Katie and the 80's

Katie had a young women's activity this week were all the kids were supposed to dress in clothes their parents wore at their age. So here is the final product...! Not a bad looking kid if I do say so myself.

My daughter is the best! She's cool. She must have gotten her coolness from her mom, since she certainly didn't get it from me. I was a total nerd. Come to think of it, I still am. I mean, let's face it; here I sit on a nice Sunday afternoon updating a blog. What happened??

At any rate, If there is any question in your minds about who big a nerd I am, stay tuned later this week for the ultimate nerd verification sign. Bye!

Cheap Birthday present

So a bunch of folks keep pestering me about what I want for my birthday. A few nights ago I was deeply contemplating this questions when I finally came up with exactly what I wanted. For my birthday I want a raspberry shake! Not the ordinary kind, but one of those famous Bear Lake raspberry shakes. SO...on the morning of my birthday I got home from the ol' fire station, got Jared off to school and took off on the Harley. I shot up I-15 to Brigham city, meandered up Sardine canyon, smiled at folks in Logan, and enjoyed the awesome ride up Logan Canyon. Exactly three hours after I had left my driveway I arrived in Garden City, Utah. I ordered my Raspberry shake and sat under a tree to enjoy the spoils of my adventure.

After eating a quick lunch and topping off the tank it was back on the road, passing through the towns of Lakepoint and Randolph and finally into Evanston Wyoming. From there, I went along the back roads to Echo where I jumped on the Highway and headed for home. About 10 minutes before Jared got home from school I pulled into the garage.

I can't think of a cheaper birthday present I've ever gotten. I also can't think of a more enjoyable day either!

When did I get so old????

This morning is a day I've been dreading for months. No, YEARS!! Today is the day that I have to take Katie (pictured here)to High School and register her for all those high-school kinds of things. I'm not that old!! I swear!! It wasn't that long ago my parents had kids in high school, and all I can remember was how old fashioned my parents were. What happened?? I think I've been napping to much.

Could've been an "average Joe."

So here I sit at 3:30 in the morning after having one of those nights. No, wait...one of those weeks.

I sometimes get razzed about being a male nurse by the fellas at the fire station. (yea, Shani...you're a fella, okay!) I've heard all the jokes and the snide remarks, and most of the time I'm pretty sure I deserve it. All in all, its a fun way to make light of a job that takes an extraordinary amount of time. Maybe I should've been an average Joe, work one job and spend more time enjoying life. Every now and then there are times when I myself wonder why I took this on. Tonight is one of those times.

Over the last several nights I have been assigned one patient here in the ICU. A young mother of five. She was pretty healthy up until a few weeks ago when she went to her doctor complaining of a headache. After some "routine" tests the doctor informed her that she had cancer.

Since she is so young, she and her family decided to fight the disease. While undergoing chemo four days ago she reported her headache got much worse. Another CT revealed a small brain bleed. She was sent here to my ICU and I have had her as my only patient for three nights straight.

In the last two nights, I think I've worked harder than I ever have before. I have easily hung more blood, pushed more antibiotics, and had more IV's than I ever have before. My 12 hours shifts have become 16. I sat next to her husband last night for two hours and explained in great detail what each medicine was for and then allowed him to help me care for his wife. He told me of his love for her, and that they have known each other since the third grade. This morning as I left for a quick "nap" at home I left my patient with the anticipation of returning tonight to get her off the ventilator.

When I returned, I was met by the patient's family and the group of doctors in charge of her care. She had taken a turn for the worse. Her brain-bleed had tripled in size. The patient's husband had asked that we wait to "pull the tube" (the breathing tube) until later.

So here I sit outside a hospital room, caring for a family going through one of the most difficult and emotional times they will ever know. I have no idea why I was requested. They are an awesome family, and I admire their strength and testimony of the atonement. Throughout the night I think I've met each member of the extended family. They come in scared, apprehensive and enter a room where they say their final goodbyes to their mom, their daughter and sister. As they leave, most have stopped to smile and a few have shook my hand. The husband's father told me that his son expressed thanks for the time I took to take care of him, and not just his wife.

There are times when this job really sucks. This is not one of those times. Tonight is one when the the vails between eternity and mortality are parted, and the things of eternal worth are palpable. Seems as you can go to church every sunday and never grasp the significance of the eternal nature of the soul. For most, the sealing powers of heaven are never tested, or even questioned, until the game of life is in its final play. Ol' King Benjamin once proclaimed that this life is a time to prepare to meet God. Tonight, as a nurse, I have a front row seat, and I can't help but feel sorry that the "average Joe" misses out on premium seats like these.

Mancation

Jared and I on the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California.
Jared and Grandma Joanne while visiting the haunted Winchester Mystery House in San Jose
At the fron doors of Alcatraz prison in SF bay. (Didn't see any ghosts there.)

Jared taking a quick 2.5 hour tour of the jelly belly factory. (the only place we went that was not haunted!!

Up to Speed

Alright, Now that I have some time and can devote a little more time to this blogging endeavor, lets bring everyone up to speed on life in the Allen Family. Just to let you all now I'm contemplating changing the name of this blog to something more "family friendly," since 'male nurse' is something my teenage daughter is not crazy about!! I'm still working on that aspect of the deal though.



My son, Jared and I took a "Mancation" this last spring, and I have included a few photos of our adventures. Since then, we've been really busy putting in sprinklers and a lawn at the house. Katie and I broke away for a quick trip to Wendover, NV on the annual Harley ride as well. Life is busy, but good!

Shamed into Blogging

So as you can tell from the previous posts (Which I did not create!!!) I have been shamed into blogging. Appearently, my coworkers, Shanilla and Samsqwatch, didn't take too kindly to my constant complaining that they spent too much time updateing thier respective blog sites. In a collective show of force, these two troublemakers created this blogsite and held me ransom to my own reputation!! The Nerve!!!!!!

Either way, it's probably about time that I get into this century. I have been told that the 80's are not returning anytime soon, and that I'd better either catch up to the times, or lose enough weight to fit into my parachute pants again.

So let me set the record straight once and for all...

1. Yes, I am guilty of being a male nurse. Yes, I've heard all the jokes and probably wrote a few of them myself.

2. Yes, I am a Fire Captain and a paramedic. I took the captain's test a few years ago on a dare, and somehow got promoted depite my previous efforts to derail my own career. However, karma was somehow returned since the Fire Chief gave me Shanilla to deal with. (Nothing like a taste of my own medicine to keep me humble!!!) I consider myself to have two "equally important second jobs," Firefighter and Nurse. I have only one primary career and that is as a dual-role father and husband.

3. I did not pick the music on this blog. Thank Shanilla for that. I think the Village people are great musicians but I DO NOT share their lifestyle choice. I do respect thier right to practice it, but my own experiance tells me that native americans were probably not that proficient in disco dancing.

4. I'm more of a valley dude than a mountain man. I don't have any idea where brokeback mountain is. Although it's probably in Utah County or Texas.