Digging Through Thrash

18th January (Sunday) - Discharge tsunami incoming...! Today is also one of the rare instances I did not do bed-making. Why? Not even 7.30 prof already came, ready to discharge his patient, who's keen to go home.. At first things we're okay. He exposed the post CABG incision that he did few weeks back. Looks good and clean. Then he moved to the uncle's leg. Previously he had a femoral catheter inserted, wounds look okay, but there's a bulge near his groin. When questioned, uncle says it was worse previously but now the swelling has reduced a lot. Prof did a lot of prodding and stuff and he concluded that it shouldn't be bulging, it must be clots. He then asked me to get ready the dressing trolley and suture set. I told him the suture set is at the other side of the ward and he said it's fine. So off I went to retrieve the suture set from the CSSD cupboard and here we go.
This is the first time I'm assisting him with no one to help me out this time, so I got the lignocaine prepared as prof tore the suture set open  Then because we don't have scalpel blades, I asked the TL for help while prof say he'll try made do with the stitch cutter. if this was another prof, he will definitely go ballistic. Okay, I saw him cutting the bulging part and then, this part is where things get messy. He used the forceps and scissors and start cutting and digging, yes I do mean literally, digging into uncle's muscles and start pulling out all these lumpy clots. G-uh! There's so many of them, some as big as marbles, some stuck together, all the time blood kept gushing out, staining the bed sheets, uncle's gown, the sterile drape that prof had set up, the gamgee and gauze that I stand by every time one gets fully soaked. It was an hour plus when all the clots are finally gone and prof took the suture and start sewing four stitches on the cut. Finished, now uncle can go back home.
Moments later I got a call from his wife,  who was going on and on about the post op site dressing being soaked. So I came over with some gamgee and hypafix and oh God, uncle's leg is bleeding like mad. Like a blood waterfall. Even with the amount of gamgee I applied pressure on, it becomes soak within minutes. in the end, I put one on top, grabbed another fresh set, this time with my friend coming along to help me apply pressure dressing. It fixes alright this time. Praying hard uncle will be able to go back home.
Then we got a whooping total of eight discharges in our ward. So all that's left to do is wait for the profs to authorize the discharge. One lady who had been waiting to go home for Chinese New Year  is finally happy that both profs came to allow her to go home. My friend and I helped them both as they did the dressing, change the post op site into Aquacel dressing and she's free to go. I thought she was a nice lady but prof, prof just have to go and tell her that she's free to go and pay the bill and promised that she'll be first in line to the point where her children all chased us at the counter. "Is the bill ready?" "Can she go back yet?" "Prof say she can go back already, so why is the bill taking so long?" "Why you cannot give us a specific time?" Oh for God's sake, you think we are superwoman. You're not the only person who is being discharged you know. There are 7 patients all in queue, you yourself included. Urgh, and prof was hogging the folder when I want to write my report. He was calculating every single consultation fees in two sheets of paper. I can't believe these people. In the end, prof went to the billing and the lady was allowed to jump queue. Grrr, unbelievable.
Then uncle's dressing went soaked again, and once again, my seniors and I did the dressing. Because it was a lot of blood again, my friend did vital signs checking and I went to billing to write my report while getting away from the havoc, like the lady's children chasing for the bill to be out NOW.
Speaking of blood, remember the suture set earlier on? I remembered that there's a piece of paper inside it. I don't see it in the patient's room, and it's super important. If it's not in the patient room, *gasp* OH HELL. I ran to the clinical waste bin and started digging for the bag I threw earlier on. Digging through the blood, drapes, gamgees and and all. When I got to the bottom of the bag I finally found the paper. PROF, WHY???? T.T
If you think that's the end, guess again. A mother threw her baby's pampers even though we told her many times that we needed to measure the pampers. Again, I ended up digging through thrash just to get two chocolate-stained pampers, which also smells of rotten eggs. Urgh. Why me???