The Lost Weekend

I'd like to say that today was the end of a hellacious week, but the truth of the matter is that I have a ways to go yet.  Still, there have been bright spots..

Today we had our credentialing visit.  The surveyor was very nice and very thorough. The Lord was surely with me.  When she visited my departments, she made it clear that she only wanted to speak with staff nurses, but that she would prefer that I hand-pick the nurses as she did  not want to interfere with their duties.  When I chose an OR nurse, I picked a gentlemen who is cool under fire.  He does excellent work and has an excellent attitude but he was getting ready to bring his next patient back, so we had to scramble a bit to get his room covered.  I could see the holding area nurse throwing me daggers because I hadn't chosen her, and it's by the grace of God that I didn't.  Turns out the surveyor wrote down the names of everyone she spoke to and then later asked to see their personnel files.  The dagger-throwing nurse had something unflattering in her file and it would have opened up a can of worms.  What's a few more daggers in my back if it was for the good of the team?

The good news is that we were re-certified with flying colors.  The even better news is that the surveyor got wind of the fact that it was my son's prom night, and insisted on moving up our exit interview by a half hour so I could leave sooner.  I knew I liked her when I caught wind of the crucifix, with corpus, around her neck.

Right after the surveyor left my departments to go to lunch, the patient registrar called me aside.  He discreetly pointed to a man in the waiting room and quietly told me the "gentleman" had just refused to allow our nurse practitioner to conduct his pre-admission testing because she was black.  I was seething.  After thinking over what I should say for a few minutes, I asked the man to come into the hallway with me.  I asked him if there was a reason why he didn't want to see our NP.  He bluntly told me he didn't want anyone black touching him and then asked if I had a white nurse he could see.  I told him he could see our NP or he could leave.  He was incredulous.

"So you're not going to help me out?"

"You can see our nurse practitioner, or you can go home.  We are not obligated to accommodate your prejudice."

He thought it over and then agreed he would see her.  I admonished him that he was not to make any rude comments to her or I'd have him escorted out the door.  Then I spoke to the NP to make sure it was ok with her.  She was insistent that she wanted to conduct his testing and that I should show him in.  I'm told he behaved like a lamb.  In this day and age, it still hits me like a bucket of cold water when someone can so bluntly admit to their biases and hatred.  The patient registrar was thrilled with me for handling it as I did and then begged me  to please not look for another job.  I wondered to myself if I am really that transparent. I keep hearing a lot of that kind of thing but I suspect part of the reason is because they are wondering why someone like me would want to untangle such a mess. The truth is, there are many more kind people than there are cruel ones and I don't give up that easily.

The Boy left for his prom a little while ago.  He was so nervous I could not believe it.  His date, who is actually a classmate of our youngest daughter, is a pretty, vivacious girl who did her best to put him at ease. He looked very handsome, wearing the first suit he's owned since he made his First Holy Communion in the second grade. I hope he has fun.  I will post a gratuitous photo Matt and his date in their finery.  It's up to me to pick them up at midnight.  I hope I can stay awake that long.

Tomorrow, a couple from the Latin Mass Community is getting married in the Extraordinary Form at my church.  I'm hoping to go to the wedding.  Then the God-less-ness begins.  Sunday at Noon is my sister's shower.  My mother implored me to go and to not be late.  I will have to go to an early Mass and will miss the TLM. I can't embarrass my mother by going late, so I will make this sacrifice and offer it up.  On Monday is the memorial service for my sister-in-law Carol.    It's being held at a funeral home. No Mass.  I wish there would be a funeral Mass, but it's not my call.  Since it's not scheduled to begin til the afternoon, I will make sure to get to early morning Mass and spend some time in Adoration to compensate.

My husband is ok sometimes, and sometimes, he 's not ok.  He has spent quite a bit of time the past few days    looking for photos of his sister from their childhood.  I always commented that I thought she was a beautiful child and then grew up to be a really neat-looking teenager.  Here is a photo of Carol with my husband and the caption that came with it said: "Jim and Carol, crying".  Maybe they missed the ice-cream truck.  I thought this was such a sweet photo.  My husband cried when he saw it.  He'll be doing that for some time now.  He got hit with more bad news today.  A close friend of his was diagnosed with breast cancer.  One more person to pray for.

 Don't forget that Sunday is St. Rita's feast day.  I'm hoping to be able get over there for a little while when I return from the shower on Sunday.  St. Rita, wife, mother, widow, Augustinian nun, saint of impossible cases. I am much more verbal about my devotion to St. Therese, but the truth of the matter is that St. Rita has pulled off some biggies for me.  I prayed to her on her feast day when I learned about a three-year-old child was found floating in the family pool.  The child survived with no brain damage, which is almost unheard of.  I prayed to St. Rita when a person I worked with and who detested me was scheduled to undergo major abdominal surgery for pancreatic cancer.  The tumor was benign, which floored the surgeons.  While we're not the best of friends, the woman in question and I remain on civil ground til this day.  So if you've got a burning cause that could use some divine intervention, put it in Rita's hands.