Florence Nightingale

The month of September at TCIS is always hectic. Cross country, teaching duties, and weekend trips to Seoul fill every waking minute. I didn't realize I would be adding nursing duties to my schedule. Just for the record, I'm no Florence Nightingale. I'm a horrible nurse. My reaction time is incredibly slow. Good luck to anyone that starts bleeding out if I'm nearby. Seriously.

Luckily, people can change. The proof is in the pudding below. You be the judge.


CASE #1:
My good friend Sarah was mysteriously sick with stomach issues in early September and had trouble eating. After multiple trips to the Korean doctor, she seemed to be on the mend. We celebrated her good health with a trip to an Indian restaurant, but by the time dinner was over, she was violently sick. My friend Jen and I ended up taking her to the hospital overnight. The diagnosis? An inflamed gall bladder and colonitis. What???? Korean hospitals are very interesting. Visiting hours are nonexistent. The nurses don't use gloves to inject IV tubes. Patients move around the hospital with their IV's attached and head down for a smoke in the parking. It's a bit of a freak show. Sarah ended up needing surgery the following Monday. I volunteered to be her "person" and sign all the necessary forms. I waited for two hours while they removed her gall bladder and gall stones. After the surgery, the surgeon brought out Sarah's innards on a silver metal tray as proof of surgical success. I don't what posssessed me to look at her gutted organs let alone take a picture, but it was fascinating! I'm please to report that Sarah is happily back to a normal routine sans gall bladder.

Pre-surgey pics. And no, I didn't squeeze her IV bag.




CASE #2:
Later that week I went biking with my friend Brenna. She ended up wiping out on her bike in the middle of a busy intersection. She managed to pull her bike onto the sidewalk, but almost started to pass out when she looked at her nasty road burns. I froze for a minute while a million questions raced through my mind. How was I going to get her to a hospital? Where should I put the bikes? Do you pour water on a road burn? Do you keep on a bike helmet if someone passes out? What is the Korean version of 911?????
Luckily,she ended up not passing out. I quickly took apart both of our bikes, poured water on her burns, flagged down a taxi, and bribed a taxi driver to take us back to her apartment. I immediately called my friends Heather and John to come over and help out. Heather brought over a "Mom Kit" full of nifty bandages and iodine. I was more than grateful! I ended up bringing Brenna to the orthopedic clinic. I'm always fascinated how resilient human skin is. An hour later, the doctor sent Brenna with a sprained elbow and seven stitches. We celebrated her lack of a broken bone with pizza and a trip to the movies to see "The Ugly Truth".

I'm still no Florence Nightingale, but I think I could be a nurse. I will take pictures at your organs, help you pee after surgery, and call the right people to help put iodine on your wounds.

You be the judge.