My last lady

[whitewriter]

Perpetually stuck with the same lady because a) I'm a midwife and b) she's considered easy 1:1. I'd have been fine with a double. But here I am with the same bed I had on Tuesday and Sunday earlier this week.

When she started trying to bite me, (albiet weakly - she is on midazolam 0.5 and trying to wean, precedex at 0.9 mcg/kg/hr and hydromorphone 0.5mg/hr + regular diazepam and has this horrible stare that is a cross between what might have been considered in the 1800s a possessive devil like stare and a vacant look.

She got extubated on Australia day and they're giving her a trial without the tube. Other than having a really poor cough and reduced ability to clear her airways - pretty much vomiting the last time she got anything up, she's doing really well on a smidge of oxygen and a smidge of flow.

The drool is really unapealing. She's constantly drooling. The speech pathologist came around to see if she'd be good for oral intake and I was thinking, um, probably not.

Her voice has been reduced to a hoarce whisper and she told me to "piss off" and also informed the student that I was a "bitch" but none of that phases me.

She tries to take off her HFNP and succeeds until I put them back in despite her very weak attempts to hit me.

Taking a BGL you'd think I was going to poke her eye out with a needle - but she's on 50% dextrose infusion + act rapid infusion in an effort to bring down her triglycerides (interesting isn't it) - off protocol use and being hand titrated by the reg and consultant such that if a BGL reading is off I need to ask them what they want me to do (rather than just follow the policy).

This afternoon after a large poop, she settled for an hour or two.

I'm trying not to restrain her because I don't see that as contributing to better or more easily managed pt.

I'm watching her try to climb out of bed with drool coming out, whilst connected to a multitude of lines.

Her husband is coming this afternoon at some stage.



Counting down the hours until mat leave.