Question: Who appreciated the nurse's presence when she sent a diabetic home for high blood sugar/large ketones?
Yes, I've been watching a little too much Alex Trebek lately. My little spitfire diabetic came to me at lunch time for her check; her teacher called me to warn that she wasn't feeling well - but thought it was because of a math assignment she didn't want to do. She didn't look well, was acting funny, and her blood sugar was 410 (not totally unusual for her, but the way she looked and was acting was definitely unusual). I had her check her ketones, which uses a little color strip analysis: without a doubt, large. Oh yay. I sent her packing, probably to no one's surprise if you know much about diabetes. This decision was much to the annoyance of her teacher, who maintained she wanted to get out of class, and the secretary, who had to be bothered to find a way to let us into her classroom so she could get her belongings. This is high on the list of reasons I dislike my job: the feeling that you're pestering everyone else, even when you know you're trying to save a kid's health.
In other news on this first day back from a week off that was far too short for me:
1. Lice Mom brought her daughter in: Lice Daughter is cleared!! (I am now accepting bets on how long it is before Lice Daughter gets it again - and the hell I will have to pay when that happens.)
2. A record number of kids with wet pants came in today. Apparently they forgot how and when to use the bathroom while at school.
3. The hugs some of these kids give me just for keeping them company or giving them an ice pack makes up for teachers rolling their eyes at you when you tell them a student is going home.
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Oh my. I love reading your posts. I am in another area of nursing and it is nice to see your perspective! You seem to being doing a huge service for your kids - namely, truly caring about their well-being. Keep up the good work! And don't let the eye rolling and hemming and hawing make you feel bad - in some ways, the method of dealing with these people is exactly the same as the method of dealing with children. When children don't want to do what we know is in their best interest we briskly bulldoze right over their resistance, and do it with a smile when possible. Firm and perpetually cheerful. ;-)
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