When I work on Labor and Delivery, and do anesthesia for women who are having babies, I am at the mercy of fate. Whatever is needed I am called to provide to keep the mothers-to-be safe and comfortable during the time before the delivery of the newborn infant.
Typically this exhausts me so bad the next day I am in a world of pain and suffering. Often through the night, as I work I feel the burden of the hours when I would rather be asleep.
This most recent shift was 'different'. I was able to perform with more consistent energy for work throughout the work shift. I also experienced some loss of energy the following afternoon, and in one hour was able to quickly replace it without sleep.
Would you like to know more about it?
I began the day without stress. I was a little late, but did not allow myself to feel 'the day had gone past me'. I cooked an egg and toast breakfast for my boy, which he ate in the car. I also made smoothie with banana/orange/blueberry for us both. And a cup of black coffee.
Once he was dropped off, I called the department and the physician on call to ask for report on today's assignment. I also reminded the anesthesia MD that attendance was required at the department meeting, and I would meet them there in ten minutes, again, limiting stress. I said my prayers on the way to work in the car. I also only unloaded me, not my overnight things, from the car.
At the meeting, there was RAW fruit. I took some and a cinnamon roll that looked curious. It was a mini roll, and after one bite I saw it was not good. I ate the fruit and finished my coffee I brought from home.
What I did next was to prepare emergency medications and syringes, check the anesthesia machines, and move my things into the call room. I have a work bag, and overnight wheeled luggage that is small, and a reuseable grocery bag that is filled with fresh, organic produce for the fridge in the call room.
Because the patients were stable, I had some down time. I did ninety minutes of Kundalini Yoga with Ana Brett and Devi Singh on my iPad instant video app. Then I chanted. And I wrote!
There was a great deal to write! I finished around two, with minor interruptions to place epidurals where I came back to complete each task.
I was surprised at how my hunger, because of my enthusiasm, didn't 'creep up' between the hours of eleven and two when the doctor's dining room is open. Instead after, I went to the main cafeteria, and bought salad dressing (oil and vinegar) and water. Then I had a huge salad with lettuce, raw corn cut off the cob, avocado, celery, yellow pepper, and lentil sprouts.
After patient care, a strong wave of sleepiness came over me. I lay down in the call room and slept soundly from three thirty until five thirty, when I was woke up to take care of a patient.
The patients stack up! I was able to fit in a snack around six of fruit, tea, and nuts.
Then I was working again. In some down time, I checked on the mothers who had finished and were recovering to make sure their legs were not numb. I visited for some time with one pleasant couple.
The emergency hit. A 'bleeder'. This took all of my time from ten to two in the morning. More epidurals stacked up. There was no time for 'dinner', just my 'snack'. After the 'bleeder' there were homemade chocolate chip cookies in baggies on the counter at the nursing station. I ate three, and the nurses said, 'You earned it!' because of the stress of saving the life and managing the emotions of the patient and family in the aftermath of the 'event'.
My energy was consistent and my technical skills unaffected by fatigue throughout.
(Medical research on truck drivers and airline pilots show after sixteen hours, work is affected by sleep deprivation. A human is affected as much as if they had taken one drink of alcohol.)
I slept from three a.m. to five a.m. when I was faced with the brutal assignment of three epidurals back to back. It's not the epidural insertion, it's the paperwork that takes about forty minutes for each one.
At seven I was expected to pack up, leave the call room, and wait for my next day's work which began at eleven. We were short-staffed, typically this doesn't happen, I get to leave. Now I had the 'short day'.
I had fruit and juice for breakfast. Then I slept in the back seat of the car for two more hours.
I woke up groggy and not refreshed. I drank a coffee with good effect, and ate an orange. I was attentive and alert throughout until two p.m when I was allowed to go home.
I got my clothes back on, and left for my favorite RAW vegan restaurant where my friends are.
My energy was at an all-time low.
My Reiki student was serving my booth. She sat down and gave me a big hug. I said, 'I got beat up'. She said, 'You are going to get beat up.' I said, 'I took care of everybody well.' She said, 'Of course, I expect no less.' She added, 'I will tell Mai to come and love on you.'
I concentrated on my breathing. I rehydrated with kengan water while the food was being made.
Mai sent this:
I also ordered D Stressed, and Elixir that looked somewhat like this:
I drank slowly, and concentrated on grounding to Earth, absorbing the healing energy that was around me, and drawing in Spiritual Energy with my breath.
Mai came and brought rolls for us, 'sushi' ones, to eat. She also rubbed my back, as her husband is an anesthesiologist like me. I work with him sometimes. She said he wants this back rub every night. She knew every place that was sore from the sitting and work that we do. Her knuckles dug into my muscles, and for five minutes I Let Go.
The biggest difference was a RAW soup called 'Humanese' which has tamari miso broth, coconut, avocado, and other things I don't recall. A RAW soup is warm but not steaming hot. I felt my body 'come online' after that. It was the salt.
Chef stopped at my table. I explained how I used the energy of RAW to help me through my long assignment. He was pleased.
Then I looked at him, and asked, simply, 'How did you ever figure this RAW thing out?'
He smiled, gestured to say, 'I tried it and I felt better and more strong.'
I guess the same could be said of what happened to me.
I was able to go home and be a mom until ten o'clock at night. My 'second shift' went well. Not too dazed and certainly not incapacitated like before when I ate microwaved leftovers and organic food from home supplemented with vegetarian food from the cafeteria.
these are RAW 'quiches'
Here are some excellent links on RAW living--
Remember, you need B-12 every day, a green supplement, and a protein supplement to 'go RAW vegan and not lose nutrition.'
Enjoy trying something new! Remember, you don't have to go one-hundred percent RAW. Anything you add to your diet is going to give you vibrant energy because the enzymes that are in the food and not destroyed by heat are going to help you digest the RAW meal. You won't get sleepy like you do after meat, and carbohydrates and dairy.
That is enough for today.
Mahalo and Aloha,
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
