I Could Be A Nurse

On Sunday I volunteered at the medical tent for the Wisconsin Ironman here in Madison. My shift was from 8pm-1am. I helped out in the triage area which means I assisted or carried the people to the medical tent, weighed them, placed them in a chair, filled out a bit of paperwork and then waited with them until a registered nurse assisted them.

I saw all kinds of things from blistered feet to diarrhea to extreme vomiting. I had to hold a few people as they vomited either on the pavement or in a trashcan. We weigh them to determine how much weight they lost over the course of the race. If it's over 5 pounds, we get fluids into them and if it's really severe the doctor will put an IV into them. One guy lost 18 pounds!!! I also saw lots of road rash, dizziness; some guys didn't even know where they were!

The back area of tent reminded me of a medical tent in the middle of a war. There were dozens of cots lined up, sick people lying with bandages, ice and blankets over them. IVs and tubes were everywhere. You could hear sounds of vomiting echo through the tent.

And it didn't bother me at all; I really liked it. I bet I would be an OK nurse. Granted, I haven't seen people with severe burns or amputated limbs and I didn't have to do any cleanup of blood or vomit or fecal matter. But still, I think I could hold my own.

Or maybe I would be way in over my head.

What else is new??

Tonight I'm going to the Brewers vs. Cincinnati game with Dobbins. Suppan is pitching and they better not break my heart like they did last night! I can't take much more of that! This will only be the second game I've been to all year. The other game was opening day!

Amber and I went on a lunch cruise on Lake Monona on Saturday afternoon with the Buckinghams. It was a beautiful day, a bit chilly but the water was calm and the food was great. Later that evening we went to my aunt and uncles place in Lake Mills to visit. Great times as usual. I think we talked straight for 5 hours!

On Friday night I helped prepare and serve dinner at the homeless shelter by the capital and then after that I met Camann downtown and went to this little club called The Frequency to check out a few bands. The first band was absolutely terrible, just screaming and sooo loud. So we left and went to Genna's to grab a beer and hang out. Then we went back to hear the headliner. they were pretty good, but it was getting late so we left after a few songs.

Man, I've been so busy lately. And it's totally my fault since I don't say "no" to anything. My day is always crammed, I gotta learn to not stop feeling like I gotta have something going on all the time. I need another vacation!