Moving in With Stesha for a few days

Yesterday, I handed my keys over and left my townhouse for the very last time. I can't believe how fast this time in NC has gone by.

I dropped Mom off at the airport and headed to Stesha's. 

I finished my plan of care paper and then we headed out to Dain's place for an hour or so. 

I came back and passed out at Stesha's.

My new home for the next several nights:

I slept great and woke up at 1pm today.

I spent a majority of the afternoon writing my presentation that I have to give tomorrow =(

I'm freaking out. I HATE PUBLIC SPEAKING!

We spent an hour out by the pool around 6 and had dinner with Garret around 7.

I'm about to practice going over my presentation with Stesha so she can time it.

It's getting closer!!!!

Countdown to Graduation:

1 Research Presentation

1 Research Paper

1 Journal response

1 final evaluation

1 poster presentation for Community 

1 Plan of Care

1 15 minute presentation in front of the class

5 3 12-hour shifts

Moving day

MOVING IS IN THE WORKS!

A TORNADO HAS HIT THE TOWNHOUSE

Mom is here to the rescue. We've enjoyed the time together, but packing is stressful. Add night shifts to the mix and things get crazy!

We did go for a stroll on campus to the bookstore.

I got myself a banner for the study.

We hung it up for 24 hours.

Notice my bed frame and headboard are gone. Sold that sucker for $200!

It got us one step closer to sleeping on the floor (see below).

My temporary desk.

The trailer arrived yesterday while I was sleeping between shifts.

I worked last night and arrived at home at 7:30 AM. The movers arrived at 9:30 am and had my stuff out of here by noon.

I passed out at noon not having slept since 4 pm yesterday afternoon.

This is my situation for tonight. Tomorrow Mom flies back home and I'm moving in with Stesha for 5 nights.

Countdown to Graduation:

1 Research Presentation

1 Research Paper

1 Journal response

1 final evaluation

1 poster presentation for Community 

1 Plan of Care

1 15 minute presentation in front of the class

5 3 12-hour shifts

crossing things off the list

Countdown to Graduation:

1 Research Presentation

1 Research Paper

1 Journal response

1 final evaluation

1 poster presentation for Community 

1 Plan of Care

1 15 minute presentation in front of the class

5 12-hour shifts

Working Nights

Tuesday, April 10th

I didn't have a chance to go grocery shopping for several days after returning from Honduras. Thus, I used what was left in my fridge to come up with some sort of breakfast.

I made my second, ever, breakfast burrito.

It sure was delicious!

I went for a nice walk and enjoyed the wonderful spring weather.

Stesha decided to cook me lunch. She made me pasta with a mix of red and white sauce. We planned on working on schoolwork by the pool, but that didn't happen. We ended up having a nice relaxing drink.

I met my Honduras group to work on our poster presentation that evening. We got together from 7pm until around 11. I was worn out!

That night I attempted to stay up until 3am to start the transition to night shift.

I made it to around 2:30 and passed out.

Wednesday, April 11th

I forced myself out of bed at 2:45.

I went to Panera for lunch and to work on some schoolwork. I finished up Case Study 4 for my diabetes course and started on my research presentation.

I got a walk in after that.

I tried everything to get myself to stay up until 7am.

I packed my first 5 boxes!

I packed up all of my clothes in one of my closets:

Also, I packed up all of my fun books (not school books).

I watched a ton of TV and succeeded in staying up until 7.

I crashed and woke up around 4pm on Thursday afternoon.

I did get a 1 hour walk in before I went in to clinical.

I worked from 6:45 pm until 7:15 am on Friday morning.

I made it home and into bed asleep by 9 am.

I slept until 4:45 and got myself ready.

I worked another 6:45 pm to 7:15 am shift.

So now, Saturday morning: I had an 8 am and an 8:30am appointment with two different women. One wanted to buy my desk and the other, my kitchen table. I put them on craigslist several days before. They both showed up around the same time and both wanted the furniture for the price I wanted! woohoo!

I sold my desk for $75 (originally $90) and my kitchen table for $350 (originally $450). What a deal!

no more kitchen table

 I crashed around 10 am and awoke at 5 pm. I picked up another shift for the next day (Sunday), so it was right back to sleep for me at 10 pm. haha! It really wasn't that hard to go back to sleep because I was exhausted. 

I worked Sunday from 6:45 am until 7:15pm. 

As of now, I am 6 shifts down and I have 8 to go.

I am working tomorrow night, Wednesday night, and Friday during the day. 

The days and nights have blended together and the days seem to be slipping by. 

I am proud to say I conquered my first week working nights. I had one meltdown, but I feel like I've gotten ahold of my sleep schedule. 

It's weird sleeping during the day, but doable. 

Countdown to Graduation:

1 Research Presentation

1 Research Paper

1 Journal response

1 final evaluation

1 poster presentation for Community 

1 Plan of Care

1 15 minute presentation in front of the class

8 12-hour shifts

I can do this!

Honduras

I'm back in the USA!

Lucky for me, I kept a journal while I was away. This has made it a lot easier to catch up on my blog.

Please forgive my horrible writing and misspellings. There was no Google to use to check my spelling ;)

Waiting on the missing bags that never came (until 4 days later)

mountain views on our drive to Villa Gracia 

arrival at our first home: Villa Gracia

the new digs 

my room and roommates 

lunch

dinner

packaging meds for the clinic 

ready to head for the mountains

breakfast

supermarket stop

Hospital in La Esperanza 

Labor and Delivery

front of the Hospital 

Honduran Wheelchair 

the drive to the mountains

view behind our clinic and home

our new rooms

kitchen

dinner

our education project

up late coming up with nursing interventions 

earplugs on our pillows compliments of the house (Rosa)

breakfast

puppy dog I want

lunch

pharmacy 

the clinic

notice the headlamp around my neck
it was dark in the clinic by the time we got back for our walk and we had no electricity 

dinner

scorpion 

the scene: CR didn't want us to lose sight of the scorpion so she pointed her headlamp in that direction 

breakfast

lunch

patients waiting their turn

med students teaching nursing students

breakfast

church service 

lunch

dinner

breakfast

lunch

manis and pedis

going to pick coffee beans 

coffee beans

dinner

popcorn!

shadow puppet show before bed

1 day old calf

8 day old calf

breakfast

Me, Caitlin, and Beth's room

we had a flushing toilet!

the cold shower

I WANT

lunch

performing the vignettes 

the village watching us perform

dinner

breakfast

loom

ride to Copan

straw market

my bed on the left and Ariella's on the right

hotel pool

view from room 19 at Hotel Buena Vista 

dinner

out dancing

breakfast

Chorti Village Schoolhouse where we set up the clinic

Rosa working the pharmacy 

ABSN students

lunch

Macaw Mountain

the coffee I bought Lance next to my $1 iced coffee

pupusas 

dinner

the cute puppy I was talking about

laying the sawdust down

riding in the taxi

morning coffee at a cafe 

exterior of the hotel

American breakfast

Copan Ruins

lunch

riding to zip line

got my gear

We climbed the ladder to get a better view

the result

dinner at Jim's

found the cute puppy again

 That brings us to the morning we left.

We woke up at 5 AM to hit the road by 5:30. We had a 3 hour drive to San Pedro Sula for our flight to Houston.

I was so relieved to land safely in the USA around 3:15 pm. 

the best words

We gathered the bags in customs and survived.
We walked out of customs and to the left was the exit to the outside world and to the right was the escalator to the terminals.
I stalled in the bathroom for 5 minutes for my crew to get into the terminal and then left the airport.
Why?

Lance picked me up for a dinner date!!!!
I had a long layover so we got to spend around 2 hours together and it was just what I needed.

This was the best medicine after a 10 day trip with 15 other people.

I was so used to having an afternoon drink that I couldn't help myself.

I gave Lance his gifts: coffee and cigars...and some plantain chips!

ooo yeah... and the 10 letters that I wrote him for each day I was away

The visit was short, but it was just what I need to get through the next 3 weeks. The next time I see him I will be moving in!

I got back to the gate just in time to see my group moving down 6 gates because of a change.
I switched between a couple of movies and the Rangers game on the plane.

I slept in until noon yesterday and then wrote my first journal reflection for my senior synthesis. It was difficult after only having 3 shifts that were 2 weeks ago.
I finished a case study and my forums for research.
I went for a run...er...more of a walk.

I saw a dead snake and had to take a pic.

Today I woke up really confused and tired.
I had class from 8-1 and we listened to other students present their 15 minute presentations.

I picked up my graduation tickets and it almost seems REAL now!

Over the course of the trip, we have been taking a couple of medications.
We took a Malaria prevention med that we started a week before we left and have continued to take it every Tuesday...I have 4 more weeks of that to go. The good news is I didn't get a horrible headache like I did the first time I took it.
We have also been taking Cipro to prevent infection that can occur from bacteria...like from the water and stuff...just incase we drank it. We took a pill every night at dinner. No problems there.
Today I began Mebendazol, an anti-parasite med just incase we got worms on the trip. I took the first pill this morning and started itching an hour or so later and didn't think much of it. I thought it was the workout pants I was wearing rubbing against my un-shaved legs! I noticed it got worse after I took the second pill this evening. I just email the doctor on our trip to see if I should continue the med or not. The itching is driving me absolutely crazy!

I have never been so grateful to be in my bed doing absolutely nothing, alone, in the silence. Me time is in full effect.
I am thankful for air conditioning, hot water, electricity, and the internet...and being able to be in contact with my family and loved ones whenever I want. I'm connected to the world again!

This post took way too long to finish.

I'll leave you with a video from the trip (as if all the pics weren't enough).