Personal Narrative: Blood Pressure

I have been progressing fairly well on my learning goals for semester 1, from the beginning of semester 1 until now from learning about anatomy to physiology and to hands on techniques. I cant believe my own self that in such little time that I have learnt so much. One of the things I have learned so far is the muscles origin and insertion following the bones of the body this allowed me to apply my knowledge on hands on experience such as palpation of the bones and muscles. Another thing I learned in this semester is from physiology class learning about the cardiovascular system and blood flow this allowed me to apply my knowledge from that into my clinical assessment for taking blood pressure and vitals for a patient. Overall I think my learning

Reaching across the center console of my car, I imagined the commute that I had into school. My 1992 Jeep Cherokee courageously braved the snowstorm of the year, with only one functional windshield wiper and a forlorn four wheel drive system. As I turned onto the Merritt Parkway, a Honda Civic swerved past me and proceeded to weave in and out of the afternoon traffic. Fast-forward sixty seconds and that Honda was now engulfed by the powder white trees which bound the highway. Instinctively, I pulled up behind the crash site, dialing 911 as I ran over to the mangled wreck. I peered into the car, my pupils the size of marbles, and the driver seemed uninjured; regardless, I proceeded to reassure the driver that Emergency Medical Technician’s/Paramedic’s

On February 23, 2016, I was confronted with a scare that changed my life dramatically. My Mother Colleen Micele was admitted into Bayonne Hospital due to feeling ill, however, rapidly circumstances changed for the worst. My mother was rushed to the ICU unit and her time she had left us had been decreasing by the hour. My mother developed a condition called Pulmonary Edema which is when the lungs fill with fluid. This condition had caused my mother's lungs to then collapse which lead to my mother develop Atrial Fibrillation. Matters had become extremely severe and life threatening once my mother had become Septic. The uncertainty and living second to second not knowing if my mother would make it through her illness for 5 weeks emotionally destroyed

It was not sudden; she had been suffering for a little less than a year. I kind of remember the “chain of reactions’ that led up to the diagnosis. It was around the fourth of July and we went to my grandparent’s house to celebrate. Shortly after arriving, everyone migrated to the pool area, where my Dad noticed that half of my grandma’s face was “melting” and her arm wasn’t through one sleeve of her shirt. After pointing that out, my grandpa proceeds to inform us that a few days prior, she had fallen on the ground while outside as a result of a medical issue and has been off ever since. Surprised to hear this, my dad told my grandpa to take her to the doctor. This day was the beginning of the end.

Why? Well, I personally have a heart condition. I was born with left Valve Stenosis witch means my heart has to work harder to pump blood though the valve and my body can suffer with less oxogen. With having this condition I do have chest pains, more then anyone has. The wild part is I can not take birth control because there is a lot of effects within the heart. I’ve had an inhaler many times to help with my breathing and multiple open heart surgeries. With my condition there are many things in this world I am not able to do, such as I have to be a certain weight. As for me I can’t weaigh over 120 pounds, I can’t go on roller costers, I can’t have too much salt, and I’m very limited on working out and I can’t skip meals and being stress is not great for my heart.

This morning she informed me that he had been moved the Scott & White hospital in Round Rock and that things were not looking good for him. The doctors informed her that he had a leaky heart valve that is in need of repair, but because of her father’s age which is 88 years and his other medical conditions that surgery did not seem to be an option. The doctors did not feel he would come through the surgery, so it was decided that they would just make him comfortable.

She immediately came to me , hugging me as tightly as she possibly could. This happened several times afterward, it became a “tradition”. A month passed, and my mom said that Icould finally see my grandfather now that he was feeling better. Finally, the day came and I finally got to see him. He looked so droopy and dull unlike his personality. So I started to to talk to him, he seemed so excited to see me! Afterwards, he gave me my birthday card,and I was so grateful! I could not believe he thought of me while he was sick!

Well Michelle had her PET scan and a CT scan last Thursday. We thought we had to wait until Tuesday for the results but to our relief the doctor called Friday night to tell us the good news. The tumors had shrunk and Michelle is officially in remission. Well, I went crazy happy but Michelle wanted to wait until we saw the doctor on Tuesday, just to make sure what we heard was right. Well we went to the doctor yesterday and she confirmed that everything is good. The chemo worked and after nine months of craziness it was all worth it at the end. If I go back to my old blogs and see what she went through between the stent not working, the hospital stay, the allergic reaction to the chemo and on

As the doctors and nurses were getting her for the big surgery the next day, my sister came back with nothing wrong with her own blood cells. it was a miracle. She was walking, singing and we were like, “Erica, are u feeling okay?” She said, “Yeah, I'm in no pain; I feel just fine!” Her doctor checked her blood cells and her vital signs. Everything was great. Her doctors from Dells Children said it was a miracle to see her back on her feet. Even though she was off her chemo, she still has to keep checking in every year to make sure she is doing

November 25, 2000; my night of bartending had come to an end. At 25-years-old, things were looking great for me. I was young, healthy, extremely good looking… or hot I you will, like gorgeous. Did I mention young? Anyway, things were looking great. I also had met the love of my life and we had been discussing the possibility of marriage. As I finished counting my drawer, the left side of my body went numb. My corner of my face drooped as the world began to spin and echo. An ambulance was called and I was rushed to the hospital. I had a stroke.

When first joining the Physiology Club our faculty advisor, Dr. Wehrwein, and club coordinator, James Poteracki, were both teaching my physiology lab course. Over that semester I volunteered at several elementary science events with the Club and observed small adjustments that could improve student safety and learning. Both Dr. Wehrwein and James were open to discuss my ideas and observations, and soon we were all sharing ideas about advancing the overall direction of elementary science education in the Lansing area. In one aspect, they remained my teachers in the lab, but I became a team member with equal ideas while discussing the Physiology Club. Spring semester, discussion moved to action when I was the first student given the responsibility

After the incident, there were multiple Acute Critical Stress Symptoms that have occurred. Upon discovering the hole on the fuel truck, I froze and slowly climbed down the truck, myself and the driver of the truck assumed that the mortar round was inside the truck (it turned out, the mortar round hit the tank and ricochet and hit the ground, leaving an 8 inches hole). I have been thinking about the incident and the what if scenario kept playing on my head. There were a great deal of questions, such as, exposing my team to danger, to include the considerable amount of what could have gone wrong that could have loss many lives that night. I woke up several times with a cold sweat, nightmares, difficulty sleeping and fear of event repetition.

My first day at the clinical site of St. Francis-Patewood wasn’t as bad as I was imagining it to be. I was on the mom and baby side and it was rather peaceful and calm. I am sure it was because most of the hard work was over with and that it was now time to enjoy the new bundle of joy. It was a new patient load experience, and I feel as though it was a good experience for it. The nurse I was assigned to was very pleasant and was very understanding of my nervousness but was also able to push my limits, as well as my knowledge growth. She made me think, and she made me feel included, instead of treating me like a follow along puppy. I can’t wait to go to other parts of the 4th floor so I can get an overall experience. I feel like I will enjoy

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou

I can recall the vinyl table I was sitting on when the nurse pulled the Velcro snaps off of the sphygmomanometer and announced that my blood pressure was 139/90. High. Not to mention, my pudgy 6th grade body was notably overweight. All of my childhood I was chubby, but now that I was 11 years old people stopped putting it off as baby fat. The real medical diagnosis of high blood pressure was the tipping point in my developing mind that I did not want to be unhealthy. Then and there, I decided to take up running to combat my failure.