Big News!!

Wondering why it's been so long since I've updated? Well, I've been a little busier than usual lately! I've been planning a rather large event that is coming up this March. Curious? Check out this link! :)

Long Overdue

I would like to begin this long overdue blog post with an apology to all my faithful readers who have been checking my blog for the past several weeks and felt disappointed each time that I had not updated. Know that I appreciate your loyalty! :)

As you might have guessed, I have been so busy! I can't believe how quickly this summer has flown by and that so many of my friends are already headed back to school! Is it really almost September??

I can honestly say that I am not feeling too sad that I'm not going back to school this fall. It is a strange feeling for sure since I've become used to going back to school in August for as long as I can remember. But I am so relieved to be done with homework and tests and long hours in the library. I do reeeeally miss my friends in Bloomington-Normal though and wish there was some way to continue working here in St. Louis and still live close to all of my wonderful friends in Central Illinois!

Working in the NICU is still going well. I'm discovering that day shifts are much busier than nights and can be very stressful at times. But all in all, I love my job and love being able to be the hands and feet of Jesus to these little ones and their families. Only 2 more weeks of orientation, and then I'm on my own!

I wish I could share some of my stories from work! But I could get in big trouble for talking about the babies and their families. If it weren't for privacy laws, I would definitely have something interesting to say on here every single day!

Here is a recap of the month of August in pictures!
















I went rock climbing for the very first time and had so much fun!























Spent some quality time with this guy :)































Attended Charlie and Leslie's wedding up in Bloomington and had lots of fun dancing at their reception!































Then we attended Colleen and Jason's wedding in the Chicago suburbs the very next day!

































August 9 marked one year since I left Africa. It was a tough day for me, and I couldn't help but think about how much I missed in their precious little lives this past year. I had a good cry that day and surrendered my kiddos to Jesus once again. I know they are so much better off in His mighty hands than in mine.

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made." Psalm 145:13

Flowers

You'll never guess who sent me these beautiful flowers at work for passing boards!






















Yep, it was this guy! This picture was taken July 2, the day I took boards, at the St. Louis Zoo. I decided that going to the zoo would be way more fun than studying! :)

Cardinals Game

On July 1, Bryan and I went to a Cardinals game here in St. Louis. It was the first game I had been to in the new stadium, and we had so much fun! The game went into a 10th inning and ended with a home run! Here are a few pictures from our fun evening together:

S. Ketchum, RN

It's official!

I passed the NCLEX!!!!

I will receive my nursing license with the state of Missouri sometime in the next 2 weeks!! I can now legally sign my patients' charts S. Ketchum, RN. :)

Becoming Nocturnal

It's official. I survived my first week working 12-hour night shifts. I'll be honest. I thought I might die. I thought that the completely worn out feeling I had before the week even began couldn't possibly withstand staying up all night for 4 of 7 nights. But I made it. And it really wasn't so bad.

I also expected to feel much more overwhelmed than I did. I definitely learned a lot and had to really fight to think about what I needed to chart and what assessments needed to be done once 4am rolled around, but all in all I felt like I transitioned pretty smoothly into this next phase of orientation.

I had two different preceptors this week: Beth last Monday night and this past Sunday and Tina on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They were both so great...so patient and willing to answer all my questions. I couldn't have asked for better nurses to work with.

This week I only worked on Sunday night and am now taking 2 paid days off (as part of my sign-on bonus) to study for and take the NCLEX, the exam for obtaining your nursing license. This will allow me a few days to get back onto a day schedule so that I'll actually be awake and functional at 2pm on Thursday!

Since I probably wasn't going to study much anyway, I have a special visitor from Bloomington coming tomorrow! I've got a few surprises in store for him, but just in case he's reading this, I'll have to tell you about them later in the week!

This past weekend, I was up in Bloomington (again) to see Mr. Bryan Schoenecke and to attend the wedding of his good friend Joe. I worked Thursday night, slept until 3pm on Friday, and then took the train up to Bloomington. We drove up to Geneseo first thing Saturday morning since Bryan was an usher and had to be there early for pictures. It was a beautiful wedding, and we especially had a fun time dancing at the reception!

Here are a few pictures from the wedding:
















































That night we drove all the way back to St. Louis since Bryan had to be at Scott Air Force Base early Sunday morning. It was a very late night, and I felt surprisingly very awake by the time we arrived at my apartment. I didn't go to bed until after 4am, but then slept most of the next day before going into work at 6:30pm.

Today when I woke up and looked at my alarm clock, it took me a minute to figure out if it was AM or PM. That has to be a bad sign, right? Praise God. He's brought me through a challenging week in one piece and still rejoicing in Him!

If you have the time, check out this 10-minute video. It's a part of the Nooma video series by Rob Bell, and it really touched my heart. We have been given sooo much more than we need, and it takes so little to bless others.

http://player.flannel.org/compassion?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SP_ADV-0212_NOOMA%20(1)&utm_content=&referer=corner

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

Brain Pain

When asked how NICU orientation is going, my response consists of two parts:

1. I absolutely love it! After so many years of wanting to know more about NICU nursing (but instead having to learn primarily about adult nursing to get my degree), it's sooo exciting to finally be here learning about what I'm actually going to be doing!

2. My brain hurts! Every evening I come back to my apartment convinced that my brain could not possibly hold any more information! For example, I'm currently reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It's such a great book, but I have such a terrible time concentrating on it and taking in what it says after a day of orientation!

But now the classroom portion of NICU orientation is done (except for one more week in the classroom later in July). And starting Monday, I begin 8 weeks of orientation in the unit. During this time, I will be work 3 12-hour shifts each week and will be paired up with a preceptor, who is a more experienced nurse in the unit. I am starting out on nights because my primary preceptor, Beth, is a night-shift nurse, so I'm a little anxious about working 7pm to 7am while trying to learn so much. I am anticipating being very tired next week!

I have been so impressed with the nurses I've met from the unit. They are so incredibly smart and are so good with their patients and families. I'm so honored to be a part of this team of nurses. I know it's going to take a long time before I'm as knowledgeable as they are. There is just SO much to learn beyond what we learned in nursing school. And so much of what I thought I knew is different in the NICU population.

For example, we learned all about arterial blood gases in nursing school. I thought I was pretty good at interpreting blood gas values. The normal blood pH for an adult is 7.35-7.45. Anything less than 7.35 is considered acidosis and probably requires some kind of intervention. A value of 7.2 would be critical, and I would definitely be notifying the physician. But in NICU, 7.2 might be a normal value for some of our tiniest babies. They have a low blood pH in utero, so we try to keep it in that lower range for a while after they are born as well.

This experience is definitely humbling! I'm really excited to keep learning and taking it all in. :)


Here is the unit where I work! Dr. Cole is the Medical Director of the NICU. He came to talk to us in orientation last week, and I was really touched by how deeply he cares about these babies and their families.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-4