My first day back at work yesterday was hectic, which explains why I didn't even post -- although I did drop by Clay's website. :D

Anyway, I'm on night shift today. Tuesdays are usually quite all right, but I just saw a paediatric case whose parents drove me bananas -- 10-year-old girl, chubby and cute, with a pretty severe case of asthma which was resistant to repeated nebulizer therapy. She got referred here, and was really sweaty with tight breath sounds. I gave her another neb but she still looked bad, so I brought her to the resus area for further nebs and monitoring. She improved a bit later on, but my registrar agreed that she definitely needs transfer to the children's hospital for admission. Here's where all the idiocy starts.

First, her mother refuses any IV plug or blood-taking. She also refuses admission or transfer, asking for her child to be lodged here instead, with repeated nebs as deemed necessary. Explaining the consequences fell on deaf ears. I got so frustrated I even said the word "collapse" -- a last resort on my part because I usually reserve this scare tactic for the really hopeless cases. She didn't seem to grasp this concept, and asked me to speak to her husband.

Her spouse turned out to be even worse. They're both educated and speak excellent English, but both refused the transfer or admission, despite my repeated explanations, backed up by my registrar ( he was busy with an unstable case, so he wasn't able to help me handle these two ). The dad even went so far as to accuse us of transferring his daughter so we "won't have to bear any responsibility". That did it for me. I gave him a really long, hard stare, and since I don't believe in raising my voice even when I'm extremely fed up with a patient or his/her relative ( answering complaint letters isn't worth my time and energy, so why expose myself to the risk? ), I lowered my voice instead, and said, "Please don't say such things about us. We're trying to give your daughter the best care possible. I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't accuse us of something like this."
At least my comment made him feel bad. He later apologized, and I said "It's okay" ( not that I meant it, of course ). As of this moment, they're in an ambulance being transported to KKH. Good luck to the people who see them there!

Thank goodness for my 1-week leave -- had a good rest, did lots of things that I greatly enjoy, and recharged before returning to the chaos of the ER. :)

Now, on to better things. Local Claymates, please remember to send me your photos / cards / letters by the end of this week, as I'm aiming to mail the package to Raleigh by next Tuesday. The response has been terrific, and a few of us diehard fans are meeting up for dinner later this week. It's going to be wonderful to "talk Clay" over good food -- is that a combination made in heaven or what? ;) Best of all, we'll probably have the opportunity to discuss the possibility of that CD release party, in conjunction with a nationwide campaign in the US, and other parties in countries like New Zealand. Believe it or not, the official website set up for this precise purpose has Singapore listed. You can click on this link to find out more. Spread the word, 'cos it won't happen unless we have good numbers.

The full version of Clay's awesome cover of "Invisible" is also available here. It's a winner! :)

Alias has gone up another notch in terms of spectacular twists, and if this continues further, I'm going to have to take beta-blockers before watching future episodes. Sydney's mother betrayed them! Nooooo! ( Sorry, I get very caught up with certain shows I follow, like American Idol, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor / Bachelorette, plus a few non-reality programmes, the titles of which I can't recall at 2:30am in the morning :P ).
And speaking of The Bachelor, be sure to tune in for a post-show rundown with Aaron and Helene. The two of them looked like a sure thing, but broke up soon after. Reports I've read so far put the blame on the guy, but what do you expect from someone who goes around kissing anything in a skirt? Poor Helene.

Hmm, I think I'm getting a little incoherent now. Can't wait for the night to be over so I can get home and laze around and eat my mom's excellent cooking.

Last but not least, and my apologies to non-Clay fans who read this, the American Idol tour is officially over, and hope Clay is able to finally get some much needed rest. Time to gear up for the next big event -- his debut album! :D