Thoughts from a School Nurse You might feel a little stick!

Today was really busy. It was a day for asthma attacks and unreachable parents. How can a mother look me in the face and tell me that she can't afford medicine/equipment that costs less than $20 for her child while she reeks of cigarette smoke? How can a father see a gash in his child's head that I've recommended a doctor look at to see if he needs stitches and tell me that he doesn't think his child needs stitches and that we should take better care of him at school? I thought recommending a doctor visit WAS taking care of the child. But what do I know?

I'm finishing up my last day of this school year. My bulletin boards are bare, chairs are stacked up and my desk is cleaned off. Where has the year gone? Just yesterday it was open house with lots of eager children and parents searching for classrooms and hugging friends that were missed over the break.

I had my end of the year evaluation. My supervisor came out to my school instead of me traveling to her office, which was nice. She is always very encouraging and great to work with (for). I had a good review and got some ideas of goals for next year.

It's the last day of school and all is quiet in the Nurse's Office. Now, anyway. This morning was so unusual and a little scary. Fifth grade graduation and the awards ceremony started at 9am, so we had a crowd of people coming in with their kids along with parents of younger children that were walking them to class.

Today was field day at my school. K-2 was on one part of the grounds and grades 3-5 were on another, so we could have everyone play on the same day. There was so much hard work that went into making today enjoyable for the kids. Our physical education teacher really went above and beyond to decorate, coordinate games and stations and make sure each class had fun. All the teachers and staff participated and worked so hard. Parent volunteers were at every game, water station and play area helping and supervising.

I've had a really good morning. My friend is recovering from her surgery very well, and she's feeling good. Every parent I've tried to contact has been easy to reach, polite and quick to respond. That's not always the case, so it's made my morning a little easier. I'm also preparing to teach a CPR/First Aid class. I'm a little nervous, but that helps to keep me on my toes. A big part of nursing is teaching; I do a lot of that with the students and even some parents. I like being able to spend time one on one, but classes can set me on edge a bit.

Not too much happening at school today. With testing and evaluations over for the year, all the classes are doing fun things and no one wants to miss anything! So, I've had an opportunity to start my end of year work; charting on student files, pulling records to transfer and cleaning out file drawers. It's hard to believe the year is almost over already. Nine more school days! Woohoo!

I just got word that my friend came through the surgery very well. Her husband said that everything went fine and she is in recovery now. Please continue to pray for her as she comes out of the anesthesia and starts healing. Thank you all for praying!

For all the readers out there, Mark found a great website called goodreads.com. Its a site where you can read all kinds of book reviews and make a friend list to see what they've read and are currently reading. From my block below, you can see I'm reading a Stephen King book, and using a cookbook Emily Grace gave me for Mother's Day. The Foods You Crave is a great book for those of us who like "normal" food, but want to make it healthier. Here is a recipe we tried over the weekend, and we loved it:

New York Breakfast

thinly sliced pumpernickel bread
smoked salmon

A good friend and co-worker is having surgery tomorrow. She's very excited about it (it's a good thing). This surgery will no doubt change her physically, but I hope will also give her renewed self esteem and a new beginning as she forges ahead into a bright, exciting future. My friend is a wonderful, caring, giving person, and my request is that everyone who reads this will say a prayer that her surgery and recovery will go well.

To be continued...

I love my job. Today I had barely turned the lights on in my office when two students were at my door, holding a gift bag. One of the fourth grade classes had made cards and sent all kinds of treats in a gift bag for me, just to say "thank you" for being the School Nurse. How sweet was that?