Jogging Blood Products

I could hear the whirring sounds of the pedals going 'round.

I knocked and entered the patient's room to check their vital signs again. They were sitting on the arm of the couch that each room has. For exercise we had provided them with one of those bicycle-pedal things, and the patient was spinning away.

They were also using the little hand-held barbells to work out their arms.

They paused for a moment so I could get new readings of their temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, pulse oximetry, etc. I checked the IV line to ensure that their transfusion was proceeding well. It was.

The patient was doing their work-out while they were also getting a fucking blood transfusion!

I will never again complain that I do not have time to sneak in a little exercise.

This particular patient has a chronic condition that requires relatively frequent hospital treatment. Needless to say, all of us nurses really admire their spunk. You have to respect a person who puts that much effort into their own care.