Upside down and inside out!

Have you ever had one of those days where it feels like you have magic in your fingers and everything goes smoothly? Or have you had those days where the magic has somehow left your fingers and everything breaks or falls apart? Which day do you suppose I had today? Correct answer: B.

The problem occurs when your 'falling apart' day affects a little 5 year old boy who is counting on you to have a 'magic day!' It all started when I headed downstairs with a 15 year old boy, to the operating room. Parents aren't allowed in the OR so he asked me to stay with him until he fell asleep. The problem is the OR is very unpredictable at times. His parents and I entered Pre-op at 12:30. Now, I can keep a conversation going for awhile, but my conversation skills were put to the test. Time kept on tickin, but nothing was happening. We talked about Guitar Hero, which he loved and so did I, rabbit hunting, and I was entertained by the crazy things he has done with his friends. By 3:00 finally the doctors made their appearances and we headed on our way to the OR. While there the patient had received some medicine that made him all loopy. (This is one of my favorite parts of the job! People on this medicine always crack me up! ) The surgeon, Dr. Headly, and I were talking as we walked into the room. A little bit later, the patient and I were trying to figure something out and I said, "Oh! Ask Dr. Headly. I bet he has a good head about him!" HAHAHA I know you are all laughing right now. Because I totally cracked myself up. I did not have any intention of being punny- so the shock of it made me laugh out loud. I think I even said "Hey! That was a good one eh?! Haha Good head! Haha" I'm sure the Dr. found it hilarious! It was very apparent by his- "good one Jill". and that was that. I still laughed though.

So what does this have to do with a 5 year old and things breaking you ask? Well, because I spent all afternoon chattin it up in the OR, I felt an extreme rush of things to do on the floor. In my rush to get caught up, I was informed of a little 5 year old who had to have an IV start. He was having a really hard time. I talked to him about what coping techniques would work to get him through it. He decided to play video games. AHa! Luckily we have those. So out the door I flew like a flash (there is my dedication to Christmas.) and the video game machine was not there! What?! Its always there. Finally after the 3rd place of looking, I found it! Phew! Relieved, I went back into the room, set it up and began helping him get started. Of course he picked the football game. Now, For those of you that know me well, know that I love video games. However, I have always stayed away from the sports ones. They just never did it for me. So, as he says "lets play football" my heart sunk a little bit. My cheerleader, Laura the nurse, didnt really help either. "Jill is amazing" she tells him. "She can fix anything and knows all about all video games!" Wow- Laura! Help a girl out! So I felt the pressure. Of course as the little boy is getting frustrated at the game, the time is getting closer to do the IV. Dad, mom and grandma all tried to figure out how to play the game. (You would think there would be a PLAY button, but no. No such luck). We switched the game out, to try one that I could possibly help him with and somehow in the process the whole game system stopped working all together!!! There is nothing more frustrating when you're 5, have to have to get poked, and the game you want to play to help you get through it- DOESN'T WORK!!! Arg!

So, to quicken the story, the IV gets done and I go in search of another game system--The game system that he had played the previous time in the hospital. I found it and brought it in. He was so excited. He said to me "I choose to play Mario!" um...well...Mario was stolen a couple months ago. Sadly, I had to inform him that Mario was lost and his little eyes filled up with tears. "but...but...thats what I want to play!" Moral- Life is hard.
After some talking, he decided on Finding Nemo. We played it for awhile, but it was a little difficult for someone with only 1 hand. (sometime kids refuse to use the hand that the IV is in, even though they could!)

My last chance to appease this child was in the laptop. I retrieved it from my office and went to save the day. Too simple, you say? You say correct. As it was booting up, a huge error message filled the screen. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Can a girl get a break? I mean its for the children!
The story ends well though. A little bit of that magic came back into my fingers and it started working normally. I got him all set up and I even think he had a itty bitty smile on his face as I left the room!
I'm just thankful the elevator worked well on the way down. That would be the last thing I needed- plummeting down 4 floors at the end of the day!