Monday, June 25/2012

I am off to work and it already is hot out.  I think today will be a scorcher (supposed to get up to 29C) and there is no air conditioning in the old folks home.  Now that could just get nasty!!
The hustle and bustle of the day's work is progressing nicely until one of the day respite residents decides he is going to have a heart attack and I end up doing chest compressions for 20 minutes until the ambulance arrived!!  Ask me if I was hot during all this excitement!!  Unfortunately, the resident did not survive so that meant that the RCMP and the coroner had to be notified.  Wow, now this was a new experience for me.   Being the registered nurse in charge, I had to give a statement to the police (it is done on tape - who would have thought) and to the coroner.  Holy Smokes - why couldn't the resident have lived - less hassle!!  Now I am just being harsh so I had better stop.  It was really a sad affair and unfortunately his wife (who lives beside the home) witnessed some of the resuscitation attempt and that could not have been pleasant for her.  It was upsetting for all the residents (not to mention the staff, some of which were relatives) so the remainder of the day was stressful with several of them being sad and crying.  This is such a close knit little community that one cannot help but feel the sadness.  Being from the "big city" and working in an environment where no one really knows their patients, this atmosphere is so different for me.   It is actually very special working in this type of environment and once again I can't help but feel blessed to be able to experience this sense of "community" which in essence, is one big family.
My work day finally comes to an end and I am so very glad to be heading home.  It is time to jump into the shower, then just relax for the rest of the evening - maybe count a few blessing.
There is a storm brewing tonight as there has been storm warnings out all day.  The clouds are building and are an ominous grey looking colour.  No good can come of this I am afraid.
It isn't too long before lightning is flashing across the sky and the thunder is booming.  Hogan is in the bedroom with John and if he could actually get under the bed, that is where he would be!!  The rains come and the power goes out which really is no surprise.  Fortunately, all John and I have to do is turn on the inverter and our power is restored.  The batteries are on full charge so we can out last this power outage.  The town is completely in the dark though and remained that way until we went to bed.  Hopefully it will be back on in the morning.    Good Night!!