Saturday, April 14, 2012

Camp Nurse

7 AM this morning found me awake and making nursing rounds. This included giving out one medication before breakfast and "rounding" on a beautiful woodland trail as the sunlight began warming the day.  One mile in for the day. I could get used to this kind of nursing.

I am at Cove Valley Christian Camp (http://www.covevalleycamp.com) in Mercersburg, PA for the Primary Retreat (Grades 3-5) Weekend. I am "the nurse" for this event and to be honest, it's a bit out of my comfort zone. I am used to the NICU and hospital nursing, not this. I need to keep telling myself that it is like taking care of my kids at home. Headaches, scrapes, bruises, etc. I can handle it at home, so why is it kinda scary here? I am guessing that it is the fact that these are children that belong to someone else, and I feel responsible. I am "it" as there is no doctor, no practitioner, no one else to confer with; I am it.

So far, other than making sure medications were taken at breakfast (allergy, ADHD meds), I've handed out or applied a couple of bandaids. I am really good at bandaids. We played group games and the potential for injury was there (see Exhibit A photos below), but we made it through unscathed...

...in spite of the 14 metal poles and cement floor.

Exhibit A:




Scooter Hockey. Take 20 people, split them on two teams, some on scooters, some pushing the scooters, a goalie or two, someone to move the goal around to various places, and about 5 balls of various shapes and sizes. Add in loud shouts, whistles blowing, and laughter. Mix it together and you have scooter hockey, which looks a little like the bumper cars at a carnival. Minus the cotton candy. 

Group game time was followed by a short chapel service. (see Exhibit Photo B)

Exhibit B:




























This is a much calmer activity. But the activity I am really looking forward to is...

..PM FOB (this stands for "Afternoon Flat On Back" aka Rest time/Naptime/Break)
Now that's what I'm talking about.

The lunch bell has rung and I need to go rejoin the campers. I love their enthusiasm and spice for life. If I had just an ounce of their energy, I may not even need PM FOB.

Here's to an uneventful rest of the day...oh wait, is that someone else who needs a bandaid?

Love,
Dianne

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