Thankful for Warm May

The warm days have come, and so the scare of frost has left Colorado. So I wish. To be safe, I started farming mushrooms indoors. I need the motivation I can grow something. It has been 5 years since I did gardening for a hobby.

The easiest way is to purchase a kit, of course. Within ten days, I had oyster mushrooms ready for harvest. Look at the progression of growth from one day to another. 

Look at the pictures below of Josiah and me. What a year of change. My little grandson grew so much. Come to think of it, last year, I did not have to wear a mask when heading outdoors. I am thankful we are not inflicted with serious diseases.

We did not attend any graduation this year. There was no regular celebration of any kind I heard of anyway. The bakeries are open for a curbside pick up though. So we got a cake for Paul's son for graduating from high school with good grades.

Yesterday, I left work early from severe migraine, nausea, and using the emesis bag 4 times too many. I am grateful for the video doctor visit. The provider was teasing me though, saying, "So you left the hospital, and then now you are video visiting to talk to a doctor?" (Well, I work in the hospital, yes, but it was not that bad to go to the emergency department. And when I was that sick, the last thing I wanted to do was to stay at work). I thought I was gonna get better just going home. The two meds I was prescribed worked though. Thank goodness. I finally was able to eat and keep it down around one a.m.

On a more serious (but good) note, the COVID-19 population continues to shrink in the hospital. So far we only have two units for them instead of 4.

That is all for now. Have a good weekend, you all.

Gardening Hobby

I started a planting hobby this month. I figure planting is something I can have fun with alone. I started mostly from seeds and picked the ones I know I like and likely eat.

Simple Gratitude with Family and Greens

Simple Life

A

Cloth Masks

I am virtually running after the wagon, trying to hop in to join the happy group full of grateful people. Here I am. I made it on a Tuesday afternoon.

• I am thankful for the togetherness in my household the stay-at-home, safe-at-home, whatever-you-call-it orders bring.
• I am thankful for the simplicity and beauty of the activities we are left to do. Walking outdoors? Yes!
• I feel grateful that I have one dog left to encourage us to walk.
• Two playful grandchildren, one walking, the other, a future walker. I hope. He is 13 months expert climber and crawler.
• Cloth masks from work, friends, and neighbors. I treat them as undergarments. They have to be laundered and dried often. (I use a coffee filter insert that is unbleached and garbage bag ties for the metal nose part. I do not believe HEPA-filter is a good idea for the danger of inhaling ground glass).
• No-spill special toddler cups. I can use one for myself. :)

• The beauty of Colorado within ten miles of my home. It is not encouraged yet to drive away in the mountains as they have few resources there as far as medical care is concerned. But there are still plenty of areas to visit that will do.
• I found an outdoor gym. I will use it when it's allowed in the future.
• Flat rocks to do fun stepping. Better than the boring board.
• The new stationary recumbent bike I put together for two hours. I used it when it was raining.
• I am grateful for the patients "graduating" from the hospital after 30-some days who recovered from COVID-19. Here is one I took care of myself.
• We currently have more room in ICU for new patients, thus, the loosening of restrictions with lock-outs and distancing in the social world. Is that good or bad? You decide.

Busy Week

Better late than never. I had a super busy week. Very grateful.

No More Pain

• It is not too easy to focus on gratitude but we are trying. We are grateful for the ten loving years our miniature poodle, Snowball gave us.
• His pain from a deadly attack of a loose Pitbull ended. He is now pain-free.
• We are grateful for animal control staff assistance.
• We are grateful for the pictures reminding us of many years of happiness with a loving dog who loved daily walks up to his last day.
• We are grateful that none of us humans were physically hurt.

• Switching gears, I am grateful for my grandchildren who plays with me outdoors, snow or sunshine.
• I am grateful for takeouts, and in a way, I help the restaurants still have a little business.
• I am grateful for reusable personal protective equipment at work to use in isolation rooms in the hospital.
• I am happy to report that over 180 COVID-19 patients were discharged out of my hospital since March. Some are even publicized in the news happy and back with their families.

Easter Sunday Home Celebration

Hello and Happy Easter. It was a busy work week. I worked my regular 4-9-hour days and mistakenly showed up to work another day that I was not on the schedule. Of course, they made me work anyway. It was not a bad week at all in the hospital.

Here's my gratitude list.

• Easter goodies especially Peeps, my favorite! Luckily, they do not go into lock-down. No lines outside on early Sunday morning in the store, either. We tried yesterday and the lines were long, even in Whole Foods.
• Easter Elmo book because it's not all about sweets.
• A big enough easter egg for Easter egg hunting for little Josiah to find quick.
• The cold and the snow today. We had an excuse to stay indoors. It's not all about the COVID.

• People complying with the stay-at-home order and staying safe. No traffic on the road this morning.
• Good enough weather yesterday to walk outside and breathe fresh air. 
• Walking outdoors is still OK as long as we maintain distance from others 6 feet or more away.
• Online church.
• A day off this Easter to spend time with family.
• Since March, over 70 patients got better and discharged from my hospital from COVID-19. 

Mask Here, Mask There, Mask Everywhere

Governor Polis advises Coloradans to wear cloth masks now when outside the home. It is not new to me, this donning on the mask thing, as I have been required to do it all the time at work. Our world is full of uncertainty. And I was busy at work and did not make time for daily journaling. I decided to post my gratitude today. At least I would do this. It is good for me.

• I feel grateful for the Governor for suggesting wearing the mask. To this day, many people still do not cover their cough with a tissue or something. At least with the mask, the coughers won't forget. Oh, and please make sure you cover your nose and mouth with that mask or scarf. 
• I made Josiah smile when he saw me with the mask on. It is hard to distance myself from him, so I just wear a mask.

• Some neighbors donated sandwiches to hospital staff taking care of COVID-19 patients.
• A Belgian Waffles business, Wafels and Dinges, donated boxes of yummy waffles as well.
• Two of my co-workers' families also donated food to the staff.
• One of the doctors bought everybody lunch again.
• Paul dropped off some necessities to my house. We were running out of toilet paper and wipes, especially. His store still has some so he got a few for my household.

• Exercise for the body, and mind mostly. It is free.
• Zumba on Prime Video at home. This way I could dance without anybody laughing at me but myself. It is fun.
• Speaking of dancing, my ICU team put together clips of dancing videos together to the tune of, "I'm Bringing Sexy Back." Dancing with the barriers makes it so much harder to breathe. They are great sports.

• This model above got me thinking. I thank my mentor for posting this.
• I want to be in the growth zone. I thank and appreciate everybody especially my intensive care team.
• We are still able to accommodate sick patients in ICU.
• A pregnant patient in ICU delivered her twins safely and are all stable.
• Three COVID patients graduated from the ventilator and did not go back on it.
• We were able to pull older ventilators into use. They work fine. 
• We were able to convert some BIPAP machines into ventilators. 
• So far, we still use one vent per patient and not in the position of having to split ventilator tubings between patients.
• My hospital is in the conservation mode but we still have protective barriers to use.
• All my family members are healthy, and so am I.

Another Week, Another Day

Another week has gone by. It is an okay week. We have some sprinkles of blessings and some rain here and there. There is some calm at the beginning of the storm.

• Thanks to my daughter for cutting my hair. Less hair, fewer viruses that can be trapped by it in my daily shift in the intensive care unit. Because of the stay at home order, and non-essential business closing, I could not go to the salon.
• Thanks to the great outdoors, however cold. I could walk and breathe fresh air, and be able to distance myself more than 6-feet away from everyone.

• Scrabble online is a blessing to spend time with Paul while we maintain separate households. We had been social-distancing for 3 weeks now.
• The prayer Serenity.
• Cupcakes for my grandson's first birthday. He had no idea his big party was canceled, that his number "1" candle was purple, and his balloon reads "congrats." However non-essential, the common items are in scarcity and we made do with what we have.
• I am thankful I was able to put together a care package for my coworkers. They are individually packed medicine, chapstick, and eyedrops. 
• I also put a tray of candies for a week for the staff. Each morning that I come back, it is empty. I like refilling it.

• Did I mention, I am thankful for plain, and simple cupcakes?
• A walk outdoors with family and our dog. Thank goodness my surroundings are clear and not crowded.
• Getting up early to meditate and exercise.
• After wiping my tears for losing patients and a friend's family member from COVID-19 this week, I picked up myself and express gratitude for my health. I am safe. My family is safe.

I pray for continued health so I can keep serving my patients and family. I pray that more personal protective equipment will be available to us soon at work. I pray that this virus will be controlled soon. 

When the Gyms are Closed

The rec centers, gyms, and many establishments are closed. We get back to basics to still stay active with the few material things we have. 

Colorado is not in a lockdown yet. We can still exercise outdoors as long as we distance ourselves from others. We cook more at home, order take-out, and work to help others.

I still have my health to work for the sick in the intensive care unit. My son started helping to deliver food. 

I am thankful for my family, my friends, and my co-workers. I thank the people who donated food to us at work. I thank everyone who prays for us. 

Podcast Transcript: COVID

Today, I share with you my week as a nurse during the Coronovirus scare.

What is COVID-19? It is Coronavirus Disease discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and as you know, it has spread in other countries, including Japan, the Philippines, Italy, and the United States.

How am I affected as a head of household? I had to stock up necessities to last 30 days. I made time to do this last night, avoiding the crowd, and at the end of my work week.

As a nurse, Two nursing events are canceled, one here in Denver, the other in Indiana. The one in June for the Philippine Nursing Association of America is not canceled yet.

One nursing event of only 25 people is not canceled. This is my Philippine Nursing group in my state. We were able to do some fundraising to benefits, nursing students.

At work, many of us have to pitch in working extra hours to accommodate the already busy season without COVID. Our masks are running low.

As a resident in Colorado, I am affected in the sense that many places are closed. Rec centers, parks, schools...temporarily for two weeks.

The store shelves for antimicrobials, paper products, and baby wipes are bare. Yesterday, I bought the last dozen eggs the store had out.

You have heard of this social distancing and avoiding crowds to slow down the spread of COVID. The threat is real. We all need to pitch in to slow it down as we are already busy in the hospital.

We cannot afford a rapid spread and a big rise in hospitalized patients. So far, we have resources and help to care for the sick now. The threat will not only affect respiratory patients but also other hospitalized patients be it surgical, cancer, heart patients and the rest.

Keep healthy. Keep clean. Wash your hands. If you are strong but have the symptoms of a cold, cover your mouth and distance yourself.

Let’s be thankful it is not so bad yet here in the US. But we can do better and fight the spread.

Mother

You are the one, my mentor, my mother, my mom.

You are my guide, my anchor, and the one I will forever admire.

Under a rainstorm or darkness, you went on with your routine as I have grown mature in mind.

You were a
R-EGULAR
O-RGANIZED
U-NEXCITING
T-YPICAL, but
I-MPORTANT
N-ORMAL
E-VERYDAY kind of mother, so I thought.

How silly I was as a young lady tall enough to be an adult, yet very short in mind to wish you were just like other moms wearing business clothes, high heels, and makeup?

Now I still have many more years to be half as good as you, mimicking your routine as a great nurse many look up to.