2020 has been one HECK of a year so far. And to be honest, I’m not exactly optimistic about what these last 3 months have in store for us. I’d say it can’t get worse, but we all know that it can…

I know, I haven’t written much lately…

I really lost my motivation for writing this year. On March 17th, my O.R. came to a grinding halt. All elective cases were cancelled, and only approved emergent or urgent cases would be allowed. And over the following days, I watched as operating rooms across the country enacted the same policies. Nurses and techs were facing uncertain times, layoffs, and unemployment. It was really hard to find things to write about when all of us were really just focused on whether or not we’d still have a job when the quarantines were lifted.

And then, quarantines slowly lifted, and for many of us, myself included, it seemed the floodgates were opened and everyone wanted to get in and get their surgeries done. And man, we were BUSY. We still are, to be honest. I know that’s not the case for everyone, but I’ve heard from alot of you that your case volumes are really high right now. And while that’s definitely a good thing, it’s also exhausting!

Right in the middle of all of that, on July 30, my husband and youngest son tested positive for Covid. My son recovered pretty quickly, but my husband’s experience was pretty scary. Then I came down with it the following week. Thankfully, I didn’t get as sick as my husband, but I was really tired. The fatigue hit me pretty hard. But, about 3 weeks later, everyone was recovered and we’ve had no lingering side effects. I’m very thankful.

It’s the final push to the end of 2020

And now it’s October, the time of year when all of us in the O.R. feel the uptick in surgeries as patients rush to get their procedures completed by December 31st. It’s a crazy time of year, y’all…

And in all of the busyness, I’m finding that I want to write again. I’ve developed a new logo for the website. You may have seen it on Facebook or Instagram already, but I think it’s a nice little facelift for the blog.

I’ve also started working with Beyond Clean. They’re a great company working hard to be the global voice of sterile processing. And they provide so much free content – not just for sterile processing, but for all of us in the O.R. All of their education is offered for free! And who doesn’t like free? It’s definitely a win-win, and I enjoy promoting their stuff.

New things are coming!

I have some projects in the works that I’m really excited about and I can’t wait to share them with you. They’re still in-process, but I can promise you that they will be worth the wait. You’re gonna love it!

It feels good to be writing again. Almost “normal.” Is it safe to use that word? Probably not…

Until next time,

Melanie