Praying...

This post is meant to be extremely vague.
Recently, I have seen the aftermath of true, raw evil and it has haunted me. I haven't felt the desire to write this month because of it.
I came home from my shift, hugged my children tightly and told them how much I loved them.
It is unfathomable to me that someone could perform those acts of cruelty on a child.
I've prayed long and hard for this patient. Although the damage will never be undone, I hope there's a chance of a normal life for this little person in the future.

Vasovagal Morning

One morning this weekend, I was about to get ready for work. It was early in the morning, my family was still asleep. I walked in to the kitchen to get a drink before jumping in the shower and somehow slipped, lost my balance and fell backwards. I didn't seriously hurt myself, but hyperextended my thumb and it hurt like crazy. I couldn't move it and it started to go numb. What happened next was bizarre and uncontrollable.

I had a vasovagal response to my thumb trauma. I suddenly felt that something was not right. I sat on the stairs and couldn't catch my breath. I was acutely aware of what was happening. My heart rate dropped, my blood pressure did the same and I became extremely hot. Sweat was pouring off of my face as I tried to take deep breaths to keep from passing out. The tachypnea was a response to the hypotension and bradycardia.
I thought, "Wow, I'm having a vasovagal epsiode. I need to lie down. Damn, this is my IV starting hand - I hope I can function."
It took about 10 minutes for it to pass. Once my breathing had normalized and my heart rate increased, I felt better. I got up, got ready for work and left.

It was a strange occurrence and I wondered why a simple thing like thumb pain caused it to happen. I've been injured worse before. Who knows? My thumb is sore and swollen, but functional.
Huh.