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.