My training has been steadily progressing. I've done a few hours of training on the P-Tube, which is not, as was my first impression, a specimen tube of urine. It's what they call the pneumatic tube system that connects the lab to the nearby hospital. Operating the pneumatic tubes themselves is a simple task. You mostly just pick up the containers that drop out, remove the contents, and send them back. But being on P-Tube duty can be one of the most hectic, stressful parts of the job.
Almost everything that's sent through the tubes comes that way because there's a big rush to process it and get the tests run. During the busier times of the day, you have to constantly juggle making and receiving calls to and from the hospital and client services, grabbing containers, processing specimens, spinning tubes in the centrifuge and running everything over to the appropriate lab department for testing.
The other part of the training that I've just started is body fluid triage. Basically, this consists of receiving large containers of things like cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and pleural fluid (from the lung cavity). These fluids, particularly CSF, are among the more contagious specimens we handle, so transferring them to smaller tubes for testing has to be done under a ventilated hood, using sterilized needles and droppers.
Overall, I think work is going well for me. The message I keep getting from people is that I pick things up very quickly, and I'm pretty far ahead of the standard training schedule.
Over Labor Day weekend, my mom came up to visit, towing the rest of our stuff with her. We didn't have a whole lot of time to spend together, as I still had to work Friday night, but I think we had a good weekend on the whole. On Saturday, we took a trip up to Portland to Ikea to pick up a couch, dresser, shoe cabinet, and entertainment center. Afterwards, we were able to meet up with my mom's cousin for dinner at Shari's. I think she really enjoyed it, and I was glad they were able to arrange it. Sunday was a short day for us. We took a walk down the trail by the Willamette River, had some lunch, and it was time for her to start the long journey home. But for a brief while, there were Ornees in Oregon again.
And this weekend, Ornees in Oregon will be reunited at last! Courtney's flight is coming in on Saturday. It's been hard being apart for so long, a lot longer than we'd expected. But during her time in Ohio, she's helped her mom and her sisters through an extremely trying time. And they're in a much better place now, emotionally and financially, because of her help.
And it's funny, without the flexibility of her continuing income, we probably wouldn't have been able to find an apartment or afford the move here to Eugene, where we expect to grow and thrive together.
P.S. No picture ready for this post, but I'll post some of the new Ikea furniture on the next one. I just have to finish getting them put together. It's a lot of work!
