A Whole New Ballgame

I started clinical in the Vascular Lab this semester. Even though I was feeling pretty good in generals last semester, Vascular is a WHOLE new ballgame. Our Vascular class in school isn't until this Fall, so it's a bit hard to grasp, and I really have to think about things and break them down. Monday was my first day and boy, was it a doozy. I watched carotids, ABI's, venous legs, and a venous arm mapping. So crazy and so incredibly confusing.
Now that I have about 31 hours under my belt this week, I'm feeling a bit more confident. Today I scanned about half of a leg by myself, but it's still so frustrating and mentally exhausting. I can't believe how much this brain of mine will hold, it's quite incredible. Here's about 3/4 of the veins in the leg that we scan, just because I need a picture. (Not a fan of all text posts. ;) Oh, and you would scan the veins in the leg to look for a blood clot. Veins collapse, so you push on them to collapse them to insure there isn't clot.)



I have a really great preceptor, and some other great techs to follow. I'm just hoping I can get a lot of it down in 8 weeks which is how long this semester is. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, my house is a complete disaster, and we've eaten out 2 of the last 3 nights.

In other news, the boys started a new preschool this week. Some of the stuff seems really weird about it, and the last two days, it sounds like Chan has watched a good amount of tv. I haven't been in there other than to tour it before we signed them up, so I'm feeling apprehensive as well. I had a good cry to my sister today, and Marshall and I aren't feeling all that great about it, so we are going to explore other options at this point. I want my babies taken well care of, and most definitely do not want them watching a ton of tv, that's not why I enrolled them in a preschool? I feel pretty blessed that my good friend has helped me watch them a lot, that's been my only saving grace this week.
To be quite honest, I've felt like a horrible mother the last few days. I'm at school while someone else is watching my kids and I'm not with them. Alas, another reason I cried today. To put things into perspective, I am about half done with my program, which means that I'm closer to getting to spend more time with my little men, and that much closer in being proficient in something that I seriously love. Marshall continues to be a rock and my support. For that, I am grateful.

So I guess that's it. I'm incredibly tired, but I'm looking forward to the fact that I can sleep in past 5 tomorrow, spend some much needed time with Chan and Rowan, do laundry until my heart is content, catch up on some blogging, and clean. Now please excuse me while I go pass out in my bed.