Hot Tub, What??

Here goes. For many years I investigated Nurses. Let the snickering and comments begin. Trust me it's not all that, not always anyway.

Most of my investigations were of the narcotics use/abuse and theft variety, out of hospitals and nursing homes. Yep, they were stealing them from your sick, in pain or injured loved ones and using them for themselves. My job was to figure out who was doing this and getting them out of the nursing profession and/or getting them into a chemical dependency treatment program and away from access to narcotics. I wasn't half bad at it either. I made people nervous with my investigative style because I wasn't the usual government employee. I didn't work 8-5 Monday through Friday. I would work at night, weekends and even holidays if the case warranted it. People weren't always receptive to my unorthodox style. But this was why my conviction rates were so good.

I was also well liked by the nurses I was investigating. Many times either I or my supervisor received thank you letters and comments of appreciation from them. Even when I ruined their careers and caused them to lose their jobs. They still liked me.

This story is about one such Nurse, which over my ten year career, I happened to investigate her for narcotics use on three different occasions. She was a good person but just couldn't stay out of the narcotics.

The first time I interviewed her about theft I was being accompanied by a an older board member of the agency I worked for. During our interview this nurse was wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit. Every time she raised her hand to her face, the lower the zipper on her jumpsuit got. Finally the Board member looked at her and said something to the effect that neither of us really were interested in seeing her navel so maybe she should zip up. (PRICELESS) I almost couldn't keep a straight face. After our interview ended the board member looked at me and said I think she liked you. Coming from this prim and proper board member, I turned bright red and she just laughed till the tears rolled. Result of Investigation = Nursing license suspended one year and required to complete in patient chemical dependency treatment with random drug screens for one year.

Two years later. Same Nurse, same type of case. This time, the nurse called me. She reported herself. She told me she would like for me to come to the facility where she was working and she would give me a notarized written statement of confession. Well OK. I contacted the facility and scheduled an appointment with the Administrator and Director of Nursing. A couple hours later the guilty nurse called me again. During this call she said to me I know it's a good five hour drive for you to come out here. There is no sense in you getting a motel room, you can stay at my house. I have a hot tub and you can interview me while your relaxing in the hot tub. WHAT!!!

Well, do I have to say it. OK. I refused the offer. Not only that, I showed up a day earlier then arranged and surprised everyone. I got the information I needed and had the guilty nurse come to the hospital and provide her statement and then got back in my car and drove two hours away from that town. Result of Investigation Nursing license REVOKED for a minimum of two years. She later got her license reinstated but with a limitation that she have no access to any medications.

Number three. Approximately three years after she got her license back, here she is again. I get another call from this nurse. This time it's different though. This time she calls to say that she has started using again. She says she realizes that she will never be able to stay clean and sober. She is calling to tell me she was surrendering her license and it should arrive in the mail in the next couple days along with a letter admitting what she has done and that she wants her license to be permanently revoked. She told me Thank You for being a good friend to me (her) and for everything I did to try and help her. She apologized to me for letting me down.

What do you say to someone who does this. I tried to be compassionate to her, but I don't think I did a very good job. I offered to help her get back into treatment and she declined. She told me "Thank You" once more and hung up the phone. Two days later her license and letter arrived. Result of investigation, License inactivated, eligible for reinstatement upon proof of rehabilitation. In Lieu of permanent revocation as licensee requested.

A few months later, I received information she had passed away as a result of kidney failure. She was only in her mid 30's. She had destroyed her kidneys due to the medications she was abusing. I will always feel bad for this lady, even though there was nothing I could have done. Even though, I will always wonder if there really was something more I could have done.

Time for Reflection

One of the multitudes of things I enjoyed about being a Deputy was the solitude. No one looking over my shoulder. When I arrived at an intersection or "fork in the road" it was my choice which way I wanted to go. Kind of like the difference between right and wrong, but without the guilt that usually goes along with it. It was my choice, no one dictated whether I went left, right, straight ahead or made a U turn and went back the way I just came from.

On those nights when it was quiet in the County, I could drive and think about a myriad of things. Mostly though, I would drive in quiet reflection. I might think about family, friends, conversations that were had, arguments, funny or sad things I had witnessed, what could I have done in a particular instance that would have changed the outcome of a previous case and etc. and etc. Hell, why not say it, it would also be about what I wanted in my future. You know what I mean, places to go, people to see or meet, and things to have.

A few of those reflections have left indelible marks on me. Sometimes I learned something new about myself. Many times though, I was left with a sense of wonderment. Where did these thoughts come from. What put them in my head. How did they get there in the first place. Sometimes I was left with more questions then answers,but the awe factor remained.

This is one of the things I miss the most. I still try to recreate those quiet times of reflection, however it doesn't feel the same. I have found my new place for solitude and reflection. I am not driving like before, it is a nice place but I am stationary so it's a different feeling. When I'm there, I'm still in quiet reflection but I haven't achieved the same sense of satisfaction from it.

I have made the conscious choice to take my life in a different direction. So maybe this is why my moments of reflection don't feel the same. Maybe once I reach the moment where that sense of wonderment returns, it won't feel the same but will feel even better. Sometimes I still miss my old life, but now I look forward to my new life more and more everyday. My new life is full of wonderment and new possibilities of the likes that I haven't even imagined yet.

Now that I'm writing and thinking about this it finally makes sense. My times of reflection aren't that anymore. Instead of being reflections of the past, this time should be spent on visions of the future. Thank You for helping me figure this out.

What is that.

Dispatcher tones out the ambulance and dispatches Deputy (Me) and announces all units one vehicle roll over accident with injuries, five miles west of town on the highway. Here we go, lights on, Siren blaring, rushing to the scene. I arrive before the ambulance and see a white suv, glass all busted, roof caved in and a woman yelling my son is still in the car help him he's hurt.

I go to the side of the car where he is and he has a cut over his eye and is crying. I'm talking to him and trying to find out if he is hurt anywhere else. if he knows his name, does he know where he is, does he know whats happened, just checking his cognitive abilities. I tell him I am going to try and open his door so the ambulance crew who had arrived could help get him out of the vehicle.

Then it happened. As I was trying to pull open the door, plop, warm red and white goop dumps all over my legs and boots. I look down and my stomach rolls over. I look at the boy sitting in the car with blood on his face and shirt. The stomach rolls again. About this time the boys mother goes no, no, don't worry. Thats spaghetti, we were taking a big pot of it to a friends party that we were going to.

Both me and the ambulance crew both blew a sigh of relief and chewed it back. We then finished prying the door open and then the ambulance crew did their jobs and finished getting the young man from the vehicle and transported him for treatment at the hospital. Luckily, he only had minor injuries.

However, just so you know. It was quite a while before I could eat spaghetti again.

I need a new wheelcover

For much of my time as a Deputy I worked the night shift. One night while working I happened to lose one of the wheel covers (hubcap) off of my new patrol car. I was driving a brand new car not three months old yet and was missing a wheel cover.

So since I rarely had much interaction with the Sheriff. I did as I normally did whenever I needed to get equipment replaced. I went to the office and left him a note. It went something like this.

Boss,

Sometime during the night last night, I lost a wheel cover off of the patrol car. If you get a chance could you order me a replacement.

Thanks

106

Simple right. Well, the next night when I go to work and go by the office there is a note from him, thumbtacked to the front of my inbox that said,

What's the matter, are your "nuts" exposed.

Then in little letters at the bottom of the note it said, I called and ordered you a new wheel cover.

What's that thumping noise?

During one of my investigations, I went to interview a lady who had information concerning one of my drug cases. She was not at work, so I went to her house and interviewed her. It was a small, messy (filthy) house with stuff strewn everywhere and junk piled on everything. To say the place reeked is an understatement.

She invited me in and threw some stuff off the couch so I could sit down.. Right after I sat down, I start hearing this thumping sound right behind me. I ignore it and start my interview so I can get the information and get the hell out of this pigsty before I get sick.

Well of course she wants to drone on and on about anything and everything and all about what the neighbors did and how the system is screwing her and her family and on and on. All the while I keep hearing this thump, thump, right behind me but don't dare turn around, thump, thump, thump. Finally I get all the information I need and I thank her for talking with me. Thump, thump, thump.

About this time her son comes walking in and tells his mom. You shouldn't have let him sit there the glass on the aquarium is broke. Mister you probably oughta move. I get up from the couch and look behind me as I do and there in a little broken glass aquarium is a freaking RATTLESNAKE. Just striking away at the glass right by where the back of my head was. As I leaped away from the couch I said how come he is not rattling. The kid says he is, see his tail, but his rattles were smashed by a car so I cut them off. I'm sure glad that glass didn't go ahead and break cause he sure seems pissed off at you.

As I was leaving this place I made a little mental note to myself. Make sure and pay attention to what is behind you at all times. Then I went to change my pants. I HATE SNAKES. Seriously, I HATE SNAKES.

Whats

Things I still smile about

There are many things about law enforcement work that can make you hard and jaded about the rest of the world. However there are happy things that occur, so little and slight you can forget them. Many of my happy times I had forgotten or closed them off in my brain. At least until this moment. I just woke up, my alarm clock says 2:24 in the a.m and here is list of happy memories. My brain is yelling at me to write them down.

I'm not going to explain them. They are moments in time and they made me happy and whenever I look back at this post or remember them again, they will still make me happy.

100 Grand and Payday candy bars. Brown eyes. Maya Angelou. Eating microwave popcorn in the wee hours of the morning. Eating chips and salsa at 6:30 a.m. before going to bed. Lascivious. All night car rides. 400 and Alabama. 1400 and Louisiana. Cruising the cemeteries in the middle of the night. Microphone clicks. Subway sandwiches. 1821066969.

These are just a few of the things I will cherish forever.

Now I can go back to sleep. Good Night Everyone