Spinal days

I have always said I am an average Intensive care nurse. I am a safe practitioner, of that I am certain but it has to be said that the technical side of the job (the myriad of machinery, gadgets,drugs, fluid pumps and the snow deep amount of paper work that accompanies it all), does leave me a little cold.

I am, and I guess always will be a client centred rehabilitation nurse. This is where my skills lie and this is where I feel the most comfortable. Now of course I can transfer the skills I developed in my "spinal Injury days" to the forum of intensive care, and looking after distressed and grieving families perhaps is an example of this, but I still sometimes miss the very specialised area of spinal injury nursing.

Tomorrow I have the opportunity to help an ex patient of ours who sustained a spinal injury some months ago, and who has requested some specific help On a selfish level, I know I will get a bit of a buzz about knowing that I will be able to help him (whereas no one locally would possess my knowledge and experience)

Perhaps I am just a little conceited or is it just a case of feeling happy I am, in someway needed and useful?......... On a menagerie level, Albert has outdone himself this morning and has brought in 4 mice in the space of just under an hour! The final corpse was paraded in front of the dogs with true big headed style and in a flourish, he spat the mouse out at Maddie's feet, who promptly ate it.

I know I am a little over protective with Albert, but the curfew I have imposed on him ( he is housebound from 4pm to 8am!) has protected his leg from nocturnal accidents, and he is now walking almost normally. Mind you, when I was chasing the guinea fowl around the churchyard yesterday, he was merrily abseiling up and down the 7 foot Church wall withour pause or thought.

I have a nasty scratch over my nose and up into my right eye from an "attack" from one of the baby guinea fowl yesterday. They are dreadfully nervous, and have the nasty habit of bursting into flight directly into your face when upset......next time I will clean out their cage with a pair of industrial style goggles on!