The pukers have all gone home.

We shipped out the latest bunch of Villagers on Saturday and the new ones arrived on Monday. The kids were great, but good riddance! Too much puking!

I had my first 24 hours off this past weekend… awesome! Jeff hit the road early and drove up here to attend the closing ceremony with me Saturday morning. Wowee was he a sight for sore eyes! Tears were shed!

It was also my birthday on Saturday. I have decided that this will be the last birthday I will be celebrating. 45 is definitely my limit. 45?! Really?! Wasn’t I just 25 a couple of years ago?

58 new Villagers arrived in my Village on Monday. After a crazy day of checking everyone in along with their meds, it has been a very peaceful Health Center (aka Club Med). I only hope it continues!View from Paris towards Club Med

  Paris

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Sunny and 75 degrees with a slight breeze. I actually had the opportunity to enjoy the weather today! Spent some time weeding the garden that is next to Paris.  The sun was warm, Guillame was playing the piano inside Paris and the music carried outside ever so lightly, and the smell of bread baking was wafting from the kitchen. When I closed my eyes I could almost imagine myself actually in France. After lunch I even got to spend a nice two hours lying in the sun on the dock.  Heaven!

Hmmm… if only all the days as a Camp Nurse were like this one.

Bonjour. Welcome to Camp PukeALot.

Bonjour. Mon nom est Gabi. J’ai quitte la Chine en France.

Hello. My name is Gabi. I have moved from China to France.

Can you say culture shock?! I had to quickly close out two sessions in Chinese, train in the new nurse, and then race over to French to be trained in by that leaving nurse. Not to mention pack up all my stuff, move it, and then unpack.

My first meal was dinner… it included rice but not sticky rice (mi fan) and it had veggies in it. And it included fresh homemade baked baguettes and butter. I almost cried. Seriously.

The new nurse gave me a very quick short tour and introduced me to a couple of key people and then left. Estelle (my health care assistant) was instructed to finish the tour with me later. Within no more than 10 minutes after the current nurse leaving, a Villager came in and puked in our garbage can. Welcome to French Bemidji.

French Bemidji has had an interesting summer so far. The Norwalk virus went through and they had 23 puking and pooping Villagers at one time. They set up a “sick bay” in one of the activity buildings and brought in other nurses and health care assistants from other villages to help. I came in at the tail end and have had 3 pukers of my own.

The nights have been rough since everything seems to happen in the middle of my slumber. I have had one full night of sleep since getting here this past Saturday. This is the hardest part of being a Camp Nurse. Well, that and I miss my family and friends.

 

Let’s talk about my Chinese Village. The kids there were amazing… they were fun, and sweet, and quite entertaining at times. I had more free time there than here and more opportunity to get to know them. Above are my very first patients as an RN. They were very excited when I told them this later and we all took pictures. Both have been coming to the Chinese camp for several years and can speak it quite well (of course, how would I know?!). The gal wants to be a nurse when she grows up so we had lots of conversations about nursing and nursing school.

This is Da Wei my First Aider and right hand man. He’s a very talented young man and it’ll be interesting to see where life takes him. He had been at Chinese for the first half at the summer and was moving to Portuguese for the second half. I would have been lost without him there.

I haven’t taken any pictures of my Village yet…been a little busy! Watch for a new blog soon…

Playing Tourist

Had 12 hours off on Saturday so I spent the day in Bemidji  playing solo tourist. Camp was crazy that morning (I swear all the girls are menstruating at one time) and I locked myself out of the cabin so  Hua Ai wasn’t able to turn back into Evelyn until 30 minutes later than planned.

I started my day at the local Dunn Bros since I was craving a Latte (Lordy, too many days since my last Latte!).  I had planned on spending some time applying for jobs, but their internet kept cutting out and I felt like I was wasting too much of my valuable free time.  My first stop was to visit Paul Bunyan and his giant blue Ox Babe, of course.

Does anyone know why Bemidji is tied to Paul Bunyan? I checked a respectable historical resource, Walt Disney, and didn’t come up with an answer.

From the website RoadsideAmerica.com, there are the following Paul Bunyan’s in Minnesota:

Minnesota

• Akeley:Kneeling Paul Bunyan 20 feet tall (maybe the claimed 33 feet, if he was standing), across from Paul's Purple Cow Ice Cream Parlor. Akeley is "Birthplace and Home of World's Largest Paul Bunyan Statue." His cradle was here when we visited.
• Bloomington: a 19-foot Bunyan, part of the Mall of America
• Bemidji: Paul Bunyan and Babe Statues, built in the 1930's.
• Blackduck: Paul Bunyan's Duck.

• Brainerd: The 26 feet tall Talking Bunyan, long a fixture at the now defunct Paul Bunyan Amusement Center, can now be seen at This Old Farm outside of town, along with Babe the Blue Ox and Sport the Dog.

• Brainerd: In 2005, a seated Paul Bunyan was erected outside a new welcome center 5 miles south of town.
• Chisholm: "There is a statue of Paul Bunyan inside one of the buildings at the Minnesota Museum of Mining. I know of this statue because it scared the living s**t out of my when I was a little kid in the '60's. I believe it's at the main curve of highway 169 in Chisholm...last visited in 1992." [Jon A. Egger, 3/24/97]
• Hackensack: Statue of Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart, Lucette Diana Kensack, 17 feet tall, on the east shore of Birch Lake.
• Kelliher: Paul Bunyan's Grave, in Paul Bunyan Memorial Park.
• Ortonville: Paul Bunyan's Anchor, weighs 225,000 lbs., and is mounted on four granite pillars. Looks like a big rectangular piece of rock with a chunk of metal chain sticking out of the top. At an overlook above Big Stone Lake.

My favorite, and one I must see is Paul Bunyan’s duck in Blackduck, Mn!

Inside the Visitor Center is this fireplace – The Fireplace of States. It was built in 1934. The mason wrote hundreds of letters to all the state governors, governors of Canada, the US President, and all the County Directors of MN, as well as all the National Parks and Monuments asking for stones for the fireplace. Some senders placed inscriptions on the stones.

Bemidji also has several statues of Native Americans, including Chief Bemidji.

The Beltrami County Historical Museum is also in Bemidji and is housed in the last depot built by James J. Hill.  Their current display is on the history of healthcare in Beltrami County – fascinating!

Here’s something common to most of Minnesota, except the North Shore – not a whole lot of grain being grown up there!. When I see one of these it always makes me think of Henning, the town where my grandparents lived when they retired.

 

 

 

Drove a few miles over to see the County Courthouse and discovered a beautiful little park area just outside of it. It’s one of the prettiest courthouses I have seen.

 

 

Remember the Snoopy statues that were all over St Paul several years ago? Well, Bemidji did the Beaver.

I also took a drive down the “Gold Coast",” which is Bemidji’s version of St. Paul’s Summit Avenue.

It was hot and humid on Saturday, so after hours of sightseeing I decided to head to the theatre and sit in air conditioning for awhile. Not really knowing what movies were out there, I picked Grown Ups since it had SNL comedians in it and I was in the mood for something funny. Boy, did I choose wrong. I won’t spend much time on details, but I will say this: Don’t waste your money or time, Sandler is just out to make some dough the lazy way.

I went out to dinner at the Green Mill which is one of the most beautiful Green Mills I have ever been to.  Right on Lake Bemidji and with a very nice patio area. I wanted something far far from Chinese… decided on a deep dish Canadian Bacon and Pineapple pizza. And lots of Diet Coke.  Nummy.

Got back to camp, and every meal since Saturday has had rice in it. Every meal. I am not exaggerating. For breakfast it’s either Soupy Rice, or Rice Krispies. No joke.

My first days as Camp Nurse at Sen Lin Hu

My name is Hua Ai and I am the Hu Shi at Sen Lin Hu. Nihao.
There are currently 73 Villagers, about 20 Counselors, and about 10 other staff (kitchen, office, maintenance) here at the Chinese Village. Many of the counselors are from China and speak very little or no English. The Villagers are from about 8 years old to 18 and are here for 2 or 4 weeks. I am the only RN on staff; I have an assistant who has been trained in First Aid etc and is very fluent in Chinese who helps me when he can.  He is also a head counselor and “go to” guy for many things.
I felt very overwhelmed when I first arrived… new nurse, new place, new people, new foods, new culture, new language.  A lot of newness in one big dose. My clinic was not organized and so I spent Sunday, my day off, cleaning, organizing, and checking expiration dates.  After this, I felt much better about my job and responsibilities.
This is the nurse’s clinic. It has my office, waiting area, bathroom and shower, my sleeping quarters, and a sick room for Villagers/Staff who need to spend the night because of illness. So far I have not had any overnight guests!
The Concordia Language Villages teaches by immersion – it truly feels like I am in China! All the meals are Chinese (and not American Chinese, I might add) – rice has been served at 98% of the meals.  The meals are generally very healthy – lots of fruits and veggies… no bread and butter… I miss the bread and butter. English is really only suppose to be spoken with the Nurse, and the kids are rewarded each day they accomplish this.
So far I have had quite a few skinned knees and elbows, bug bites, tummy aches, and sore throats. Hopefully this trend will continue! I have also helped rescue a bird from a cabin, find the home of a lost dog scared by the fireworks, and helped feed a baby bird (who later died).

Each day is different as the Hu Shi at Sen Lin Hu!

To see more of Sen Lin Hu, please visit: http://senlinhu.villagepages.org/

It’s the end of the world as we know it…

My life has been turned upside down, twisted around, and shaken up into a whole new form over the last month.  My last semester in college did not consist of a "senior slide" as I often heard it would be. Even though there wasn't a lot of sit-down studying as I had been accustomed to, there was 130 clinical hours at St. Luke's, a giant community health project that I worked on with the Boys & Girls Club of the Northland, and two "normal" classes with the usual papers and tests.  My community health class also consisted of visiting "public health" type facilities such as the Damiano Center and CHUM (and of course writing papers about them) and spending some time with the Public Health nurse in Two Harbors. On top of all of this, I began re-creating my resume and starting the application process, compiling the paperwork necessary to graduate, and worked on studying for my board exam (NCLEX). I truly felt like I was being pulled in a hundred different directions at once. Instead of a Senior Slide, it was more like a Senior Scramble!

As the end drew near, I found myself an emotional wreck… ecstatic one minute, insanely sad the next, and filled with worry nearly constantly.  I don’t like the unknown… I like to know exactly where I am going and when, and how I will get there. My life was in complete limbo, and it’s a very scary feeling. While the majority of my other classmates were overjoyed as we finished our classes, I fought back tears.  Even though school was more difficult and more time consuming that I ever imagined, I loved it. Yes, I felt lonely and out of place at times, not to mention overwhelmed, but generally speaking I loved the learning process, the challenges, and the environment. And I will miss it.

My parents and Jeff and the boys all were in attendance for the Pinning Ceremony and Commencement. The Pinning Ceremony is just for the graduating nursing class… I had Jeff and Brandon “pin me.”  They butchered Brandon’s name (Brayndon?), but otherwise was a very nice ceremony.   

I expected to be bawling like a big baby at Commencement, but instead could not stop smiling. I smiled so big and for so long that by the end of the day my cheeks hurt!I have never felt so proud of myself. It was a long, hard, and scary 5 years but I did it! And not only did I finish, but I graduated cum laude and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing (thus the purple cord)! I never felt smart in high school; maybe that’s because my best friend ended up being Valedictorian and rarely had to study while I studied my heart out to get C’s, or maybe it was just a confidence thing, but if someone had told me 25 years ago that I would be graduating cum laude, I wouldn’t have believed them. It’s a giant accomplishment, especially adding in being a single parent and home owner, and something I will always be proud of.  There were two single moms in my class with me, and I am sure they feel as proud of themselves as I do.

After commencement, I took a week off and did very little, and wow did that feel good! Then I began cramming for the scary NCLEX exam. I studied every day, all day. I studied until I cried. Literally. And then I studied some more. I decided to take my test right before I headed to Wilderness First Aid Training, so that gave me about 10 days. There was so much riding on this test… if I failed I wouldn’t be able to be a Camp Nurse. If I failed I would have to wait 45 days to retake it.  If I failed I wouldn’t be able to put down on job applications that I was a licensed nurse. If I failed, I FAILED. That is an awful lot of pressure for an old gal like me.

I also got a job interview in Staples, MN (of all places) the day before… so there went a day of studying.  Urgh.

I arrived at the test center in plenty of time, but found myself shaking as I signed in, was fingerprinted, photographed, and had my palm veins read. I asked to use a restroom before going in because I thought I was going to puke. I went into the handicapped stall and instead of puking did some deep breathing and a yoga move or two to relax.

The test is computerized and everyone is asked a certain percentage of questions on various topics. With each question you answer, it predicts whether you are passing or failing. At 75 questions, if it is like 98% sure you are passing, it will shut down. If it is 98% sure you are failing, it will shut down. If it is too close too tell, it will keep going. Or if you are one of the randomly selected poor souls who will be taking the whole damn thing, it will keep going. It kept going for me. At question 150 I was sure I was failing and began to feel really sick and started sweating profusely. I was afraid of having to pee during the test, so I didn’t drink much, plus going in I thought I would be done in 2 hours and 21 minutes which is the average time… I was sure I was dehydrating.  I skipped all my breaks because you have a time limit of 6 hours… I did the math and if I was given all 265 questions, I would barely make it. I ended up getting all 265 questions and it took me about 5 hours and 20 minutes. 5 hours and 20 minutes of pure hell.

I left and sat in my car and cried. I didn’t want to talk about it to anyone. I knew I had failed.

The next day I left for Wilderness First Aid Training and orientation. I will be Camp Nurse at the Concordia Language Villages for July and August, specifically the Chinese Village in Cass Lake, and the French Village in Bemidji.  I passed the First Aid Course (yay!) and made some great friends along the way. The camp is much nicer than I expected and the responsibilities much greater. It combines my love of nursing, my love of children, my love of the camp atmosphere, my love of foreign languages and culture, and my love of food so it should be an amazing experience!

Everyone in training knew I had just taken my test and was waiting for the results. I paid an extra $8 to find out in 48 hours instead of 4-6 weeks. I took my test on Thursday, so I expected to hear late Monday. I had Jeff checking for me… On Saturday I headed to Waldsee (German Village) for dinner. About 20 nurses and nursing aides, plus many Lifeguards, counselors, and kitchen staff were in attendance during this week. At each meal I think there was about 100 people in attendance (but I’m a really bad judge of these things). I noticed that Jeff had been trying to call and worried there was a problem. As I was looking at my phone, the following text message appeared:

“You passed. Congratulations! I am very proud of you!”

I immediately started yelling, “OMG – I passed! I PASSED!!!” and started to cry. Everybody around me from my class was yelling and hugging me! It was crazy! And very emotional. At the end of the meal, they have time for announcements (which are often in a foreign language), and my nurse manager stood up and introduced me as the Camp Nurse for Chinese and French and told them that a half hour ago I became a licensed RN! Everyone was clapping and cheering and then they all went into this Hip Hip Hooray deal! It was a really fantastic place to end this crazy roller coaster journey I have been on for 5 years… becoming licensed at the very place I will be starting my career. For days afterward, complete strangers from around the globe were congratulating me. I felt insanely happy.

I will write more about the CLV later, but want to take one more paragraph to thank everyone for sticking by me and supporting me over the last 5 years. I know I have been neglectful and cranky, whiny and unpleasant at times and yet not one of you gave up on me. Your support and continual encouragement was my life-line and I will never forget it. I could never have done this without all of you behind me every step of the way.

Insurance Blues

I have health insurance. Since I currently am unemployed and a full-time college student, I am able to purchase “Student Health Insurance” through the BCS Insurance Company.

Today I found out about another medical procedure that I had done was not covered. This time it was the bone density test my dr suggested I have done back in September. I have broken two bones in 4 years and he was worried that I may have some bone density loss since I was on the Depo Provera birth control shot for over 10-years. Studies released in 2004 show that Depo Provera is associated with a loss of bone density resulting in an increased risk of osteoporosis. This bone loss appears not to be reversed when the woman goes off Depo Provera. Depo is not recommended for long term use. Women on Depo are advised to exercise and take in plenty of calcium. The recommendation is that if  you have taken Depo Provera for more than two years, you should get a bone density test.

I understand why my doctor wanted me to have the test. The recommendation makes sense... if the results had shown that I did have bone loss, he could advise me to take extra measures (calcium supplements, strength-training, etc.) now so that it doesn’t progress into a more serious case of osteoporosis later.  Thus, it would save money in the long run. Thankfully, my bone density test results showed no bone loss… in fact, my bone density is at 110%.

Prior to this, my insurance didn’t cover my crutches from when I broke my leg. They also considered that an “elective.”  Really? Like you have a choice whether to use crutches or not with a broken leg?! What the hell?! I could understand if I had a prior broken leg and they already paid for my crutches… I obviously wouldn’t need new crutches. I would agree that that would be a waste of insurance money… but my scenario isn’t like that and without crutches I would have been bed-ridden for months. But yet, how would I even get to the bed after my surgery without crutches? I guess I could have crawled…