micro @ Hospital H

Today was better.
My feet weren't hurting as much, and I had a better feel of what to expect.

I think I'm going to be ok as far as suppressing gags at nasty specimens goes.

When I get poo, I imagine it as dirt. So even when I have to dig into a turd, it's just a big wad of dirt.

Sputum, on the other hand, is a little harder. Nothing looks like a big wad of snot quite like, well, a big wad of snot. A lot of cystic fibrosis patients= lots of snot wads. And lots of trying not to gag.

I really hope I never get a gastric aspirate. It's basically puke. That might take a little more time to get used to.

One thing about the hospital is that it's cheerful and they try to spread the cheer. Today, I got some bubbles on a necklace. Waiting rooms are full of murals, even a few hot pink stripes within the lab. They wheel the kids around in Radio Flyer wagons. They really try to make the kids feel comfortable.

Every so often I get another reality check. Usually I try to avoid the kids running around anywhere I go and give their parents dirty looks when they let their kids be annoying, but I just can't be mean to a sick kid in the hospital, their confused siblings, or their exhausted and worried parents. Big smiles and extra patience all around. I can't imagine what they're going through.

Another cute thing: They were testing the fire alarms today, and rather than set them off for real and freak out the kids, we heard "Paging Dr. Pyro" over and over. I had a good chuckle.