouth. So I went to grab the phone to call the emergency vet (thinking perhaps she had ingested something toxic). Before I had a chance to make the call, she ran for a drink again, managed to get some gulps down and seemed momentarily fine.

All of a sudden, she really started pawing at her mouth, her eggs bugged out, and she thrust her nose into the air (all the classic signs of a dog choking). But then she ran away from me and wouldn’t let me catch her. She ran downstairs and onto the couch but then practically collapsed, as I guess she had trouble breathing by then. I grabbed her and gave her a couple chest thrusts (thankfully didn’t break any ribs) and reached down her throat. She fought me and fought me but I grabbed ahold of this white clump and yanked. Out came about a 6 inch long impacted white soft lump that looked like bread dough. And then she was fine.

(Later I discovered a torn open box of instant potatoes on the floor that she somehow managed to knock off the shelf!) So now I have made sure all food items are only on the highest shelf where there is no way she could get at them.

Scary! Thought I was going to lose her there for a moment!!

So, I thought today I would post a few links to websites with information on what to do in a pet emergency, so if something similar happens to your pet, you'll know what to do. I didn't know what to do, and just applied what I knew from first aid/CPR classes to my dog. I was partially right...:

One of the best sites I have come across so far, although you have to scroll through a few advertisements, but is step-by-step, so I good one to keep book marked:

Dog First Aid 101

A Simple website: What To Do When Your Dog Is Choking


And a bonus article for fun:

Dog Performs Heimlic on Choking Owner

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Sneaker's O'Toole

Considering this seems to be the most common reason people come to my blog lately, I thought I would update this entry....

Here is the famous Sneaker's O'Toole clip:




Tell me that tune doesn't rattle around in your brain for days afterwards!

Background information that I have researched on Sneaker's O'Toole:

Sneaker's O'Toole is a Family Guy original. Unfortunately, there is not a Sneaker's O'Toole cartoon out there somewhere.

Sneaker's O'Toole even had it's own Wiki entry for awhile, but now it just redirects to the "Boys Do Cry" Family guy Synopse page, (scroll down to almost the very bottom of the page). Now there is only a brief sentence about Sneaker's O'Toole in the trivia section.

Lyrics:

Sneakers O'Toole: I'm not taking my sneakers off, I am Sneakers O'Toole!

Man #1: "Hey! Take those sneakers off!

Sneakers O'Toole: No!

Man #1: Take them off, I said!

Sneakers O'Toole: No!

Sneakers O'Toole runs away

Man #2: Ahh, let him go, we'll never catch him. Not in these shoes.

Sneakers O'Toole: I didn't take my sneakers off, I'm still Sneakers O'Toole!

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Change of Shift


Horray - I am finally home to get the email on time this week!


Another fabulous "Change of Shift" is up, this time hosted by Nurse Ratched's Place. I loved the way she managed to attach one of her novel covers to each link. So creative!




Sunday, August 19, 2007

Surmising Sunday

I have been pretty busy again lately, but yet want to be more active on my blog site. To ensure this, as of today, I am introducing Surmising Sundays, a weekly blog entry featuring an informative medical topic of interest.

This week, I have found a video on what happens in the heart during a heart attack.




For more information, please visit The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada's website.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The Simpsons Movie

Just got back from seeing The Simpsons Movie. If you enjoy watching the Simpsons at all, you have to go see this movie. It is really cute. It really is like watching one long Simpson episode, but one of the best episodes

I recommend you see this movie :-)

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Personal DNA



My personality profile according to Personal DNA. I'd like to think it's pretty accurate :-)


You are a Realist

- Your attention to detail, appreciation of how things function, and awareness of the world around you make you a REALIST.
- Routines are reassuring to you—you feel safer and more at ease when sticking with familiar things.
- You like to stay close with those around you, seeking comfort from familiar faces.
- You are interested in processes—how things work, what they do, and why—not just how things look.
- Sometimes you doubt that you can find solutions to problems, although you have a good sense of why things happen, and can use that knowledge to find the best way to do something.
- You are down to earth, concerned more with practical, detail-oriented things than with dreamy or ambiguous ideas.
- You have a good sense of your abilities and weaknesses, and don't let your ego get in your way.
- You're not one to force your positions on a group, and you tend to be fair in evaluating different options.
- You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.
- You prefer to have time to plan for things, feeling better with a schedule than with keeping plans up in the air until the last minute. (describes me 100%!)
- Never one to be found in chic boutiques or trendy clothing stores, you take an extremely practical approach to getting dressed. (ouch!)

You are Considerate

- You trust others, care about them, and are slow to judge them, making you CONSIDERATE.
- You value your close relationships very much, and are more likely to spend time in small, tightly-knit groups of friends than in large crowds. (dead on again!)
- You enjoy exploring the world through observation, quietly watching others. (meh)
- Relating to others so well, and understanding their emotions, leads you to trust people in general, even though you're somewhat shy and reserved at times.
- Your belief that people are generally well-intentioned contributes to your sympathy regarding their problems.
- Although you may not vocalize it often, you have an awareness of how society affects individuals, and you understand complex causes of people's behavior.
- You like to look at all sides of a situation before making a judgment, particularly when that situation involves important things in other people's lives.
- Your close friends know you as a good listener.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Ah, the wonderful world of facebook! (AKA another fabulous vacation)

Last weekend was a long weekend here in Canada, and I was fortunate enough to scoop up the 4 days following the long weekend as vacation time at the last minute. My plan was to spend this time off working around the house. On the Saturday I worked in the yard and made it all neat and tidy and presentable again. I probably spent a good 5 hours outdoors. Then I went out for supper with my friend Sari whom I haven't had a chance to spend time with in about a year and a half. We stayed until the closing of the restaurant catching up & munching on appetizers.

In the middle of the night, I got so sick, I thought I was going to die! I had such a headache I couldn't think straight, had such a stiff neck I could barely roll over in bed, and then get violently sick. I kept waiting for a rash to appear telling me I had meningitis! I suffered through by blaring my TV as loud as it could go and watched about 5 back-to-back Law & Order episodes to distract myself from the pain. By Sunday afternoon, I was pretty much over it, other than the headache, so to keep myself occupied I played around on facebook for awhile.

I perused my cousin Donna's facebook page, and her status line stated that her and her family had gone to Neys Provincial Park. I LOVE it there, and it is my favourite park to visit. It has a beautiful beach several miles long, with one mile alone dedicated to people with dogs! I wanted to camp there this year, but it is so far to go, and I had no one to go with. As soon as I read that my cousins were at Neys, I decided I was going to join them. Thankfully by Monday I was feeling better, and I threw all my camping equipment into my SUV and headed off to Neys! (As a side note, I am the most non-spontaneous person you could ever meet. I am a fanatical planner, and like to know plans days, preferably weeks in advance before I will agree to do something new. This was very new for me!)

So, off I trekked to Neys and met up with my cousins. I had not seen my cousins for over 9 years! The last I saw them, I visited the hospital when the twins were born, and they are now 9. Sadly, they only live 2 hours away! This turned out to be an excellent opportunity to catch up and get to know the family a bit better. It was a wonderful way to spend time together, doing many of my favourite activities. We went hiking and swimming during the day, and later sat around and played cards and did shooters into the wee hours of the morning. One night, we were giggling away about who-knows-what, and just as she was slamming back a shooter, my cousin Donna laughed and ended up inhaling the entire shooter into her lung! Talk about sobering everyone up in a hurry! She ended up being ok, and we continued on with our evening. Thankfully she had a paramedic, a nursing student, and 2 CPR trained men at the table with her ;-) She couldn't have been in safer hands!

To see some of the pictures of my trip, go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44012&l=ca68a&id=808450018

More pictures will follow as I get more energetic. I am so sunburnt right now it hurts to move! I have a second degree sunburn on my face, chest and back, and third degree burns on my scalp! (Not very smart, I know, but day 1 I was having so much time swimming, I lost track of time and was sunscreen-less in the lake for 6 hours straight!) I'm paying for that now!

I was supposed to go camping again this coming week, but I cancelled my reservation. I think I will be staying out of the sun for awhile, and am happy to be in my own bed again. This week off, I plan to finally get back to working on my house (Yes I have been saying that for 2 weeks now, but I think this time it is for real.) I have to work tomorrow, and then I am off for a week. My cousins are headed to my parents next weekend so there is a CHANCE I may head down there, but I will see.

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To my faithful nursing readers: I realize now that I have missed 2 weeks of Change of Shift, and I apologize for not having the links ready. I will either try to set up an entry linking you to the two Change of Shift carnivals soon, otherwise, will just await the next one.

Also, I will try and get back to a more medical focus again soon, instead of it being all about me ;-)
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Schooling update: Well, my leave of absence from work this year fell through (long, miserable story), so I will be continuing as I have in the past, working full-time, continuing in nursing part-time. One change though; I am now enrolled in the advanced standing fast track program, and as long as I keep my grades up this year, this will allow me to chop an entire year off the program. So my plan now is to finish this last year of working full-time, and then go back to school full-time to finish my last 2 years. So that's the lastest.....

Hope all is well with the rest of you :-)

Cheers!

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Update (modified August 4th)

I'm still here!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am still around, just busy as usual. I just came back from holidays last Sunday. I went to visit my parents for five days, and although the weather was insanely hot, averaging around 110, we still went blueberry picking, worked in the garden, worked on the wood supply, and worked in the yard! So it was a working vacation, yet I still felt refreshed. I had the opportunity to visit with people I haven't seen in years! My best friend Wendy from high school came down for a visit too, which was nice, as I hadn't seen her in at least 2 years. She had a baby girl 2 years ago, and this is the first time I got to see her! There were also several couples that I had grown up with and spent a lot of time with that I got to see again. One couple I hadn't seen in 12 years, another 14 years! So it was nice visiting and catching up.

Visiting the country is always a pleasant experience, and I forget what a country girl I am at heart (except for the bugs - I always forget how much the bugs drive me insane!) I really do miss a lot about living in the country - the peace and quiet, the closeness of friends and neighbours, etc. There are a few things I don't miss, though - as already mentioned, the bugs, snakes, bears, DIAL-UP INTERNET, stores closed at 5 pm (no 24 hour conveniences), most stores being closed on Sundays. Amazing how you get used to the conveniences!

I took quite a few pictures out at my parents place to show some friends at work. Apparantly Molly was in almost every one of them. One coworker pointed out: "I swear you are the only person I know who goes on vacation and takes pictures of her dog instead of the scenery." Ah huh....and your point? ;-)

So I just put in a week at work, and now I am on vacation again! My plans this time are to work around my house as I have so much yard work I would like to get done, plus I may go camping a couple of times. I am off work all next week, have to go to work Monday, August 13th, and then am off for the rest of that week (bummer to have my vacation broken up like that, but, that's the way it works out!) I had planned a road trip either to the maritimes, into the states, or to BC, but another time. I'd really like to get some work done on the house, and am content with that.

My blogging will probably still be very minimal over the next few weeks as I will continue to be pretty busy.

I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that I am OK and all is well.

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