Storyboard Fun

Just some practice with a storyboard format.  I downloaded the template from Coffee and Tea Photography.

  

Happy Easter

It was a little crisp for egg hunting, but we managed to have a very nice Easter day.  I drove home to Reading late Saturday night because Chuck realized that the chance of him being able to join us was slim to none.  He was right.  He is still working as of 10 pm today (Easter day).  I used to get very angry about this.  Now it hardly phases me at all.  

I spent the majority of the day with my family.  Kel (my sis) and her family came after noon.  We had a egg hunt and took a few Easter pictures and then I was off to visit Chuck's family for a few hours.  

The day was fun, but I have to admit - I miss the beer hunt.  My parents used to hide beer, wine and alcohol for us BIG KIDS to hunt each Easter.  They haven't done it for the past 2 years.  I hope it will be re-instated again next year.  My father did say that next year he is going to hide bottles of wine and 6 packs of beer up at the cabin using his GPS and provide us with latitude/longitude perimeters and make us find them.  I am going to hold him to his word.

Well I am home in good ol' Jersey again and somehow still found the energy to take a look at the photos I snapped today.  Here are a few. . .Enjoy!

 

My favorite picture!  Unedited.  I want to try some funky actions on it before I print it!   I love love love the little tie!  It has puppy dogs on it!  Got it at Janie and Jack!

An action shot of Charlie sprinting to get his egg in the bag.

Egg hunting is taken very seriously in our family.

My niece.  This child is as sweet as she is cute!

Crazy Ayden on the swing.  What a good boy.

Charlie and his cousin Owen hanging out by a tree.

Textures

I purchased textures from Brenda Acancius.  I just love her photographs and am hoping to get into her online class this May.  I have to admit, I was kind of skeptical of textures - but I just tried one on a couple of pictures I had open on my computer and I think I like it!  Check it out!

I used Thunder Canvas with Soft Lighting.  Gives the picture a bit of a weathered look.  I added the swatch of Thunder Canvas to the right (under Charlie's name).

This is an old picture of Charlie.  From last September I think.

I used Thunder Canvas again with Pin Lighting (Brenda Recommends soft light -but it was too harsh for this photo).  The picture is of a 3 week old little girl I photographed last week.

Bunny Has Booze Breath

As I mentioned in the previous post, our trip to see the Easter Bunny was not a hit with Charlie.  We arrived at the Garden State Plaza around 9:30 am (the Bunny was to arrive at 10 am) and we were about number 6 in line.  I must admit, I was pretty proud of myself for getting our butts there so early.  

Well, I shouldn't have patted myself on the back so soon. . .At around 10:10 am - the bunny called and said he'd be late.  As the line started extending towards the other end of the mall, children and parents were getting frustrated.  There were kids running and screaming all over the place!  I think Chuck got his workout in today by chasing Charlie around the mall for an hour.  

The bunny finally arrived around 10:40 am.  At first glance, Charlie seemed to be as thrilled as we were to see that guy walking/hopping towards us.  That didn't last long.  As the picture taking began, and we started moving closer and closer to the front, Charlie's grip on me became and death grip.  When it was our turn - I tried to calm Charlie by giving the bunny a hug and talking to him for a few minutes.  Then I attempted place Charlie on his lap, but instead I got the loudest and highest pitch screaming you have ever heard AND 10 little finger nails digging into my neck.  That was our first try.  The second try, I dropped him on the bunnies lap and ran.  Charlie immediately shrieked and jumped off the rabbit and ran towards me. The third try was the same - but this time - as he ran half way towards me - he changed his mind and ran to Dad instead.  He was not happy with his mom.

Finally, as the frustrated parents in the long line were all glaring at us. . . the photographer suggested I just join the picture.  Ugh, I wasn't planning on this and  therefore headed to the mall this morning sans shower/makeup/brush hair.  Afterall, Charlie had already been through 1 Easter Bunny and 2 Santa Claus sittings without even a moan or whine.  

I am pretty embarrassed to even post this picture - probably about as embarrassed as our Easter Bunny who showed up to work 40 minutes late on the day before Easter reeking of booze.  Yep, that's right - even the Easter Bunny has a rough night every now and then.  

Easter 2009!

Pre Easter Bunny Smiles

Yes, we are very last minute and to be quite honest, I almost forgot.  We went to go see the Easter bunny this morning (the day before Easter).  We got up early and headed to the mall to get in line early so that we would be one of the first of the morning.  The trip didn't go as well as I had hoped, but I explain that more when I post the Bunny pictures. 

Before we left I decided to take a few pictures of Charlie dressed up in his little blazer.  It was raining outside - so I almost abandoned the idea.  Boy I am glad I didn't.  Here are the only smiles from today. 

Daddy had him laughing so hard.

Sitting with the duck they gave him in the hospital.

Is that bird poop on my screen door?

Edited using Leah's Street Beat Action.  Pretty Cool I think.

Love this!  Black and White 2 Action by Brenda.

I hope I can find time to. . .

. . .  read this book.  I bought it last night based on the advice of an old friend (Thanks Rebekah!).  I understand that the book is a memoir about that silver time in life where parenthood meets childhood and dealing with those not easy "times" in your life.  I think I am there right now and I hope reading this book serves as some type of therapy for me.

Once I finish the book - I'll post my review.  Hopefully it will be within the next month or two.

As for my state of mind. . . well, I've calmed down a bit from my previous post. . . but I do still have some gripes.  We are continually visiting Dr.'s and specialists with hopes of diagnosing Charlie.  Today is day 6 of another persistent low grade fever.  

I am also pleased to report that Oliver made it through surgery, although we did have a bit of a scare.  His surgery was postponed from Wednesday until today because of some concerning pre-op testing.  A specialist came in a cleared him for surgery yesterday.  He is home now and recovering but doing well!  

  

The Demise of our Healthcare System and Healthcare Professionals

I've had a hell of a week and a half.  My son spent 5 days in the hospital and was discharged with a diagnosis of "We're not sure - probably a virus or a couple virus's".  One of those virus's could potentially impact my "unborn" baby - so I'm left to follow up with my OB who has yet found time to speak with me even though I received a concerning result on one of the follow up tests. My son was referred to speech pathologist who performed an assessment on him and used the term "SEVERELY DELAYED" to summarize his language skills.  She referred me to the county early intervention system which has required 4 phone calls and mandatory waiting periods just to get a response - I'm still waiting.  My son started AGAIN with a fever Sunday morning and although I followed protocol and waited until Monday morning to leave a message with the pediatrician I have not received a response as of 7 pm Monday night.  To top it off, my dog was diagnosed with skin cancer today and is scheduled for surgery on Wednesday.  

I can honestly tell you that I have been handling all this news in stride and with a level head. . . Well, that is until today.  This evening around 5:30 pm, the straw broke the camels back OR I went postal, OR however you want to say it - I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!  

So. . . what was the straw that broke my back???  It wasn't the incessant bad news. . . It was the lazy and negligent healthcare professionals that I dealt with along the way.  After trying to reach my pediatrician again around 5 pm today, just to be told by the answering service that she can not be reached this evening and that another Dr. from another practice is covering (A Dr. that has no clue of Charlie's recent hospitalization history) OR the answering service could leave a message with the office for tomorrow morning (been there - done that  - apparently doesn't work) - I spent time time reflecting on the service I have received from my trusted healthcare professionals.

I apologize for the long and rambling post, but I am using this as a notebook to keep these items fresh in my mind because as of right now, I am on a mission to fix our healthcare system - or at least make some chaos for those have crossed me.  If you are curious about all my complaints read on. . . if you've had enough already - then just go to church this Sunday and pray for me to keep my sanity.  

The Demise of Our Health Care System and Health Care Professionals

Kristen's Gripes for the week of 3/31/09 - 4/6/09

1. Let's start with Phlebotomists. . .(yeah the people who take your blood).  Here's 2 good ones for ya. . .

    A.  We were sent to the ER with instructions from our Dr. to the ER Dr. to stint my son for intravenous antibiotic and blood work.  (Note:  The stint systems allows you to both draw blood and inject IV materials without multiple needle pricks/or in the case stab wounds).  When the ER phlebotomist came, he did not come with a stint - instead only a butterfly needle.  When I mentioned to him, that my son would be getting IV and that they usually stint him (we've been through this before) - the phlebotomist said "nope - that's not what it says here".  I asked him to double check with the Dr.  He left the room, came back and said - nope - they aren't going to give him IV.  With that the phlebotomist began the massacre like process of taking our sons blood.  1st try - 7 minutes in the right arm - poking, prodding moving the needle around - Charlie screaming bloody murder.  My husbands face turning red finally suggests "Do you want to call for some back up - this is obviously not working".  The phlebotomist gives it one more college try and gives up.  He removes the needle, leaves the room and comes back with his team.  I suggest they use his hand (Again - we've done this many times before - and the hand always works great) - the phlebotomist refuses and proceed to massacre his other arm - maybe only 5 minutes this time until they give up.  They are left with the hand.  The first try on the hand - they "blow" the vein - their words - not mine.  2nd try - BINGO!  Finally got it.  About 10 minutes later - Dr. comes him and and notifies us they are ordering IV antibiotics and they will be stinting Charlie.  Surprise Surprise!! (Oh - by the way - they didn't use the type of stint that allows for both drawing blood and injection - see B. below).

B.  Blood needed to be drawn in the hospital - I suggested they use the hand -but NOPE - they decided to use the arm.  1st try - FAIL.  2nd try - HAND - looks like they got it - but no blood is flowing into the tubes.  So what do they do????  Remove the needle and blood from Charlie's hand which looks like the Old Faithful geyser (I swear - it's gushing like crazy) and they are capturing it in small open test tube/plastic vial like things.  His bed sheets look like a murder scene and he is screaming.  This process was not close to aseptic.  One of the nurses wasn't even wearing gloves.  The blood was sent to the lab.  . . Guess what - surprise surprise - It clotted and could not be tested.  Arrggggghhhh!!!

2.  Nurses - It was always my understanding that nurses were WAY understaffed but decently compensated.  Needless to say my opinion has changed over the past 1 1/2 weeks.

   A.  One of the reasons my son was hospitalized was for persistent high fever which needed to be monitored (every 3 - 4 hours per the Dr.'s orders).  In 5 days - his temperature was taken every 4 hours 3 times total (I am going to get the hospital records to confirm this).  Per my Dr.'s instructions I repeatedly followed up with the nurses requesting that these orders be followed.  As I waited through "shift changes" (definition of shift change - drinking coffee, searching the Internet and gossiping about baking or the other nurses) - it was 6 - 8 hours before temperatures were taken and Motrin was administered.  AND to top it off - one of the criteria for discharge was that my son be FEVER free for 24 hours - and it was critical to have him monitored frequently during this time. . .Guess how many times he temp was taken in that 24 hour period.  3 times.  That's 50% of what it should have been.  Oh and don't even get me started on the attitude I received when I dared to interrupt a "shift change" to request that they come down and take some vitals.  Do you know "shift changes" literally last up to 2 hours.  I'm not kidding.  I timed it!  

     B.  Dr.'s were constantly looking for rashes and sores in my sons mouth.  My Dr. would call each afternoon and evening to get the report.  On day 2 - a new rash appeared on Day 3 - sore appeared in his mouth.  I requested that the nurses relay this to the Dr.  Guess what - BOTH TIMES - they forgot.  Do you know how they remembered???  When I asked them what the Dr. said about it.  THIS IS YOUR JOB PEOPLE!!  ISN'T THIS WHAT CHARTS ARE FOR???

3.  Oh Yeah - charts - that's another thing.  Now maybe I'm a little sensitive to this because I worked in the quality industry for 10 years BUT - where I come from there is always one rule applied. . ."Data should be recorded at the time it is taken".  For example, when you take the blood pressure and get the reading - you write it down when the result appears on the screen.  Do you think that's the way they operated at Valley Hospital?  If you guessed NO - you are right.  The nurses reported the temperature incorrectly on the chart on more than 1 occasion (it was only off by .1 or .2 - but still - that's just wrong) AND on another occasion - the nurse completely forgot the result and came back to ask me what it was.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  We would fire somebody for that behavior at my old company.

4.  Administrative Assistants/Receptionists - They probably do other things - But I am confident in saying that a BIG part of their job responsibilities are answering the phones, taking messages AND most importantly delivering messages!  I need to preface this by saying - I really like my pediatrician - I really do - BUT - I'm not too thrilled with her staff.  Today is the second time I have left a message that was not relayed to her.  I understand the saying that people make mistakes, but I'm sorry - when your job is to answer phones, take messages and deliver messages - the delivery of the message should be flawless execution EVERY TIME!  I actually believe that if you can't deliver a message to a Dr. within a 9 hour work day - you should be fired.  Along with that - if the receptionist remembers to deliver the message - it should be pretty damn accurate regarding the context of the message.  Case in point - I left a message for my Vet today - The message was requesting her to call me because I wanted to discuss having a full body scan for my dog before he goes into surgery to remove the 2 melanomas which were discovered today.  The purpose of this would be to ensure that all skin issues are dealt with at one time so my dog doesn't have to undergo anesthesia or surgery multiple times needlessly.  I received a response from the receptionist who said "Hi Kristen, this is Melinda, I returning your call to let you know I spoke to the Dr. and Oliver is scheduled for surgery Wednesday to remove two melanomas located on his back and abdomen".  ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  WAS THAT EVEN CLOSE TO WHAT I ASKED?   As The Donald would say "Melinda, You're Fired!"  Get it together honey! 

What has happened to our health care system?  Where is the built in quality of care?  What has happened to our workforce?  With unemployment in the double digits - these fools who have jobs better get it together.  We have engineers, biologists, physicists without jobs.  Maybe the government should start subsidizing the pay for these professionals to provide health care in the interim.  We'd at minimum have less lawsuits and healthier and happier people.  We wouldn't be paying enormous medical bills for people sit on their butts, drink coffee and search Internet for hours  - when there is work to be done.  We'd be more efficient as a society if we could leave a message and feel confident it would accurately make it's way to the intended recipient.  

If you've stuck out and read this whole blog entry - I thank you - because I feel much better now.  I'm sure I have more to add - but this is more than my little brain can process right now.  Maybe there will be part 2 of this post.  Maybe not.  Maybe I'll retract my statements tomorrow, next week, someday.  Maybe not.  Don't hold your breath.

No pictures today - just words.  I was going to snap a self portrait. . . but I didn't want to scare ya'll.