Leeches are Disgusting

For those with a weak stomach... don't read on. I don't usually post about work things for some reason or another, but last night was a definite first and deserves to be noted in some fashion.

I have heard about leech therapy before but have never seen it done, or had to do it before... however, the presentation I saw in nursing school several years ago almost made me loose my lunch. And last night, just seeing pictures of the little "animals" as they are called in the brochure made me quite queasy. So from report to 4 am, I waited in nervous anticipation to see if I could actually do the treatment without vomiting on my poor patient.

All that being said I think the worst part about it was trying to get one of the little buggers out of the distilled water jug that they are kept in. Just imagine (or not) trying to get a super disgusting, swimming, black worm out of a a gallon milk jug with a long pair of tweezers. After that was accomplished and the little thing safely secured in a specimen cup, the rest of the process went fairly smoothly.

For those of you wondering why this is a medical treatment, while attached the leeches inject some anticoagulants and vasodilators into the tissue which helps reconstructive flaps heal after surgery, promotes blood movement through the graft, helps relieve venous congestion, etc. For more information and pictures, you can check out this site: http://www.hirudolab.com/index.html

New Background

What do you think of the new background? I found it at shabbyblogs.com. They have a bunch of really neat free templates!

Yet Another Seattle Trip

Joe and I just got back from Seattle yesterday morning. We visited and hung out with a bunch of friends, and I got to see the VA crew - it was awesome to see everyone again!


Went out for sushi on VDay with our friend Davidde.


Hung out at Jenn & Matt's house - this is Leo playing fetch with me!


Joe went to ride at the Colonnade Park under I-5, while I drove around Eastlake and found a good bakery :)


Cherry Trees are in bloom there!


My favorite cupcake place in Ballard!! Yummy!

Running

My cousin came over and went running with me today! ...so that makes mile number 3! I'm sure I will eventually get to the point where I don't feel like I'm going to die at the end of a mile. The plan is to go again tomorrow before my afternoon "nap". Then 3 more shifts and we're off to Seattle! I can't wait, it should be a good trip!

Weekend

Even though I worked, its been a pretty good weekend overall. Had some Mexican food after work on Friday, I got to hang out with an old friend on Saturday evening after work. Went through a bunch of old boxes of clothes and toys and had some good laughs! Watched a lot of Friends and finally got to do some scrapbooking. This afternoon, we had a going away lunch for my brother and got to spend some time with my grandparents.

I have a whole list of ideas I've been wanting to try, I finally picked the easiest one and crossed it off the list. It's a ribbon "organizer" for my craft room. No real work involved except taking a hanger apart and putting it back together. But hey, the next project will be better.