Sighs. I am so sick of this snow. It had been snowing since 4pm yesterday, all through the night and it’s still snowing today and we have at least 6 inches here. Such a bloody nightmare. It really couldn’t have come at a worst time, I’ve got exams this week and college was shut all last week so I missed out on important study classes and opportunity to ask my lecturer questions and clear some things out in my head.
I have been panicking like mad over my Chemistry exam tomorrow. Yesterday I saw my chemistry lecturer in college, after my biology exam and he said he’s holding a study class this morning, regardless of the weather. I turn up at 9am this morning, no sign of him. So then I brave the elements and go to town and thankfully, the library was open so I’ve been studying Chemistry the past 4 hours. Head is spinning. I feel a little bit better about tomorrow – but there’s still some areas I’m unclear about which could comprise my grade.
I’ve been hoping and praying I won’t need to work later. Not only is the weather too dangerous to drive in but I need time to study. Thankfully my prayers were answered and I got a phone call off my manager to say not to do my calls later as they have hired out a 4×4 and a selected few will be going out in it doing the rounds and visiting clients. They asked me if I would mind visiting a few clients locally this evening and I said I didn’t mind, which I don’t, they only live a few streets away. I’m glad I have more time to study.
Biology exam yesterday, I was fairly confident because I’ve been studying a lot these past few days – I’m always at my best when I revise a few days beforehand, some can’t do that as it makes them mega confused etc but it says in my head a lot better. Anyway I go into the exam and I didn’t like it one little bit! They were really picky at small areas of the syllubus, areas you skim over and you move onto the larger topics. Very little on DNA, proteins and cells. Nothing on food tests whatsoever! Disappointed. I tried my best just need to wait now. I saw my biology lecturer in the corridor after the exam and he offered to go though the paper – I’d rather not know!!
I’ve got my Chemistry exam on Thursday (tomorrow), and meant to have a Chemistry lesson on Friday. However I’ve already informed work I’m available if they need me because in Chemistry I’m sure they’ll just go over the paper – and I’d really rather not.
Wow, what a day… work as stressful and I didn’t stop. Started almost as soon as I started work when I walked in a flat to see a tenant on the floor, not moving or talking. I was concerned but felt a sense of relief when I heard moans and groans and incoherant sounds coming from here. She said she felt sick and was vomiting on the carpet so I asked her if she fell, did she hurt herself/in any pain, did she bang her head and she said no, she just fell. My senior arrived and we had to call in my colleague to help out so there were three of us with her. It was a difficult task getting her up off the floor (she was laying in the most uncomfortable of positions) and onto a bed, we did use an inflatable cushion but she concerned me a lot, looks like she had a possible stroke.
Another tenant is dying, in complete heart failure and there is absolutely nothing we can do for her, and it has upset the staff as well as her fellow nieghbours who know about it (her friends). She is a lovely, lovely lady who has a wonderfully supportive family (unfortunately, it’s not the case with a lot of the others…), she is so weak, this lady knows she is dying, the way she talks and I honestly think people do know when it is ‘their time’. Today my boss spoke to her at length and she will not go into hospital, to be honest I can understand her. This lady knows everyone and they think of us, the staff, as good friends, family, people they know. No one wants to die in hospital on their own and possibily down to one of the numerous infections floating about on the wards… It just makes me so sad, I really, really hope she makes it through to the new year, I think that is what this lady is fighting for.
You feel useless but I think in times like this they just appreciate the company and care, my job is rewarding but at the same time you just cannot help but get attached to the tenants and you do think of them as friends so at times it can be depressing.
There’s quite a few tenants who are ill, between going back and forth to their flats and serving up the Boxing Day 3 course lunch it has been busy… my colleague asked if I wanted to go out tonight but I was so tired I said I’d rather stay in and do nothing. Ha, right. As soon as I got home I was back out at Tescos shopping (food shopping, not ‘January Sales’, they can kiss my ass). Then I cleaned up the living room. Then I cleaned the gerbil cage, and cooked the dinner, set up the new DVD player. Now I’m drinking a glass of wine.
Providing first aid cover tomorrow at the Welsh National, you may see me on the TV
I haven’t long got back from the resus course and I have to say I found it really interesting and worthwhile. Last night (and this morning) I was really apprehensive about going because I doubted I’d be able to do it, it’s such a big course and covers a lot of ground and there were going to be quite a few people there who had already done the course, but were updating their certificate. But I did go, and I’m glad I did.
A lot of the morning was based around CPR and additional equiptment we can use. This introduced us to the BVM (bag, valve, mask) which assists when it comes to breathing, so instead of giving mouth to mouth we ‘bag them’ and have the option of attaching oxygen to the valve. A little biology lesson now… when we breath in normal air we breath in 21% oxygen and breath out 16%, so we only use 5% of it… so when we give mouth to mouth we are breathing our exhaled air into the other persons lungs so that’s only 16%. If oxygen is used when giving CPR if used properly can provide 100% which is really helpful when it comes to CPR and attempting to keep the body going.
We were told about LUCAS, a machanical machine that does the chest compressions for ya (and while it’s at it am sure it breaks every single rib! Look at it!) We don’t use this, but some NHS ambulance services do.
In the afternoon we learnt about oxygen therapy, giving oxygen to casualties who are basically having trouble breathing for whatever reason and how to establish an airway by sticking something down the casualties throat! Oh, and suction… one of the trainers volunteered to allow people to use suction in his mouth and I used the suction machine on him and it was pretty daunting.
Then we learnt about monitoring equiptment such as pulse oximeter which measures the oxygen saturation in the blood and also the pulse rate. Well my pulse was 110 but my oxygen saturation was 99% which was good… then we were introduced to the blood pressure monitor and my BP was 159/96 which is really high! Normal should be around 120/80.
Anyway it was an interesting course and got to play with some new toys, also one step further to getting on the ambulances! I think I need two more courses before taking the IHCD exam and hopefully I’ll be on the ambulances by April. Woot!! I know it’s not the NHS but the Red Cross do follow the NHS and their aim is to qualify ambulance crew to a level similar to that of the NHS so that if there’s a casualty needing proper care they don’t need to wait until the NHS ambulance gets there to recieve good care, there can be more to first aid than plasters and bandages.
Yesterday I booked my car in for a winter checkup. Here’s a link to the leaflet. I use my car a lot these days, work, red cross, general driving around, she last had an MOT in April which is a good few months ago and thought it would be good to check her over see if she’s ok, also getting the winter kit which is a few quid itself!
I had to drive to the pet shop today. Gerbils. Lovely cute little things aren’t they? They are little bastards that bite through anything. When I bought them I didn’t realise I’d need to kit out the cage every few weeks. Haha They have chewed through the plastic on one of the tubes, attachment to the food bowl, attachment to their vitamin tablet thingy, their bed. Oh, and me. My poor fingers. I buy them wooden toys so they can bite them for their teeth, but they still bite bite bite. The white one is using the exercise wheel at the moment, good too considering the chocolate dad gives them!
I got my one months notice through the post today, the other woman is taking the job full time… see what happens there.
Anyway, I have a headache. Got the resus support course tomorrow, hope I feel more enthusiastic tomorrow.
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This blog is kept by a 21 year old female living in Wales UK. It's a personal blog used as a way of expression for my thoughts, opinions and random blurbs. Some posts are deeply thought out whereas others are heat of the moment. The topics range between all areas of my life. All entries are my opinion and by no means do they intend to offend. Rarely do I post material that could - but there's always that chance!
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It had been snowing since 4pm yesterday, all through the night and it’s still snowing today and we have at least 6 inches here. Such a bloody nightmare. It really couldn’t have come at a worst time, I’ve got exams this week and college was shut all last week so I missed out on important study classes and opportunity to ask my lecturer questions and clear some things out in my head.
Tired