LSU_Fan_Tiff

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Hey Guys, 
Sorry I'm posting this so late in the day. I worked last night and when I got home the internet was down. I tried to stay up while Cox fixed it but I crashed. Anyway, here goes... 1. Why do you run? Stress relief and exercise was why I started running. Nursing school was a pain in the butt! (Nope that wasn’t because I was allowing friends to practice their shot skills on me!) Now I run because of those things and because I love it. 2. What is your greatest accomplishment? Surviving my life. More specific my girls and graduating nursing school. 3. What is your motto/theme song? Don’t waste a moment/Rascal Flatts Stand A cancer patient and friend of mine- 16 year old (at the time) Tony- He told me to live every minute and that’s my motto. Every minute of today- live it! No day but today To look into his eyes Feel the words they speak Can one reach out I'm not so sure The wars within Show no glimmer Outside his careful walls Built tight with fear Or dare it be, uncertainty Looking for an equal To relax, to live, to be, oneself Openly, honestly, truly To be free Not to look to tomorrow Or back to yesterday No changes, no regrets Every minute of today Live it, that's all I ask! <div style="text-align:center;">4. How do you deal with bad runs? If it’s a morning run and I have the time I run again in the evening cause I’m competitive with myself.</div>
 5. Do you reward yourself for good runs? Nope, haven’t really thought about it. I guess the more I run and set goals when I reach them I’ll think of some way to reward myself. 6. Who do you admire most? My grandmother, she raised eight successful children. 7. What is the greatest advice you have ever received? Don’t forget what you stand for, and never say never. 8. What do wish you had learned younger? Honestly, I learned a few too many things as I was young so maybe I should turn this around and say I’m glad I learned the things I did when I was younger because I learned to not take life for granted at a very early age. 9. What do you wish you could do but can't? Sing and spend one more day with my best friend. 10. How would your friends describe your personality? Strong, Smart Elec, Caring, Dependable, Random, very left field 11. What do you wear running? favorite outfit? Shorts, T-shirt/tank shirt/tech shirt. Lately, workout pants. Shrugs, whatever I feel comfortable in. 12. What has been your favorite race? Haven’t run a race yet. If the knees behave planning on doing my first 5K in B-ham. I’ve had ITB issues, but they are resolving, I think! 13. Do you have a goal race right now? 5K in B-ham- just to do my best. 14. What makes you happy? Friends, my daughter’s smiles, the babies at work that coo at me, chocolate, a good book, writing, making other people in my life happy. 15. Tell us one interesting thing about you that you haven't said (at least not often) on this forum in the past. When I was 18 my daughter Katie was born on December 12, 1995. She was born with Down syndrome and had a small hole in her heart. She contracted an upper respiratory virus from a well baby doctors visit when she was two months old called RSV. Not very well known in 95 but pretty commonly known about now. She spent a long time in a Pediatric Intensive care unit and her lungs never healed in time to have the heart surgery she needed. The time I spent with my first daughter eventually lead me to my career as a NICU nurse. You could say she was my first patient. J Happy Birthday Katie-Bug! Hope you’re running through the clouds and havin’ some good chocolate cake! <img alt="" src="http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u186/lsufantiff/Katie.jpg" style="border:0px solid;"> 16. Tell us one interesting thing about another user of this forum that has not been posted (at least not often) on this forum in the past (make sure the other person will not object to posting the info!). Let’s see…. Maples is a closet LSU fan.

McTortle · Dec 13, 2007

Tiff - you are such a lovely woman. Thank you for sharing yourself with us. I'm so glad you're part of the 30s!!

Chelle · Dec 13, 2007

Wow Tiff, thank you for sharing yourself. I get the feeling that I could sit and listen to you talk for hours. Good luck on your up coming 5K!

Hanging Jury · Dec 13, 2007

Great post. Thanks for sharing, especially about Katie and how you came to nursing. 
Benj

roots · Dec 13, 2007

Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading about your daughter. 
Good luck training for and racing your first race!

bard73 · Dec 13, 2007

Oh wow, Tiff. People choose their careers for many reasons, but it seems to me that yours is more of a calling. 
Happy Birthday to Katie. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> I bet she is really proud of her mama.

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Thanks everyone I appreciate your comments. McT love being apart of the 30's and look forward to getting to know everyone better as time goes on. It's an amazing group. Chelle <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> I can surely ramble on for hours sometimes. So if you're into randomness then I'm your person! Bard I've always felt I kinda ended up where I'm supposed to be and even when the job gets stressful at times I still at the end of everyday love it and know it's where I'm supposed to be.

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Bard And every time I see your Sig and quote from Dom it's inspiring! Love it. Great that it's your sig.

arc918 · Dec 13, 2007

Tiff - what a great post. You NICU nurses are amazing - enough said (don't want to make this post about me).

solitude · Dec 13, 2007

Tiff what can I say? That was great to read. That No Day But Today was something I needed to hear today. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> Your story about your daughter brought tears to my eyes. I have an aunt with DS. She is the oldest living woman with it in the US. 
I think there should be a special place in heaven for NICU nurses. Did you always want to be a nurse or did your experience with Katie push you towards it? I would love, love, love to be a nurse, but I don't think I could handle working in the NICU. I'd be an emotional wreck all the time.

Lincoln · Dec 13, 2007

Oh, Lord. 
Tiff, that was beautiful about your daughter. 
And I agree with soli about a special place in Heaven for NICU nurses. My nephew had all sorts of complications and actually had to be revived right after birth. They're a special breed. No doubt of that. 
Lincoln

oache · Dec 13, 2007

Tiff, 
You are one rawkin nurse and I look forward to going all in against you. 
your pal, 
oache

oache · Dec 13, 2007

oops...that didn't come out quite right........I was talkin' about poke....r......<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy">

OldBaldHippie · Dec 13, 2007

very touching story...nurses are special people.... 
my GF's family is from Louisiana and full of LSU grads...watching football games with them can get pretty loud....

sistergoldenhair · Dec 13, 2007

Great POTD, LSU_fan_tiff. A NICU nurse -- how does it feel to be a hero and care for them all day long, too? 
I hope you have a great time in your first race. Happy Birthday to Katie!

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Soli, How old is your aunt? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> If it wasn't for the RSV, Katie would have been high functioning and lived a good life I am sure. She was developmentally on task for everything a normal two month old should be doing. 
I'm so drawn to people with DS, esp. kids. I know sometimes I see kids in a mall or at a park with DS and I want to look at them, observe them, play with them. Every once in awhile I'll approach a parent and get permission to interact with their child if I'm feelin' brave. I've gotten the chance to take care of a couple of babies with DS at work and it's been my pleasure. In a couple of months I can start doing primary care nursing- where I pick up a baby and everytime I work can be assigned that patient. I'm really looking forward to it. I wish I could do it now because I've had a couple of parents request for me to pick up their child and I just can't yet. 
I honestly didn't walk away from the experience with Katie knowing I wanted to be a nurse. I just started taking general college classes at night and researched a bunch of things. The first thing I really wanted to do was play therapist because I thought how cool that you get to work with sick or physically/mentally challenged children and your job is to play with them! Well, the closest program for this was in Mississippi and if you got the degree the jobs were few and far between so I started thinking about other things in the medical field. I don't know when I woke up and decided I wanted to be a nurse, but once I made the decision I knew 100% it was what I was supposed to do with my life. I knew going into Nursing school I wanted to work with children. I set out to get a NICU or PICU position. I knew it was hard to get hired into the NICU as a new grad so I teched in a NICU during school. The cool thing is when I graduated I had four job offers for NICU's in the area and I'd only applied for one. I work in an amazing NICU. We've got 96 beds and we're top five in the United States. I consider myself lucky to start my carrer at such an amazing place and we really have a staff that knows what the word teamwork means. I ramble too much, can ya tell I love my job? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> 
As far as handling working in the NICU enviroment. It is a rollar coaster of ups and downs. I mean, one day you're watching a 25 weeker breathing on their own and just sailing through the day (a miracle) and the next you're coding all day another 25 weeker that might not make it through the night. There's a healthy respect for all things that could go wrong in a pregnancy and we're humbled that parents put the lives of their children in our care. 
Some of the coolest things that never get old- being first admit, being called to a delivery, and seeing new life in those first moments. It's always, always, breathtaking. And to watch a little one grow every day before your eyes from less than one pound to a healthy baby you're sending home with the parents after a few months- that's great. It's rewarding in and of itself. 
There are bad nights or days... and it's a balance. I've only lost one patient so far and it was a pretty draining experience. I guess it's just one of those kind of jobs you're either meant to do or not. It's a world I know, so I wasn't shell shocked by the reality of it. 
Nursing is not an easy job, but all my nursing friends I know say they'd choose it over and over again and I agree. Besides 300,000 openings across the US! Pretty much do whatever you want after you graduate and you don't have to do bedside, there are so many options. So if you're thinking about it, I'd strongly encourage it, great field to be in.

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Did he stay in a NICU long? How is he today?

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

Dear Oache, 
I seriously just spit out the water I was drinking and almost choked! Is there a doctor in the house??! 
Your turning blue and red pal, 
Tiff

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

LMAO At least I'm breathing now. Too funny. Good thing it's not Friday!!

LSU_Fan_Tiff · Dec 13, 2007

I might tend to yell at the refs a tiny bit while watchin' football games. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/biggrin.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Very Happy"> 
We do take our football seriously here.

LSU_Fan_Tiff

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