Saturday, December 31, 2011

Reupholstered Chair

I finished another DIY project...I upholstered the chair that came with my desk. For this project, I was originally going to sand and stain the wood, and simply replace the fabric. HA! For the frame, I decided to steel wool it and then spray paint it with a darker brown matte spraypaint. When I took the fabric off the seat, I realized the original fabric was also still on it, underneath the ugly plaid (it was an even uglier orange). I also realized that when someone had reupholstered and reapplied the chair bottom, the screw holes were side by side, leaving me with a high chance of stripping the screw holes and/or splitting the old wood. Therefore my dad helped to trace out a new bottom on which we got new foam, and cut a new funky indoor/outdoor fabric I scooped up from Joann fabrics. Here's the pics of the process and final product :-) 
the chair before
 spray painting the frame
 fabric and new chair bottom
 chair bottom once finished upholstering
 trying to get a shot of the spraypaint finish
 the finished chair!
 did i mention it was a folding chair?!!?

Friday, December 30, 2011

Saying Toute A' Leure

Today wasn't the funnest day at work that I've ever had...but not for the reasons one would expect.

Today was my last day working down in Correctional Care Medical Facility as my boss hired me intermittently on unit 5A while in school, instead of intermittently on our unit. See, I still see it as my unit.

But that's what it's become. I threw myself head-first into work, with it becoming a huge part of my life. I made it a fun place to be, and developed relationships very quickly with all the staff. I relied on my Sheriff's every day and my co-workers, finding enjoyment in building relationships in which I could laugh and joke with them, have a sense of trust and comraderie.

And today was my last day, with me having to say good-bye to the Sheriff's who have supported me and joked with me and my co-workers who have challenged me and helped me.

It was so bittersweet. I know I'm taking steps forward but that doesn't mean I don't still glance behind and miss those that I've become close with. Hugging the Sheriff's and my co-workers bye today made my heart sink. I've been fighting back tears all day long.

What can I say?! I'm such a girl.

I already miss my Sheriff's...I miss Doc spilling trivia, The General howling and playing country music, Fish willingly opening doors while pretending to trip me, Ray giving his goofy smile and playing the grumpy one, Lee telling me I need to get to work, Kiger expecting me to pay up on unfulfilled bets, and Rodart yelling "yo Adrian".

I miss my charge nurses asking me to take vitals and joking with me about random patient care.

I know I'll have that on the other unit but Correctional Care became my home. It's hard saying good-bye to what became my comfort zone and my home.

So I cry.

I guess that's what happened when you get attached...

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

My Finished Side Tables!

I finally finished my side tables!! It took me awhile thanks to doing a bunch of killer overtime. However, I finally have them (almost completely) finished! Here's some pics of the process :-)









The only thing left is the polyurethane coat on top to protect in case drinks or whatever are placed on it. But they are currently in the garage drying. Once they are in use I'll take a pic and show what they look like actually being put to use but that will have to wait until I move to my new place. I have quite a few other projects I'm working on. I'll post those once I have finished :-)

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

"You Are The Perfect Match"

On Wednesday December 14th I got a call from a lady at the bone marrow donation....the basic introductory name and where she's calling from, tagged along with she needed to talk to me about my blood samples, and then followed by the words "you are the perfect match for the donor".

FANTASTIC!!!

Since then, I have signed all the paperwork, found out more about the exact procedure I'll be doing, and today I had my physical/first appt for the procedure.

Here's what I know. I'm donating to a lady with acute leukemia, and I am taking part of a research study as I am not doing bone marrow donation, as in someone sticking a huge needle in my hip. I am doing what is known as PBSC donation. I will be injected with a chemical hormone that will stimulate my immune system to ramp up and produce lots of bone-making stem cells, WBC's, etc. I do those for five days and on the fifth day I go through a procedure known as apheresis. It will take approximately 5-6 hours. I'll be hooked up to a machine that is much like a hemodialysis machine, in which my blood will exit via one arm, go through a machine which will filter out the PBSC products, and then put my blood back in my body.

It will be painful in a way, as the injections will produce flu-like symptoms, and then having huge needles in my arms for 5 hours or more is not fun, but if that's all I have to endure to save a life, I'm going for it!!

So excited...and nervous....to do this donation.

I donate Jan 13th. In one week I'll start nursing school and donate bone marrow. What a week that will be!!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

@update

It's amazing how times flies and just HOW much we can fit into smaller units of time. Life is...unspeakably busy and chaotic...and beautiful. Trying to cherish my life but when there's so much shoved into it, it's just flying by.

The latest updates:

1. I signed the lease on the apartment I'll be sharing with 3 other accelerated students...agh!! So crazy and exciting and nerve-wracking. All at once.

2. I have most everything figured out for nursing school...but still have to buy books. And it starts in about 3.5 weeks. Somebody please pinch me. That's way too soon!! And in less than a year I'll be done with nursing school. Ridic.

3. I am working on the side tables with my dad...all that's left is staining them (picture post to come soon).

4. I'm working crazy amounts of overtime. As in, working almost every day. Hence why I haven't been able to finish projects, post anything about life, or get anything done that I need to get done. Great for extra dough, tough on the sleep schedule, stress that I have, and overcommitment tendencies that I have. But the big boss called in a favor...couldn't say no.

5. I'm a bone marrow donor match!! I'll be donating sometime halfway through January!!

So much to do, so little time, so many emotions I'm loving and ignoring. Ah, isn't life bliss?!?! :-)

Thursday, December 01, 2011

It's the Season for Giving

My cell phone is constantly on silent or MIA anymore.

Since I started my job at Denver Health in April, I went from being completely reliant on my phone (was on my person at all times and every notification had a different ringtone, etc) to learning that being disconnected can sometimes be a beautiful thing. Training at nights, I learned how to become disconnected from being immediately available and since then I've transitioned to it being a habit that even when I'm not at work, it's on silent or not within reach most of the time as I don't need to be instantly available and I really just don't need to be that connected.

The only downfall, is I miss calls all the time. Which is why I always tell people, if I don't answer - and I probably won't, even if I look at my phone - then leave a message.

I walked out of class on Tuesday to see I had a missed call from a number I didn't know AND a voice message. Intrigued as I don't get many calls period, let alone from random numbers, I listened to the voicemail and got super excited!

Two years ago I signed up for the bone marrow registry. I've always been of the mindset that as long as my body is capable that I should use it to help others. I have been an organ donor since I got my driving learners permit and have donated time and money to several foundations/charities/etc. When I found the bone marrow registry it only made sense that I should offer a sample and be on the registry to help out others. I mean, it's bone marrow, it's not like donating a full-blown organ; it regenerates itself and I'm mostly healthy so it only makes sense!!

Fast forward to Tuesday and I got a lovely voicemail from a woman named Rose from the registry saying that my sample was a potential match!! She asked if I would be willing to continue with the process to see if we truly were a match and then proceed with the donation.

I never expected that I would actually get this call, though I hoped I would, as matching someone else is quite difficult.

Next tuesday I go in to give a blood sample and submit a full health questionnaire. In the sample I provided several years ago they match 6 markers. Once that match is found they call the donor in for a blood sample (as the first sample was a series of cheek swabs) to test for a full set of 10 markers and to see how the donor & recipient's blood interact. If that proves successful, then we start making plans for the donation process itself! Here's to hoping I am indeed a match and can help the health of another individual. By simply giving some of my bone marrow, I could help save a life :-) If I am I'll tell more about the donation process itself!

If you are interested in bone marrow donation, simply go to this link:
Be The Match

It's a simple process to sign up to be on the registry. You simply fill out some brief contact information and do a quick, simple series of cheek swabs. It takes a whole five minutes and you could potentially be somebody's match :-)