MY DEBUT AS A NURSE

This is Peter.

Peter is a fellow Lymie. He was on the Lyme Life Flight with us and as a result has become a really good friend.

He is also my first patient.

Peter is also under the care of DR H in California and recently started on IV Treatment for his LD. Peter was able to follow in my footsteps and get his PICC line put in here in Canada. Apparently, I blazed the trail for him and his surgery went smoothly, unlike the drama and hoopla that surrounded my ordeal. Obviously the surgeons perfected their trade on me and my long suffering arm.

Because our medical treatment is coming from outside of Canada we are unable to access a lot of the medical resources that would otherwise be available to us if we were being treated by an Infectious Disease doctor in Canada. While we have been provided with nursing staff who care for our PICC lines they are 'not allowed' to have anything to do with the administration of our medications.

As a result, we have not been afforded the luxury of being taught how to administer IV medications. Fortunately, the first time I was on IV treatment it was under the care of Infectious Disease in Canada and so i was the recipient of excellent IV training.

The first time around, I was taught how to hook up my lines and administer my IV by home care nurses. For me, having to go solo this time around was a no brainer. However this is all new for Peter. He is an iV newbie. A fish out of water.

So I have become Peter's nurse and his IV educator.

It only took 2 days of teaching before he felt confident enough with his newly acquired skills to go solo in the comfort of his own home.

Either he's a quick study or I'm just a really good teacher.

Obviously, i think it's my great skills that have him already administering IV like a pro.

Of course, he thinks otherwise.

Upon his first solo IV trek at home, he claims that he was able to prep his lines without a single air bubble developing. He's been rubbing that in and has even had the nerve to suggest that i was possibly trying to 'off him' with the few, piddly air bubbles he found in his line during his first tutorial at my house.

Must I remind him that he ran it himself at my house too? I only directed and oversaw the production.

And besides a great teacher lets her students learn from their mistakes.