I fell asleep after night shift at 8.40am.... and was awoken by the Church Bells ringing at 9.45am!
It seems my whole world over the last 14 hours has been alarm dominated.
I still have not gotten used to monitor alarms at work.
The above video is a basic monitoring set up for an intensive care patient, but it gives a little bit of a taster of what life in intensive care can be like..
For those that don't know the alarms on a basic monitor watch over:-
arterial blood pressure, central venous pressure, hearth rate and rhythm, oxygen saturation, carbon dioxide levels, respiratory rate etc etc etc... each "subject" will have it's own alarm, which can be triggered by any one of a hundred reasons.. some big and some insignificant
Add to this "alarm fest" individual alarms for a score of infusion pumps ( some patients can have a dozen or more), ventilator alarms ( which have their own individual "bing bong" quality about them , two phones on the nurses station AND a particularly irritating unit door bell... and you just may understand just why after just one shift, I love to stand in the field listening to a chicken fart in the rain!
My head can be literally "ringing" with the residual noise pollution from work for an hour after leaving......and I am the lucky one.. I only do one shift.......
The Church Bell has finally stopped belting out it's monotone "dong"...and I have now marshalled the dogs in silence and am off out for a gentle and peaceful walk down gypsy lane
whispering to myself "hey ho" very, very quietly
I played your video and our Scottie growled at the sound--I guess you both share the same opinion of these alarms!
ReplyDeleteI do hope you're feeling better!
We live in "Church Lane" and get woken up every Sunday morning by the bells calling the faithful to prayer. Not to mention practice on Friday and weddings on Saturdays. But the church was there a long time before me.......
ReplyDeleteI get woken each morning by the joyful barks of next-door's beautiful pack of three dogs, as they get hoofed from the house to pass their day in the garden. Barking, pooping, trying to kill me through the fence when I hang out the washing. I am an animal lover, but these little bundles of fun are enough to drive a woman to drink. Who am I kidding. I need no excuses to spend time with my friend Gordon. I hope your walk is a peaceful one, and you return refreshed. Recently found your blog and am glad I did. Em :)
ReplyDeleteAll those alarms seem alarming, John! I hope you had a gentle walk down your quiet lane. Reading your posts, and about you walking the dogs, always makes me miss my three dogs in South Africa. Have a great week. Jo
ReplyDeleteLady Magnon thought we someone calling on Skype!! Couldn't you build that on somewhere too?
ReplyDelete"listening to a chicken fart in the rain" cracked me up!
ReplyDeleteI have a huge love of silence John...it's why getting up super early has never bothered me. Mornings are so quiet.
ReplyDeleteWhat an alarming post!
ReplyDeleteOf course chickens fart. I would never have imagined that.
ReplyDeleteCan't stand noise..there are days when I scream silently shutupshutupshutupshutup...somebody make it stop.
ReplyDeleteNever having stayed in hospital, I had no idea they could be so noisy. A bit like those jeweller's shops that have dozens of clocks all ticking and chiming away. It must be quite a relief to get home to some peace and quiet.
ReplyDeleteRenew, refresh and relax.
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor just spent 7 weeks in the hospital after a car accident. I stayed overnight with her and thought that I would go bonkers listening to all of those beeps. I can't imagine how she must have felt. I can't imagine how difficult it is to do your job..Much respect and thanks for what you do.
ReplyDeleteThe peace and quiet of country life is most definitely one of the things that I will miss the most when I sell my place and move into town. I dread the sounds of traffic and sirens and people. There is nothing more serene than the silence of the country where one can listen to water trickle in a stream and birds singing in the trees.
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a lovely walk and are able to catch a nap later today!
Last year, Jerry passed out at work (yay for not being at work anymore) and was taken to emergency. He was hooked up to a bunch of machines and after a while an alarm started blaring. The nurse rushed in and said, "Oh, according to this, you're dead." Fortunately, it was on the fritz (the machine, not Jerry). So glad you could have an alarm-free stroll. Hey ho.
ReplyDeleteThese beeps, bleeps and blips are now part of everyone's stay/visit and it's so unnerving...Hope your walk cleared your mind...I know it did!
ReplyDeleteWe have bells in the post office clock tower that chime the hour and half hour from 6am to 8pm - they used to go 24/7 but they were stopped at night after residents moved in above the adjacent shops - and St Clements Anglican church has a set of bells that are peeled for services and, especially weddings - practice on a Friday. St Augustines Catholic church has a bell tower and single bell but it has not been rung for an age - they play 'bell music' through a loud speaker for services. After a while, you just do not hear them. Rhonda has her Father's chiming clock set on our mantlepiece that also chimes the hour and half hour and she religiously winds it every Sunday night - I think it reminds her of her Mum and Dad and growing up at their home.
ReplyDeleteAnd I get annoyed when the neighbor's car stereo rattles my windows.
ReplyDeleteHope your Sunday evening is blissfully quiet, John.
I wonder how your nerves aren't frayed anticipating all those alarms, John.
ReplyDeleteIIIIII.......MMMMMMMM.....OKOKOKOK....REALLY!!!
ReplyDeleteGet yourself a stiff one John.
ReplyDeleteThen have a drink...
It's really hard to see someone you love hooked up with all those alarms. Done that too many times.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what it is - but I just love the sound of church bells on a Sunday morning peel.
ReplyDeleteEar plugs?
ReplyDeleteInteresting about all the machinery connected with intensive care. When I was ill last November in High Dependency, the thing that drove me mad was that blood pressure strap permanently attached to my arm so that I just could not get away from it.
"I love to stand in the field listening to a chicken fart in the rain!"
ReplyDeleteThanks for the out loud guffaw! While I have never heard a chicken fart (do they really?) I can imagine it's not as loud as those bells and dings at work.
I find as I get older....ish.....I crave the quiet ...I turn things off more that ever..and things like "leaf blowers" make me almost mad!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's hope you never get tinnitus. Then there is NO getting away from the noise.
ReplyDeleteFour years on from our own bedside vigil, this is kind of reassuring to know that when the nurse comes and twiddles the latest alarm then goes away again, unconcerned, there's not much cause for ... er, alarm.
ReplyDeleteHospital monitors, traffic signs... sensory overload. It sounds maddening to be working in that environment.
Getting a 'visual' on you standing in the rain listening John.
ReplyDeleteBlessed, blessed silence.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose you could capture some of that chicken flatulence on a video could you? I've never heard it and I admit, my curiosity is piqued.