Giving Back

I don't know why, but recently I have been thinking about Trinity a lot. Partially I guess in reference to my last post. The subject of college came up again in a conversation this past weekend, which of course always takes me back. I wouldn't give up those 4 years for anything. Trinity prepared me well for medical school and life. The dorm experience and being part of the Trinity bubble for 4 years was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed watching the campus change over my 4 years there & I look forward to the day that I get to travel back to SA town to eat at those familar resturants and wander around a campus that is sure to have changed since I left.

Last night my phone rang with a 210-999-xxxx number, which signifies an on-campus number. I didn't answer because I was busy and later put together that it's Phone-a-thon season. Soon students will be calling to ask for donations for scholarships. Well tonight they tricked me. Anonymous came up on my phone tonight & the curiosity got to me - I answered it. A little while later I had donated $20.06 to Trinity in recognition of my graduation year. And you know what - it made me feel good. To give back if even just a little to a place that has given me so much.

Thank you TU and thanks to all of the amazing people I met there who shaped my experience and me.

Round 3

Deja vu - that's the feeling I have about this year. It's taken me 3 times, but I now recognize the pattern. Here I am in my 3rd year on the brink of rest of my life. I've stood here 2 other times - as a junior in highschool and in college. Again I am realizing that after this year I have one year left, before I move onto the rest of my life. In high school that meant applying for college, anxiously awaiting with my fingers crossed for acceptance letters.



Flash forward 4 years - there I was as a junior at Trinity, compulsively checking my email for med school interview opportunities and daily checking my mailbox hoping for the infamous thick envelope deciding where I would spend my next 4 yrs.



Flash forward 4 years again realizing that hopefully I have 1 year left on the east coast before I once again move onto the rest of my life. Yes - I've changed, I've grown, and I've learned. The funny thing is that the emotions are still the same. Excited yet scared. Wanting to explore my surroundings that much more, because I only have 1 year left. Knowing that I will be leaving my friends here for another one of life's great adventures. We will always be connected by medical school. As I am connected to my childhood friends from Willows and my Trinity friends.
I look ahead at the year and now realize these feelilngs I've felt before. It's odd. In less than a year I will repeat what I did 4 years ago - apply for residency and then compulsively check my email for the opportunity to interview. Then cross my fingers and hope I match on that infamous day in March.



In a way after next year I will repeat this cycle one more time. Residency for 3-5 years or more depending on the specialty I choose. Then interviewing for a job.
Cyclic just like the seasons...

an escape

Quick post tonight, because I just got done working a 16 hr shift. The last few hours I've just been studying, but we were pretty this afternoon/early evening visiting kids in the ED and deciding who to admit and who to send home. It was a good, but tiring day. So now it's shower time and then bedtime - repeat tomorrow (only 11 hr day!)

Today I thought I would share with you one of my daily pleasures - reading my mom's cousin Corey's blog. (not that I don't enjoy reading Ashley, Nava's, and now Sammy's blog) Corey is pretty faithful about posting everyday and takes beautiful photos. Her latest entries have been of pictures from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris (where I visited 7 years ago!). Her blog is often times my little break from reality - transporting me to France, to antique markets, and famous museums even if only for a few minutes.
Here's a link: http://willows95988.typepad.com/

It's Here, It's Here!!!!

Fall has finally arrived. The cool crisp air that hits your face and fills your lungs making you feel completely alive.

The leaves are starting to turn, the breeze is picking up.



Warm sweatshirts, hot cocoa, and the outdoors calling my name.

This weekend there will be a picnic - outside amongst the leaves!

Ahh... the changing of the seasons to remind one of the cyclic nature of the year and our lives. A reminder to enjoy each moment, for fall will be fleeting and soon winter will set in with snowflakes and the holidays!

So get out there and enjoy the weather. Go for a walk, take a deep breath and breathe in the beauty of fall.

P.S. These pictures are from prior years! I haven't had time to take pictures this year, but will this weekend. Pics from this year to follow. and don't think I've forgotten I owe you all pics of my dorm here in York. I will eventually get to them I promise! :)

A small town called home

I've been a bad blogger. That tends to happen around the weekends for me.
Below is a link to an article my dad sent me in an e-mail.
I want to forewarn you that it is a rather lengthy and sad article that still manages to capture the essence and heart of my hometown.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=willows&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab8pos1

a day as an outpatient peds doc

I spent my day yesterday from 9-5 in an outpatient clinic. I'm actually in outpatient clinic all week - 2 full days and 3 1/2 days. I still see newborns and inpatient's in the mornings. I enjoyed my day today and think that I'm meant for something outpatient. I know, I know - I'm supposed to keep an open mind and I am trying my best, but I feel good at the end of a day in an outpatient clinic, be it family or peds (my only 2 experiences yet). The rest of the year is yet to come and we shall see how it all pans out. Next week I'm on inpatient all week - so I will let you know how that goes.

But my day yesterday:

Your typical well child checks - 4 mo, 12 mo, 18 mo, etc. Those are just run of the mill - answer any questions parents might have. Make sure the kids are hitting all of their milestones - can they sit up, are they walking, talking, eating solid foods.
One specific cute 18mo old knew a little bit of sign language and made the best faces when I pushed on his belly and touched him with my cold hands. Another parent was worried about bubbles in their baby's poop. Dr. H calls them poop watchers, which most parents are. You only have to worry about it if it's red, watery, or black. Those are Dr. H's rules to poop. Personally, I think the baby is just making fart bubbles in her diaper.

Then we had a kid come in for a refill on his ADHD meds. Seemed like your normal quick visit for some amphetamines to help control the child. Some parental counseling about not letting this kid have a tv in his room, since mom is concerned because the child has a hard time falling asleep at night. Interesting part about this child is...as he is checking out he decides to turn around and vomit all over the floor. He seemed fine when I saw him. I asked...do I have to write that in his chart? Dr. H says pretend you didn't see it. Most likely viral illness. He'll be back in a few days if he's not feeling better.

Then a few 10 year olds came in for nausea, vomiting, and sore throat. Apparently in children usually 10 and under this is how Strep throat can present - with the nausea and vomiting. I saw one of the kids and Dr. C saw the other one. This boy had the best posterior palate petechiae I have ever seen! picture perfect - see below red dots on posterior palate!
this pic was taken from www.strepthroatinformation.com

So we did a throat swab. Rapid strep test came back negative. We thought this was rather unlikely seeing as his history and exam made it seem extremely likely. Dr. C did the next throat swab and definitely got a good sample - gagging and tears coming out of his eyes. We really wanted to treat him if this test was positive to quicken the course of the illness. Her swab came back negative too! The swabs are also sent out for culture which is more sensitive at picking it up. If it's positive then we'll treat. Otherwise for now it's most likely viral.

Followup Emergency Department visit for a child with a history of asthma and cough/cold. Kid also had epistaxis (bloody nose) 2x's yesterday am. This child's lungs sounded fine, he looked well - happy 15mo old interactive, alert, etc. Dr. H has seen this patient before and most likely a case of overly worried mom. So we talked to her some - the kid just has a cold.

That's all I remember for now. This is getting to be pretty long. So there you go - a typical day. May sound boring to you, but I enjoyed myself (minus the 4mo well child check where the baby didn't stop crying for the entire visit!).
Ok off to eat lunch and then back to clinic this afternoon!

Disneyland

My mom, Aunt Ed, and a friend of theirs are on their way to Disneyland! I wish I were going! They are going to see it decorated for Halloween and enjoy all the wonderful rides, etc.
As a kid, I have about a million memories of Disneyland - I went a number of times due to my A. Ed living near L.A. and my Dad going to some grocery conventions in the area. I remember playing with the little sample boxes he would get at the conventions.

And no matter how old I get - it is ingrained in me how "we do Disneyland." It's reflexive for me to approach any trip to Disneyland in this fashion. Someday I hope to take my kids and pass on this crazy neurotic tradition to them.

We have our system (really my mom & aunt's system) of how to make sure we get the most out of Disneyland. First, you must understand we are ride people. That's ultimately why we are there. You have to arrive as soon as the park opens - which means be at the gates when the park opens ready to go. Hit the big rides first - the ones with the longest lines (space mountain, Indiana Jones, etc). Then from there you can space out the other rides depending on where you are in the park and where your fast passes take you. In the afternoon when it gets hot, we take a trip back to the hotel for naptime (more so when I was young and needed the nap). After missing the heat of the day it's back to the park to ride more rides. The first day on any trip to Disneyland I was allowed to watch the Light Parade - now they have some other parade. The next day (we were usually there for more than one day) - there is no watching the parade - it is prime time to ride the rides while everyone else is watching the parade. And that's how we do Disneyland!



I'll never forget one trip when I was younger, my mom and I rode Splash Mountain late at night. As soon as we got off the ride soaking wet, we were freezing cold - we ran to the nearest souvineur shop and bought sweatshirts to keep us warm! It may not seem that exciting, but when you're a little kid running through Disneyland at night with your mom in search of a brand new sweatshirt is pretty exhilirating!


My one and only tea cup riding partner!

Ah...Disneyland the happiest place on earth ;)