I lift, push, pull and lift heavy equipment and machinery. I am exposed to multiple diseases every work day-- some deadly, some rare and untreatable, some drug resistant, some highly contagious, including airborne pathogens. I deal with every body oriface, and what comes out or goes in of them.
I take care of wounds on bodies so destroyed that I'm cleaning up feces before applying the dressing-- on the abdomen, usually, and no I'm not talking about colostomies, which, by the way I apply, and teach new ostomy patients. I've seen people try to eat and watch the food come out of some hole in their belly.
I deal with kidney disease, and am a dialysis trained nurse-- more potential for blood exposure. I work with liver transplants, before, during and after. They can get a condition called encephalopathy and occasionally become violent.
I've been bitten through the skin, been spit on, puked on, bled on, been exposed to exudate or pus from wounds. And of course, feces and urine. I've been hit, had my hair pulled, been threatened, been inappropriatly propositioned.
I'm ACLS certified. I take care of cardiac patients. I've seen 35 year olds stroke out in front of me. I've seen after a fall, the blood pooling rapidly under someone's head. Strokes. Seizures, heart attacks, codes, Wounds, chonic disease, cancer, death. Smells. My God the Smells.
I do leach therapy on what we call flaps, a piece of transferred tissue to another part of the body when the venous system is not returned blood fast enough. Yes, leeches.
I could go on for pages. So tell me how constuction is more 'hard' or 'dangerous' than what I do again? I could make the average construction worker puke over dinner just talking about my day.
And gee, I'm just a nurse.
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