[FlaFem84]

I could see why that'd be a hard career to be in. My sister has cystic fibrosis. I worry about her a lot more about her last couple of years. She's 30. She was really healthy until last two years have been rough for her. I'm sure you touched the families though that you helped.

Good luck with your kitty. :-)

Originally Posted by theoddz

Okay, so I've been a Respiratory Therapist for 26 years now. For all these years, I've worked to help people to breathe better. I've held handswith scared patients and family members, used ventilators as "bridges" to save lives from respiratory and cardiac crisis/disease and as end of life life support. I've educated patients and family members about respiratory and heart disease, held babies as young as 24 weeks in my hands while delivering serfanctant therapy and maintained their ventilators. I've also sat through countless patient care plan meetings and been a part of the discharge planning team. I've been a key member of an Advanced Life Support/Code team, done countless chest compressions, inserted many, many endotracheal tubes, arterial lines and bagged thousands of patients, both young and old. I've been at the deathbeds of adults, children and babies. I've held many a cold hand as the last breath of life escaped a patient's lips. I've lost count of how many "flat lines" I've seen on a monitor. I've been puked on, coughed on, grabbed, kicked and hugged. I've lost a lot of shoes and clothing to everything from chest/pleural fluid, to vomit, feces and urine.

I am now retired from all that. Away from the death, dying and suffering. Away, to, from the joys of seeing folks recover and go back to the business of living. Away from the friends I've worked alongside for so many years and all the smiles, laughter, tears, frustrations......and hugs.

Thing is, I'm not done YET.

Our 9 y/o sweet male blond tabbycat, Henry, has asthma. Looks like I'll be returning to the world of Respiratory Therapy!!! I now have to teach Henry to use a Metered Dose Inhaler, or AeroKat.

This should be very, very interesting, indeed.



~Theo~ .....Retired???? Who's retired????