Week Five: New Orleans

I know I didn’t post last week but I was lazy at first and then life caught up with me. So you get two for the price of one! To make it not horrifyingly long Ill post mostly pictures for this week. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words so I get a pass with the pictures. 

Monday: 5 hours of driving almost made me go crazy but getting to see Rachel was well worth it. For those that don’t know how we met, she literally said she wanted to be friends with me to a mutual friend and then made it happen. It cracks me up every time I think about it. Anyways we started our time together by doing a brewery bounce. It was a great time catching up because in college she was like a big sister to me.  Thankfully she’s an old soul like me so we headed to bed early so we could hike most of the day. Today I am thankful for someone that shares my love for early bed times hahaha. 

Tuesday: Bright and early we started our way to Noccalula falls. We saw a sign that we thought was the beginning of the trail, but after a little bit of free climbing, we realized it wasn’t. We found the real trail and it actually brought us behind the waterfall. I fully experienced the adjective “breathtaking” at that moment. There will never be a picture that would come close to capturing the moment. God gave me this moment to just be in the moment and bask in the glory of His creation. I looked around at how perfect Creation was and then I heard Him say, “I made that but it wasn’t enough so I made you.” It wasn’t a booming voice but a whisper that could be heard despite the roaring of the falls. Isn’t that beautiful? No matter what beautiful thing captures our eye in nature, God didn’t think it was enough so He created you and I. It is quite humbling to know that we are God’s greatest achievement.  Anyways I think Rachel got tired of me exclaiming how beautiful our hike was but I was finally able to share one of my adventures with someone else so I had to say it out loud. My body was grateful for bedtime but little does it know that tomorrow will be a whole other day of activities.

Wednesday: Rise and Shine, its mountain time!  I know Alabama does not have “mountains” but tell that to my legs. We went to Oak Mountain state park and hiked a few trails. Hiking is more of a mind game than it is a strength game. Don’t get me wrong, your body can tire out, but your mind will tell you, “you can’t do this” before your body does. I would love to see how far I could actually push my body, but I will save that for another day. Today was enough for me… for now. This is the kind of cardio I like, so my next traveling assignment will have to give me opportunities like this. Adventures like these solidify that I am where I am supposed to be. Since you are not able to be here with me, here’s a few of my favorite pictures from the day. Oh and we went to see another small waterfall (the drought kind of dried it up) and ended taking a shortcut back.  See if you can find me in the rocks.

Thursday: I’m dead and my body is confused from all of the activity the past few days. The five hour drive home wasn’t bad and the relaxing by the pool after was nothing to complain about. Just got to get ready for a three day weekend of work!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday: Yes, I bunched them all together because they were work days. There is always something going on in the ICU but nothing to write home about. I will though toot my own horn for Saturday. As an ICU nurse you learn to trust your gut with patient assessments, if something feels off, explore it. My patient had two doctors on the case at the beginning of my shift and she gained 4 more specialty consults by 1000. This wasn’t the doctors call, but mine. I advocated for my patient and for even one of the consults the primary doctor said “we will consult them, for your peace of mind.”. Well my “peace of mind” neurology consult found brain swelling with a repeat CT. I know many doctors know more than I do but sometimes it is nice to have your gut prove them wrong. I was taught that first and foremost I was an advocate for my patient, and each day that is what I strive to be. Saturday, that came in the form of advocating with the doctors but it also comes in the form of advocating with the family and loved ones. These past three days may have worn me out mentally, physically and emotionally but I would not trade it. At the bedside is where I find passion, hope and love for nursing. Quick funny story. Sunday night after work I went to Walmart because I needed groceries and dinner and I just stood at the end of the isles with a blank stare because I forgot where I was and what I was doing. It took a cashier to talk to me to get me back in the present. I give my all at work so more often than not, my brain turns off after. My mom makes fun of me because I lack the ability to form complete sentences after a stretch of shifts. Thankfully I have Monday and Tuesday off and the weather will be perfect for a book by the pool. Until next time!

Agape, 

Elizabeth