May 8, 2016
After I finished an operation yesterday, I went to speak to the patient’s mom. (Well, his dad and brother were there, too, but you know, us moms have the connection; I totally got the terrified look on her face, anxiously waiting to hear about her son.) He was fine. Some scrapes and bruises. Nothing that can’t heal up and get him ship shape in a matter of a few weeks. And….exhale. Momma relaxed. And so did I. We chatted for a minute,...
May 3, 2016
Fear is an emotion that grows and matures with us. It starts with the monsters and the neighborhood bully, then becomes sitting the bench and never going to the dance. And when we are all grown up, it slithers around as failure and loss. It lurks around with many faces, changing with our moods and our location; the company we keep and the moments we are living in. Fear has faces. Fear has a face…and it is called anxiety. That face spins my...
April 24, 2016
If you want to know what kind of night you will have on trauma call, you need only look to the skies. Warm, clear, sunny…there will be no rest. It will be busy, steady. And if there is a full moon…brew an extra pot of coffee. You. Will. Get. Crushed. Yesterday was warm and sunny. But the day was not too busy. Surely, the night will not remain calm, I thought. I laid in the bed in the call room, lights...
April 19, 2016
I went to the optometrist the other day, when I was post call, as that’s when I had time to go. She’s new to me. Because…Reset. A super nice gal. Took a lot of time with me. Chatted up the new town we are moving to and gave me names for a pediatrician, an internal medicine physician, the babysitting service and the local moms’ Facebook page. She cheered me on when I was trying to read the very fine print on...
April 13, 2016
While I am examining the tachycardic patient who has a host of medical issues and a curious, but likely, non-surgical problem, I get a little tachycardic myself. She won’t tolerate a surgery, but she is a sick lady. Did I make the right decisions for her? I decide to call the admitting service, to discuss the plan of care, but I realize I don’t know how to reach the admitting physician. Bzzzz…my pager goes off. “Your patient is asleep in...
April 4, 2016
I was on call last night. The “trauma gods” were in my favor and I found about 3 hours to rest, in between pages. My husband, Scott, called me around 11am this morning and asked, “So when are you going home?” I thought for a moment, and even though I knew I could have cashed it in then, I said, “Oh, I’ll stick around for a while. I mean…I don’t even have internet at the carriage house (aka, my temporary...
March 28, 2016
If the Old Testament Book of Leviticus were made into a movie, I’m pretty sure it would be at least PG-13. There are gory descriptions of animal sacrifices; there is blood and guts. The visuals are quite disturbing. Leviticus 1:5-9 (VOICE) “You shall slaughter the young bull in My presence…Aaron’s sons, the priests, will offer the blood and splatter it around the altar… 6 You shall then skin the burnt offering and cut the animal up into pieces. 7 …the priest will place...
March 21, 2016
My parents came over to our place this weekend. We were expecting them around 9pm, after their cooking class. But they texted to say they would be late because they were grabbing a drink with “their new friends they met at the class”. They finally made it to our house around 10:30pm…and they went on and on about Frank and Betty (or whatever their names were…I missed that part). And then they went on all weekend, joking that after we move,...
March 13, 2016
Marathon: T- minus 35 days. Today’s scheduled run: 22 miles. Mile 1: Hey, I feel pretty good! The weather is nice. Gonna be a good run! Mile 2: Yep. Still feeling good. Whoa! I gotta slow down…not gonna last at this pace. This is a long run! Mile 3: Maybe I can even ditch the gloves. Knee still feels fine. Winning. Mile 4: Hmm…just a little touch of pain in the knee. Not bad. Just stiff. I’m sure it’ll feel totally fine in a few...
March 7, 2016
If you have recently flown on an airplane, purchased an appliance or had one repaired, been a patient in the hospital or gotten a haircut, you’ve probably received an email requesting your opinions about the service. A survey. We are asked if we were satisfied, would we recommend the company to a friend? What could they have done better? Was it clean? Was is complete? Was is worth our time and money? Will we come back? Companies, large and small,...