Harry Pogger vs the Hedgehog Dementors

After four night shifts, my mind shifted back from work-work-work to Poggles.  I had hoped to pick up a new baby hedgehog this Sunday, but soon realized I was not really in the right mind set to get a new baby yet.  I still missed Poggles too much.

Instead, my hunny took me out for coffee and pastries, we strolled around the markets, and we hunted for Halloween pumpkins.  He picked three perfect pumpkins and I chose one demented one.  I imagined turning its hideous-ness into some kind of amazing art piece, but had to admit afterwards that the pumpkin (unfortunately) looked like a large orange butt.  C'est la vie.

Today, I curled into bed and read books.  It was very comfy and comforting.  I also painted this picture of Harry Pogger.  He is fighting plump hedgehog-shaped dementors.  My hunny says the dementors need scarier, longer arms, but I like them short and chubby as is.  Sort of cuter... in a dementor sort of way.

My friend came by and gave me a lovely card wishing me to feel better soon.  She also gave me a cute hedgehog ornament that reminded her of Poggles.  She even drew in a V where Poggles used to have two white quills that formed a V-shape.  I thought that was really sweet of her.  It really brought a smile to my day.

I hope you are having a good weekend  :)

xoxo

Little Hedgehog Ornaments and a Mole In Progress

Tomorrow will be the last day of my preceptorship.  The thank-you cards are written, I've had a nice few days of break, and it's time to work one last very busy day.  I didn't really know what to do with myself, so I did a little painting.  

I used white Sculpey to make a number of little hedgehogs and other things a while back (maybe two years ago?).  It seemed like a good time to paint them.

 Watercolour paint doesn't seem to adhere well to the Sculpey surface, but mixing it with white acrylic paint for the first coat seemed to help. 

 They have a dark brown coat first all over, then I use a moist brush to remove most of the paint from the face, legs, and underside.  It leaves a pale brown area.  Then I added a thicker reddish brown layer to the quills.

For the face, I gave it a lighter yellowish brown layer, then added a wide small brown nose and dot eyes.  Then I gave them a light pink blush to the cheeks, top of the nose, and feet.

Oh, and I made a mole too.

All of them are very small.  That little cup of water is a bottle cap.  I'll post more pictures when they are done.  I might put a glossy outdoor coating on when they are dry.

Have a great week!

The Last Week of Mental Health

Well, the last clinical day of mental health has come and gone.  It was a relatively quiet day, made more somber because we watched a video clip of Amanda Todd.

Suicide
My teacher wanted to talk with us about how we felt about the video.  He talked with us about how suicide is not so much a choice as an illness.  Sometimes people with seemingly perfect lives will still commit suicide.  Of course in Amanda's case, that was not true, but he wanted us to understand that there was a lot going on when someone takes their life and that it's a tragedy.  We debriefed about the video and how felt like we, as part of the system, had failed her.  Some of my classmates cried.

It was nice to be able to talk as a group about the video because it's all over the Internet.  The video stirs up a lot of strong feelings.  Since we are working in mental health, it gave us some perspective on what could happen to some of our clients when they leave.  It's very sad.

A Heavy Burden to Carry
I went back to the ward feeling a bit low.  When I sat down with one of the patients and he told me he was there because he tried to commit suicide, I felt a bit frustrated.  I wished that I could possibly instill some hope in him so that he wouldn't follow through later on.  I feel like the nurses on a mental health ward have a heavy burden to carry.  I know it's not their fault when a patient commits suicide later on, but you can't help but feel that it's somehow your fault too.  It just hurts inside.

The Pros and Cons of Mental Health
My favourite part of mental health is that there is a lot of time to talk with the patients.  You have time to hear their stories, and you have time to build a bond.  It's a nice change from other wards like Medicine or Surgery where you're bustling around non-stop.

The downside of mental health is that you get close enough to the clients to feel their pain.  If you don't take good care of yourself, you'll start to hurt too.  I think it's something about being a nurse and putting ourselves into their shoes in order to understand them better.  Sometimes you put their shoes on and you walk out of the hospital still wearing them.

Pediatrics Next
Next rotation is pediatrics.  I'm looking forward to working with kids, but boy am I going to ache when the little ones don't do well!  Somehow though, it's seems easier to cope with medical illness than mental illness. There's less stigma, less fear of the patients, and wounds are visible.

Mental Illness is Everywhere
One thing that I'll always have to remember though is that mental health patients are everywhere. Just because someone is on another ward doesn't mean that they are psychologically okay.  I will still encounter depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, suicidal patients, and other mental illnesses.  They get sick too.

I guess the good thing is that I have more understanding and compassion for these patients now.  I'm not as scared of them anymore, and I know that a little talking and caring can go a long way to helping them heal inside and out.

I wonder if I'll ever work in mental health one day?  I guess I wouldn't rule it out.  Despite it all, I still do carry some satisfaction in some of the interactions and conversations I had on the mental health ward.  Who knows what good we can do when we put a little effort and love into it?  The least we can do is try.

Have a fantastic weekend!

P.S. - Those are some new dog paintings that I made when I was taking breaks!  It's my first time painting dogs, but definitely not my last!

Painting is Hard

I tried to do some painting last night and discovered with dismay that my paint is a little translucent. This meant that covering up an older painting to try again was impossible. I ended up running the canvas under water to wash the new paint away and ended up with a water damaged canvas, oops!

The good news is that the new paint is great on paper. I thus drew a nice little picture of Unloved and my new creation, Zombie Mouse, traversing the earth together. It turned out nicely and I got to practice painting and learn which paint brushes work best. I think I will need to invest in some new, more precise brushes. Pictures coming soon...