40-Hour Celebration!

So...tired....

I did at least 7 flower deliveries at the hospital today (I think it may have been a bit closer to 10, actually) and went back and forth from the C-wing to the D-wing (opposite sides of the hospital) at least twice.  It was crazy busy!  At least I'm getting my exercise in!  Oh, and remember how I found our supply chain management office one day?  Every single week since, at least one vendor has come in looking for it.  I even learned a new way to get there that is way less complicated.  Whenever a vendor comes in looking lost and needing a badge, Eva (the girl I work with now) just looks at me and I jump up and take them.  I think I've found my niche!

I think my favorite delivery of the day was to a lady whose parents (I'm assuming--maybe not) were in the room with her.  I walked in, said "I have some flowers for you..." and realized that there were already at least 2 other flower arrangements (one of which was HUGE!) and various other gifts sitting all over.  So I changed to "Well, I guess I have more flowers for you."  Haha.  Then there's always the slightly awkward moment when they're looking at the card and you're leaving and wondering "Should I be saying something to them?"  (Saying "Have a nice day!" always feels weird when they're lying in a bed in the hospital.)  As I was backing out, the father figure guy in the room caught my attention and said "God bless you, young lady!"  It was such a nice thing to hear.

The funny thing about walking around with a cart full of flower arrangements is people comment on them.  And of course, me being me, I have no idea what to say.  

Typical conversation in the halls en-route:

Random Person: Wow, those flowers are beautiful!

Me: Yep, they are. [I can't really say "Thanks, I know!" because I in no way contributed to these flowers being beautiful.  They're not even being delivered to me, so I can't take any credit there.]

RP: And they smell so nice too!

Me: Yeah, they do.

[silence]

Yep, that's about how it goes.  Haha.  I directed and delivered some people around, too.  (In a wheelchair, not the cart.)  I think I've definitely earned my sleep tonight!

Oh yeah--I have officially logged 42 hours and 8 minutes now!  This means that I can switch around and volunteer in other places (i.e. the lab).  I may have to just go in on a different day, though--I don't want to leave the shift I have now!  I'm getting a bit attached...

Grapes

Just because I know you all have been dying to see my volunteer uniform, I took a picture.  *Disclaimer: This picture was taken almost immediately after I got home from the hospital yesterday, so please take that into account.*

Tada!

Ok, I guess I'll show you my badge, too.

Lovely, isn't it?  I have to say, wearing the almost-scrub/smock shirt and badge does make me feel very official.  (And apparently it looks official, too, because almost everyone is surprised when I tell them I'm a just a volunteer.  I guess that part is printed pretty small on my badge...)  My dad asked me the other day if they call us "grapes" because of our purple shirts--you know, instead of "candy-stripers" like hospital volunteers used to be.  While that would be kind-of funny, I told him that the color is, in fact, eggplant (according to our handbook).  So, I guess you guys can call me that from now on if you really want to...

P.S. After watching "The Little Mermaid" last night, Kailei and I agree that Prince Eric should have been higher on our list.  We hope he'll forgive us.

To Boldy Go Where No Volunteer Has Gone Before

...or at least, I hadn't been there.

Today a lady came in to the hospital wanting to know where some classrooms were.  No one really knew where to find them, so I offered to go with her to search for them.  Before we could start that search, though, we needed to go to purchasing.  (I didn't even know we had a purchasing department/office/whatever!  Does this scream "adventure!" to anyone else?  Just me, huh?)  So, off we went to try to find purchasing.  

We passed:

• The cafeteria
• Cardon's lobby (where we asked for directions)
• Several electrical/mechanical closets
• The morgue (kind-of creepy to be walking down a hallway and see a door that just says "Morgue."  Oh, no big deal...)
• The mail room
• Several storage rooms
• A drinking fountain
• The purchasing department (it's actually called "Supply Chain Management"--who knew?)
• And walked into what looked like an indoor loading dock, where someone found us and took us back to the right door.

I was all ready to find some classrooms, too, but other people from the lady's group (including the guy who was giving the presentation she was going to) showed up, so they trekked it together.  Luckily, I'm slightly OCD and I found my way back without any trouble.  (I'm one of those kids that had to turn in a circle counterclockwise if I'd just turned clockwise.) 

I do love my adventures.

Banner Week 2

Tuesday was day/week 2 at the hospital.  Holy cow--the craziness!  I left last week thinking "Yeah, I can totally do this.  I basically know what I'm doing."  Haha, guess not!  All sorts of weird situations came up on Tuesday, such as:

• A lady walked in to the desk and said "I'm having chest pains and my doctor told me to come here."  She was short of breath and looked pretty bad.  Unfortunately, the emergency department is on the opposite side of the hospital from my desk and we didn't have any wheelchairs to take her in.  One of the other volunteers walked with her to the ER, but I was worried about her all day.  Yikes!
• There was a big kerfuffle with a volunteer and a wheelchair.  (Wheelchairs are a precious commodity, I've come to learn.)  I guess some wheelchairs are assigned to specific sections of the hospital and when they're moved everyone gets upset (including department heads).  Good to know...
• Lots of visitors and delivery people seemed to be looking for patients we couldn't find.  There were at least 2 or 3 that I saw/dealt with.
• I had to answer the phones, which is scary when you don't know what you're doing.

But, on the good side, I got to do a bunch of deliveries.  That was fun.  (Even though one sent me all across the hospital with a huge cart full of scrapbooking supplies looking for the antepartum craft room.)  Oh, and I was reminded of how helpful the staff is at the hospital.  Just walk around looking lost to see for yourself. :)

On a random note, I got my hair cut today.  Hooray!  I'm pretty sure the last time I had it cut was in...March.  Yeah.  Sorry hair!  It's so soft now!  

Oh, and be on the lookout for a kind-of guest post on a friend's blog and more crocheting projects soon.  All should be awesome.  Get excited!

"Would you like some bread crumbs?"

Today was my first day volunteering at the hospital.  It was a little crazy at first, but ultimately AWESOME!  I got some training first, which took a whole, oh, 10 minutes, and then they kind-of just let me loose.  Well, not completely--there were 3 other people there.  (I'm at the main entrance information desk.)  The first few people that I "helped" were probably really sad that they walked up to me.  This was how most of those conversations went:

Visitor: I'm looking for this person.

Me: Oh, ok, let me look....uh, they're not here, let me look here (I think...)...um, [turning to my fellow front desk person] where should they be going?

Yeah, I was very helpful.  You learn a lot in 4 hours, though.  I even had someone say how helpful and knowledgeable I was somewhere around hour 3.5.  Ha!  Not bad for my first day!  (Yeah, I think I laughed when they said that.)  The best part, though?  The feeling you get when you leave and think that you've just helped people for 4 hours, and it wasn't even that hard.  How awesome is that?!

And now, I get to go see "Tangled" again with Kailei!  Hooray for Kailei/Jenny Tuesdays!

Oh, in case anyone actually read the title of this post and wants to know what it's about, it's from my first (and only, for today) flower delivery.  I had the room number, but wasn't exactly sure where I was going (it was in the first hour or so).  The guy working with me said "I think I have some bread crumbs, if you need them to find your way back."  Yeah, sure, pick on the newbie...

I Am an Adult

I'm currently in the start-up process to become a volunteer at Banner Desert hospital (down on Dobson and Southern).  I decided that I might as well do something worthwhile with all the glorious non-school time I have right now.  So, today was step #3 (I think...somewhere around there): the health screening.

Dun dun DUNNN!!!!

Really, it wasn't that bad, but they did do a TB skin test (where they shoot you up with TB particles...or something...let me go consult my disease textbook and I'll get back to you on that one) and take what seemed to me to be a large amount of blood.  Really, how much do you need to check for chicken pox antibodies?  Whatever.  The moral of the story is that I did it, did not pass out (I have a bad history with blood donation), and even went to a 2-hour orientation session afterward and drove myself home.

For some of you, this may seem like nothing special.  But to me, it was a big deal.  I actually feel like...an adult.

Haha, only took me 22-odd years.