ode to ECMO.

I'm back in work mode. I'm pretty sure I didn't work any overtime this summer since MAY!! I think... except for ECMO* call. Which shaves YEARS off my life. & we did, I mean ARE, doing a LOT of ECMO this summer. .....Did I mention we've had A LOT of ECMO patients this summer? hm. Somehow, my ECMO bossman failed to stress to me just exactly how stressful being a primer would be when he asked me to take the job. I really feel the years being stolen away from me when I get called in to put this 'wonderful' machine together for a patient that is on death's door (& by wonderful, I mean a B.E.A.S.T. of a machine). I guess I should admit, though, that I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie at work and I work better under stress and pressure. HOWEVER. the stress that ECMO brings is beyond what I could've imagined. Thank you, bossman, thank you very much.

But, anyways, yes, I'm back into my work hard, play hard when-the-opportunity-might-present-itself mode. & speaking of work, I'm now working DAY shift so I can attempt semi-normalcy in my life. I don't think I realized how wrong it is to work 7pm-7:30am for 3-7 days a week. Again, WTH was I thinking??? I'll no longer have to endure emails from my dear brother with news clips on how research shows that working the graveyard leads to a higher incidence in cancer. & lectures from family & friends on how UNHEALTHY it is to work when everyone else is asleep. *aaaaah*** the relief!


*ECMO= extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. A means for a last ditch effort to save a life, it assumes the patient's heart and lung functions (working as a *bypass machine*) to give time for the patient to recover.

today, I'm thankful for... NOT. being. on. call.