There Are Headaches, And There is the One I Have Right Now

It's been a doozy of a day. On the good side, I was able to discharge a particularly problematic patient. Can't go into too much detail, obviously, but this gentleman (as opposed to "That one!") was extremely divisive, manipulative, seedy, and refused all offers of assistance. So a major stressor was lifted when he went out the door. On the down side, two of my coworkers are on vacation, and we've been hit with a whole bunch of new patients over the last two days.

Add to that the usual drama with the puppies, and you have one very tired pirate (ex) chaplain!

I did receive a couple of compliments from nurses that work on the hospice floor of the hospital - the place where I once worked as a chaplain. Both wanted to know where I had gone, and when / if I was coming back. And both were saddened to hear that the odds were extremely low that I would be working in that field in the near future. Their comments really meant a lot to me, as I often never know how much people are affected by my presence until much later, if ever. So it was good to see that I made at least a small difference up there.

Tonight we have a woman coming over to take a look at the puppies, and another person checking out the litter on Saturday. One Ring is working overtime to find a place for the horde to stay while we're on vacation. No easy task, considering that with the downturn in the economy, people are getting rid of their animals in record numbers. The Animal Control facility from which we rescued Kona has been putting hundreds of dogs to sleep a week. Most of the "no kill" shelters are filled to capacity, and the ones that use a foster system, like the SPCA of Tennessee, are hard pressed to find foster homes. But that being said, there's a chance that we'll at least have temporary homes set up for the puppies very soon. I say "we," but of course I need to be honest: it's all One Ring's hard work. If I had been in charge of the situation, I'd probably be half dead and buried up to my neck in puppy poop with little hope of rescue. Not a pleasant image, to be sure!

Okay, one more hour, and the day's circus comes to a close. One week and a wake up until vacation!