Looking Like Shite

I do so try to explain to the Prof about the toll shift work takes on a soul
Yesterday was a case in point.
I finished a night shift (7.30 pm to 8.15 am ) then came home..slept from 9 am to midday then was woken up by a bowl of fish pie! ( which was bloody lovely btw) I then took the dogs out then went to Conwy for a drink and a read of the papers in a lovely real ale pub we found recently......the Prof had a few pints of real ale.....I had two strong coffees and Mary had a packet of crisps!  Great to find a dog friendly pub........as we sat in the snug with a group of Liverpudlian hikers , I tried to explain that If I woke the Prof up at 1am and took him out to a night club , he too would feel and look like this....
He just doesnt get it!
Fucking rough! ......roll on retirement

She loves me so

57 comments:

  1. I'm sorry but I think anything longer than eight hours for a nurse, especially a nurse who is dealing with ICU patients, is too damn long. I am sure you give the best care you can, whether at hour one or hour twelve, but it's not humanly possible. What are we thinking?

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    1. You have to remember we look after ONE patient generallly ( sometimes two on high dependency ) and we have breaks that so,etimes the ward nurses do not have

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    2. I was always baffled by the training Resident's endure as well. 36 hour shifts. Who the fuck can diagnose or even operate on that type of sleep deprivation???
      MissFifi

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  2. Retirement well deserved! You will absolutely love it and you will also wonder how you had the time to work!

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  3. Of course you look rough, you only slept three hours!

    The fish pie and pub sound good though.

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    1. Waddu mean i look bloody gorgeous

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    2. I'm with Mary, John, I always think you're great!

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  4. I get it - If I were you, I'd be seeing dead people...

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  5. I know that one all too well John. People don't get it. But if we weren't there for them in the night, they'd lose their shit on us.

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  6. Been there, done that. I feel for you!! Wasn't the Prof a nurse at some point back in the day or has he always been on the academic side of nursing?

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  7. I know you want a role on The Walking Dead John but this is pushing it a bit too far.... ;-)

    Speaking of, watching now...40 mins in. Wow!

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  8. It only get's worse, John; I now rarely know what day of the week it is, let alone the number within the month. And I no longer look at the clock when I first reach for a beer.
    Cheers, Mike
    Oh, ever have experience with OSA or sleep apnea? Sleeping with one of those masks is not as easy as it seems.......

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  9. Non of my family got it-my husband was worst of all. My sympathies.

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  10. Rest and you will be back to full power soon.

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  11. You must be starting to count the days now until retirement -- it's getting close, isn't it? June?

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  12. DH often works a 12 hr shift for 5-6 days or nights straight. I see the walking dead look quite often. He has years to go before he can retire. You're lucky.

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  13. I actually enjoy feeling shattered; it's the opposite that worries me.

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  14. I hated night shift work...really messes with the circadian cycles and pay differential did not make up for that. Glad you enjoyed the fish pie.

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  15. Three hours of sleep isn't enough, it doesn't matter which three of the day it is. You drew a very apt comparison for your husband; perhaps it would be worth trying it a time or two?

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  16. a boy and his dog...you look knackered, something a good sleep will cure.

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  17. Hasn't the Prof ever worked nights?

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    1. A long time ago...i think he's forgotten

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  18. I have nothing but sympathy for those who work shifts, no amount of extra pay would entice me .... Could you name drop the dog friendy establishment please? Hope to spend a few days in the Conwy area this May.

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  19. Just called Tom in to see the adoration on Mary's face, so touching.
    Briony
    x

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  20. The Prof had a "few pints" of real ale? He must have been a pit tiddly when you transported him back to TWD. Did you have to break the journey so The Prof could have a wee wee? That wouldn't have looked good - a professor being arrested for urinating in a public place.

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  21. Shift work is bad for you, no ifs and buts. But you look flipping amazing on it, naturally.

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    1. There is research to prove that it shortens your life

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    2. My dad, a blue-collar worker, did shift work most of his life and he lived to a ripe and healthy 81!

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  22. Some consolation for you, John - in July all this will be behind you, just a memory, and you can catch up on your sleep. Speaking from experience though, you won't know where you found the time to go to work for all those years.
    The best thing is not having to get up to go to work - no deadlines to keep !

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  23. Adoration on Mary's face? Or is she trying to get a wiff of that fish pie you've eaten? Has to be love, she doesn't get to go to a pub that often.

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  24. These rarified academics in their ivory towers - they just don't understand how ordinary folk live!

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  25. Hey, at least Mary understands.

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  26. Shift work takes such a toll on you. After 10 years of working day shift my husband was switched to a rotating 3 shift schedule. Not a good thing to start at 50 years of age. It killed us! He didn't do it for long. Found a day job within the organization and transferred.
    The love on Mary's face is beautiful.

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  27. I have never understood how people function doing graveyard shifts. Brutal. I imagine your poor body just wants to sleep. Soon you will be retired and can keep normal hours!!
    MissFifi

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  28. You might feel like shite but your patients are very lucky to have you caring for them.

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  29. It's hard to look 'bright as a button' when you are sleep deprived. Roll on retirement indeed.

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    1. To be honest i pretty well look like this most days

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  30. Irregular shifts are brutal. You can't retire soon enough.

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  31. I've never understood the medical world, where people are expected to make life altering decisions on a deficit of sleep. It makes no sense to me. I am wishing you a smooth transition to retirement. You deserve it. -Jenn

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  32. Am I seeing on that sign that "Sink the Bismarck" is a 41 percent IPA?! Can that be possible??


    I can't imagine what it would be like to work those shifts, but believe me, we're all glad that you and your colleagues do it. You're life-savers, literally!

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  33. Mary wants a kiss. A fishy kiss. I hope you got to take a nap when you got home!

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  34. I think you look rather relaxed and rested, and ready to go rip!

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  35. My son-in-law is a police detective now, but when he was a patrol officer he had to work night shifts every three months. Fortunately he's not a light sleeper, so the noises from the kids and the neighborhood didn't wake him during the day. We were all glad for him when he got promoted to a position with regular hours. Shift work like that does take its toll.

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  36. Just think once you retire you will have so much time you won't know what to do with yourself. You could even put the Prof to shame with a new contemporary look and spend your days having manicures and facials! He'd be the one worrying if he looked like shite next to you!

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  37. I think when John finally retires he can work on his pitch to BBC or whomever for his 45 minute sitcom...you just have to have Camilla the goose in it!! Truly...I would binge watch it in one weekend!

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  38. As long as you stay busy after retirement, you will enjoy it. My Retired Man likes to sit and stare like you are in the picture.

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    1. Oh dear, I thought it was only MY retired man who sits and stares now he's in retirement!

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  39. Please try to avoid the F*** word. In Australia it ultimately means "destroyed"..

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  40. I'm surprised that you don't have more dog-friendly pubs in your country. Most places in SA don't allow dogs...

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  41. I think you look adorable. Perhaps you won't be as tired once you retire but you'll have even less reason to shave and comb your hair. I tell you from experience (well, except for the hair-combing thing; one needs hair for that).

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  42. I did shift work for years... I hated it with a passion as all I wanted to do was sleep! Believe me I looked a lot worse than you did in that picture. Mary is adorable..

    Jo in Auckland, NZ

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  43. Shift work has the advantage that you can be out and about when others are at work. This is good but retirement means you can do it without falling asleep into your pint. I did my share of shifts in heavy engineering and I cannot say that it was fun.

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