Thursday, May 5, 2011

Going Outpatient!!!

Going outpatient in the Active Duty Army is so not like anything else. So normally you are discharged from the hospital and that's it, right?! Here we have to have our living quarters approved, talk to doctors and social workers to make sure we can handle the responsibility, and then I have to learn the nursing stuff. And in the midst of all of this we have to go on a scavenger hunt to obtain over 30 signatures.
So Monday we started all the fun. We went to PT and OT and then came back to Chaz's room and got his IV meds. Then we were told at 1 to clear his room because they were kicking us out. The nurses were so sad that we were leaving, it was really sweet. One of them followed us out and down the hall. I know I have written before about how amazing Ward 57 is, and trust me it's all real. Chaz's squad leader showed up to take our stuff from the hospital to the Fisher House where he seriously piled everything into one place and then told us we had to go to the WTB to get our paperwork started. This is where we learned about the scavenger hunt. The whole time I am sitting there just thinking and what if I wasn't with him, and what about the guys who don't have anyone, and seriously you guys are not tracking all these little details, so we need to go get signatures to prove them.
I totally understand this is the Army and they have a system, but sometimes a little common sense needs to be injected into the situation. I understand they have set this system up for a reason. There are really young people being injured that need all of this, but we don't. There should be an initial meeting with whoever then they should decide who needs the additional help. I told Chaz I have no problems meeting with the WTB, the Nurse Case Manager, the social worker and his primary care manager. But explain to me why we need to meet with Tricare, if there aren't any issues and with the mailroom before we are officially inprocessed into the WTB. There are more "seriously we have to go see them" lines on the paper, but I'll just let you use your imagination. We need to be focused on healing and moving forward not wasting our time going on a hunt for signatures, especially when some of them are so pointless. I did say to one person, "You are tracking that these are wounded warriors, can we not just go through the computer system and double check the info and then let them get back to healing?" He looked at me like I was crazy. I followed with, "Wow, crazy idea huh?"
Monday I also learned how to flush Chaz's PIC line and how to give him IV meds. I have also been schooled on wounded care, amputee care and many other skills. I am learning so much that sometimes my brain hurts. Then we get to add inprocessing to all of this. I am so thankful Chaz is in such a great spot. He is so much better off then a lot of other guys. I am so lucky that I have so little to do in comparsion to others. I only have to give meds and get him to his appointments and little things like that. They all keep me super busy. So busy in fact I haven't started my new book that I bought on Tuesday.
This is beyond a full time job and I truly wonder when will I get back to my fellowship and my CFP and CTC licenses, but I know I will one day. And I will finally get to law school, but that all can wait. Right now I am going to focus on healing our family and enjoy the fact that we are still together. I am going to rejoice in our little family. I will thank God everyday for what he gives us. God has given us so much. His gifts have made this journey so much better!
Right now I am the most thankful that every hardship God puts us through because God rewards us with something great. There are some super cool things going on with us right now. I have some rocking awesome surprises in store for my hubby and kids. Two things I love are birthdays and surprises!! And boy do I have some good ones coming up. Just wait you'll find out when they happen. Believe it or not I am a very private person. These notes have become my therapy. These notes are my way of letting out what needs to be let out and still keeping in what I need to. But my surprises are mine and they are really good ones. We have met some truly amazing people and they are making these awesome things and surprises happen. And I give God the glory for making all of this happen.
Most importantly we have been supported by all of these incredible people and we are so thankful for everyone. There's no way any of this could have worked out if it wasn't for all of the amazing people helping us. Many thanks to you all for your prayers, cards, gifts, emails, smiles, hugs and everything else. We are so thankful for you all. You all have made this journey easier. God bless you all!
Have a great day!
=) Jessica

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