Snorts – I couldn’t resist this one my friends. I saw this on the internet the other day and almost peed myself. I couldn’t wait to show it to mom and dad. Trust me, they needed this laugh right about now here at the Hotel Thompson. Happy laughing my friends!
Journalist Rocky the Squirrel here –
Keeping his paws on the nuts of the world –
Very important week this week – there are lots of different ways to acknowledge this wonderful professional. Here are some important dates for you to remember:
This entire week provides recognition to nurses for their contribution and commitment to quality health care. We should all be aware of the importance of nurses in all stages of our lives from infant to elderly. They comfort us, support us, encourage us and help us in our times of need.
Did you know? The roots of International Nurse’s Day goes back to 1953. Dorothy Sutherland who was over the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare sent a proposal to President Eisenhower to proclaim a Nurse Day in October of the following year. The proclamation was not officially made. But, this week was created and gained national recognition.
Also did you know? International Nurse’s Day is celebrated on May 12th because that is the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
So here’s a HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful nurse’s out there who take care of all of our loved ones and give that extra love.
Snorts – I couldn’t resist this one my friends. I saw this on the internet the other day and almost peed myself. I couldn’t wait to show it to mom and dad. Trust me, they needed this laugh right about now here at the Hotel Thompson. Happy laughing my friends!
Mom has gotten a lot of questions asked here in blogville, Facebook and by email about why she is donating plasma and how they do it. I thought I would give mom the blog and let her explain everything.. it really is exciting when you think about it. Take it away mom!
Personally, I’ve been wanting to give plasma for a very long time. It helps a lot of different people with an assortment of medical problems. I’ve even seen a commercial on television lately about plasma helping people with arthritis.
Once you decide that you want to donate plasma, you have to go through enrollment. They will go over a series of medical questions with you, you will watch a video, you will then do a medical enrollment, take vitals and lastly you will be seen by an on-site nurse. If you make it through all of the criteria, then you are ready for a donation. After the initial enrollment, each time you donate you will have your vitals taken before donating. There are certain guidelines that you have to pass each time you donate. For instance, blood pressure, temperature and pulse rate have to be within range. Every time you go, you will have your weigh checked and you will also have your finger pricked so they can test your red blood cell count and your protein levels – which also have to be within range.
Once you pass all of above, then your next stop is the donor room. Depending on how many nurses they have on staff that day depends on how many ‘beds’ they have open at one time. A good bed to nurse ration is 12 beds. And they tell you standing in line, for every 12-15 people ahead of you it could be one hour worth of wait. So it’s not a quick thing. I have waited 3-4 hours at a time. But to me, giving plasma is worth the small price of inconvenience that I have to pay for waiting.
Giving blood plasma is a process called plasmapheresis. Say that real quick huh? You are hooked up to an IV in one of your arms. Does it hurt? I’ve had so many people ask me this. The needle is bigger than when you are having a blood test. Some nurses are also better than others – just like the doctors office. I’ve had some nurses do it and I don’t feel a thing. I’ve had other nurses do it where I cringe my eyes and try to breathe through the pain. And then people ask if it’s painful why do you do it? And I have to tell them that the little bit of uncomfortable pain that I might feel fleetingly is *nothing* compared to the people that it helps. I have to keep thinking of the bigger picture – people that are in need.
Once you are hooked up the IV, your blood is pumped out into this machine and goes into the bottle (which is the middle part of the picture). The plasma is stripped from your blood and placed into a container. The blood is then recirculated back into your body during a process they call the return. Now how long does it take? Well, depending on how much water you have drank throughout the past couple of days it can take anywhere between 35-90 minutes. Personally, it takes me around 30-35 minutes if nothing goes wrong.
If you see the bottle in this picture, it shows you the amount that you are donating. Plasma comes in all different colors – it can be bright red, pink, green or a tinge of white/red – all depending on the medicines that you take. Mine comes out a greenish/white. Over the Christmas holidays, I had a guy ask me why my color was green. Without missing a beat, I told him that my father was an Elf. Snorts – we all had a good laugh about that.
You can donate twice in a 7 day period. By the time you read this posting, I will have made my 17 donation! My personal goal was to donate 20 – so I’m almost there. I’ve had ups and downs during the process. One time, they couldn’t get my blood that was pumped out to return and I lost blood during the donation. Of course, I’ve been bruised at the IV site – it happens. I’ve had times that my iron was too low to give that day. I’ve had multiple problems with my pulse rate. The rate has to be 100 or less. I’ve had to sit out for 15 minutes to try the pulse again and there have also been times I couldn’t make it that day because of my pulse.
*Pictures are off the internet at various web sites to share how the process works.
Okay Friends – Here We Go!My sweet friends at Nikitaland have started this monthly issue of Pay It Forward. We asked for you to keep this in mind all month and to share things here today on what you have been able to do. Paying it forward is not for bragging purposes – it’s an attempt to show how many different things we can do to pay it forward – lots of them don’t even include money. Gestures that we take for granted may be a God send to another person.
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Friends – this month mommy is going to report on something that she has started doing, something that is close to her heart and means so very much to her. She has been thinking about it for some time and to be honest with you she had not done it up until this point because of one reason – she was afraid. But she finally bit the bullet and did it. What you ask? Well, here’s mom to explain.
Thanks Bacon. When my husband Jim was in a car accident years ago, he was in the hospital for over 12 weeks, most of those in intensive care. During that time, he was treated with blood transfusions and other treatments that contained plasma. Then years later, a good friend of ours needed treatment that also came from plasma. I’ve done a LOT of research on plasma donation and it was one of those things that I really wanted to check out since it touched so close to us here at the Hotel Thompson.
Well, I took a big step on 11/18/2015 and went to a center to inquire about the procedures. Now I had done a LOT of research on line and knew about some things; however, to actually do this you have to go through a process that could take 3-5 hours the very first time. This involves watching a short film on the process, reading a short manual at the center, giving a medical history, being evaluated by a nurse and having your vitals taken – blood pressure, weight, pulse, temp. IF you pass all of this, then you are ready to give blood plasma. I was accepted – HAPPY DANCE!
If you have given blood or had blood drawn for blood work, that is how it feels. And let me tell you something my friends. This one ouch moment is *nothing* to how you feel afterwards knowing that you gave to a great cause something that you had that someone else could use.
And today by the time you read this, I have made 4 donations with 2 more scheduled this week. Even last week while on vacation, I got up at 6AM on my days off to be at the clinic and in line waiting to make a donation. Each donation, you go through vitals check and you can plan on being there for 2-4 hours. There is that big of a line which is awesome! I have to admit though, I’m having problems some visits with my pulse rate. It has to be under 100 bpm. As long as I can keep it under that, all of my other numbers (blood pressure, hemoglobin, iron and weight) are perfect. Please pray for me my friends that I can continue to do this. My commitment to myself was 20 visits.
My buddy Nikitaland made up a good deeds sheet. You can get it here. You can print it, hang it on your fridge and just jot some things down that you do during the month. That way at our next meet up, you can share what you have done to PAY IT FORWARD.
AND if you are interested in getting some Pay it Forward bracelets, check out Nikitaland’s post here for ordering information. Believe me friends – WE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Next meet up will be January 6th – mark your calendars!
Snorts – I couldn’t resist this one my friends. I saw this on the internet the other day and almost peed myself. I couldn’t wait to show it to mom and dad. Trust me, they needed this laugh right about now here at the Hotel Thompson. Happy laughing my friends!
perhaps even whistling. When out of the blue – BAM! Something hit the back of her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, didn’t feel anything and kept going. She didn’t think twice about it while she was running her errands. 
But as the day went on, she started getting a headache. There seemed to be a lot of pressure in the back of her head. She reached up to give it a feel and WOW! There was a huge bump back there and her head felt slightly swollen. It also hurt to touch. What in the world happened? 
e.” Mom called the nurse hotline and told them what happened. Well, it is that time of the year when all of the bugs come out in nature. They think she possibly got bit by a bee or wasp. She took some benadryl and the swelling has went down some. You can still feel a little bump on the back of her head but the headache is nothing as bad as it was. Mommy was contacted recently from Psychic Source for a free psychic pet reading. I’ve seen other anipals do it on their blogs and we were intrigued. Normally, I would have jumped at a chance for something exciting and new. Then I started thinking about it and got a little worried. One eye up more than the other… what if this psychic told mommy about my piggy secrets. I mean there are some things that I can’t have getting out… you know?
So I did what any great piggy sibling would do. I threw the purr things under the bus volunteered the purr things here at the Hotel Thompson. I mean we could ALL benefit from knowing what those two are thinking about here – snorts. They asked me to send them a picture of the two. I searched high and low to find the just ‘perfect’ picture of them to show their hard-headedness personality. I finally decided on these two pictures. May I present to you her highness Mouse Girl on the left and his majesty Hemi to the right.
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Pictures were emailed and about a week and a half to two weeks later, we got a date/time set up for Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 7:30PM. We asked for around this time because me and daddy wanted to hear too.
The reading was set up with Nancy. Nancy specialties are love, she is a pet psychic and she is a clairvoyant. Mom was a little excited about calling to find out what Nancy would pick up on here at the Hotel Thompson. Here are the results of the phone call that lasted a little over 30 minutes 🙂
Nancy immediately picked up on Hemi and wanted to start with him. She asked about his sex, how old he was currently and how old he was when we adopted him. Mommy advised her that he is a male, currently 10 years young and that he was a mere three weeks when we adopted him. This is when she just started going about things she was picking up. For instance: he’s the king, rules the house, sincere, in charge, sticks up for himself, takes care of the family, watches over Mouse Girl, very protective, appreciates his time alone, very dedicated, when he gets in trouble he gets his feelings hurt, very healthy, very happy, comes to me (mommy) in my need, comes to me first, loves to talk, can be jealous and clashes with Mouse Girl.
Mommy was quickly writing down all of these words with an occasionally mumble of yes or no here and there. Was Nancy right in her reading on Hemi. Let’s see. He is the king of the house and acts like it. He thinks he rules the house – we’ve always said that. He is very sincere and stands his ground. He does watch over Mouse Girl. He may act like he doesn’t like her and he may be the first to squabble with her but when she hurts or needs him, he is there. He does like his alone time. When he gets into trouble for acting out, he does sulk and gets his feelings hurt. This one kind of blew mom’s mind when Nancy said comes to me (mommy) in need. We always talk about Hemi being a nurse in a previous life because when mom’s joint pain flares up, he is always there with her.
Did everything she say about Hemi true? No. He is not one to talk much. If he has something to say, he will but just to talk nope. Is he jealous. Not particularly. He knows he’s king of the Hotel Thompson. And I wouldn’t say that he clashes with Mouse Girl. He does clash with me at times though and mommy told Nancy about me 🙂 Nancy also said that she could see Hemi living 20 years.
Then mommy went on to Mouse Girl. This I gotta hear – snorts. Mommy and daddy adopted Mouse Girl when she was a year and she is currently four years young. Mommy was sad during this reading. Nancy said Mouse Girl had a broken heart early in life, went through a difficult time, was either lost or someone let her go, she misses her brothers and sisters, she lived on her own for a while outside, she’s very fast, caught things to eat and survive, brings us treasures, has a mind of her own, very stubborn, cautious of other animals/people, she felt she hit the wheel of fortune when we adopted her, has had more love with us than anyone else, magnetically drawn to a man who she has a strong bond/admiration to and described this man as being built and tall, feels safe with this man who is her protector, very health and extremely happy.
Did everything she say about Mouse Girl true? We can’t say about her early life. We don’t know how long she was at the shelter. It does make sense in some direction though because she is a food whore – yep that’s what I said – snorts. She is very stubborn and does have a mind of her own – that is definitely for sure! And about being cautious with other other peeps and animals, this is very true. She will not come out if anyone comes over. She did describe daddy in other ways and Mouse Girl is really a daddy’s girl. In fact at the shelter, Mouse Girl picked daddy and mommy. She meowed and pawed at the cage until she got their attention. Once daddy picked her up, she purred and didn’t want to be put back down. So that was interesting. And daddy does do Mouse Girl’s combing and takes up for her when Hemi decides to squabble with her…or me for that matter – snorts.
AND Nancy did pick up on me on bits and pieces – who wouldn’t right? She said I was very close to my mommy which is true. She picked up that me and Hemi clash – we do at times. Other times, we sleep together. She said I was very entertaining and comical. I have to agree with that – look here at my blog 🙂
Nancy also picked up on two dogs here at the Hotel Thompson. This was intriguing. She said one was a male and the other a female, one was reddish/brown and the other golden and they were the same size. She said she picked up on a golden lab and a cocker spaniel. She thought these were future dogs – or possibly one future dog. Now, this was interesting because we did have two dogs here at the Hotel Thompson at the same time. Both of them passed away a couple of years ago though. One was a girl reddish brown Chow-Chow-Cocker Spaniel mix and the other was a girl black/white lab border collie mix, both were similar in size. She was firm about us having another dog here at the Hotel Thompson that would be bigger than the two we had, perhaps another golden lab. Again interesting because mommy has been looking but not for a bigger dog but for a smaller inside doggy.
Nancy also said that mommy was animal lover and has a lot to give us animals.
Then it went way out left field. Nancy said she saw a white horse in mom’s future. This white horse would be amazing and do different tricks. Shocker – call mommy Lady Godiva because that’s the only way she will have a white horse in her future – snorts.
She also said that there was a strong male presence in the house which was my daddy. That he does well and she sees him having his own company and progressing more. She also saw a gold coin – fortune – in his future. Okay not so much. Daddy is only the CEO of Hotel Thompson – snorts. He does not work outside of the home. He is a stay at home dad, a Mr. Belvedere if you will. He takes care of us animals, cleans, dusts and runs the place here… all without payment as he says.
So overall, what did mommy think? She gave her an 8 out of 10. Very entertaining, very intriguing – take it for what’s it worth. It was a fun time with interpretation. Would mommy do it again? Most certainly!
Journalist Rocky the Squirrel here –
Keeping his paws on the nuts of the world –
Very important week this week – there are lots of different ways to acknowledge this wonderful professional. Here are some important dates for you to remember:
This entire week provides recognition to nurses for their contribution and commitment to quality health care. We should all be aware of the importance of nurses in all stages of our lives from infant to elderly. They comfort us, support us, encourage us and help us in our times of need.
Did you know? The roots of International Nurse’s Day goes back to 1953. Dorothy Sutherland who was over the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare sent a proposal to President Eisenhower to proclaim a Nurse Day in October of the following year. The proclamation was not officially made. But, this week was created and gained national recognition.
Also did you know? International Nurse’s Day is celebrated on May 12th because that is the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
So here’s a HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful nurse’s out there who take care of all of our loved ones and give that extra love.
Journalist Rocky the Squirrel here –
Keeping his paws on the nuts of the world –
** Breaking News ** Breaking News **
** Breaking News ** Breaking News **
Very important week this week – there are lots of different ways to acknowledge this wonderful professional. Here are some important dates for you to remember:
This entire week provides recognition to nurses for their contribution and commitment to quality health care. We should all be aware of the importance of nurses in all stages of our lives from infant to elderly. They comfort us, support us, encourage us and help us in our times of need.
Did you know? The roots of International Nurse’s Day goes back to 1953. Dorothy Sutherland who was over the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare sent a proposal to President Eisenhower to proclaim a Nurse Day in October of the following year. The proclamation was not officially made. But, this week was created and gained national recognition.
Also did you know? International Nurse’s Day is celebrated on May 12th because that is the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
So here’s a HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful nurse’s out there who take care of all of our loved ones and give that extra love.
This is Journalist Rocky the Squirrel reporting out – Have a great day!
Piglove 