In Focus

The temperature has dipped below 30 at night and hasn't crested above 35 in the daylight for the past few weeks now. The air is dirty and crisp, there is 5 day-old snow on the ground. My skin is dry and itchy, my lips chapped and my mittens and gloves within arms reach at all times. I must look like the chubby little boy from A Christmas story - all tightly bundled and waddling down the street as I take my evening run.
The week has come that I have dreamed about for months.
My LAST week in Idaho.
The end is in sight.
The lists are made, the data entry begun, the packing plans created and our travel agenda set.
I am coming home.
On the horizon is the finish line (albeit a temporary one) and it is in focus.

I'm not sure what to write tonight - other than to say that I am excited and my spirit feels grounded and focused on the tasks ahead. I am thankful for the support in these hard weeks with friends and family and lots of prayer and pep talks to set my soul back to walking the narrow and grace-filled road. I have needed the reminders, the love, the gentleness, the honesty.

As I was finishing the last of my required reading - from quite a loud and aggressive book - I happened upon this quote below. I have recently been working at a large volume, high $$ specialized practice of physicians who are not shy about prescribing medications. I have struggled in my spririt with how to balance what I was learning and witnessing daily, with what I was to be adopting as my own personal style of healthcare delivery. Where was God in all of these prescriptions and what am I supposed to do about it?
The words below must be un-packed at a later date but for now I need to digest them and hopefully I will be taught from within what my role will be in this dizzying labrinth of faith and occupation in the 21st century.

" I find my attention...is directed to increasingly costly, and to a lesser degree increasingly successful, provisions made and measures adopted, to cater to the needs of the biological component of man. Even on a purely scientific level we have probably grossly over-estimated the achievement of medical science, yet when one considers man in his true proportions, it is humbling to realize, (and more so to acknowldge) how relatively little we have benefited many of our patients... to consider Christ's challenging question 'What is a man profited even though he gains the whole world and loses himself?...'
To what extent do I profit my patients or others if I treat them exceedingly well; but do nothing whatever to improve the welfare of their true selves? ... "

Dr. Denis Parsons Burkitt
research physician responsible for identifying
and naming Burkitt's Lymphoma

Discombobulated

I don’t think it’s a word, but we all use it quite regularly - and it’s what popped into my head today as I jogged along my familiar stretch of Boise’s urban sprawl. I am discombobulated.
I am wearing thin. I am not physically thin…in fact 8 pounds have crept onto my frame since leaving town last May. But my spirit is thin. My heart is thin. My exterior is thin. I did say that I left town in May and I don’t say that figuratively. I literally haven’t used my closet or checked my own mail or lived with my husband or baked cookies or spent a lazy weekend planting flowers or making banana pancakes.... for 6 months - and I have 2 more months to go just to get to the holidays.
I am discombobulated.

I was doing so well for a while - my adventurous spirit, the excitement, the possibilities all carried me for a spell. Early on I got a few packages and cards and lots of well-wishes. And I am so thankful for those. But now time and distance and stretching and challenges are taking their toll. I pack, load and then unpack month after month. I have to start a new job [remember how that feels?] and find new shelter sometimes every 4 weeks. And each exciting new location takes me to a town where not a single friend or family member of mine resides. A new adventure over and over and over and over….

And I feel so ungrateful sharing this. I am healthy, have a great husband, am performing well and learning more than I care to admit. But I just feel abandoned. By my own true self. By my ideas and unmet expectations. By my family and friends. And even by God. So much of this is frustrating to me because some of this abandoning is happening the other way around - me letting go. But it feels the same. It feels lonely.
I am out here in this world trying to win friends and influence people [for lack of a better phrase] every darn day - and it is hard work. And all I want is to make banana pancakes at home and go out some blustery fall day and check the mail. Maybe invite a friend to coffee, or volunteer at youth group.

But Jennifer called this week and reminded me in a short message that Jesus doesn’t abandon us and that He’s rooting for me, holding me up, caring for me even when it can’t be felt. He has plans for me - plans to make me prosper and not to harm me.
Even when it’s just me.
alone
discombobulated
and tonight I will cling to that.

Henderson wedding con't...

Meet the new Mr. & Mrs. Henderson

I think it's pretty ironic (and fun) that my two brother's-in-law happened to get married within my short carreer as a PA student....and do so within 9 months of each other. I love weddings - and it was a pleasure to be involved (minimally at best) from a distance - sometimes hundreds to thousands of miles away. And I WELCOMED the diversion it offered.
I had the privelage of attending the final Henderson Brother wedding this weekend and here's some snapshots of the action....
Congratulations Ryan and Sarah!

PS: today was my final day in Pediatrics - I'll post the highlights soon.

Next stop: Emergency Department - Idaho Falls

Costa Rica - April 2006

By God's good grace I have been transplanted safely to Boise Idaho. I have a feeling some good posts should be coming from this 4 week Pediatrics experience...so stay tuned.
Below are pictures from my April 2 week spanish course in Costa Rica. It was a fulfilling trip with lots of great folks, home stays with fun families and lots of cultural immersion. Plus, we had time between classes to visit both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts...including a white water river trip down the famous Rio Pacuare.
If you want some deeper reading with definite eternal value - visit Ryan's Ramblings - see link on the right side of this page.

The time has come...

Yesterday I pulled up to the one gas station in town and asked the young boy to ‘fill it up’ with the cheap stuff. He began his duty and before long looked at me with quizzical eyes and asked, “hey aren’t you that student over there at the clinic? You’re the one that sewed up Bart's finger….”.
And so it goes…
I was warned by other students that when you came to this place your reputation either made it or bit the dust by your personality or the work you did. Well, the personality part is relatively safe, but I’m not sure about the quality of work. Now, I haven’t had any complaints so far….well, scratch that….I had one. I unwittingly put a “gutter splint” cast on wrong side out….and the lady quietly and nicely came back 4 weeks later and showed me the unfortunate reality…she said she didn’t want to miss an ‘educational opportunity’.
Ouch.

But - the talk around town has been more awkward than that - having to do with matters below the belt. In the last 2 weeks I’ve had a steady stream of middle aged men come through, who all apparently work or chat or loiter at the same water cooler or horse trough. They apparently discuss their recent exams from “that student there” at the clinic. During the visit, each time I asked the patient to drop their drawers and turn and cough, they all started in with, “….yea, old Tommy - he said you did this to him last week….” Or, ”Oh you know old Franky - he told us every detail about what you did to him on Thursday….”
OH MY GOSH. WHAT?

So - I guess it’s fair to say that it’s time to go. There’s a tear in my beer, and all that sappy talk but I’ve had a solid experience and now it’s time to move on. I miss my peeps, as my friend Rachel would say. I miss the bustle of the city streets, the anonymity of grocery stores and the professionalism of HIPPA controlled office settings. Oh, and I do have a husband who I haven’t lived with for 12 weeks. It would be nice to get re-acquainted.

There has been some good excitement lately - you’ve probably all heard by now of the “Foster Gulch Complex” fire that is burning around us. It’s been quite exciting as we have 800 or so firemen all sleeping around town on various lawns or parks or fair grounds and coming to the clinic for first aid, a shower or bathroom. (No - I will not be giving ANY of them physicals of any kind). We could see the hills burning around us for several nights in a row and it’s actually quite beautiful. The picture to the left was taken from my house. But now the flames and smoke are miles away and burning deeper into 50,000 acres of Hell’s Canyon.
We’ve had to make some super cool ambulance runs into the burning hillsides in recent days and actually burst through plumes of smoke and passed dozens of men in yellow fire gear. See - life isn’t all sleepy eyed here in Halfway. And my one medical boast this week - to make up for the inside out cast - is that I started an IV on my first try on an elderly lady in a moving ambulance! Yup. I learned one skill in school correctly at least.

The folks of Halfway have been gracious, kind, funny and welcoming…among all the other things they’ve been in previous blog entries. And they’ve been extraordinarily willing guinea pigs - for rectal exams, speculum exams, casting and suturing. Thanks everyone for furthering my education. God has been faithful to me here. He has spoken to me, comforted me, guided me, answered my prayers and convicted me about ways that I don’t please Him.

Things I will miss in Halfway…
* The quiet solitude and wondrous natural pine scent of my hillside home…
* The quiet solitude of my TV-less room (I haven’t watched TV in 12 weeks!!)…
* Seeing white tailed dear, over-weight Quail, hawks, cows, horses and prairie dogs every single day…
* Beautiful sunsets, amazing stars and exciting thunderstorms...
* Feeling like I actually have time to do things…
* Spending many hours catching up with old friends on the phone and by email…
* Reading classics, new releases and dozens of magazines, because I could…
* My super fun office staff who welcomed me and taught me a lot in between driving me crazy…
* MIMI’S restaurant…the BEST restaurant in all of Oregon and maybe all of America.
* Riding with the great ambulance volunteer ladies - and giggling on our way from (and sometimes to) the hospital because we’re so gosh darn funny sometimes. (don’t worry - we don’t laugh when people are trying to croak)

Thanks folks, for checking in with me during this the first leg of my year-long rotation adventure. This is week 12 and on Friday my cute bald friend will arrive and off we go to dump my vehicle at my next destination…which is Pediatrics in…
BOISE IDAHO.
…. And for those of you scratching your heads - yes that is basically the NEXT FLIPPING CLOSEST CITY TO HALFWAY OREGON. So things aren’t changing much - just getting buisier and more highly populated.

In a few days I’ll post the much-anticipated Costa Rica pictures (oh and a picture of the Belly Dancing party I went to last weekend) so you’ll have something to look at while Chris and I spend time in Olympic National Forrest and Seattle, Washington.
Stay tuned….

PS: my big fat quail re-appeared yesterday…with at LEAST 15 little tiny mini-me quail running fast behind it!!! Gosh I think I’ll miss this place.

Car vs. Cow

I was late to work the other morning due to a young black calf running down the center of the road. It's "large animals in the middle of the road" season in Pine Valley and I had the privelage of experiencing it first hand. The cows in this community have no regard for motorists nor do they have the legal right-of-way, nor do they know how to merge to the side of the road to let you pass.
We've had numerous folks into the clinic this week experiencing muscle aches and pains due to "car vs. cow" or "cow vs. deer" accidents. One motorist told the story of crumpled metal, whip lash and deployed airbags - only to say that the offending full grown black cow simply staired at the wreckage and passengers as the police arrived. He just stood there, middle of the road, no cuts, scrapes or moooos...he just looked on blinking away the flies and swishing his tail.
It must have been so unsatisfying!
In other news...
In my immediate family birthdays come conveniently and annoyingly in "clusters" throughout the year. July holds the most important 2 - patriarc and matriarc. Dad's is the 4th and Mom's the 8th.
Dad - ironically named "George W." - turned the mile-stone 7-0 on this year's independence day. We celebrated in small town fashion - riding an old fashioned steam train on the 2nd, and on the 4th - we headed up to a gorgeous mountain lake an hour or two outside Halfway - Lake Wallowa - to take in the outdoors, do some BBQ-ing and watch the fireworks. The day started early and unfortunately turned a bit sour when dad was reminded by the not-so-subtle police officer that the small town Oregon speed limit is 55 not 75. Not even his birthday coincidence could sway this young officer in his big important hat - not even us being the only car for miles around...dirty little....
Anyway - off we went to the lake where we took in the not-so-small-town activity of Parasailing - a good 70th birthday ride.
Fun was had by all...


The lake was cool, the weather warm, the maccaroni salad a bit dry, but the day was great.
The only glitch (besides the ticket) was when the sparkler in dad's birthday strawberry shortcake caught the plastic bowl on fire and threw sparks in his lap.
sorry dad.


Mom's big day was definitely small town classic but different than dad's. Hers included the 6.4 minute long Halfway Rodeo Parade, a small farmer's market and lunch at the infamous Mimi's cafe - complete with birthday hat, candles and the owner playing his trombone while we all sang.

Mom also got to take in the annual summer Jr. Rodeo. The events were fun, dangerous and sometimes cute as little 4 year olds mounted their 8 foot tall mares to strut their stuff. In one event the tiny cow-girls and cow-boys rode their horses while their MOMS took the reins and ran the horses around the barrels themselves. So really - the kids and horses weren't being timed - it was their sweating mothers wearing wranglers and boots and shuffling through the clotts of mud.

Anyway - it was a fun day - and only one young man's head got stepped on by a bull.
Not Bad.

Survival Tactics

I can't think of any great stories this week.
It's becoming common place now - all the small town quirks and strange occurances. I have gotten used to the ladies at the grocery store scrutinizing my purchases and eyeing quizzically which movies I check out. They even give me commentary - 'oh this one isn't very good' - or 'I don't think you'll like this one...'. Great. Thanks.
I ventured into the bar the other night with my preceptor to take the edge off a long week of old folks, head injuries and non-compliant diabetics. The converstations drifted from local boys coming back from Iraq to how many acres of hay we'll get this year out of the back 40, to the recent rectal exam one gentleman got from my preceptor, then from me.
Oh, good ole Halfway.
The clinic is good, kind of chaotic and full of interesting characters. I continue to learn and look like a fool much of the time - having forgotten most of the information I crammed into my head last year. I more often than not come home smelling of dirty feet, horse maneur or various abcess liquids.

So - I have employed the following means to survive and thrive during the remaining 6 weeks in this town.
#1 - I have overcome loneliness and the absence of my cute little bald husband by becoming a pet owner.
Meet Martin Baker Henderson.
He's my sweet little friend who blows bubbles and doesn't fall on his ramp and split open his head or yell or forget to take his medication.
He's fabulous.


#2 I have read at least 6.5 books and watched a dozen movies. Hoooray.


#3 - I have officially gone hiking by myself for the first time. It was strange, fun, boring, nice - a beautiful day. I only got attacked once - by this funny chicken-like bird who appeared to be injured. He was in distress.
I subsequently got a raging secondarily infected case of poison oak. Fun times.





#4 - I was able to sneak away for an 80 MPH 48 hour rendezvouswith two dear friends to meet their cute little squishy newborns.

Meet Rogan below, and











Miss Madelyn



I'm officially addicted. Don't you just want to eat them up?



My parents come to town soon. Then the rodeo will be here in 2 weeks and apparently that brings a lot of blood and guts and tight Wrangler-wearing folks to town.
I mean, more than I already see on a daily basis.

Love-Hate Relationship

The love - hate relationship of my current life circumstance continues. The pace at which I change from love to hate and back to love at anytime seems to be increasing.
This town, oh this tiny little town, is coming more alive to me everyday. As folks come into the clinic and I see who’s related to whom, who belongs to whom by friendship, marriage or neighborhood kinship - it’s all making much more sense. As we all know, love begets love, and dysfunction begets dysfunction and it’s no wonder that 75% of this town is on an antidepressant. Have mercy.

But in this dysfunction there is the silver lining of loyalty, kinship and the make-up of a support system - all of which are admirable. But this also becomes detrimental when the head of the clan crumbles - and down comes the rest of them - whether they’re related or not.

The drive to work last Thursday began with my newest favorite song about our 'right to be loved….” And I sang out loud as I came barreling down my lane, and the billowing grey clouds were low in the sky and as I turned the corner onto main street a handsome gentleman was leading 2 beautiful brown mares while riding atop his own. The ‘clop clop’ was magical. Two old big-gutted cronies were exchanging stories with wild arm motions in front of the liquor store - wearing their over-alls and baseball caps. A lady I knew crossed the street and walked to the market waving at me with a big smile.
Am I in the Truman Show?
But then I entered the clinic - a swirling storm of chaos was brewing inside, and a crash of thunder roared outside. An elderly man had fallen last night. He didn’t come to the doctor till this morning, still bleeding. Why hadn’t they called 911? Questions without answers were shouted out in every direction and the waiting room filled and folks were stirring uncomfortably as the rain started splashing down in torrents.

From Hollywood-like bliss one minute - to crazy scenes from ‘ER’ the next. But at least I got to put in my first 10 stitches. While staring at this old guy’s exposed skull picking out pieces of grass, I hoped to the Lord that he wasn’t bleeding deep inside or brewing a big infection.

One evening last week I jogged down my lane and onto a logging road that wound next to a creek and I marveled at the beauty God had created. The crows flew, the cows moaned, the dogs barked and the flies buzzed as I trotted by listening to the creek.
And then the quail ran.
It’s such a STRANGE thing - have you ever watched a quail? They have these beautiful smooth, plump grey bodies with an upside down comma on their heads. And they do have wings. But for some reason when presented with a danger from behind, a threat from a car or a human jogging - their best defense is to Run. Their little legs go a mile-a-minute, and they look like cartoon characters with their bodies staying perfectly poised atop their tiny legs. They run till they know they’ll be overtaken - and then they decide since all else has failed to open those wings and use them. This evening however, the poor obese quail who I was chasing, I mean following, was more plump than was healthy and as he ran, his top-heavy body was too much to overcome and down he went in a tiny cloud of dust. His body was down but his little stick legs were still running faster, faster! But he got up and ran - then faster, faster - then down again, in a tiny cloud of dust.
It was pure comedy.



Sometimes, at the less-than-logical choices of townfolk, dysfunctional relationship fallout, behavior of patients, escape routes of quail,
in order to survive...
I just have to laugh.

Getting to know the Townfolk...

Halfway, Oregon
Volume 2

I was greeted at the door of church this week - greeted by name - by the sweetest 9 year old you ever saw. He had remembered my name from clinic - where his little brother had his face stitched up following a harrowing bicycle accident. He grabbed my hand and introduced me to those looking on - as “my friend Katie, she works at the clinic”. I was invited by his family to join them in their pew in the front row - what an honor.

After church - I crossed the street to one of "the other churches” in town to have lunch with some of its members and visiting missionaries. During the meal at the local tavern (the only restaurant open every day of the week) I was already being recruited along with my absent and unsuspecting husband to be the next newest residents of Halfway. Well…let’s hold on a moment and think this over…

You know your're in Halfway, or the nearby towns when there's donkeys for sale at Safway...

or in the breakroom at the clinic there's a calendar that says, "...did you know that 'Select Sires' offers semen from a wide variety of beef breeds ....getting the most out of your reprduction program is essential ...."

Did you know that to breed a new colt - for your horse to have happy relations and reproduce with a male horse that belongs to someone else - there is a FEE?? You actually have to pay money - a lot of money - to let your horse do it's duty with another. Isn't that called.....
oh ... I'm such a city girl.

The other night I got to don a well worn leather jacket, black leather gloves, large eye shields and a tight black riding helmet. Then I swung my leg over a deep red Harley Davidson. I’d been graciously invited and encouraged to join my preceptor in various extra-curricular activities and a recent one involved "riding" to dinner down the Snake River canyon. (I'll post pictures of me in leathers someday soon....)

The thunder and lightening have kept me awake more than one night - and what a thrill it is to watch the big steel grey clouds march across the sky bringing gusty winds and bright lightening and big fat rain drops. The smell is amazing when the drops join the thick green grass, hay and rich dirt of this valley and create a humid brew that smells of life.

I have - against much resistance - shifted into first gear. Life has slowed to include the basics like studying, cooking, reading, running, writing and long talks on the phone.
It’s a joy to discover the pleasure of good books, reconnecting with folks, listening to my heart and trying to decipher the Lord’s still small voice...even in this faraway land...

I've come to a place...

Halfway, Oregon
Volume 1

...I’ve come to a place where the sky is deep blue, the air is bone dry and smells like pine when I walk outside my front door. Folks wave or expect a wave each time you pass them on the road…especially when they’re driving their tractor pulling hay. I’ve come to a place where I don’t recall seeing a stoplight when driving through town and where the cattle out number the humans 7 to 1 in all areas of the county. I also just bought my first latte in town - a surprise find during my lunch hour errand to the fabric/quilting/gift store. As they took my money for the pillow forms, they brewed up a mean iced double tall Almond latte.

...I’ve come to a place where the lovely 83 year old woman, A.T, who I rent square footage from won’t give me a house key and has asked that we not lock the doors. ‘What’s the purpose?‘, she asked… and then proceeded to tell us of ‘that one pastor’ and his family who insisted on locking the house every day…!

Folks have started calling me by name.
Folks I’ve never met.

...I’ve come to a place where the town and its 350 residents are surrounded by breathtaking snow peaked mountains that are unbelievable each time I gaze at them. I have begun carrying my camera in my car because every time I go somewhere new I want to pull over and snap a few shots. Last night, as I ran down the 1.5 mile road to my house the sky was painted with pastel water colors - a wash of purple, pink and blue.

...I’ve come to a place where the songs on my iPod - from my old life - don’t quite fit in. As I jog along the pasture lined gravel roads - Old Blue Eyes, or my good friend Michael Buble, or even Michael W. Smith for that matter - seem a bit out of place. Or at least they make me feel like I’m in the beginning scenes of a movie or have lost my way … I have in my head Buble singing ‘summer wind’ as I trot past a black and white Jersey chewing her cud staring quizzically at me with her big black eyes. The cows stare at me, the horses whinny and I find myself turning off the music to hear the priceless sounds of the country side - the babbling creek and whispering trees.

...I’ve come to a place of solitude…for better or worse. This place is a hard one for me and it is even harder to admit that I’ve already shed a few alligator tears of loneliness and the summer has just begun. My social desires, my need for speed, my multitasking brain are all going to be forced into a summer of scheduled tranquility. I found myself driving over the speed limit yesterday after clinic and after I got the disgruntled look from a fellow rancher I thought, ‘what in the world am I hurrying back to’? I didn’t have a thing planned for the next 5 hours.

Finally…I’ve come to a place of humility. I have officially forgotten everything I ever learned. I have already proved that I know nothing of importance. And yes, I have already said “I don’t know” flat out…no fancy talk…I just said “I don’t know” at least 7 times today. And it’s day #1.

And the worst part….I truly didn’t know.

Joy in the Journey

This phrase has followed me for a long time - beginning in young adulthood in high school as I grew with Jesus - then it took me to leadership at SPU - and ultimately landed with me here in Portland. It seems to sums it up - even the random trivial life journeys, intense spiritual journeys, twisting relationship journeys and even journeys that end in death. I believe it is God's plan for us to find the joy - the smile or lesson or deep truth behind each day.
PA school - even in this short 11 months - has been a journey for me and it has at times been difficult to own this phrase. My sweet mom - the realistic yet adventurous friend of mine - and I have always said to each other - "remember, in life the possibilities are ENDLESS".
and that is true.
Including hard possibilities.

Just because I haven't posted a note on this blog for months doesn't mean I haven't published many paragraphs in the "draft" section with each letter containing new or boring or difficult life experiences.
...There is a letter saved about the excitement of Eric and Lacey's upcoming marriage in San Diego - and how I had to trudge through finals to get there. Another letter talked about my first incredulous experience giving (not GETTING) a pelvic exam to a live human being...or Matt R. having to learn the art of (and practice) a breast exam on his birthday...how strange our lives are right now.
...another letter shares about how my dear grandomother Amy went to meet Jesus - right as I was taking my final exams in December. I wrote about her life and how faithful and dear and kind and warm she always was...and how we celebrated her life and legacy on Christmas day.
...my next letter talked about how great the wedding was in San diego - and how as I ran along the sun soaked beach my heart just leapt for joy at what God has created and how God is in the tide - He created it - it's power and might and fury and wonderful rhythmic simplicity. He faithfully returns again and again to us and loves us and created us and sometimes - He takes us home with him.
...my next letter shared about Mickie Hansen - our closest, dearest family friend. Her vivacious and full life was abruptly ended one afternoon in January - as her car collided with another. Her life was so rich and intentional and her eyes sparkled as she poured her spirit into those that she knew...

the letter about Mickie was long.

I don't know why I couldn't post them. They didn't sound right. Or feel right. I think I just needed to read them to myself so I could absorb their truths.
And now - new letters are being composed about babies being born, new weddings being planned - and a new year of PA school beginning. Letters with more joy than pain - but that's just circumstance. I'm learning all over again to have joy in the journey - as the road turns and heads up hill.

In the next few hours the journey will take me to Costa Rica...stay tuned...

Tears

There will be more to follow about this...but this is all I can do right now.

'Tears -
You never know what may cause them. The sight of the Atlantic Ocean can do it, or a piece of music, or a face you've never seen before. A pair of somebody's old shoes can do it....a highschool basketball team running out onto the gym floor at the start of a game. You can never be sure.
But of this you can be sure.
Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention.
They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them in the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go next'.
~ Frederick Buechner

Human Pin Cushion

Today we are evaluating the clinical evidence of pap smears & the technique of conization of a cancerous cervix. With a few STD's thrown in for good measure and plenty of moist looking pictures.
Interesting?
sort of
Fascinating?
not really.

The reality of Seasonal Affect Disorder coupled with the monotinous drone of 8months of 40 hours a week in class is beginning to take it's toll. My mind wanders to the dream-like lives of friends engaged in wonderful social activities involving healthy realtionships, new pregnancies, grandbabies born, house warming parties, super bowl tickets, Colorado winter weddings and family birthday parties.

(I haven't heard a word the professor has said in the last 10 minutes.)

I turned 30 last weekend- in the midst of an uneventful holiday weekend - with me hitting traffic on the way to church - then studying for an exam in the afternoon.
Sad?
Definitely.
Surprised?
not really.
Seems to fit the winter 2006 style.

But there is one aspect of school that has recently kept us on our toes and the adrenaline rushing through our veins.
We have become human pin cushions.
Our clinical skills course requires us to learn the basics of IV insertion and venous puncture. Using one another to practice.
We arrived in class last thursday and were promptly told to sit down and bare our arms. No preparation or time to run. And most of the class has never handled a needle before - and do I need to remind you that IV's are a 1.5 inch long plastic catheter shoved up your small delicate veins!!!
IN YOUR HAND!!!!
Stories abound in this arena - with my first insertion not even entering a vein eliciting many loud responses from my partner. Another classmate shared with us a small picture of what she must have been like in labor. Wow.
But it was all very helpful and "empowering".

(I pray that I NEVER have to insert an IV in an actual patient)
Ever.

Welcome 2006 - pass the kleenex...

It has been a lifetime since I sat to post an entry and I appologize for my absence and lack of stories or inappropriate medical humor. More shall be coming soon.
I sit with OJ, kleenex, dayquil and the remote in my lap. The first illness of my PA school career....which isnt' too shabby since I started over 7 months ago. (A record for my less than boisterous immune system) The bacteria and virus particles caught up to me during the busy and fullfilling holiday season.
The basics of our 3 weeks 'off' included 3 days in Seattle, 4 days in Sacramento/Pleasanton and 4 days in San Diego for the fabulous wedding of my brother -in-law Eric to his beautiful bride Lacey.
It was a whirlwind - but wonderful...
here are a few of the favorites...