I Survived

Recently my parents asked me if I wanted to include anything personal at the bottom of my graduation announcements. I’m sure the company was implying something like “thanks so much to everyone who has helped me get this far” and all that jazz, but all I could really think to write was “I survived” which my mother didn’t find nearly as amusing as I did.

At the end of the day, and more realistically the semester, that really is my goal- survival. To make it one more semester without being close to academic probation. This isn’t because I’m lazy, even though I am. It’s not because I don’t like my classes. It’s simply because nursing school is HARD. There is a lot of information being crammed into my head on a daily basis, and I mostly pray and spend a lot of time studying in hopes that the important parts will stick. Apparently enough of it has.

For instance, last night I dreamt that my 95 year old grandmother experienced a textbook stroke right in front of my eyes. She started acting funny and immediately my mind went “Face, Arm, Speech, Time… TIME! WHAT TIME IS IT?” That’s the acronym for strokes- FAST. It’s important to note the time because that can make life or death difference in treatment options. As she was experiencing this stroke, she fell and hit her head, breaking her skull (ok, ok, so I have some strange dreams- I promise this is no reflection of how I feel about my grandmother). Miraculously she was still okay, (to which I thought, She’s 95! How has she survived this!) and while her skull was fractured, I knew it wasn’t the occipital bone. I can remember saying “at least it’s not the occipital, she’s got a great occipital.” I called 911 and can remember chewing out the EMTs because it took them so long to arrive, telling them that I would sue if we discovered she was suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage, because time is of the essence.

Clearly, I’m learning some of this info. I also need to stop having such vivid dreams.