Rambling

Fair warning, I'm bored and just rambling here.

The other day I was the lead nurse on a trauma that will forever be ingrained in my mind. Though HIPAA laws prevent me from giving details I can provide some information.

A motorcycle was speeding around a corner and hit an SUV going the opposite direction. Though he was wearing a helmet, that did not do much to save him. He succumbed to the extensive injuries while under my care.

Everything that happened during the trauma, injured, procedures, and his eventual passing, didn't really affect me or my other coworkers as far as I know (having spoken to them after, we all seem to be OK). There was only one thing that bothered me, his legs and feet below the knees. 

The extent of the injured allowed both feet to lay flat and pointing in the same direction. He didn't fit in the body bag because of his stature.  Those same injuries allowed me to fold his legs/feet into the body bag. That was what bothered me the most.

I had a chance to talk with my boss, she wanted to make sure I was mentally doing OK or if I needed to talk with anyone.  Honestly I'm fine, minus that one thing.  

Trip

I'll be going to Corpus Christi later this month. I grew up visiting family there almost every weekend until I was in high school and after that it was usually once a month.

The area of Corpus Christi I knew was not the safest in the world. After dark you didn't keep your head above the window line in the off chance there were stray bullets.

It wasn't until I was in high school that I realized Corpus Christi was a tourist town.  I had no clue and I was honestly baffled why people wanted to go there.

Now that I have an opportunity to go back, I'm checking out a few tourist things including the Selena statue and a turtle sanctuary.

Though I'll be extremely tired by the end of the trip, I think it'll be a good visit.

Well, that's all that's truly on my mind. Watching some cheesy 70s horror movies while typing. Entertaining.

Chilean Adventure: Cementerio General

The Cementerio General is an estimated 210 acres of graveyard. It has an estimated 2 million graves and 237 sculptures located throughout. Unfortunately there isn't a lot of information regarding some of the burial sites, at least not the way I entered. Chile doesn't mind the tourists but they don't cater to English speaking people. You're basically SOL when it comes to most "tourist" areas of Chile unless you're fluent.

Larger mausoleums have statues and stained glass windows

A stone angel has come to life! Beware the weeping angels!

One of the more beautiful statues I found

A giant mausoleum, hundreds located on the grounds. Wealthy families purchase their own

My Chilean friend informed me if your family doesn't pay you will get evicted to make room for a new tenant. I couldn't find official documentation on this, the Socialist country probably wouldn't advertise this to everyone.

More beautiful artwork on another above ground tomb.

Several of the mausoleums are overgrown. It's unique and beautiful.

More ornate stained glass in a tomb.

Found this empty grave. Anyone want to pitch in and buy it? We could decorate it how we want.

Guardians to the tombs in this mosque

This is where the poor people are buried.

No information surrounded this mound with plaques. One can assume this is where the "evicted" people live

One of the many earthquakes that hit Chile opened this tomb from the late 1800s. Yes I poked my head in. Yes I found multiple skeletons from when they were entombed. Spines, skulls, leg bones still attached to the shoes. It was awesome.

This wall goes for half a mile, maybe more. It was spectacular to see.

This was found outside the crematorium. Another beautiful sculpture with some creepiness going along with it.

This one isn't as well kept as some of the others. It adds a great creepy factor to it.

Family Oriented

In the ER we take care of people from every profession (obviously, we can't turn anyone away).  Most professions are typical (factory worker, truck driver, teller, food service, etc).  Occasionally we get the more "exotic" professionals.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Making conversation I asked where she worked.  She then divulged a lot of information that was rather interesting.  She used to work at "Gentlemen's Club A" before they lost their liquor license (selling alcoholic drinks to minors).  She then got a job at "Gentlemen's Club B".

Gentlemen's Club A is going to be reopening soon (at least that's what their sign says, I drive past it regularly) so I asked if she was going to return to Club A.  She informed me she would not because Club B was more family oriented.

So, that's not the reason I would ever expect out of an exotic dancer describing her place of employment.  "Hi Son, for your 12th birthday lets go to this family joint I heard about. You'll love it!"  Not exactly what I have in mind.

Her explanation isn't much better.  Club A is more cutthroat there between the workers.  They are likely to kick you while you're down (I pointed out the obvious, all the employees are competing for money).  Apparently Club B is more like a family (wrong choice of words, for all we know this area they could be family) and they are more friendly.

Interesting.  Anyone up for a family outing to Club B?

Tattoos

I took care of a 16-year-old girl the other day. Somehow we got on the subject of tattoos and she asked if I had any.  Quick answer is no.  Naturally her follow up question was why not.

Honestly the main reason I won't get a tattoo are my beliefs.  As Mormons we are taught from a young age that we should "respect our bodies as a gift from God" and "not disfigure ourselves with tattoos or body piercings." Knowing it's unethical to share my beliefs to patients (unless they ask), I gave another reason.

I've had similar conversations with my friends and coworkers.  When my colleagues ask if I'm going to get a tattoo I usually say I'm not interested.  When they insist on having more of an explanation than that I bring up the cost.

The better and more intricate the design (and having a good tattoo artist) can get pricy quickly.  I recently treated a patient in the emergency room with a nice piece of body art covering the side of her body. She admitted it cost her $350.  Several coworkers have admittedly spent over $500 for their designs.  I even found an article that will help you estimate how much your tattoo will cost.  Not to mention a botched tattoo coverup cost (or living with an ex's name/face tattooed on you).

I love to travel and I do it as frequently as I can.  For the amount of money I would drop on a tattoo I can do a lot of things (assuming I have $500 to drop on a tattoo).  From where I live I can go to NYC for a day (with extra money to go to the bathroom in case you aren't near any of the free ones), do a Segway tour of DC (when my kids are older), spend a few days at Ocean City or Virginia Beach, go to the Grand Canyon of PA, rent a cabin for a weekend in the Smoky Mountains, etc.  The longer I think about it the more trip ideas I can come up with.  I could even take a photography class online so I can take (and edit) better pictures for when I do get to these places (most of them are already on my 5 year vacation/day trip plans, some of these may come as a surprise to my wife).

Admittedly I thought about getting a tattoo at one point in my life.  And if I didn't feel strongly about my beliefs I would probably get a Disney themed or a Star Wars themed one.  I would definitely drop the money to have the light sabers with a UV glow to it.  But the combination of my beliefs and my desire to travel is much greater than getting a tattoo.

I don't care if you have tattoos and I will admire the new tattoos that are shown to me because, once again, most are fun to look at.  Many people like showing off their new body art because they are excited about it and who am I to rain on their parade?