there we were, in the congo

humans are not meant to be awake in the middle of the night. I look at some of the hard core ER nurses who have worked night shift for thirty years, and frankly, I don't ever want to be like that.

The docs have started a new schedule rotation so they can maintain a little consistency. This entails working the same shift for a month. There are a couple of doctors I'm not all that fond of, but they're completely different people at night. Particularly after the fourth or fifth shift, when they start getting a little punchy. Doc D, who on days is rather serious and nitpicky, and likes to micromanage, has scolded me on more than one occasion, but the other night, as I was headed into the fray with the IV tray, one of our critical patients with an Na of 108 started moaning and yipping. (those electrolytes. . .) Doc D looked at me, waggled his eyebrows, and said in his best gather 'round the campfire voice, "there we were, in the congo. . ." and the nurses' station erupted with laughter. Except for the charge nurse, who is one of those previously mentioned hard core thirty year ER night shifters. She doesn't much laugh at anything.

but tonight rounded off my last of 6 in a row, so now I've got a few days free. That makes for a happy firefighter girl. New tattoo tomorrow, an ACLS recert on Monday, snowboarding on Tuesday with the Rock Star, and the fact that the sun has been out for three straight days in a row makes me even happier. Besides, you just know, when you've hardly had any sleep because the kids need you, and you're heading into a 12 hour shift and you're so tired you can barely get the straw from your Starbucks lite honey frappuccino into your mouth as you walk down the hall for report, and the nurse stops you and says there's a junkie on bed 10 who desperately needs an IV and everybody else has already tried their two times and you put your coffee down and you walk in the room and you smack your head on the monitor so hard you see stars and you still manage to get the EJ on the first try. . .then, you just know that life is good.