Happy Halloween!!! This next week looks pretty scary!

I passed the check offs for my skills in sterile technique for wound dressing change and catheterization!!! I’m sooooooo thrilled! Fortunately, the skills are learned and demonstrated on a dummy and he doesn’t complain! I don’t plan on being a nurse and I don’t expect to ever have to do these things on a human being. I’m still tired, bordering on exhaustion. I have another very, very long week ahead. I have exams in every class, including a lab quiz and four medical terminology quizzes (yes, it would help if I didn’t procrastinate on taking these, but I can’t seem to help myself. Sigh). All of these exams are scheduled for Wed. and Thurs. of next week! I have made plans to study with others all day Saturday; all day Sunday; before and after class on Mon.; and all day Tues. I will be taking the skills class exam Wed. and the A&P lecture exam on Thurs. I’m planning to take a break on Fri. and Sat. if at all possible.

Other great news, Bruce has given notice to quit Harley-Davidson! That is soooooooo great too! No more working every Sat. for 11 plus hours! He is returning to work for the Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. That was who he worked for before the internship at the judicial treatment facility. He enjoyed working for GDCADA and doing outreach work for HIV prevention. They love him there and hadn’t wanted him to quit in the first place and they’ve asked him to come back! I’m very proud and really happy for him.

Many of you know that I’ve been experiencing pain in my right foot since at least last spring. I’ve seen an orthopedic foot specialist and a podiatrist. My foot has been x-rayed and I’ve had an MRI done on it too. They seem to have tried everything i.e. trying shoes with better arch support, a post-surgical boot for a month, a steroid injection, an injection of alcohol (not sure about the logic in that one), orthopedic shoes and physical therapy. All of this seems to have been done to no avail. I’ve also determined that it doesn’t get better or worse by not walking on it. It hurts not matter how much I stay off of it or how much I walk around. I’m now in an air cast. It’s a heavier boot than the one I had before and it inflates around the ankle, to provide greater support. I can also take it off as needed! Isn’t modern medicine great? Now if they could just get my foot to stop hurting. I’m also using a topical pain patch with an NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). It’s improved, but has not entirely stopped hurting, but I’m hopeful that we’re at least making some progress now.

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support! It makes a lot of difference to have friends and family behind me!

I’m Making Lots of Great Progress!

Things are still as busy as ever, but the effort is paying off. I made a 95 on my second A&P lecture exam!!! Woohoo! I made 19/20 points on the written portion (I filled up 1 ¾ pages, where on the first one, I couldn’t even fill 1 page)! And all of the written information was accurate. My study partners and I worked really hard to get an A on this exam, and the work paid off for most of us. The tutored study sessions I’ve been attending have been worth the time. When my lowest exam and lab grades are dropped, my average for A&P is 88.6%. I’m going to continue pushing to get that up to an A.

My health courses are going even better! I still have a 100% average in my Health & Wellness class. In my Basic Health Profession Skills class, I completed four lab quizzes between last week and this one making 100% on one and getting 19/20 points on three others. Yeah, I’m sure it would help if I could spread those out a bit. I took the second exam for the Skills course week and got 92.2%. My course average is 92.48%!! I attended a four hour lab today for the Skills class to learn sterile technique for catheterization and changing wound dressing. Since I won’t be a nurse, I don’t have to worry about ever doing those things on a human. The dummies were very cooperative and didn’t complain and it wasn’t too gross!

I’ve attended information sessions in the past few weeks for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Radiography Technician and the Digital Imaging Sonography programs. Although I still need to discuss all of my options with Bruce, I’m starting to lean more strongly toward applying for the Digital Imaging Sonography program. I’ve sifted through the details of the requirements for admission to each program and I’m starting to feel more confident about getting accepted into the Sonography program. Sonography is probably the most competitive health program to get into, but I’m starting to believe that I can do it!

Study, Study, Study!

I'm beginning to think that there will be no end to studying.  I don't think it will end until the semester is over and probably not even then.  During winter break, I plan to take the prep course for an entrance exam I will be taking in January.  I will be studying over the break for that exam.  I studied very hard for my last A&P lab quiz.  I made an A!  I raised my average grade for the course a couple of points, to 84.54%.  The next A&P lecture exam is this coming Wed.  I'm studying with a few other students, in addition to attending tutored study sessions.  I'm working to make an A on this exam.  Things are going very well in my other classes too.  I have a 92.09% average in the Basic Health Professions Skills class and a 100% in the Health and Wellness class.

More success and good news!

Here's the good news first.  My thyroid biopsy was benign.  That was a great relief!

School is going great!  I made an 86 on my first A&P Lecture Exam.  I have an overall average for A&P of 83.33%.  I'd really like to get that up to an A.  I'm studying very hard to get there.  In addition to my own studies, I'm working with a couple other students as study partners.  I studied with Cameron this morning and yesterday morning.  Tracy, Cameron and I will all be meeting tomorrow as well.  We have an A&P lab quiz next Wed. and the next lecture exam is the following Monday.

Last night I finished my first exam for the Health & Wellness class.  I made 100%!!  Including the assignments we've completed to date, I have a 100% average for the class.  I'm psyched!!!