I noticed this clever signage posted in my husbands hospital room a few days ago. He had just had knee surgery and was confined to his Orthopedic bed that was state of the art. The bed intermittently massaged his entire body, raised up/down, raised the head/feet, and could summon help when needed. This all worked via the push of a button. The same device could control the TV as well. When I started my career as a Nurse, I had to do all those things for the bed ridden patient... including the massage part, which was called "Back Massage 101" Things have definitely improved for the patient and the caregivers. However, some things have not improved, no matter how many instructions and signs you give the patient they still do exactly what they want ... even if it poses a risk to the patient and more work for the medical staff. The sign at the top seems obvious to most people after surgery, sedation, low blood pressure, low sugar, lack of sleep, etc. After all, the sign is in clear view and in red with big letters! No, the patient (my husband included) must read it like the sign at the bottom, which says "You can do it yourself, Go for it!" or "Free brownies served by Victoria Secret Models in the next room!" Patients do not listen to signs or instructions on more occasions than you would think. They still get up and fall, drive while under the influence of drugs, rip off their bandages prematurely, soak their surgical site in water before they should and eat pizza loaded with grease on the way home after anesthesia. As Nurses, we just shake our head and hope the occurrence doesn't involve a lengthy incident report to fill out. It would only take up our time. The same time that we could be spending instructing the next patient to not do the same idiotic things!
These are my new garden gloves. They are magical! Not only are they my favorite color but they have polka dots! A woman who is comfortable in orange polka dots can do any thing! 
This is round two for my husbands knee joint replacement. I miss his beautiful hands. I think his hands deserve new grips on his golf clubs!
I have my first Apple Iphone. My son told me it would be "too much" for me to handle and that it's technology was beyond my comprehension. I don't take that statement as an insult since he might be right. I grew up with a rotary phone on a "party line"full of nosey neighbors, in the 50's & 60's. What do I know about data plans, CDMA verses GSM, and what really is that "Cloud" thing? This makes me think back to my Great Aunt Emma who was a phone operator in her younger days. Whenever she picked up the phone to place a call, she would check the line for clearance by yelling "HELLA..HELLA?" This continued long after party lines were obsolete. She knew what she was doing with these newer phones, by Gosh! No one ever doubted her authority or ability when it came to phones. She was widely respected as a former Ma Bell employee. As children, we wondered why she yelled into the phone when it was obvious to us that there was no one there. The family didn't have the heart to explain to her that technology had moved on. We continued to let her use her Carroll County operator voice while placing her calls. Respecting your elders was more important than being right.
Today is my birthday. I am 57 and proud of it. I have earned this martini and the cake that came with it. This last year was a difficult one, having placed my Mother into a dementia unit. I found strength in my husband who listened to me, encouraged me, and made up a wonderful martini just for me called "Here's to Me". I love that man!
