Zombies are Everywhere......

And they all want Narcotics.

No, Really, they're everywhere. This picture was taken in the hospital parking lot on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Working in a small community hospital ER, you get to know a lot of the clientele waaaaaaay better than you'd ever want to, if given the choice.

All you can do is hope that they don't have anything seriously wrong with them. Then you can treat whatever Bullshit complaint they or their Kids, Neighbor, Parent, Cousin (may be the same as Parent), have and get them back to wherever they go to when they're not in my ER.

And where do they go when they're not at the ER? ................... WalMart! Yep, Wally World. I can go to Wally World anytime of the day or night and see at least 2 Zombies I know from the ER.

I stopped at the Wally World today to pick up a few things and BOOM. Zombie central. There must'a been 6 or 8 of them. It's 2am right now as I write this. I guarantee I can go there now and Zombies will be there. This is just one of those things you can count on in life.

They truly never sleep. They don't have to. They sure as hell aren't getting up in the morning to go to work. Very few Zombies have jobs. Lots of Zombies have Medicaid though. I guess being a Zombie could be considered a disability. But I wouldn't have thought stupid and lazy could be so debilitating as to qualify one for Government assistance. I must be wrong.

There are a lot of folks on assistance that don't qualify as Zombies, so this is not a blanket indictment here. Zombies are Zombies and you either are or you aren't one. It's not like it isn't pretty obvious if you're dealing with a Zombie or not.

This whole Zombie thing is a lot larger topic than I thought when I started this Bullshit. This could be an entire field of study all on it's own.

Hmmmmmmmmm...... I'm gonna have to think about this some more. I can see lots more fodder for fun on this subject.

Questions....

Why is it that so many adult male Zombies where their hair in a Mullet?

It Looked Like A Casting Call ............

For the next George Romero Flick. You Couldn't swing a dead cat in the ER without hitting a Zombie today.

I love the Holidays.













Zombies you haven't seen in years come out to the ER. Zombies that have moved away and are here to visit their Zombie relatives come to the ER. Zombie Wives. Zombie Kids. Zombie in laws.
Zombies who are just passing through to .......... Wherever the hell they go to when they're not in my ER. THEY come and and fill my ER.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Newlywed Zombies.
Not really. That's Kathy and Bill.

No, I don't know who the hell they are. I found the picture on Google. But Hey, ya oughta get credit for a pic like that.





And the ONE THING all of those Zombies had in common today? Well, this may shock some of you, but ........ They ALL need Narcotic pain medicine. Oh, Benzos and Soma will suffice in a pinch. Thank you very much.

"I fell down down and dropped my open medicine bottle into the toilet".
"My 2 year old threw my medicine out the car window".

Those are both Zombie Tales I've heard before. I didn't get any quite that creative today. Hey, a really good story may score you a script for a few Percocet, people. Get your head into the game!

The place was a friggin' Zombie zoo today. The faster we moved them through, the more of them came through the doors. Probably didn't help that there's a full moon out.

As I've said before. If you've ever wondered why it takes so long to get seen by a Doctor? Thank a Zombie.

Yeah, you deal with these shitbags for any length of time and you'll hate 'em as much as I do.

It's a Zombie Friday......
No, not the Zombies I've written about before Here Here Or Here Here
And Here

The real, Flesh Eating Ghoul type from "Night of the Living Dead" type movies. You know, Horror Flick Zombies.

No. Not this -








But This -









Now, I know you're asking yourself "What the hell is this asshole talking about?"
This is a PSA for ya. In case you missed it. The President was talking about Zombies today, I got it for ya here -

Yep, even the White House is concerned. You should be too.
Here's another little PSA for ya. Learn from it. -

Don't forget a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide-


Don't ask.

Of course we have a copy.
Duh.



See, everyone is getting all worried about "Global Warming" and if "Bush let 9-11 Happen" and Bullshit like that.

Statistically, Zombies are a WaaaaaaaaaaY bigger threat. It's gonna happen People!

Just Another Mucked Up Monday.........
Cold and wet here at the "GrumpyUnk Command and Control Bunker" today.
After working the night shift again this weekend, I slept through a lot of today anyway. Got the Stove fired up and things are nice and toasty.

The Holiday Season seems to have officially begun around the ER.
No, it's not the Christmas music playing everywhere or the non-stop "Sales Events" commercials on the tube.

Nope. Just like every year the ER was a non-stop crew of Suicidal Zombies, Attention Seeking Zombies and Overdosed Zombies this weekend.
Well technically speaking, Underdosed Zombies.
Real Overdoses do it right and they bypass the ER and go straight to the Morgue. Very damn few real Overdoses though and most of those are unintentional.

No, we see the ones who make, "Suicidal Gestures".

Oh well, that's the way it is. Sorta like the Geese flying North in the Springtime, the OD Holiday Zombie is just another sign of the seasons.

Damn, sometimes I forget that we only see a small percentage of the population and not EVERYONE out there is a fucking loser.
I have to remind myself of that occasionally.

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Afternoon-

Like Things in Haiti Weren't Bad Enough Already........

Now we have to worry about Zombies

"Haiti's voodoo priests object to mass burials"

"Dumping the dead in hurriedly excavated mass graves without proper rites is seen as desecration in a country where many believe in zombies -- dead bodies brought back to life by supernatural forces who could persecute the living."

If you don't believe in Zombies ............... How do you explain the current occupant of the White House?

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Evening-

It's Monday Morning ......
After a decent weekend in the ER. Not to many Zombies this weekend & that's always a pleasant thing.

You're gonna have a few everyday because ....... Well, there's just a friggen bazillion of them. Fact of like and all that.

The shit these people do would be kinda funny if they weren't so damn annoying.

But I did get to see a miracle Saturday night and that's always good.
One of our New Regular Zombies - As opposed to the, Well known, long time Zombies - crawled in with his usual complaint of back pain and a pretty original story of why he's out of the Percocet prescription he got 6 days ago.

No. Not, "The Dog ate it." But pretty close. This Dude couldn't even walk back to the ER and needed a wheelchair when he first got there.

But, Damn Skippy if he didn't jump his ass right up and Stomp out in a rapid and timely fashion when the Doc told him he wasn't getting a script for any, "To Go" drugs.

It was a miracle. Like Darth Vader said, "Your hate will make you stronger."
Seems like there must be some truth to that. At least in this case.

I've seen this same shit played out hundreds of times over the years, but it never fails to inspire me. The good news is that he'll probably go bother some other ER for a month or 2 before he hits us up again.

They ALWAYS come back. No matter what they tell ya or how angry they are on leaving. That drive for Narcs brings 'em back eventually. It's just to expensive to support a Big Narcotics Jones at street prices.

So they eventually come back and act like they've never seen us before in their life.
And the Circus starts up again.

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Morning-
I'll be there for 'em with my new favorite shirt on when they come back.

Oh, Was That My Head, Your Knee Ran Into in the ER, Yesterday??

Nothing says, "Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men" - like a friggen' knee to the back of the head. Did I not tell you that the Holiday Season brings out the best in the Zombies?

"I'm so depressed!! My life sucks!! I want to kill myself!! Except, I don't have the balls to really do it!! I want you all to feel sorry for me - as long as it's on my terms."

Jeepers!! A suicide attempt is against the law, people. Don't be a scoff law, dammit!!

DO IT RIGHT!!!!!!

Don't drink a bunch of beer, take a handful of pills and immediately call your loved one and tell them about your asshole move. Your Insignificant Other will call 911 and EMS will have to bring your dumb ass into the ER. Then some poor, burnt out RN like me will have to do shit that you won't like. Needles and tubes. Think, Needles and Tubes.

Oh, and fighting with the ER staff and the Police will NOT make you look like a stud.

But that bastard DID get a knee into the back of my head. Surprised the shit out of me that the fat bastard was flexible enough to do that.

My bad. I must be slippin'.

No, I didn't choke the shit out of him or drill him in the chops. Sure, I thought about it for a second, but I'd get in a world of shit and Zombies are just not worth gettin' in trouble over. Somehow, ER Nurses are just expected to put up with this kinda shit.

No, I don't know why that is. I've pressed charges on a few of 'em, but nothing happens. The Zombie Lawyer uses that charge as a barginning chip in the plea agreement and a charge of - "Fu*king with the ER Nurses" doesn't seem to carry much weight. Poof! They just magically dissappear.

I will say that the local cops are none to gentle with Zombies who f**k with the Nurses. Bless 'em. ER workers and Cops, have a symbiotic relationship. I always try to help the Cops and Damn, they sure help me when I need 'em. They just weren't there yet.

I'm upset that I let that Zombie sandbag me into thinking things were cool. That never would have happened a few years ago.

Zombies in the Kitchen......
He works in the Food Service industry.













After working in the ER so long, I've run into another Zombie problem. Where to eat when I do leave the Official GrumpyUnk Command and Control Bunker.

The problem you see is this. I know who staffs the kitchens of most every restaurant in town - Zombies.
I know these people. They are NOT who I want making, handling or even looking at my food. The only way I can go eat at a restaurant is to keep my head down and pretend I don't know who's back there in the kitchen. Or I go to a place in another town and pretend there aren't any Zombies back in the kitchen there.

I also try drinking enough alcohol in hopes that it will kill any Zombie germs or virus particles my immune system and good upbringing miss.

Tough Crowd in the ER Lately........











Yep, it's been really strange in the ER lately. The holiday season escalates the Zombie traffic something fierce. This photo gives you an idea of the clientele we've been seeing lately. One of the Nurses mentioned that she "must have dropped a couple of Vicodin in the elevator" as she walked through the waiting area ........ well, you see how it goes.

Seriously, the last few weeks has been a full scale "Attack of the Drug Seekers". Zombies I haven't seen in years have been making appearances. People who I know have moved to points far away, are stopping by for the holidays in hopes of a syringe full of Diluadid and a script of Vicodin. Crazy shit.

I'm guessing here, but this is how I envision a Zombie date night being planned.
Zombie #1 - "How about dinner and then go see a movie?"
Zombie #2 - "Sure, sounds good. Then we can swing by the ER and complain about having a migraine, backpain or some shit and get some drugs."
Zombie #1 - "Cool. We'll get some beer on the way home. After we go to WalMart"

Remember who to thank the next time you find yourself waiting forever to get into see a Doctor in your local ER.

I did get to have a little fun this weekend though. Some of the regular Zombies from my OTHER ER job made the trek over to try and scam us Sunday night. I love squashing Zombie drug scams. They get pissed. You can hear them grinding the nubs of their Meth teeth together and cursing. I love it.

According to the New York Times, Dick Cheney must feel like that when he's oppressing all those little brown people.

No really, it feels good to stymie Zombies who waste your time, take up space needed by actual sick people and demand first class narcotics they have no intention of paying for.

Actually, if you have a job and pay taxes - you're paying for them. No, don't hold your breath waiting to be thanked. Not gonna happen.

I Scare Myself Sometimes ...............

I probably shouldn't be allowed to work some nights. Last night was one of those "Zombies from Hell" nights in the ER.

Most nights you get drug seeking Zombies, belligerent bastards and ignorant oxygen thieves, taking up space in the ER from people who really need to be there. Nothing unusual about that.

Sometimes, something ratchets up what I call, "The weirdness factor", to incredible levels. It's like being in the audience at a Jerry Springer Show taping.

Let me give you a little run down of the types of folks I was dealing with.

The EMS scanner dispatches an ambulance to a residence for a 53 year old woman who had fallen in the shower. At 8 o'clock in the morning. And injured her finger. JUST her finger. Nothing else. 12 hours ago. Of course EMS are forbidden to tell these Zombies, to go pound sand, so they bring her in and drop her with me. I have them take her straight to the waiting room up front for some "fluorescent Light Therapy". This is therapeutic for me anyways.
After 45 minutes or so of light therapy, I Triage her and chew her a new one about abusing the EMS services. It's like talking to a 185 lb Chia Pet with home made tattoos. She gets her rings cut off, Xray and a splint on her broken finger - And then asks me to call the ambulance to take her home.

AAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told her absolutely not and went thru my whole schpeil about abusing the EMS system again, Yada,Yada, Yada. She's pissed now and bitching about how is she gonna get home. A refrain from telling her what I'm really thinking, but send her out and tell her to call a cab from the waiting room. She screams at me and tells me to perform a sex act I'm sure I'm not limber enough to pull off.

It went down hill from there.

Two young females, sisters I think, come in demanding immediate attention because one of them has a kidney stone and is dying. That would be the one chewing gum and text messaging while I'm trying to Triage her. Ummmm, pardon me if I don't get to excited about the possibility of you dying right in front of me here. I got her into a room and gave her a cup to pee in just so I wouldn't have to look at them. Doc orders some tests and a scan for her alledged stone. 48 minutes after walking in the door they are complaining about how long things are taking and "We never wait this long in XXXville Hospital". I asked them if they thought they were in the drive thru at McDonald's. They failed to see the genius of my humor. Then implored me to perform the same impossible sex act as the first Zombie and left.

I'm on a roll!! My customer service ratings are starting to look like Ted Kennedy's man tits.

Now all this crap is going on while we are trying to care for actual sick people too. A drug seeker with a "Migraine" is thrashing around out front scaring the registration girls, so I Triage her to get her out of their view. I've got a good memory for those people and have seen her before. I didn't get to the Doc and he ordered a big slug of narcotics for her and these were administered by the other nurse. Oh well. Upon discharge time, I asked her where the driver she'd told me she'd had was at. She started giving me some BS and I told her she had to have a driver or I was gonna make her sit there for at least 4 more hours. She got on the phone then and told me her sister was coming to pick her up. Great. Let me know when she gets here. I know she's gonna bolt and drive off all jacked up on Narcs and I'm pissed. I pulled her into the room and called her on her BS. She denies driving herself in and continues with the whole, "My sister is coming, but she can't come in 'cause of her kids are with her in the car. I'll wait outside the front door for her." Shit. I don't have time for this BS. I told her she was lying and I knew it and that I was gonna call the cops if she drove off. Thinking ahead, I advised her not to come back too. She slid out as soon as my back was turned and drove off on a motorscooter. She didn't tell me to do that impossible sex thing tho' and hopefully, she won't be back for awhile.

While I'm in the middle of starting an IV, Some AssMonkey starts screaming out in the hall. No, not yelling, really screaming. Seems his young girlfriend has had a bellyache for 30 minutes and having to wait 12 minutes in the Triage area was to much for him. I finish up taping my IV and hang the fluids and go see what's up. The unit clerk has called the Cops already. Bless her. This guys about 20 - 22 and totally out of control. Screaming at the top of his lungs that his girl is gonna die and not using the nicest language. Scares the hell out of all the patients and families. It should have scared me but for some reason it didn't. I was calm and tried to de-escalate him, but it wasn't working to well. I think he was fixin to pound my ass when the cops showed up. I just told them to get him out of there so I could see what was bothering his girl. He just couldn't get himself under control and ended up starting some crap with the cop and earned himself a night in jail.

This was only some of what I had to see last night. All while trying to care for real sick people. It's that way in every ER in America. It's difficult to do a good job for those who really need it with all this other crap going on. We try. We really do. Keep this little story in mind when you have to wait for test results and such. There's always these distractions that keep us from doing the job properly.

Strange Art........
Lots of art is kinda strange. This is weird but cool.

George Washington and Zombies. That's just the Shit there.

Speaking of Zombies, I gotta go to work.
Here's the Artist.

Gratuitous Picture for a Thursday-

Good Advice for the ER Zombies.......
From an ER Doctor.

Advice from an ER doctor to drug seekers

"OK, I am not going to lecture you about the dangers of narcotic pain medicines. We both know how addictive they are: you because you know how it feels when you don't have your vicodin, me because I've seen many many many people just like you. However, there are a few things I can tell you that would make us both much happier......"

Hat tip to Dr BoJack.
Apparently, the Zombies around these parts haven't figured this out.

Gratuitous Picture for a Sunday Afternoon-




H/T to - Wirecutter for the picture. And yes, I want one for my truck.

Monday, Monday ......
Can't trust that day......
Apologies to, The Mamas & The Papas for that. But it seems to fit this morning.

Rained quite a bit last night and that is gonna put a crimp on my plans for today. Oh well. Can't always have it your way.

I caught some of the crappy respiratory virus that's making the rounds here and feel like ass anyway. So I probably wasn't gonna get a hell of a lot done today anyway.

There's still a ton of things to be done around here that aren't dependent on sunny weather.

Ain't that always the case?
If I live to be a hundred I'll never finish all the things I want to do now.
But that's really a good thing I suppose. Like they always told us in the Army, "It's good to have a mission."

In the ER, I piss a lot of Zombies off by telling them they should get a job, a hobby or do something to occupy their time in a constructive manner. This isn't just because I want to piss 'em off, but because it's true.
People need to be busy at something. It's good good for you.

Making Methamphetamine isn't what I'm talking about either.

To much of that crap going on around here as it is. The farmers are parking the Anhydrous wagons up closer to the house (but downwind if their smart) now to keep the Meth Zombies from stealing it for cooking. It's the big season for the Meth Heads now when Farmers are trying to get crops in. Lots of Anhydrous out there right now and those pesky little bastards will be looking to steal it.

Oh well, time to get my day started.
Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Morning-
Remember to wear your safety equipment.

Monday Morning Zombie Talk...........

Always a good topic to start the week with.

This article from Popular Mechanics gets right into the nuts and bolts of making, Dead Zeds Deader and is guaranteed to be a great ice breaker around the water cooler or the Christmas get together with the family.

"Anatomy of the Perfect (Undead) Headshot"

In typical, Popular Mechanics style, they go into depth and detail about Killer Zombie Headshots. Covering all the bases and the anatomy of the Undead with real science to make it all interesting.

It really is pretty interesting and if your kids are like mine, this is certain to spark off an easy hour or two of ZombieTalk.

Seriously, what better way is there to spend quality time and bond with the offspring than ZombieTalk?
Beats the shit out of the whole, "Birds and Bees" bullshit.

If they don't know the proper way to kill Zombies they're never gonna reach the age where that, "Birds and Bees" bullshit is gonna be of any use to 'em anyway.
So start 'em when they're young and get 'em a properly sized Melee Weapon now to start practicing with.

When the Great Zomboculypse does happen, they'll still be alive to thank you.
Unless of course you get infected.

But Hey! If that does happen, at least they'll do you the favor of knowing how to properly whack your ass and that's a plus.

Who wants to shamble around as a rotting, undead corpse in search of sweet, sweet, BRRAAAIIINNNSSSSSS........... for who knows how long? Not a career choice I'd consciously pick.

And don't fall for this Bullshit either Kids-

CheerLeaders are every bit as dangerous as Zombies and don't ever forget that. But that's a topic for another day.

Gratuitous ZombiePic for a Monday -

Time to Update "THE LIST" .....
What list am I referring to here? Why this one silly -

A complete list of things caused by global warming

And it's a pretty damn big list, too. Covering threats from Acne (Yes, Global Warming causes Acne. Dumbass.) to Yellow Fever. A huge list of serious bad shit that Global Warming is responsible for.

But one thing WASN'T on that list - Zombies. That's right, Zombies.
Zombie attacks might increase due to global warming, study shows

"A new study by scientists has suggested that zombie attacks might increase if the current projections of global warming are realized. “If the earth gets warmer, it means longer springs, summers, and falls, and shorter winters,” said John Carpenter-Romero, Ph.D., a zombie-ologist who co-authored the study. “And shorter winters means more time for the undead to prey on the populace.”

Yeah, and you were worried about the Friggin' Polar Bears?

Columbus Day Today.........

Back in the old days, we all learned the little, "In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue" ditty.
I have know idea if that is still the case, but I'm pretty sure if it is, there's a different spin on it now.

Whatever.
It's a holiday for a lot of folks and I don't have mail delivery today and that's that.

I believe I am finally shaking this nasty bug that has knocked my Dick in the Dirt for the last few weeks.
"Dear Mr Immune System, I take back all the bad things I said about you recently. OK?"
Good.

No Night Shifts this past weekend! Even though we got our asses kicked, not making the Night Shift changeover was good for me and I feel almost human this morning.

The almost full moon effect was running in high gear last night and really brought out the Friggin' Zombies to the ER.
We were packed to the rafters in Zombies, Zombie Families and Offspring, with the Cops & EMS bringing more of them in on, what seemed to be, a regular schedule all evening.

The good news was that there were not that many folks who REALLY needed Emergency Care. Thank goodness for that. There were a lot of sick folks in the mix who weren't just looking for drugs, sympathy or........... Whatever the fuck it is they come to the ER for.
Lots of odd shit though.

On days like that ya just have to prioritize, take care of those that need it first and drive on.

And say a little, "Thank You" that a Train hasn't hit a Bus full of Nuns and Orphans or some shit like that.

All on all, just another day in paradise.
"It's good to have a job. It's good to have a job. It's good to have a job." That helps some.

If you're not working, enjoy the day off today. The weather here today is beautiful and I may just get motivated enough to get some work done around here.

Or not.
I may just say, "Screw it" and go take TheBigBluePlasticMotorcycle out for a much needed ride.

Later!

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday -

Paging Mr. Updated Resume...............

The weekend was a damn zoo in the ER. There are some particularly nasty virus strains out there right now which are kicking ass on all ages.
That's not including the Flu Season that is now here in full force too. All that adds up to an ER that is packed up & backed up. Overcrowding is nothing new in ER's all over, but over the last 10+ years, the ER has become the go to provider of choice to more and more people.
And fewer & fewer of them either don't know what a, "True Emergency" is or choose to ignore it when it comes to their having to endure long waits prior to being treated. The overall level of civility, common courtesy and common sense declines as the wait time to be treated increases.

Those mentioned levels have been in decline for as long as I've been involved in Emergency Care, but they really go to hell when Morons with, "Moon and Stars Syndrome" are made to wait any more than 20 minutes.
"Moon and Stars Syndrome" refers to the belief of certain Moron Zombies that those celestial bodies revolve exclusively around them and that they truly are, the center of the universe and each minute they are forced to wait is a personal affront.

Full cardiac arrest in progress? Doesn't matter to them. No, it really doesn't matter to them. There are a whole lot of shitheads out there who would be perfectly happy if we quit caring for folks with Real Friggen' Emergencies as long as it decreases their time in the ER.

I not making that up. I've had them say just that when asked if I should just quit working on someone who is actively trying to die so I could take care of their minor BS. Not near enough of them respond with a sense of shame for being Dickheads and a scary percentage say, "Yes".

And sure as shit, just when you things can't get any worse, the Cops will bring in some Drunk, Drug Fueled Asshole who wants to fight with anyone who crosses their line of sight.
Every damn time.
Happened again the other night and some damn crazed Meth Head spit on me. Spitting is a universal trait among Drunks and Crazies in the ER. I have no idea why that is but I've seen it at every ER I've ever been in.
And I hate it.
And I'm pretty much over it too. I think it's time to start looking into other areas of nursing.

Life's to short to deal with these SunzaBitches any longer & it's time to start looking at other options.

"Mr. Resume, call on line 1".

Gratuitous Picture for a Monday Night-







But no matter how depressed these Zombies make me at least I have this-

Happy Mothers Day.......

To all you Moms out there. I hope y'all have a nice day today.

YerUnk is off to the ER this morning to fight the never ending battle against disease and pestilence. And Zombies.

Mostly Zombies.

The rest of ya remember to at least call yer Mom if that's all you can do, because nobody loves ya like yer mother.

Gratuitous Picture for a Sunday Morning-
And take the kids out for ice creme today.

Weekend Theme in the ER ................
This weekends' theme?
Cervical fractures. Or, in layman's terms, a broken neck.

Ouch. Really, that's all you can say. It's not that uncommon to have some Poor Bastard come through the ER with a broken neck. But getting one a day on both days of a weekend is pretty strange. It's not like I work in some big Level 1 Trauma Center.

Both of these unfortunates were involved in motor vehicle crashes. One was buckled up and one wasn't. One was young and one was old. Both were Female. Only one was at fault. One Saturday and one today.

Both are probably wearing a HALO tonight.

What's a HALO you ask? Check this picture out.

That's a HALO. It's a fixation device that stabilizes the head and neck when you break shit that should remain in one piece. You know, like your Cervical Spine. See those pieces of hardware sticking out of the top ring? Yep, those are bolts that get drilled into your skull. They do make sure that your shit stays in place. Damn, that can't be any fun.
Those of you who own high end Milwaukee Brand Tools? Yep, they use real similar type tools when they install this shit. About the only difference between the tools you and I have in the garage and what Orthopedic Surgeons use is that Hospital Tools are usually cased in Stainless Steel and have a plastic cover. Makes the whole "Sterile Thing" a lot easier. I will say that there really is something to be said for "Sterile".


Generally speaking, "Clean" is OK when it comes to minor procedures. But there are times where "Clean" just isn't good enough. If you're drilling holes into MY head, the difference between "Clean and Sterile" would take on a whole different level of importance. Hey, that's just me. Your Mileage May Vary.

I don't want to scare you, but you'd be surprised how hard it is to really be "Sterile". Yes, even in an operating room, Sterile is hard (maybe impossible) to achieve, But let's face it, some things are just better Sterile.

Believe me, if you had to deal with the Zombies I do every day in the ER, this would be easy to understand and a Hell of a lot funnier. NO serously, jokes that have Zombies and Sterile in the same sentance are funny. You may not be getting the humor, but believe me ER Nurses get it.

Damn, I have to wonder how people survived some of the shit they did in the old days.

Yeah, I know. Generally speaking, they didn't.

Oh Hell, The whole Broken Neck Thing is a subject that's Near and Dear to me. Read about how I broke my shit way back when if you're interested.

I'm Tired........
Damn, I'm gettin' old. Four 12 hour days in a row and I'm crapped out!

That shit did not bother me at all a couple of years ago. I routinely worked multiple 12-16 hour days. My wussy factor is running pretty high tonight.

I remember The Ol' Man (My Father) workin' 6 days a week for years. I don't remember him ever bitchin' about it. I suspect he just didn't let me hear about it. He was an old fashioned, genuine "Tuff Guy". Whining would not have become him.

The ER has been a friggin' madhouse of busy. I will never understand how nice weather brings in more people. One would think that even the Zombies have something better to do than go to the ER on the first string of really nice days. One would be wrong.

I understand the increase in injury's from people getting out and being active. That's to be expected. Hard to fathom that there are some folks who rely on the ER to support their drug habits, weather be damned. Nice weather. Bad weather. Makes no difference.

Oh well. I've really been putting some effort into not letting the Zombies get to me. My new personal policy is this. As long as you don't act like an asshole or give me any shit? I don't care if the Doc gives ya the entire pharmacy. Just don't fuck with me.

There's not a damn thing we can do to deter these Zombie MoFo's from invading the ER and sucking up our valuable oxygen, time and energy. If I get bent out of shape at them who wins? Nobody. I just waste my limited time & energy on them.

I don't know if this is gonna last or not. Or if it's just a response to the fatigue. We'll see.