i can't tell you the number of times this month i've been yelled at for not posting. sorry.
******
the doctor i'm working with works nextdoor to my highschool. it's awesome! after months of a 45 minute to hour long commute, the 4 minute drive is WONDERFUL! we start at 7 most days. if i leave by 7:04, i beat him there...
and he's awesome. he is fun and laid back and smart and so nice. and he grew up here too. and so did his wife. and he's related somehow to about every other patient or so. we've been working on drawing out the family tree... his wife has a HUGE extended family... he goes to one of the baptist churches in town, so even our circles of friends overlap some... it's fun fun fun. and he cracks me up... he's always telling funny stories about his kids... he has four of them between 3 and 10 yrs old... like the three year old squeezing his preschool teacher's "bunnie-wunnies"... or the ten year old asking if he had to have sex when he got married... it's a riot, i tell ya!
his nurse is fun too... and she thinks i'm funny and is constantly saying some variation of "you fit in so well here!" hopefully there's a job offer floating somewhere in there... we'll see... it's a family practice office, so i'm not sure they'd let me in... but one of the partners is internal medicine... so maybe. wouldn't that be something...
******
mom and i are going to see "the holiday" tonight... meridith said it was cute. but i have some laundry i need to get going on before then. so you'll have to take this as your update...
12.23.2006
11.27.2006
fast.
that's how time is going. i'm not all that busy, and i'm not all that entertained in my spare time, but it's somehow going by SO quick... like i think one day i may wake up and my entire life have just rushed by. i mean, i'm practically 30.
maybe this feeling is exaggerated right now because my weekends have been very busy. very very fun. and very busy. it's made my chicago month race. unlike my last chicago month... but let's not relive that again...
weekend #1 - skinner came in from pittsburgh: we ate, we played games, we dyed her hair, we shopped. it was so fun to see her! here's one of the few pictures of our weekend. it was bright and sunny!
weekend #2 - sarah came into town for an interview and stayed with me at meridith's house. we went to dinner friday night, then helped meridith and her boyfriend with a puzzle (that took us a WEEK to finish, by the way), saturday morning she had her interview, then the four of us went out for a sushi lunch. sarah and i then took the train downtown where we intended to shop a little, then meet a friend for dinner. we only went to old navy so she could get a scarf and gloves... it was cold! then as we were heading towards the pub where we were supposed to be meeting our pal matt, we accidentally ran into santa claus. turns out, that night was the parade and fireworks show prior to the lighting of the michigan avenue trees. it was fun and pretty, and made us a little late. which turned out to be ok because matt ended up working a little late. we beat him there by about 10 minutes. after dinner, which was amazing! we met matt's friends and ended up staying out until about 3 am... (there was a small decision making session around midnight, when we would've needed to leave to catch the last train out... we decided to stay over with matt at his friend ryan's and take the train in the morning...) sarah was exhausted! she had been up since 5 am, and had only slept a few hours the night before! we headed out for the train station after a brief nap... made it onto the 8:30 train, which subsequently broke down and got back an hour later than it was supposed to. no matter though. we grabbed some breakfast and went back to meridith's where sarah showered and headed out for detroit. this is one of the only photos that i took before my camera batteries died. i had extras with that were also dead. sarah took a few, but she hasn't sent them to me yet.
weekend #3 - thanksgiving... i had about 5 full days off work and really wanted to come home. i decided not to since it's an 8 hour drive and i am coming home on friday anyway... now i'm even more glad that i didn't make the trip since everyone was sick sick sick. i ended up having thanksgiving with meridith's family on thursday. we put together another puzzle (it's possible we've become obsessed...). thursday night we attempted to do some pre-black friday shopping at some nearby outlet malls that had "midnight madness"... it was madness alright. absolute madness. we sat stopped dead on the interstate for an hour and a half... all three lanes of traffic. dead. stop. we ended up making our way to the left lane and skipping past the outlets and turning around at the next exit and heading home. we made it back home about 2, i got up at 4 to go to best buy (where the line was insane and they had hired a dj to entertain the crowds) to get my new red razr phone which is so so pretty and then went back home to bed. about 7 we got up and went to old navy. then back home and to sleep until about 11. later that night, we made a successful attempt at the outlet malls. which was fun and the weather was so nice. saturday i went with meridith's family to her sister's house in milwaukee. her neices are real cute. it was fun. when we were getting ready to go, the 2 year old was giving everyone kisses... she looked at me and said "camden, kiss?" it was so cute!
so that's about all. and really sums up my month here. the actual rotation has been a waste of time. but it's been easy and guilt-free to take time off to interview... i'm 3 down and have another in des moines on friday. then next week in kansas city. then??? not sure where... but there are a few left after that. i'm still waiting for one to jump out and scream "pick me"... otherwise, they have all gone very well and i could be happy at pretty much any of them.
there you have it. a post. and check out the ticker... 6 months. eek.
maybe this feeling is exaggerated right now because my weekends have been very busy. very very fun. and very busy. it's made my chicago month race. unlike my last chicago month... but let's not relive that again...
weekend #1 - skinner came in from pittsburgh: we ate, we played games, we dyed her hair, we shopped. it was so fun to see her! here's one of the few pictures of our weekend. it was bright and sunny!
weekend #2 - sarah came into town for an interview and stayed with me at meridith's house. we went to dinner friday night, then helped meridith and her boyfriend with a puzzle (that took us a WEEK to finish, by the way), saturday morning she had her interview, then the four of us went out for a sushi lunch. sarah and i then took the train downtown where we intended to shop a little, then meet a friend for dinner. we only went to old navy so she could get a scarf and gloves... it was cold! then as we were heading towards the pub where we were supposed to be meeting our pal matt, we accidentally ran into santa claus. turns out, that night was the parade and fireworks show prior to the lighting of the michigan avenue trees. it was fun and pretty, and made us a little late. which turned out to be ok because matt ended up working a little late. we beat him there by about 10 minutes. after dinner, which was amazing! we met matt's friends and ended up staying out until about 3 am... (there was a small decision making session around midnight, when we would've needed to leave to catch the last train out... we decided to stay over with matt at his friend ryan's and take the train in the morning...) sarah was exhausted! she had been up since 5 am, and had only slept a few hours the night before! we headed out for the train station after a brief nap... made it onto the 8:30 train, which subsequently broke down and got back an hour later than it was supposed to. no matter though. we grabbed some breakfast and went back to meridith's where sarah showered and headed out for detroit. this is one of the only photos that i took before my camera batteries died. i had extras with that were also dead. sarah took a few, but she hasn't sent them to me yet.
weekend #3 - thanksgiving... i had about 5 full days off work and really wanted to come home. i decided not to since it's an 8 hour drive and i am coming home on friday anyway... now i'm even more glad that i didn't make the trip since everyone was sick sick sick. i ended up having thanksgiving with meridith's family on thursday. we put together another puzzle (it's possible we've become obsessed...). thursday night we attempted to do some pre-black friday shopping at some nearby outlet malls that had "midnight madness"... it was madness alright. absolute madness. we sat stopped dead on the interstate for an hour and a half... all three lanes of traffic. dead. stop. we ended up making our way to the left lane and skipping past the outlets and turning around at the next exit and heading home. we made it back home about 2, i got up at 4 to go to best buy (where the line was insane and they had hired a dj to entertain the crowds) to get my new red razr phone which is so so pretty and then went back home to bed. about 7 we got up and went to old navy. then back home and to sleep until about 11. later that night, we made a successful attempt at the outlet malls. which was fun and the weather was so nice. saturday i went with meridith's family to her sister's house in milwaukee. her neices are real cute. it was fun. when we were getting ready to go, the 2 year old was giving everyone kisses... she looked at me and said "camden, kiss?" it was so cute!so that's about all. and really sums up my month here. the actual rotation has been a waste of time. but it's been easy and guilt-free to take time off to interview... i'm 3 down and have another in des moines on friday. then next week in kansas city. then??? not sure where... but there are a few left after that. i'm still waiting for one to jump out and scream "pick me"... otherwise, they have all gone very well and i could be happy at pretty much any of them.
there you have it. a post. and check out the ticker... 6 months. eek.
11.12.2006
in which i say nothing witty.
as if anything i say is witty. but i like to humor myself anyway.
******
i'm staying with my best friend from college this month. and this weekend our other really good friend flew in from pittsburgh for girl's weekend. we had fun. and did girly things. like hair dye-ing and foot spas and shopping (but we were all really good and nobody bought anything!!!). and we went to meridith's parent's house... they have a new kitten and it's super super cute! and it really makes me want one!!
******
next weekend, my friend sarah comes into town. she has an interview at one of the residency programs here, and she's going to stay with meridith and it. it will be good to see her. though i'm not sure we'll do anything actually exciting. at all.
******
we don't have clinic until tomorrow afternoon. but i have to go in at 9am anyway... to discuss spina bifida. i'm mostly annoyed because i can't stand listening to mcgreasy speak. and it's highly possible that he intends to talk about spina bifida from 9am until noonish. and that makes me want to poke my eyes out.
******
i'm staying with my best friend from college this month. and this weekend our other really good friend flew in from pittsburgh for girl's weekend. we had fun. and did girly things. like hair dye-ing and foot spas and shopping (but we were all really good and nobody bought anything!!!). and we went to meridith's parent's house... they have a new kitten and it's super super cute! and it really makes me want one!!
******
next weekend, my friend sarah comes into town. she has an interview at one of the residency programs here, and she's going to stay with meridith and it. it will be good to see her. though i'm not sure we'll do anything actually exciting. at all.
******
we don't have clinic until tomorrow afternoon. but i have to go in at 9am anyway... to discuss spina bifida. i'm mostly annoyed because i can't stand listening to mcgreasy speak. and it's highly possible that he intends to talk about spina bifida from 9am until noonish. and that makes me want to poke my eyes out.
11.09.2006
eewww.
dr mcdreamy (who truly does love me) has been replaced with dr disgusting. i'm not sure he's showered in the past couple months. he doesn't smell, but his hair is so greasy and out of control and probably hasn't been cut since the last time he washed it. ick. and he's weird. weird weird weird. and he thinks he's funny. but he's not. good thing for me he doesn't really work all that much, and i have to take a bunch of days off for residency interviewing and whatnot.
******
speaking of residency interviewing. i had my first one yesterday... and it went really really well. there were a lot of things about the program that make it very attractive. and several that make me want to run. the problem is, that's how it's going to be everywhere, and i have to be fair (to the programs and myself) and figure out a way to weight those things in order to determine where i would be the happiest. i know that i really really want to be in kansas city, but there are definite disadvantages to that program as well... so, i smell a big pros and cons excel spreadsheet coming my way! :-)
******
back to mcdreamy... i kinda miss him. and the rest of the PICU team. and him. it was by far the best rotation of my clinical experience thus far. (and not just because he's mcdreamy. though that didn't hurt...)
******
speaking of residency interviewing. i had my first one yesterday... and it went really really well. there were a lot of things about the program that make it very attractive. and several that make me want to run. the problem is, that's how it's going to be everywhere, and i have to be fair (to the programs and myself) and figure out a way to weight those things in order to determine where i would be the happiest. i know that i really really want to be in kansas city, but there are definite disadvantages to that program as well... so, i smell a big pros and cons excel spreadsheet coming my way! :-)
******
back to mcdreamy... i kinda miss him. and the rest of the PICU team. and him. it was by far the best rotation of my clinical experience thus far. (and not just because he's mcdreamy. though that didn't hurt...)
10.31.2006
PICU.
so, everyone is crabby because i haven't posted in, umm, forever. it's because the picu (pediatric intensive care unit) is a crazy hole of madness and messes. just when you think things are settling down, you have three code blues within an hour. that's a lot. it's a high stress environment even when things are settled. it makes me nervous how much i like it though.
i perhaps like it so much because of my very own dr mcdreamy. h.o.t. and he loves me. and he's on the residency selection committee. it's good times. and did i mention h.o.t. and single. and h.o.t. :-)
the residents that i've been working with are really great and all the doctors make great teachers. i've learned more in the past few weeks than in the last several months combined.
but it makes me tired. so i'm going to sleep now.
i perhaps like it so much because of my very own dr mcdreamy. h.o.t. and he loves me. and he's on the residency selection committee. it's good times. and did i mention h.o.t. and single. and h.o.t. :-)
the residents that i've been working with are really great and all the doctors make great teachers. i've learned more in the past few weeks than in the last several months combined.
but it makes me tired. so i'm going to sleep now.
10.03.2006
ouch.
i've come to the sad sad realization that i am allergic to cinnamon gum. everytime i chew it, i get these sores in my mouth (this time worse than ever before...)... and i googled it... "cinnamon gum" and "allergic reaction"... totally exists. and if i don't stop chewing it, i'll get squamous cell carcinoma in my mouth. and besides that, it hurts real real bad.
9.30.2006
do you have any pumpkin?
ps, it's highly possible that this is a you-had-to-be-there story...
friday night after the ray-pec high school homecoming football game, i went to get frozen custard with the family i'm living with because we had buy one, get one free coupons. we're all standing around, staring at the menu, deciding on our individual orders and it's mary's and my turn... we had made the decision and were ready to order...
but when we got up there, she saw a sign that said "pumpkin spice latte"... and decided she'd like to have pumpkin in her concrete (like a blizzard from DQ, but about 47 times better...). except pumpkin isn't listed on the list of things you can get in your concrete, so i explained to her that it's a seasonal thing, so obviously it wouldn't be on the menu that lives there all year...
so we go back up to the window, and i ask the girl, "do you have any pumpkin something that you can put into a concrete..." she kind of stares at me and then points at a LARGE sign hanging directly above her head that reads "pumpkin pie concrete"... yeah, so mary gets excited and orders it. and loves it, i might add.
as we're driving out, one of the kids says "pumpkin pie concrete"... at which point we all look over and on the HUGE sign for the custard place it says in gigantic wording (that we can probably read from our front door...) "PUMPKIN PIE CONCRETE!"
we almost died laughing. i can't remember the last time i laughed so hard. mostly because we're big dorks... but oh man... the ridiculousness with which i asked the question just keeps magnifying itself...
friday night after the ray-pec high school homecoming football game, i went to get frozen custard with the family i'm living with because we had buy one, get one free coupons. we're all standing around, staring at the menu, deciding on our individual orders and it's mary's and my turn... we had made the decision and were ready to order...
but when we got up there, she saw a sign that said "pumpkin spice latte"... and decided she'd like to have pumpkin in her concrete (like a blizzard from DQ, but about 47 times better...). except pumpkin isn't listed on the list of things you can get in your concrete, so i explained to her that it's a seasonal thing, so obviously it wouldn't be on the menu that lives there all year...
so we go back up to the window, and i ask the girl, "do you have any pumpkin something that you can put into a concrete..." she kind of stares at me and then points at a LARGE sign hanging directly above her head that reads "pumpkin pie concrete"... yeah, so mary gets excited and orders it. and loves it, i might add.
as we're driving out, one of the kids says "pumpkin pie concrete"... at which point we all look over and on the HUGE sign for the custard place it says in gigantic wording (that we can probably read from our front door...) "PUMPKIN PIE CONCRETE!"
we almost died laughing. i can't remember the last time i laughed so hard. mostly because we're big dorks... but oh man... the ridiculousness with which i asked the question just keeps magnifying itself...
9.27.2006
rad.
radiology is pretty boring. make that very boring. it would probably be ok if i were actually reading films with a doctor. but instead i hang out with the techs while they are shooting the films (or ultrasounds, or ct scans, etc)... and it's boring. very boring.
******
i officially have two. count them TWO invitations to interview for residency positions. i anticipate a few more (maybe 5 or 6; i applied to 10 programs)... but i just submitted my application on friday, so we're looking good so far! currently, i'll be interviewing in des moines and omaha. i applied only to midwest programs... so i'll stay semi-close no matter what. (at least that's the plan as it stands for now...)
******
in order to keep myself from puking from nerves about interview invitations, i bought these.
******
i officially have two. count them TWO invitations to interview for residency positions. i anticipate a few more (maybe 5 or 6; i applied to 10 programs)... but i just submitted my application on friday, so we're looking good so far! currently, i'll be interviewing in des moines and omaha. i applied only to midwest programs... so i'll stay semi-close no matter what. (at least that's the plan as it stands for now...)
******
in order to keep myself from puking from nerves about interview invitations, i bought these.
9.21.2006
9.17.2006
ears. noses. throats.
aka ENT. sometimes it's fun to see how many acronyms you can get into a sentence. it's like a language within a language.
what a great weekend! i saw a lot of my family on saturday, and had lunch with my best friend from high school today (haven't seen her in 3 years) (and ps, she has a cute cute baby girl who is 4 months old. and cute!).
i have to be in the OR at 730 tomorrow. yuck. one more week of ENT, then two weeks of radiology. good times, huh? we shall see.
i know this isn't the post you've been pining for... but i'm tired. good night.
what a great weekend! i saw a lot of my family on saturday, and had lunch with my best friend from high school today (haven't seen her in 3 years) (and ps, she has a cute cute baby girl who is 4 months old. and cute!).
i have to be in the OR at 730 tomorrow. yuck. one more week of ENT, then two weeks of radiology. good times, huh? we shall see.
i know this isn't the post you've been pining for... but i'm tired. good night.
9.09.2006
9.05.2006
9.04.2006
it's good to be home.
can i just say that decovin is the happiest baby i know. he's so sweet and good and playful.
******
friday, i went to see my friend sarah in omaha (her hometown) where she is doing a rotation. we babysat all night. well, until like 1:30am anyway. but apparently a baby was recently killed by it's sitter and so her aunt, who is notoriously hyper-vigilant anyway, was flipping out. and sarah, who cannot say no because she is catholic (which is a guilt far greater than camden-guilt), said we would come babysit. it was fine, i guess. i'm not sure what we would have done anyway. but when we got back to sarah's we were hyped up a little, and decided to go for a quick swim. it was pretty chilly out. chilly enough such that the temperature of the air made the temperature of the water feel warm. kind of. it was freezing. we stayed in maybe 3 or 4 minutes. but at least we had some excitement!
i left there saturday morning and drove the rest of the way home. i spent the rest of the evening unloading my car and filtering through things. somehow, i collect a lot of things. but hopefully, i've pared down to just a few suitcases to get me by the next few months (while i'm living with friends in the city).
sunday was pretty fun. church was great and it was wonderful to see so many old friends. one of my teen girls came up to me and said she was desperate to talk to me, so i took her to lunch and heard all about the woes of teen love and the drama that goes with it. she's a good kid though, and it was fun to spend a little time with her.
sunday night, mom and i went to see the devil wears prada, which was pretty cute.
monday, we came to jen's. where i am now. getting ready for sleeping. because it's late!! we had a nice pesto salmon dinner with vegetables, went for a walk, and played darts. and did i mention i snuggled that baby a LOT?
all in all, it was a very nice holiday weekend. and i don't have to work this week. so it's won.der.ful. i could get used to this!
******
friday, i went to see my friend sarah in omaha (her hometown) where she is doing a rotation. we babysat all night. well, until like 1:30am anyway. but apparently a baby was recently killed by it's sitter and so her aunt, who is notoriously hyper-vigilant anyway, was flipping out. and sarah, who cannot say no because she is catholic (which is a guilt far greater than camden-guilt), said we would come babysit. it was fine, i guess. i'm not sure what we would have done anyway. but when we got back to sarah's we were hyped up a little, and decided to go for a quick swim. it was pretty chilly out. chilly enough such that the temperature of the air made the temperature of the water feel warm. kind of. it was freezing. we stayed in maybe 3 or 4 minutes. but at least we had some excitement!
i left there saturday morning and drove the rest of the way home. i spent the rest of the evening unloading my car and filtering through things. somehow, i collect a lot of things. but hopefully, i've pared down to just a few suitcases to get me by the next few months (while i'm living with friends in the city).
sunday was pretty fun. church was great and it was wonderful to see so many old friends. one of my teen girls came up to me and said she was desperate to talk to me, so i took her to lunch and heard all about the woes of teen love and the drama that goes with it. she's a good kid though, and it was fun to spend a little time with her.
sunday night, mom and i went to see the devil wears prada, which was pretty cute.
monday, we came to jen's. where i am now. getting ready for sleeping. because it's late!! we had a nice pesto salmon dinner with vegetables, went for a walk, and played darts. and did i mention i snuggled that baby a LOT?
all in all, it was a very nice holiday weekend. and i don't have to work this week. so it's won.der.ful. i could get used to this!
9.01.2006
i'm movin' on.
woowhee. i've lived in davenport for 6 months now. that's kind of a long time. long enough to get acclimated to your living space. long enough to learn the best route to the best mall. long enough to pick out a favorite coffee shop. the weird thing is, it's not long enough to make this place home. or perhaps it was my mindset from the beginning. when you know things are temporary, you never think of them as permanent. you start the countdown from the start, and when the countdown is up, you pack up your little ford focus and hit the road. and it doesn't even matter if your name is jack. today's the day. i loaded up the car last night (to the brim, mind you) and will take off in a few hours. i'm going home.
it was surprising, i didn't even cry when i said goodbye to the friends i'd made here. and i would consider them to be good friends... and i cry easily... and it's hard to know when we'll see eachother again... and all those things combined, i expected to cry. but maybe knowing from the start that all this was temporary somehow shielded me... that and the fact that i'm really ready to leave. because i'm going home!
so i have a couple of errands to run today, and tonight i'm going to visit a friend in omaha. but tomorrow? tomorrow, i'm going home.
ps. i'm excited!
it was surprising, i didn't even cry when i said goodbye to the friends i'd made here. and i would consider them to be good friends... and i cry easily... and it's hard to know when we'll see eachother again... and all those things combined, i expected to cry. but maybe knowing from the start that all this was temporary somehow shielded me... that and the fact that i'm really ready to leave. because i'm going home!
so i have a couple of errands to run today, and tonight i'm going to visit a friend in omaha. but tomorrow? tomorrow, i'm going home.
ps. i'm excited!
8.27.2006
8.25.2006
just like grey's anatomy.
this week i started an anesthesia rotation. i'll finish it up next week. 2 week rotations are great.
this doctor thinks i actually am an anesthesiologist. he stays in the room long enough to start the case and then leaves me to play with the gases and keep the patient still. and breathing. yikes.
******
here's my new haircut. i love it. love.
******
my roommate and i went to see the world trade center movie tonight. depressing. good. but depressing.
******
so i've had a headache for the past 4 days and today the doctor noticed. so he took me into an exam room in the pain clinic (where we worked this afternoon - but i hadn't met any of the nurses there yet...) and cracked my neck, then gave me a shot of toradol (cousin of ibuprofen, but much, much better), then turned out the lights and told me to take a nap.
a few minutes later, i hear a nurse outside talking about how she thinks there's someone in room 5. she opens the door and asks if she can help me. i explain to her who i am and she leaves the room. i hear her a few minutes later explaining to another nurse that "there's a med student sleeping in there. it's just like grey's anatomy!"
this doctor thinks i actually am an anesthesiologist. he stays in the room long enough to start the case and then leaves me to play with the gases and keep the patient still. and breathing. yikes.
******
here's my new haircut. i love it. love.
******my roommate and i went to see the world trade center movie tonight. depressing. good. but depressing.
******
so i've had a headache for the past 4 days and today the doctor noticed. so he took me into an exam room in the pain clinic (where we worked this afternoon - but i hadn't met any of the nurses there yet...) and cracked my neck, then gave me a shot of toradol (cousin of ibuprofen, but much, much better), then turned out the lights and told me to take a nap.
a few minutes later, i hear a nurse outside talking about how she thinks there's someone in room 5. she opens the door and asks if she can help me. i explain to her who i am and she leaves the room. i hear her a few minutes later explaining to another nurse that "there's a med student sleeping in there. it's just like grey's anatomy!"
8.21.2006
8.20.2006
8.18.2006
quite a cluster.
so, i've been up for 2 hours now. left my house at about 8... drove around for about an hour and ended up back at my house. see, first the road to the coffee shop that we study at was blocked. so i thought i'd try one of the other roads... and then another and then another. then i thought i'd stop and ask one of the cops that was blocking the way except he screamed at me to keep going (which made me even madder because he was young and cute)... then karen (my roommate who left 45 minutes after i did) asked a lady who was helping direct traffic and found out that there was a gas leak or something. so then we decide to go to panera. except panera was BUSY. and karen doesn't deal with lots of noise well when she's studying. so we made the decision to just get coffee and then come back home to study. so here i am. if i fail boards, i'm totally blaming the cop who screamed at me.
8.14.2006
8.13.2006
8.10.2006
8.09.2006
can't sleep.
insomnia? too much coffee? too much excitement over the end of internal medicine? could be all three.
8.04.2006
little old ladies say the darndest things.
little old lady #1 who had some double vision and stumbling yesterday at the fair:
******
little old lady #2 who had lost her license after an accident that was not her fault because the cop wrote the word "confused" in his report. we had to do a mental status exam to determine if she was, in fact, too confused to drive:
little old lady: "we had a couple beers..."
a little later: "2 or 3 beers..."
later still: "3 or 4 beers... i probably had 4 beers."
a little later: "2 or 3 beers..."
later still: "3 or 4 beers... i probably had 4 beers."
******
little old lady #2 who had lost her license after an accident that was not her fault because the cop wrote the word "confused" in his report. we had to do a mental status exam to determine if she was, in fact, too confused to drive:
dr king: "starting with the number 100, count backwards by sevens."
little old lady: "oh, but i've never been very good at history!"
little old lady: "oh, but i've never been very good at history!"
8.03.2006
studying.
or should i say "studying"... because i've been here at my most favorite coffee shop in the quad city area for an hour and a half and have yet to crack a book or answer a single online practice question. but that's about to end. right after i finished this update. because i know how important the updating is to my friends and family. :-)
******
the awfully slow doctor complimented my progress note writing ability today. it made me slightly less disgusted with his slowness today. that and it's thursday and i have thursday afternoon off. and who doesn't love an afternoon off??
******
my favorite barista, lizz, asked me about why the honey jar says not to give honey to babies earlier. so i guess that's kind of like studying. because i totally knew... don't want no floppy babies! (for those who might not know, honey can have botulism spores in it which create the same toxin used for botox injections, which, if ingested by babies leads to floppy baby syndrome. and floppy babies are bad, just so you know.)
******
i just got off the phone with my good friend sarah. i miss her. she's almost done with her year of rotations in detroit. she's sick of school too. i'm going to see her the first weekend of september and that will be fun! this is another of the pictures she just sent me from my time in detroit. those were good times.
******
17 days until boards. 9 months 3 weeks 3 days until GRADUATION!!!
******
the awfully slow doctor complimented my progress note writing ability today. it made me slightly less disgusted with his slowness today. that and it's thursday and i have thursday afternoon off. and who doesn't love an afternoon off??
******
my favorite barista, lizz, asked me about why the honey jar says not to give honey to babies earlier. so i guess that's kind of like studying. because i totally knew... don't want no floppy babies! (for those who might not know, honey can have botulism spores in it which create the same toxin used for botox injections, which, if ingested by babies leads to floppy baby syndrome. and floppy babies are bad, just so you know.)
******
i just got off the phone with my good friend sarah. i miss her. she's almost done with her year of rotations in detroit. she's sick of school too. i'm going to see her the first weekend of september and that will be fun! this is another of the pictures she just sent me from my time in detroit. those were good times.
******
17 days until boards. 9 months 3 weeks 3 days until GRADUATION!!!
7.27.2006
he ate the whole thing.
mark in detroit******
i'm almost done with my 2nd week of internal medicine. which i LOATHE. it's terrbile. the first problem is that half our patients are old. we're talking how-on-earth-have-you-lived-this-long old. they can't hear and they don't bathe regularly. the other half have a list of medical problems longer than life itself. they're crabby and non-compliant. and some of them don't bathe regularly either.
the second problem is that the doctor i'm with is slow. i don't mean short-bus slow. just flat out slow. he speaks so slowly and deliberately that i think occasionally, i doze off between words. it's bad.
the third problem, which really doesn't bother me until i think about how much i'm paying for this month of my education, is that i don't see any of the office patients on my own. i only get to see patients on my own if they are in the hospital (of which we've had three the past two weeks...) and otherwise i just follow him around all day. horrible!
******
the other day we had a patient named earl. earl had the hairiest ears i'd ever seen. i couldn't stop staring.
******
i spent the majority of this afternoon contemplating whether or not it was acceptable to meet a guy in the laundromat. on one hand, he's at the laundromat, which means he probably doesn't live with his parents (because he's at the laundromat) and he probably doesn't have a serious girlfriend (who'd do his laundry for him... or at least with him). but on the other hand, it's the laundromat. and there are some pretty different sorts of people at the laundromat. what's your opinion? (just for the record, he was really cute, and clean as far as i could tell.)
******
the other day we had a patient named earl. earl had the hairiest ears i'd ever seen. i couldn't stop staring.
******
i spent the majority of this afternoon contemplating whether or not it was acceptable to meet a guy in the laundromat. on one hand, he's at the laundromat, which means he probably doesn't live with his parents (because he's at the laundromat) and he probably doesn't have a serious girlfriend (who'd do his laundry for him... or at least with him). but on the other hand, it's the laundromat. and there are some pretty different sorts of people at the laundromat. what's your opinion? (just for the record, he was really cute, and clean as far as i could tell.)
7.18.2006
hating.
i really hate when your toe nails are polished very nicely with your best friends polish that is a hundred miles away and then the big one on the right begins to peel.
******
i also really hate when dead-beat alcholics finally show up for a court date, only to find out their nearly-worthless lawyer chose to skip out and everything gets pushed back another month.
******
i also really hate when everyone has exciting things going on in life and you don't. like getting engaged and having babies kind of exciting. which is way more exciting than becoming a doctor. because let me tell you... this is not all that exciting. as a matter of fact, this month really stinks. it's all old people and slow old doctors that don't let me do anything on my own. and when i say slow. i mean SLOW.
******
i also really hate when you feel like you have a million things to do, but you aren't really sure what they all are, but it just feels like there are millions of things swarming above your head that you have to get done and if you don't get them done the world might implode.
******
and one more thing... i also really hate when you feel like you are STILL spending every waking minute studying but nothing, NOTHING! sticks. it all just slips out like your ear canals are coated with tanning oil and letting everything slide out as fast as you can shovel it in. may be a valid reason NOT to study by the pool...
i'll get back to you on that one.
******
i also really hate when dead-beat alcholics finally show up for a court date, only to find out their nearly-worthless lawyer chose to skip out and everything gets pushed back another month.
******
i also really hate when everyone has exciting things going on in life and you don't. like getting engaged and having babies kind of exciting. which is way more exciting than becoming a doctor. because let me tell you... this is not all that exciting. as a matter of fact, this month really stinks. it's all old people and slow old doctors that don't let me do anything on my own. and when i say slow. i mean SLOW.
******
i also really hate when you feel like you have a million things to do, but you aren't really sure what they all are, but it just feels like there are millions of things swarming above your head that you have to get done and if you don't get them done the world might implode.
******
and one more thing... i also really hate when you feel like you are STILL spending every waking minute studying but nothing, NOTHING! sticks. it all just slips out like your ear canals are coated with tanning oil and letting everything slide out as fast as you can shovel it in. may be a valid reason NOT to study by the pool...
i'll get back to you on that one.
7.02.2006
processing.
29 year old white female brought to the ER by ambulance at 2:30am 7/2/06 after her husband heard her gasp for breath and then pass out while sleeping. He immediately calls 911.
when they rolled her through the doors from the ambulance bay doors, i had a sinking feeling. she was already intubated and the paramedics were still doing chest compressions. the monitors showing asystole - no electrical activity in her heart.
the rest of her clothes are removed and the fury of activity ensued. she was petite, and upon removing her pants, it was impossible not to notice the swelling of her abdomen. a catheter was immediately placed into her bladder and a urine pregnancy test was run. meds are being pushed; more IVs are started; her hands and feet are blue and her face is dusky; the respiratory therapist is manning her airway and breathing for her; a paramedic continues to beat for her heart.
the urine pregnancy test is negative. how can that be?
word arrives that her family is here and i'm sent out to get some history. what meds is she taking? does she have any medical problems?
a nurse beat me to it and comes back with the info. she's 3 months post-pardum. she takes some meds for depression, but they don't know the name of it. she also has a 6 year old daughter and her 3 month old daughter has a serious heart condition for which she has already undergone one open heart surgery.
the cycles of cpr continue as the doctor and i go out to speak with the family. he explains that the only explainations for her condition is a blood clot in her lungs or that she had overdosed on some medications trying to hurt herself. but she hadn't been trying to hurt herself. she had been sleeping. we were waiting for some medicine from the pharmacy that would help break up the clot.
her husband and parents came back to the room with us.
the doctor takes over chest compressions as the family adjusts to the picture before them. she regains a pulse, but it's slow and weak. more drugs are pushed. she's in v-tach and needs to be shocked. everyone backs up. her mom clutches me and i hold onto her. the jolt makes her body jump, and noone in the room breathes, as if our holding our breath would will hers to somehow return.
a medic takes over chest compressions for a few minutes. cpr continues. the doctor points at me and tells me to take over chest compressions. i do. but it's hard. i get tired after only a couple of minutes and am relieved by the medic. the activity continues.
her husband begins rubbing her feet, and i imagine that she's probably begged for him to rub her feet. i wonder if he did. her mom holds her hand and begs for God to help her baby. she knows it's out of our hands.
the clot busting medicine has been in for about 18 minutes. if nothing has changed by 20 minutes, the doctor says we have exhausted our options. but she miraculously regains a pulse just in time. more meds are pushed and she is rushed to CT for a scan. she maintains her pulse throughout the scan, but when she gets back, it begins to weaken again, and then it fades completely.
it's about 4:30am now. cpr is continuing. i've long since lost hope that there could be a good outcome. my heart is breaking for her husband; her mom and dad; her babies.
i'm sent to see other patients who have been waiting almost three hours at this point. it's hard to feel sympathy for them. their "emergencies" are so minor that i want to scream at them. at some point, while i am with a little old lady who fell out of bed, the doctor calls it. i can hear the crying of the mom in the hallway. my heart hurts. i'm sewing a laceration on a drunk guys hand from where he hit a mirror and i hear the little baby crying in the waiting room. a sob catches in my throat. i am selfishly glad that i didn't see the older daughter.
there are likely no good answers. and there are definitely no words to ease their pain. i just hope they recognize that we did the best we could. and i hope they know that our hearts are breaking for them.
and i silently wonder what i've gotten myself into.
when they rolled her through the doors from the ambulance bay doors, i had a sinking feeling. she was already intubated and the paramedics were still doing chest compressions. the monitors showing asystole - no electrical activity in her heart.
the rest of her clothes are removed and the fury of activity ensued. she was petite, and upon removing her pants, it was impossible not to notice the swelling of her abdomen. a catheter was immediately placed into her bladder and a urine pregnancy test was run. meds are being pushed; more IVs are started; her hands and feet are blue and her face is dusky; the respiratory therapist is manning her airway and breathing for her; a paramedic continues to beat for her heart.
the urine pregnancy test is negative. how can that be?
word arrives that her family is here and i'm sent out to get some history. what meds is she taking? does she have any medical problems?
a nurse beat me to it and comes back with the info. she's 3 months post-pardum. she takes some meds for depression, but they don't know the name of it. she also has a 6 year old daughter and her 3 month old daughter has a serious heart condition for which she has already undergone one open heart surgery.
the cycles of cpr continue as the doctor and i go out to speak with the family. he explains that the only explainations for her condition is a blood clot in her lungs or that she had overdosed on some medications trying to hurt herself. but she hadn't been trying to hurt herself. she had been sleeping. we were waiting for some medicine from the pharmacy that would help break up the clot.
her husband and parents came back to the room with us.
the doctor takes over chest compressions as the family adjusts to the picture before them. she regains a pulse, but it's slow and weak. more drugs are pushed. she's in v-tach and needs to be shocked. everyone backs up. her mom clutches me and i hold onto her. the jolt makes her body jump, and noone in the room breathes, as if our holding our breath would will hers to somehow return.
a medic takes over chest compressions for a few minutes. cpr continues. the doctor points at me and tells me to take over chest compressions. i do. but it's hard. i get tired after only a couple of minutes and am relieved by the medic. the activity continues.
her husband begins rubbing her feet, and i imagine that she's probably begged for him to rub her feet. i wonder if he did. her mom holds her hand and begs for God to help her baby. she knows it's out of our hands.
the clot busting medicine has been in for about 18 minutes. if nothing has changed by 20 minutes, the doctor says we have exhausted our options. but she miraculously regains a pulse just in time. more meds are pushed and she is rushed to CT for a scan. she maintains her pulse throughout the scan, but when she gets back, it begins to weaken again, and then it fades completely.
it's about 4:30am now. cpr is continuing. i've long since lost hope that there could be a good outcome. my heart is breaking for her husband; her mom and dad; her babies.
i'm sent to see other patients who have been waiting almost three hours at this point. it's hard to feel sympathy for them. their "emergencies" are so minor that i want to scream at them. at some point, while i am with a little old lady who fell out of bed, the doctor calls it. i can hear the crying of the mom in the hallway. my heart hurts. i'm sewing a laceration on a drunk guys hand from where he hit a mirror and i hear the little baby crying in the waiting room. a sob catches in my throat. i am selfishly glad that i didn't see the older daughter.
there are likely no good answers. and there are definitely no words to ease their pain. i just hope they recognize that we did the best we could. and i hope they know that our hearts are breaking for them.
and i silently wonder what i've gotten myself into.
6.22.2006
oh, hey. how are you?
so many stories, so little time. the short of it (because, you know... no time for the long of it...) goes something like this...
finished 4 weeks of surgery - some of it was great... a couple of the surgeons i was with were awesome. SUPER nice and H.O.T. my very own mcdreamy... SO hot. and nice. and did i mention HOT? the one, in particular. hot. he liked to play music trivia in the O.R. and ask me questions about who sang the song blaring from his i-pod. i never knew the answers. ever. he liked telling people i was from missour-uh. and, you know. he's hot. i really miss him and was kind of jealous that my roommate got to hang out with him until 1:30 am yesterday. (she was taking call, people. seriously.) the only thing i didn't like about him is that he liked working with the female surgeon...
the one female surgeon in the group (who thankfully was in hawaii on her honeymoon the first two weeks of my rotation) was heinous. absolutely awful. mean to everyone. i didn't work with her very much, but i dreaded every minute that i did work with her. until my last day, when she was actually nice to me. and since she was nice to me, i actually left surgery with a sweet taste in my mouth and miss it dreadfully. but trust me... heinous.
this week i started ER. which is nowhere near as exciting as you might think. it's mostly ankle sprains and muscle strains and i have back pain and just ran out of vicodin and please, sir, may i have some more, with your occasional difficulty breathing and chest pain thrown in for good measure. then you have the other half of your patients... those with urinary tract infections or earaches who just need to see the family doc, but they don't have one because they don't have insurance... and so they land on our doorstep. fantastic. here's your bactrim, ma'am.
we did have one exciting case today... a code blue brought in by ambulance. complete with hot paramedic performing chest compressions. aside from that, it was pretty boring too. it's much less intense and takes a lot longer in real life than it does on tv. and i feel bad getting annoyed with the dying guy for taking so long.
and my car won't start. grr. i had it towed today to the dealership who will probably charge me 2-3 limbs and half of my last loan check, but i couldn't find anyone else.
the good news? i don't have to work tomorrow - the beauty of the ER. 4 twelves. 3 day weekend. and really, it's more than three days... because i have to work next weekend, so i'm pushing my actual work week back... and maybe i'll not work again until tuesday or wednesday. i'm thinking about heading home this weekend... which will be more easily decided after i have, you know, transportation.
finished 4 weeks of surgery - some of it was great... a couple of the surgeons i was with were awesome. SUPER nice and H.O.T. my very own mcdreamy... SO hot. and nice. and did i mention HOT? the one, in particular. hot. he liked to play music trivia in the O.R. and ask me questions about who sang the song blaring from his i-pod. i never knew the answers. ever. he liked telling people i was from missour-uh. and, you know. he's hot. i really miss him and was kind of jealous that my roommate got to hang out with him until 1:30 am yesterday. (she was taking call, people. seriously.) the only thing i didn't like about him is that he liked working with the female surgeon...
the one female surgeon in the group (who thankfully was in hawaii on her honeymoon the first two weeks of my rotation) was heinous. absolutely awful. mean to everyone. i didn't work with her very much, but i dreaded every minute that i did work with her. until my last day, when she was actually nice to me. and since she was nice to me, i actually left surgery with a sweet taste in my mouth and miss it dreadfully. but trust me... heinous.
this week i started ER. which is nowhere near as exciting as you might think. it's mostly ankle sprains and muscle strains and i have back pain and just ran out of vicodin and please, sir, may i have some more, with your occasional difficulty breathing and chest pain thrown in for good measure. then you have the other half of your patients... those with urinary tract infections or earaches who just need to see the family doc, but they don't have one because they don't have insurance... and so they land on our doorstep. fantastic. here's your bactrim, ma'am.
we did have one exciting case today... a code blue brought in by ambulance. complete with hot paramedic performing chest compressions. aside from that, it was pretty boring too. it's much less intense and takes a lot longer in real life than it does on tv. and i feel bad getting annoyed with the dying guy for taking so long.
and my car won't start. grr. i had it towed today to the dealership who will probably charge me 2-3 limbs and half of my last loan check, but i couldn't find anyone else.
the good news? i don't have to work tomorrow - the beauty of the ER. 4 twelves. 3 day weekend. and really, it's more than three days... because i have to work next weekend, so i'm pushing my actual work week back... and maybe i'll not work again until tuesday or wednesday. i'm thinking about heading home this weekend... which will be more easily decided after i have, you know, transportation.
5.21.2006
sorry.
i'm not really apologizing. my life, it seems, is a little busier than i like to pretend. either that or i'm just lazy about updating. either way, you'll get over it.
******
so i just finished two weeks of dermatology. it was pretty interesting, and i really liked the doctor i was with. and. AND. he's going to remove my accident scars from my leg. with lasers! for *FREE*. well, virtually. he's just going to charge it as an office visit. it's probably not completely ethical. but the scars. they're so ugly. i tried to upload a picture of them for you, but they were so ugly that blogger rejected them. that's ugly.
******
i start surgery tomorrow. i'm nervous. turns out, surgeons don't have the reputation of being "nice"... eeek!
******
so i just finished two weeks of dermatology. it was pretty interesting, and i really liked the doctor i was with. and. AND. he's going to remove my accident scars from my leg. with lasers! for *FREE*. well, virtually. he's just going to charge it as an office visit. it's probably not completely ethical. but the scars. they're so ugly. i tried to upload a picture of them for you, but they were so ugly that blogger rejected them. that's ugly.
******
i start surgery tomorrow. i'm nervous. turns out, surgeons don't have the reputation of being "nice"... eeek!
5.02.2006
b.a.d. day.
the doc i'm with right now always says that no matter how bad his day is, it's never as bad as the patient's days. and today was a bad day.
and i ate a lot of bad food today.
and i couldn't go to the y after work because i didn't have a hair tie.
and cancer sucks.
the end.
and i ate a lot of bad food today.
and i couldn't go to the y after work because i didn't have a hair tie.
and cancer sucks.
the end.
4.30.2006
goals.
so, i went to the gym 4 times this week... and i ate well until friday night. it's been downhill since. but hey, that wasn't part of the week's goals, now was it...
this week is going to be interesting... i'll only be able to make it to the gym twice, since i'm going HOME! on thursday after work... (and i don't have time on wednesdays...) i think i'm going to try for something active at least 5 times this week anyway... but i should obviously be working on my dietary modifications too...
week 3 goal: stick to modified eating habits everyday except friday
longer term goal: button white coat (which i can do as long as i'm standing... )
end-all be-all goal: 140 lbs
this week is going to be interesting... i'll only be able to make it to the gym twice, since i'm going HOME! on thursday after work... (and i don't have time on wednesdays...) i think i'm going to try for something active at least 5 times this week anyway... but i should obviously be working on my dietary modifications too...
week 3 goal: stick to modified eating habits everyday except friday
longer term goal: button white coat (which i can do as long as i'm standing... )
end-all be-all goal: 140 lbs
4.26.2006
too much to say.
i hate sprint. officially. hate them. do you know anyone in monterrey mexico? yeah, me neither. but apparently my phone does. and it's been calling regularly... $224 worth of regularity. and apparently we can't dispute the calls until they are actually billed. the lady told me they were calls made throughout my billing cycle on to multiple phone numbers, but could not tell me any more details regarding specific dates or times of said calls until the end of my billing cycle. so i checked my phone's outgoing call list, expecting to find 150 minutes worth of calls made by ??? to ??? and instead found the last 20 phone numbers that were called were all to people located in the good ole' usofa. for the love. it never ends.
******
and while i was lamenting to myself about how awful all this was, i remembered a patient we saw today. i'm on heme/onc. hematology/oncology. blood/cancer. she's 54, nonsmoker, nondrinker and until 2 weeks ago, she was healthy. then she went to the doctor and found out she had lung cancer so she started radiation right away. today she came back and we told her that it was in her brain, her liver and her bones too. if we do nothing she'll die in 6 weeks. if we do horribly nasty therapy that starts with a dangerous surgery to place a catheter into her brain, she may get 14 weeks, but she'll be very sick the whole time. makes my $200 phone bill seem a little trivial, eh?
******
so, goals... well, sorry i'm late. i've been busy crossing things off lists. turns out i didn't exactly meet last week's goal. i had a little run-in with the norwalk virus that rendered me unable to leave my apartment for a couple days. but... it was a good way to jump start weight loss... i'm down 5.1 lbs.
this week's goal: gym 4 times (i've already been twice)
short term goal: button white coat
end-all be-all goal: 140 lbs.
******
and while i was lamenting to myself about how awful all this was, i remembered a patient we saw today. i'm on heme/onc. hematology/oncology. blood/cancer. she's 54, nonsmoker, nondrinker and until 2 weeks ago, she was healthy. then she went to the doctor and found out she had lung cancer so she started radiation right away. today she came back and we told her that it was in her brain, her liver and her bones too. if we do nothing she'll die in 6 weeks. if we do horribly nasty therapy that starts with a dangerous surgery to place a catheter into her brain, she may get 14 weeks, but she'll be very sick the whole time. makes my $200 phone bill seem a little trivial, eh?
******
so, goals... well, sorry i'm late. i've been busy crossing things off lists. turns out i didn't exactly meet last week's goal. i had a little run-in with the norwalk virus that rendered me unable to leave my apartment for a couple days. but... it was a good way to jump start weight loss... i'm down 5.1 lbs.
this week's goal: gym 4 times (i've already been twice)
short term goal: button white coat
end-all be-all goal: 140 lbs.
4.20.2006
confession.
ok, today is when we get real. guess what... i weigh too much. no, i didn't just realize it, i've known since i was about 10 or 12. i've just decided that today is the day that i tell you about it. the day that i draw the line in the sand, so to speak. i have gained about 20 pounds since my accident in december. i'm not ok with that. so, the thought is, if i tell you about my current weight loss efforts, i will be more inclined to keep at it. i can't bring myself to tell you at this point how much i weigh or how much i'd like to lose, but give me time. i'll tell you when i'm a little more comfortable with the actual numbers.
the new game i intend to play (and i invite you to play along) is to post a weekly goal. you are welcome at any time to ask me about said goal and i am required to answer you honestly. sounds like fun, huh? my week will go from monday to sunday, and i'll do my best to post my goal for the following week on sunday. if they're not up by monday, you can bug me about it.
i'll also carry through a longer term goal. not the end-all be-all magic number that i'd like to see, but a little something that i'm working towards that will take longer than a week... i'll carry that goal until i reach it, then make up a new one. see, you want to play too, don't you? (it doesn't have to be related to your weight... it could be anything - your level of physical activity, how much reading you do, organizational goals, etc...)
this week only has a few days left in it, and i am going to a party that will likely make goal meeting difficult... so i'll make this week's goal one that i'm half-way to meeting already.
WEEK 1 GOAL: go to the gym 4 days this week. (see, i've already been twice.)
LONGER TERM GOAL: to button my white coat
END-ALL BE-ALL GOAL: 140lbs.
the new game i intend to play (and i invite you to play along) is to post a weekly goal. you are welcome at any time to ask me about said goal and i am required to answer you honestly. sounds like fun, huh? my week will go from monday to sunday, and i'll do my best to post my goal for the following week on sunday. if they're not up by monday, you can bug me about it.
i'll also carry through a longer term goal. not the end-all be-all magic number that i'd like to see, but a little something that i'm working towards that will take longer than a week... i'll carry that goal until i reach it, then make up a new one. see, you want to play too, don't you? (it doesn't have to be related to your weight... it could be anything - your level of physical activity, how much reading you do, organizational goals, etc...)
this week only has a few days left in it, and i am going to a party that will likely make goal meeting difficult... so i'll make this week's goal one that i'm half-way to meeting already.
WEEK 1 GOAL: go to the gym 4 days this week. (see, i've already been twice.)
LONGER TERM GOAL: to button my white coat
END-ALL BE-ALL GOAL: 140lbs.
4.08.2006
4.05.2006
04.05.06.
i love dates that are catchy... like this one.
******
my precepter is out of town this week at a conference, and i'm hanging out with a different doctor who happens to not work on wednesdays. beautiful. so here's the list of all the things i got done today.
1. moved an old computer desk from the corner of our living room into my bedroom to be used as a vanity.
2. cleaned my room.
3. put the living room back in order (minus the old computer desk from the corner).
4. cleaned my bathroom.
5. ate frozen lean cuisine pizza at 10:15 am.
6. watched food tv for a couple hours.
7. went to the laundromat where i had to fight off a 4 year old black kid (i'm really confused about the kid's heritage... he was calling an asian woman "mommy" and there was an grandma-aged white lady with them too.) who came over begging for a quarter and when i wouldn't give him one (because i'm that mean) he reaches into my pocket and grabs ahold of my phone at which point i grab ahold of his hand and tell him he needs to let go.
8. watch the 4 year old black kid (who, by the way, at first i couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl as he had a ponytail) with the asian mommy and white grandma sneak out of the laundromat into the parking lot and try opening the car door. on MY CAR!
9. finished the laundry.
10. put all the laundry away.
11. listened to two sermons i downloaded from the church website.
12. wrote some thank you notes - 3 to doctors i've rotated with, 2 to people at the church here who had me over to their homes on saturday (one for lunch, one for dinner).
13. wrote a blog that is hopefully long enough to get rid of the gross wound picture for the majority of you with average sized computer monitors.
14. (from here on are things i intend to accomplish with the rest of the evening...) return a shirt that i bought at target without trying it on.
15. buy deodarant.
16. go to church.
17. have some whitey's ice cream. only. the. best. stuff. on. the. planet.
******
my precepter is out of town this week at a conference, and i'm hanging out with a different doctor who happens to not work on wednesdays. beautiful. so here's the list of all the things i got done today.
1. moved an old computer desk from the corner of our living room into my bedroom to be used as a vanity.
2. cleaned my room.
3. put the living room back in order (minus the old computer desk from the corner).
4. cleaned my bathroom.
5. ate frozen lean cuisine pizza at 10:15 am.
6. watched food tv for a couple hours.
7. went to the laundromat where i had to fight off a 4 year old black kid (i'm really confused about the kid's heritage... he was calling an asian woman "mommy" and there was an grandma-aged white lady with them too.) who came over begging for a quarter and when i wouldn't give him one (because i'm that mean) he reaches into my pocket and grabs ahold of my phone at which point i grab ahold of his hand and tell him he needs to let go.
8. watch the 4 year old black kid (who, by the way, at first i couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl as he had a ponytail) with the asian mommy and white grandma sneak out of the laundromat into the parking lot and try opening the car door. on MY CAR!
9. finished the laundry.
10. put all the laundry away.
11. listened to two sermons i downloaded from the church website.
12. wrote some thank you notes - 3 to doctors i've rotated with, 2 to people at the church here who had me over to their homes on saturday (one for lunch, one for dinner).
13. wrote a blog that is hopefully long enough to get rid of the gross wound picture for the majority of you with average sized computer monitors.
14. (from here on are things i intend to accomplish with the rest of the evening...) return a shirt that i bought at target without trying it on.
15. buy deodarant.
16. go to church.
17. have some whitey's ice cream. only. the. best. stuff. on. the. planet.
4.02.2006
it's shake and bake, and i helped.
because i can't stand not letting you know about this... the doctor i'm with this month does wednesday morning wound clinic instead of thursday... and he MAKES ME HELP!!!! yes. me. with my own two hands i used a metal curette to scrape away layers of ickiness from wounds that look like this:
ps, jen - the new picture is just for you... love ya, babe!
ps, jen - the new picture is just for you... love ya, babe!
3.25.2006
birds of a feather.
ok, now i promised a long and entertaining post today. i'm not sure i'll pull through, but i'll throw in a bunch of pictures so it looks long... :-)
i'm in between rotations now. 4 more weeks down. it's amazing how quickly the 4 week blocks fly. i spend the 1st week of every rotation hating it, thinking it's going to be the longest 4 weeks ever, the next two weeks thinking, "hey, this isn't THAT bad..." and the 4th week dreading the end of the week and the awkward here's-my-evaluation and will-you-write-me-a-letter-of-recommendation conversations and the fact that the following week is another week 1.
anyway, this morning, i thought i'd take myself out for a walk. thinking it would feel good to get outside, i went to a park instead of the Y. ok, it was cold, but entertaining enough. i'm not sure how long the trail was, but i was out for a couple hours.
i've never seen a sign like this before, but thought it was pretty interesting.
this bird was the first of many that i saw. it was SO bright red and beautiful.
this was the only mile marker sign i saw, and i'm pretty sure i went well over a couple miles, so i'm not sure what the sign was marking.
one of these things is not like the other... :-)
i'm wondering who this sign is warning. the birds? "hey guys - don't nose dive into the path, it'd hurt!"
these birds were very chatty.
i swear i saw these ducks three different times along the trail, but i'm not sure it was possible. i know that they were the same ducks at least two of the times, but the third time i truly believe it must have been the twin ducks of these ducks.
the tandem bikers. they were cute. i saw them a couple of times.
a couple of geese (i think you can only see one of them in this picture.)
a REALLY old bike. REALLY old.
me...
...and my shadow
ahh... a welcome site...
inside my car... :-) instant smile. hot T has a picture of a cute baby on his dash, and i thought it was a great idea. (my cute baby picture is cuter than his cute baby picture...)
i'm in between rotations now. 4 more weeks down. it's amazing how quickly the 4 week blocks fly. i spend the 1st week of every rotation hating it, thinking it's going to be the longest 4 weeks ever, the next two weeks thinking, "hey, this isn't THAT bad..." and the 4th week dreading the end of the week and the awkward here's-my-evaluation and will-you-write-me-a-letter-of-recommendation conversations and the fact that the following week is another week 1.
anyway, this morning, i thought i'd take myself out for a walk. thinking it would feel good to get outside, i went to a park instead of the Y. ok, it was cold, but entertaining enough. i'm not sure how long the trail was, but i was out for a couple hours.
i've never seen a sign like this before, but thought it was pretty interesting.
this bird was the first of many that i saw. it was SO bright red and beautiful.
this was the only mile marker sign i saw, and i'm pretty sure i went well over a couple miles, so i'm not sure what the sign was marking.
one of these things is not like the other... :-)
i'm wondering who this sign is warning. the birds? "hey guys - don't nose dive into the path, it'd hurt!"
these birds were very chatty.
i swear i saw these ducks three different times along the trail, but i'm not sure it was possible. i know that they were the same ducks at least two of the times, but the third time i truly believe it must have been the twin ducks of these ducks.
the tandem bikers. they were cute. i saw them a couple of times.
a couple of geese (i think you can only see one of them in this picture.)
a REALLY old bike. REALLY old.
me...
...and my shadow
ahh... a welcome site...
inside my car... :-) instant smile. hot T has a picture of a cute baby on his dash, and i thought it was a great idea. (my cute baby picture is cuter than his cute baby picture...)
3.24.2006
let's make a deal.
ok, i promise, i'll give you a nice, long and interesting post tomorrow.
for today, all you get is this... my feet STINK today!
for today, all you get is this... my feet STINK today!
3.21.2006
3.20.2006
staring at babies is officially my favorite pasttime.
decovin, 2 months
nathan, 3 months
me and jen
mom and stacy
******
what a great weekend home! the trip was made easier by a few books on cd that i practically had to steal from the davenport public library. don't worry, i did convince them to give me a library card, but it was NOT an easy feat. the books made time pass and the drive almost pleasant. if gas weren't so expensive and i could have every friday off, i'd go home EVERY weekend! wouldn't THAT be fun.
what a great weekend home! the trip was made easier by a few books on cd that i practically had to steal from the davenport public library. don't worry, i did convince them to give me a library card, but it was NOT an easy feat. the books made time pass and the drive almost pleasant. if gas weren't so expensive and i could have every friday off, i'd go home EVERY weekend! wouldn't THAT be fun.
3.14.2006
*sigh*
you know how, some days, you're just sad to see the day end? today is one of those days... because my hair is REALLY cute today.
3.05.2006
devastation.
i realized this week that i've lost something very dear to me. since the accident and the pinning of my great toe, i no longer have the monkey grasp ability in my right foot that has gotten me through life thus far. this calls for some serious physical therapy.
3.02.2006
3.01.2006
2.28.2006
r.e.s.p.e.c.t.
i really admire people who are able to walk into a public bathroom stall that has not been flushed by it's prior, eh... "occupant" and flush it for them. it completely disgusts me and i can't do it. so thank you to you if you can. i don't admire you enough to aspire to be like you, but i really appreciate you.
2.27.2006
and they say boys aren't observant.
the other day, we were going out for a good-bye dinner as several of us were leaving detroit. tanner says to me, you put eyelash stuff on. that looks hot. nevermind that i wear it EVERYDAY. he said i looked hot. i heart him.
2.22.2006
2.20.2006
time.
i waste so much of it. i'm going to stop doing that. tomorrow.
******
i'm thinking about going blonde again.
******
i'm thinking about going blonde again.
2.19.2006
self.
do you think it's bad that i really like the photo of myself to the right there. the profile picture. several reasons... for lack of anything better to talk about, i'll outline them for you...
1. look at that hair!
2. i like the way my chin sticks out past my hair.
3. have you seen my tan?
4. if you could see the full-size image, you'd know how H.O.T. i look in the reflection
5. i can remember that night... i was on spring break in daytona beach, and sarah and i were getting ready to go out. it was a good time.
6. i like the angle of my chest and the small amount of definition of my clavicle.
7. i like the artistic edge to the photo.
8. i like that you can see the flash in the mirror, but you can't see the person taking the photo.
that's all.
1. look at that hair!
2. i like the way my chin sticks out past my hair.
3. have you seen my tan?
4. if you could see the full-size image, you'd know how H.O.T. i look in the reflection
5. i can remember that night... i was on spring break in daytona beach, and sarah and i were getting ready to go out. it was a good time.
6. i like the angle of my chest and the small amount of definition of my clavicle.
7. i like the artistic edge to the photo.
8. i like that you can see the flash in the mirror, but you can't see the person taking the photo.
that's all.
2.15.2006
the entry that lacks a good title.
today's the official start day of the scheduling of 4th yr rotations. biggest problem is, i don't really want to do any 4th yr rotations. does anyone have any spare motivation?
2.13.2006
*yawn* nights.
i'm working nights this week. OB nights. which sounds a lot worse than it actually is i think. for instance, last night - here's what i did...
8:25pm - nap at mark and tanner's apartment
9:20pm - tanner wakes me up by rubbing my back and singing a little diddy about it being time to go pull babies from vaginas.
9:22pm - run home, shower, reclothe for the "day"
9:42pm - hospital bound
9:52pm - run up the secret back entrance stairs to the OB floor
10:00pm - catch up with the night resident, who proceeds to tell me that there's nothing to do, and that i can go claim a call room and she'll call if something comes up
10:02pm - watch grey's anatomy while printing articles for a presentation i have to do wednesday morning
10:44pm - sob silently while watching grey's anatomy alone
11:00pm - go to bed
4:15am - wake up to ringing phone, it's the night resident who proceeds to tell me that there is a new patient, but that she forgot i was there, and thus had already done everything, but i should come up to look at this awesome example of ferning which is what happens when you wipe some amniotic fluid onto a glass slide and look at it under the microscope - a test to verify that your water has in fact broken
4:19am - arrive on OB floor, look at ferning, sit at nurse's station waiting for futher instructions while the night resident talks to the attending
4:22am - am told to go back to bed
4:22:07am - leave OB floor for call room
5:20am - phone alarm goes off
5:25am - phone alarm snooze goes off
5:30am - arrive back on OB floor to round on my post-partum patients
5:58am - finish rounding and writing progress notes; wait for morning team to arrive
6:30am - sit through morning check-out with day team
6:48am - grab breakfast; run in to sarah in the cafeteria; tell her about the night
7:00am - sit through a lecture... about... ???? oh yeah... epidural abscess. you don't care, i promise.
8:02am - leave the hospital feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.
8:25pm - nap at mark and tanner's apartment
9:20pm - tanner wakes me up by rubbing my back and singing a little diddy about it being time to go pull babies from vaginas.
9:22pm - run home, shower, reclothe for the "day"
9:42pm - hospital bound
9:52pm - run up the secret back entrance stairs to the OB floor
10:00pm - catch up with the night resident, who proceeds to tell me that there's nothing to do, and that i can go claim a call room and she'll call if something comes up
10:02pm - watch grey's anatomy while printing articles for a presentation i have to do wednesday morning
10:44pm - sob silently while watching grey's anatomy alone
11:00pm - go to bed
4:15am - wake up to ringing phone, it's the night resident who proceeds to tell me that there is a new patient, but that she forgot i was there, and thus had already done everything, but i should come up to look at this awesome example of ferning which is what happens when you wipe some amniotic fluid onto a glass slide and look at it under the microscope - a test to verify that your water has in fact broken
4:19am - arrive on OB floor, look at ferning, sit at nurse's station waiting for futher instructions while the night resident talks to the attending
4:22am - am told to go back to bed
4:22:07am - leave OB floor for call room
5:20am - phone alarm goes off
5:25am - phone alarm snooze goes off
5:30am - arrive back on OB floor to round on my post-partum patients
5:58am - finish rounding and writing progress notes; wait for morning team to arrive
6:30am - sit through morning check-out with day team
6:48am - grab breakfast; run in to sarah in the cafeteria; tell her about the night
7:00am - sit through a lecture... about... ???? oh yeah... epidural abscess. you don't care, i promise.
8:02am - leave the hospital feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.
2.10.2006
don't forget breakfast.
the other day i almost passed out while holding a retractor in a woman's vagina. it was a long long case, and even though i had eaten breakfast, and i didn't feel particularly hungry, i all of a sudden started to feel like i was going to vomit. then i started sweating and the doctor looks up at me and asks if i'm ok. i mumble something about not feeling well, and he told me to step back and sit down. the circulator (the nurse in the room who is not sterile and gets things for those of us who are sterile) put a wet towel on my forehead and lectured me about the importance of eating breakfast. it wasn't a lecture really... she was super nice. i ended up leaving the room and eating some peanut butter crackers and orange juice. i felt much better afterwards. but what i learned from the scrub tech (the person in the room who is sterile and hands all the instruments to the surgeon) is that it's always better to step out as soon as you start to feel that way. the last thing you want to do is fall and contaminate everything. now THAT would be embarrassing.
and always eat breakfast.
and always eat breakfast.
2.06.2006
three's a crowd.
this post is not for the faint of heart. i'm going to use the word vagina. you've been warned.
******
today i started my week of gyn surgery. as in gynecologic. i spent the morning watching the backs of people who were standing in a small semi-circle around the object of intense attention. then, in the afternoon, i became one-third of that semi-circle. my resident had clinic this afternoon, so i was the only one to scrub in for the afternoon cases. the first was kinda boring, but the second was pretty cool.
we have the patient in the lithotomy position - you know what i mean - stirrups. then the three of us stand in a semi-circle between the legs. the lady had a hysterectomy several years ago and now her vagina was collapsing in on itself, so we rebuilt it for her. with mesh. it was a very interesting procedure, and i think we got good results. good times, huh?
******
today i started my week of gyn surgery. as in gynecologic. i spent the morning watching the backs of people who were standing in a small semi-circle around the object of intense attention. then, in the afternoon, i became one-third of that semi-circle. my resident had clinic this afternoon, so i was the only one to scrub in for the afternoon cases. the first was kinda boring, but the second was pretty cool.
we have the patient in the lithotomy position - you know what i mean - stirrups. then the three of us stand in a semi-circle between the legs. the lady had a hysterectomy several years ago and now her vagina was collapsing in on itself, so we rebuilt it for her. with mesh. it was a very interesting procedure, and i think we got good results. good times, huh?
2.01.2006
catch.
i helped deliver a baby today. meaning i put my hands where the resident told me to and held on. those things come out slippery!
1.30.2006
rerouted.
so, i went in to the hospital this morning to start a new rotation. can i just say, i hate first days. hate 'em. it's like starting a new job every month. blech. anyway, i get there and the med ed lady has me scheduled to do OB, which is not what i was planning to do but is probably wiser in the end. so instead of having fun intubating people and starting spinals and stuff, i'm sitting around waiting. and waiting. and waiting. for babies to be born. and it takes so long.
******
i'd like to point out that the correct spelling of the former car's name is "anne marie" - you know... with an E. though, stacy, i do enjoy "anne ma-rio" as well.
and the new car - named after my roommate at the rehab facility. her name was sylvia. and she had a brain injury. just like me. except she really did have a brain injury and she really did need a bib with her dinner. minor differences, i know.
i also wanted you to know that my new car has a second name. kinda like my bologna. but not. her second name is joy. after the rehab facility itself (marianjoy). sylvia joy. kinda cute, huh? i'm not sure why the place gained the distinction of having my car named after it. it started as kind of a joke, but i think it's stuck. oh well. she's still cute. as a button.
******
i'd like to point out that the correct spelling of the former car's name is "anne marie" - you know... with an E. though, stacy, i do enjoy "anne ma-rio" as well.
and the new car - named after my roommate at the rehab facility. her name was sylvia. and she had a brain injury. just like me. except she really did have a brain injury and she really did need a bib with her dinner. minor differences, i know.
i also wanted you to know that my new car has a second name. kinda like my bologna. but not. her second name is joy. after the rehab facility itself (marianjoy). sylvia joy. kinda cute, huh? i'm not sure why the place gained the distinction of having my car named after it. it started as kind of a joke, but i think it's stuck. oh well. she's still cute. as a button.
1.27.2006
meet sylvia.
she's a 2001 ford focus. and she's name after my roommate with the brain injury at the rehab facility (i'll tell you about it one day... WORST 3 days of my life, i think...). i'll show you more pictures of her later, k?
1.18.2006
ten fingers!!
Nathan Patrick Teitelbaum12.8.2005
8 lbs 3 oz, 19 in
Decovin Joseph Plummer1.16.2006
7 lbs 9 oz, 20 1/2 in
guess who has regained (almost) full use of all ten fingers again!! ha! it's so nice! the pins are still in, but my ortho surgeon said that if i move my hand before taking the pins out, it'll hurt less. we'll see about that. anyway, typing is MUCH easier, and for that... you get an update. :-)
******
i should've given you this earlier - but check this out. weird, huh? i found his site on a google search looking for some school info last summer.
******
so, i spent the last two weeks in a pathology laboratory. now, before you get all excited and think i was helping out with something really interesting like autopsies or something, settle down. i sat in an office by myself all day looking at microscopic diseases. the exact antithesis of exciting.
******
so now, i'm on 2 more weeks of vacation, but will not get the pins out of my toe until at least three weeks from now. hopefully the removal of the pins will not cause too much set back in my ability to ambulate.
******
...back to the car search...
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