Coxsackie!

I've been a bit lax on the blogging lately. Our usually very healthy girl picked up a Coxsackie virus at preschool and came down with Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. What a nasty little bug! Although highly contagious, it's considered a "mild" virus. Mild? It caused such painful ulcerations in her throat, and on her tongue, cheeks, gums and hard palate, that it was difficult for her to eat, sleep or even talk. And although complications are rare, I worried about possible viral meningitis, encephalitis and myocarditis.

Hydration and pain control are the keys to suviving the 7-10 day period of misery and suffering. My professional recommendations (and what helped us survive) include: Alternating acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 3 hours while the ulcers are present, using diphenhydramine to help with sleep at night, and providing chocolate milkshakes laced with Carnation Instant Breakfast ad lib. She's the picture of health now, but I have to admit that after more than a week of averaging 3 hours of sleep a night, I was feeling more like something the cat dragged in (or threw up).

Oh, to be 4 (or even 40) again ...

Job opportunity ...

"NURSING is a womanly, lucrative profession, graduates earning $12 to $30 a week. Our courses require no unusual ability - only earnest, faithful effort. They are especially adapted to the young woman seeking a life vocation and to the practical nurse who needs a thorough knowledge of the theory of her profession. A treatise, giving full information, mailed to earnest applicants."

THE CHAUTAUQUA SCHOOL OF NURSING, 273 MAIN STREET, JAMESTOWN, N.Y.

(Advertisement, circa 1904)

It's National Nurses Week!

In honor of nurses and nurse educators everywhere ...

National Healthcare Decisions Day

Every day, you make hundreds of decisions. What should you wear? Which route should you drive to work? What do you want to eat for lunch? What TV show will you watch tonight? But have you thought about what type of care you want when facing a medical crisis and who will speak for you if you are unable? Nearly 70% of Americans have not.

April 16th has been designated National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day set aside to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making. This is a grassroots effort to encourage people to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers and to complete their advance directives. Take a few moments to complete yours, for yourself and for those you love. http://www.doyourproxy.org/

Do something extraordinary ...

Ordinary people do extraordinary things every day. I've seen this countless times in the 5+ years I've worked as a Heart Transplant Coordinator. Patients with end-stage heart failure fighting for every breath. Victims of massive MIs waking up on life support to discover they need a heart transplant. Although medical technology and organ donation awareness have continued to advance, the demand for organs still vastly exceeds the number of organ donations.

Statistics:
- There are more than 98,000 people on the national transplant waiting list.
- 77 people receive a life-saving organ transplant each day.
- 18 people die waiting for a life-saving organ transplant each day.
- 1 organ donor can save or enhance the lives of over 50 people.

Myths:
1. Myth: If I am in an accident and the doctors or nurses find my donor card, they will not try to save my life.

Fact: Doctors, nurses and paramedics will do everything to try to save your life. In fact, an individual needs to be in the hospital and on a ventilator at the time of death in order to donate organs. The local organ donor recovery network is not notified until all life-saving efforts have failed. The transplant team is not notified by the local organ donor recovery network until after they have spoken with the individual's family.

2. Myth: My body will be mutilated and disfigured if I would donate.

Fact: Donated organs and tissue are removed surgically in the regular hospital operating room. Doctors maintain dignity and respect for the donor at all times. Organ donation itself does not preclude an open casket service for the donor.

3. Myth: Wealthy people are the only people who receive transplants.

Fact: Organs are matched first according to height, weight and blood type, followed by medical urgency and then time accrued on the waiting list. Fame and fortune do not determine who receives a transplant. Most major insurances now cover transplants.

4. Myth: I cannot choose what I want to donate.

Fact: You may specify what organs or tissues you want to donate on your donor card. Your wishes will be followed.

5. Myth: I am not the right age for donation.

Fact: Organs may be donated from someone as young as a newborn. There is no age limit for organ donation. The general age limit for tissue donation is 80 and cornea donation is 70.

6. Myth: If I do not sign a donor card, my organs and tissues won't be donated.

Fact: Without a donor card or donor designation, families of suitable donors will still be offered the opportunity to donate. To ensure your wishes are fulfilled, sign a donor card, place the designation on your license/state identification card and ensure your family knows your wishes.

7. Myth: My religion does not support donation.

Fact: All major religions either support donation or view it as an individual decision. The exceptions to this are the Gypsy and Shintu religions.

8. Myth: Only heart, liver and kidneys can be donated.

Fact: The pancreas, lungs, intestines and the stomach can also be donated, as can corneas, tendons, saphenous and femoral veins, fascia, heart valves, skin and bone.

9. Myth: Organs go to people who didn't take care of theirs.

Fact: Organs in fact go to people who were born with or developed diseases that have caused organ failure. Less than five percent of people awaiting transplant have destroyed their organ through substance abuse. For those people, they must achieve and sustain sobriety before they can be listed for transplant.

10. Myth: My organs aren't of any value because I have a history of medical illness.

Fact: Few illnesses or conditions prevent someone from being a donor. At the time of death, your medical and social histories will be reviewed to determine suitability.

April is Organ Donor Awareness Month. The lack of organ donors is a national medical crisis. The cure has nothing to do with money or legislation. It has everything to do with people - starting with you. Do something extraordinary. Your decision to donate will make a difference. Donation saves lives, lots of them. (http://www.organdonor.gov/, http://www.donatelife.net/)

For my mother ...

I always knew my mother loved me, but never fully appreciated or even really understood the incredible depth of that love, until I became a mother myself. It was also when I became a mother, that I realized I wanted to be a better daughter. Unfortunately, I had less than 2 years of shared motherhood with Mom before she passed away from a rare and untreatable form of cancer. This picture was taken a month before she died and it was the last time she held her grandaughter. It still hurts to think that she won't be at the airport to greet us when we return from China with our new daughter, as she was when we returned with Elizabeth.

I'm a nurse because my Mom was a nurse. I remember one holiday eve when my Mom said that before we could sit down and celebrate, we had to bring dinner to one of her patients (she was working as a visiting nurse at the time). We packed up some of our meal, climbed into the car and drove to her patient's house. I remember an older woman using a walker to get around and that she was so pleased that Mom had stopped by. I remember feeling sad that she had no friends or family with her but could understand, even at that young age, that my mother's small gesture had meant the world to her. Mom was a master at the art of nursing, an art that is rarely seen today.

I love you, Mom. And I miss you every day.