My weekend in Chicago...

Pure craziness and taking advantage of tourists... inside the actual city of Chicago - 9.0% sales tax. That's a lot of sales tax.

Last night I went to go see Eight Below - the movie about sled dogs in Antartica. I think when I move back to the Duluth area, I may just take up Dogsledding. You can wear more clothes dogsledding than cross country skiing. Nah... I'd never give up cross country skiing... as the Olympic news guy just said, "The 50k cross country ski race is the ultimate winter endurance test... Perhaps the fittest athletes here." I agree. I'm definately not in that kind of shape... but maybe agian sometime. Oh, and one more comment about going to this movie - PLEASE for the sake of the other movie-goers do not bring your 2 year old who can't shut up to the movie theater. Please wait until they can sit still for 2 hours. Either that or go to the mommy's day out movies that allow babies and such. There should be some sort of age limit on the movie theater - like, 5 years old or something.

And today, I went to check out Willow Creek Community Church - one of the country's biggest mega-churches. And you know it's a contemporary church when the title of the sermon series is "Bling-onomics" - about a Godly way to manage your finances, get out of debt, etc. A church used the word bling... wow. Ok, so you know that little rhyme we all learn in Sunday school "Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people" while doing the appropriate hand motions? Well... this church was more like... "Drive up to the church and pick follow the parking guides and the appropriate signs to the appropriate parking lots for the main entrance... Here is the church that's as big as my high school... There is no steeple, but a lot of pretty ponds... Open the door, see TONS of people, decide whether to go through door A,B,C,D or to take the escilator UP to the balcony." Seriously this church seats more people than any theater or auditorium I've ever been in. Here's a pic of after church... had to take one to prove how big it is.



This is only about 1/3 of the seating.

More Chicago pics to be updated on my photo site as I get them... see link to right of screen.

Things cost money

So, I started the morning by buying a new printer/scanner/copier combo because there was a good one on sale for $79.99. Yay! Later in the day I went to Midas... I needed 2 new tires and I needed new break pads (I thought). Figured it would cost about $200-250. Little did I know, the reason my breaks were so sqeaky and not nearly as good as they should be... not only the break pads... The whole thing was shot, and they told me I needed new roters and drums too (not exactly sure what those are, but they're part of the breaking system). So, the whole thing costs $840. Holy crud. Oh well, at least I know I have a safe car with breaks that work. I wasn't willing to tell them not to replace it incase they were lying to me... becuase if your breaks don't work, you're screwed. Better safe than sorry. So yeah, things cost money.

For You Mom...

Yesterday, my mom, who definatley is not as addicted to the internet as many of us as she dosen't even log on daily... told me thatre is. I hadn't "written on my internet thing lately." If she noticed... others of you must have as well.

Today I had my first "real" Chicago deep dish pizza... this place I got my pizza from, is apparently some of the best pizza in Chicago. The weird thing is... the layers from bottom up are: Crust, cheeze, sausage, sauce. It's good... but the sauce is ON TOP of the cheeze. Weird.

This has been some of the coldest weather I've felt in a couple years. The east coast made me a wuss, even though I like to brag I'm from Minnesota and I can handle the cold. That sucks. I need to be re-hardened.

I'm working on my application to go on my elective rotation in Bolivia... essay questions... reference forms... I forget how hard stuff like. Blahhh... I want to do it, but lots of work.

Those of you that have children... be thankful that you know who the father is and he's involved in your child's life. Oh, and that most of you actually wanted that baby you have. Every day I'm reminded how lucky people are to have those simple things. Way too many people have way too much sex without birth control with too many people. That's how we get 15 year old mothers who seem annoyed by their babies even on the first day who are there alone with no father and half the of them withdrawing from either marijuana or cocaine because they've been in the hospital without it for a day or two... even though many, like one today... Her urine drug screen showed definate marijuana use, we asked her about it, and she said she hadn't used marijuana since she found out she was pregnant... even though this urine test showed without a doubt she'd used it within the past 48 hours. Liar. Remind me agian why we can't charge those mothers with child endangerment? Oh yes... it's because in our society a baby isn't a living thing until it takes a breath on it's own, even 4 hours before, not something we can endanger or neglect. Sigh...

Rant of the day over.

Chicago-ness

Things I have learned in 2 days of pediatrics in Chicago

I need to learn Spanish... Yesterday.
The bowel movements babies have the first day of life are very sticky.
Everyone has viral upper respiratory illnesses and they for some reason insist on coming to the ER instead of going to their pediatrician.
The traffic on city streets of Chicago are not NEARLY as bad as the interstate traffic through Chicago, even during rush hour.
One way streets... why do big cities insist on them?
If I ever live in a big city, I think it'd be Chicago.
Some people who have babies... shouldn't.
You should have to take parenting classes before you can have a kid. You have to take classes to do anything else!
My apartment is awesome.

That's what I have to say for now.

I'll be back soon...

Ok, so the craziness of the actual surgery rotation is over. (hence the reason for my lack of blogging)

I gave my presentation on manipulation and otitis media this morning, I don't feel it went too great, but hopefully good enough for at least a C between that and the paper.

Now I'm studying surgery like mad for tomorrow's 8:30am exam.

Today I also have to listen to 11 more presentations (and study simutaneously)

AND I have to finish packing my stuff and load it into my car tonight.

Tomorrow - exam and lectures until 2pm.

Then... drive to Toledo until 10 or 11pm...

Stay with Andrea until Sunday lunch-time-ish... YAY!!! :)

Then drive the remaining few hours to Chicago, check into my apartment, and unload all my stuff. Woo hoo. I hate loading, unloading, loading, unloading... worst part of this moving every 6 weeks thing. Oh well.

Start pediatrics on Monday. Should be better than surgery!

So yes, after this weekend I should be back blogging more regularly. Sorry for the hiatus.

Updates

Ok, so that callander I posted about... not doing it. If you want to know the details of my schedule, just ask. :)

But... I found a way to post my Kodak Gallery stuff for you to see without me having to post the link to each album. So, now you can go to www.kodakgallery.com/aleathea and see my pictures at all times. :) If you want automatic e-mails of when my album is updated, give me your e-mail address and I'll add you to the update list that Kodak sends out.

Remeber those kids?

Remeber those kids that could never quit building bigger and better things with their Tinker Toys?

Or my generation - those kids who built crazy big cool things with their Knex?


Know how they were all kind of considered to be nerdy kids? (not that I wasn't a nerd too...)
Ever wonder what happened to them?

My best guess... they're all orthopedic surgeons trained in using Ilizarov External Fixators.

Today I learned how to use them.

Here's all the types there are on one skeleton.


And here's one that's almost just like what I did today.


And here's what it looks like on a person.


I would hate to have to wear one of them... but apparently they're amazing to help bad fractures.

Smart and silly...

I can tell you about lots of stuff today that would make me sound smart... like how we took off this large melanoma off the bottom of a man's foot. How they let me do a skin graft all by myself. How I learned how to do a breast reduciton. And how to make a nipple when one has been removed. And all kinds of stuff...

Then I have my silliness... tonight American Idol starts a new season! Yay! :) I'm such a dork. But oh well. I love American Idol.

Doggy bag

Today I helped with two knee replacements. The first guy was the most interesting. He's a pretty big guy, only 54, already had the other knee done. He asked the PA if he could have the parts of the bone we cut off to bring home in a doggy bag for his dog. Would you want YOUR dog chewing on your own bones???

Partial Hiatus

Hello everyone. I'm am appologizing in advance for my partial hiatus from blogging. This is not because I'm tired of blogging. It's mostly because I'm just plain tired. Surgery is long hours. 11-12 on a good day. Today, 15.5 hours. The last 7 hours was one surgery. Sigmoid colon tumor resection. Supposed to be a 2-3 hour surgery. This guy had a 10 pound mass in there filling up his whole pelvis. We had no idea it was that big before going in. It was a rush to be done because he had ignored it a long time and now his bowel was totally obstructed. We also found in process that one of his ureters (the tube from the kideny to bladder) was running through the tumor and also was obstructing urine flow out of that kideny. So, needless to say... it was much more complicated than planned. All out with having to call in a urology surgeon to fix the ureter we had to remove... he took a short part of it and moved the bladder a bit and re-attached them. It was pretty cool to see all the stuff they did. Before the surgery he told the nurses, "Don't mess up my penis, if you do, my wife will be pretty upset." Another example of a couple in their 70's that are still quite sexually active. Anyway... we didn't touch his penis except to put the cath in. Except we had to take one of the vas deferns (where the sperm runs from the testicle out the penis)... so he's down to half the sperm count. But hey, if he really wanted he could still have children. So, we adhered to those wishes as much as possible. When first looking at that tumor we wern't sure we could get it all. But, after 7 hours of work, I think we did, AND we reattached almost everything to where it belonged. If things go as we think they will... this guy may actually be cured. 10 pound weight loss from removing the tumor and all. Anyway... all that to say... long days at the hospital, studying, and sleeping, I dont' have much time left for anything else. So, if I don't post very often between now and February 10th, I'm sorry. I promise I will sometimes, but it may be once a week. Please don't take it personally.

What?

Does someone want to remind me what month it is agian? It's 5:30pm, and I just got home and it's 53 degrees outside. The highs for the rest of the week are as follows: 48, 54, 52, 54, 54, 56. And the lowest low is 36. It dosen't even drop below freezing at night. There goes my hope of seeing any snow in the near future. I guess I left it all in Minnesota.

As for my rotation today... I watched a gastric bypass. And I assisted in a thyroidectomy (removal of the thyroid gland) and a complicated cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder, but his was all crazy scarred and his abdomen was all distended... so it wasn't easy). That plus rounding on patients and such was my first 11 hour day. Yay.

Calendar

For a little more idea of what I'm up to... any planned events will be posted at http://www.localendar.com/public/aleathea

You can add events to my calendar if you would like. :)

Li-Fraumeni Syndrome

Today I experienced one of those cases where you're like "Wow, I can't believe I get to see this..." but at the same time you think about the patient and how young she is...

"Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a rare inherited disorder that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer, particularly in children and young adults. The cancers associated with Li-Fraumeni syndrome include osteosarcoma (a form of bone cancer), soft tissue sarcoma (cancer that occurs in soft tissues such as muscle), breast cancer, brain tumors, adrenocortical carcinoma (cancer of the adrenal gland, a small hormone-producing gland on top of each kidney), and leukemia (a cancer of blood-forming tissue). Other types of cancer also occur more frequently in people with Li-Fraumeni syndrome." National Library of Medicine

My patient is a 21 year old female. Her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at 23 years old, was dead by 36 years old. Then, when this patient was 13 she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of her right femur (big leg bone) and went through 12 months of chemo. Now she's 21, married 4 months ago, and was diagnosed with breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ to be specific) in her left breast. So, today she had both breasts removed and expanders implanted in preparation for permanant implants. She also had 3 possible melanoma lesions removed. One of the other fairly young people in the room said "Man, it's tough to see someone younger than you that's so sick..." I agree. I can't imagine going through all that already in my life.

But, then I think about how cool it is that I actually got to see a case of this. It's strictly genetic, you will not get it unless direct relatives have had it. There are less than 400 families WORLDWIDE have this syndrome. And I got to see it the first week of my surgical rotation.

Some days it's hard to balance the wonder of being able to see these things and also how depressing it can be to think of the patient it is affecting.

Thought of the day.

Not a great day for Aleathea

Today I woke up at 4am feeling very nautious, it was worse laying down, so I sat up and tried, emphisize TRIED, to sleep for 2 1/2 more hours. I attributed it to the greasy burger and fries the night before. When I finally got up I downed some Pepto, ate some cereal and headed off to the hospital still not feeling too great but figuring it would pass. I scrub into my first surgery of the day, a cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal). I was holding the camera for the surgeon, all was well... all of a sudden I get overwhelmingly hot and sweaty and feel like there is some iminant vomiting. I told them I was nautious and left the room. (That's what your supposed to do). As soon as I cooled off away from the big spotlights, I was fine. My head hurt though. Later, I scrubed in on a submandibular gland resection (the salivary gland in your chin area). Same thing, was doing well holding stuff for awhile... got hot and nautious, and had to leave the room. Agian I was fine when I cooled off. But my head hurt even more. Plus I was frustrated with myself becuase I wanted to see this stuff and didn't want to seem like a wuss, didn't want the people who would be grading me to think I can't handle surgery, didn't want to fail this rotation due to the fact that I couldn't stay in even one surgery... hopefully it gets better. Oddly enough, I have hope, becuase none of that may have been due to the surgeries. I still feel sick as a dog. Feel like my head may burst, my back is achy, still nautious, and my skin hurts when my clothes rub on it. Blah... I hate being sick. This sucks. Not my day.

Bad blogger...

Ok, so I neglected blogging while I was home, mostly because dial-up annoys me, so I spent as little time online as possible. I got to visit a lot of my friends and family while home which was wonderful. I got to sleep a lot too. I got to play with my chinchilla Fiona. I got to enojoy the snow, skiing, shoveling, re-learning how to drive in it... Braden started walking. I got to meet my dad's dog Missy. And lots of other stuff... Long day of travel to get back out here yesterday. In order to use the least of my frequent flyer numbers... I took 3 flights instead of one... Minneapolis to Grand Rapids, MI... Grand Rapids to Detroit... Detroit to Philly. Blah. But all was on time and my bags got there so all is well. Settling into Dan & Susan's house... Dan showed me around town a bit today. I got new shoes for standing in surgery all day. I got groceries. Yup. That's about it. I'll update tomorrow about my first day. :)

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! And I WILL say Merry Christmas. Not happy holidays, not winter vacation... Christmas. This break is given from work and school because of Christmas. So admit it. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, admit the reason for the break. And I will tell you Merry Christmas, if you don't celebrate Christmas, feel free to tell me Happy Hanukkah, or Joyful Kwanza, or whatever you wish. I will not be offended. I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I do, and I will not be told I cannot use the word Christmas.

Rant of the day ended.

Merry Christmas!!! :) :) :)

And the results are in...

Funky "blue ice" ring...

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, it's Kendra, did you see the grades yet?"

"The grades are up!!! No, I'm at the mall, I haven't seen them, but nobody's called to tell me I failed."

"They never actually call anyone, they just say the do."

"Did you pass?"

"Yup, barely, but I passed."

"Yay!!! Can you do me a favor and look mine up?"

"Sure, just give me a minute. (long pause) Ok what's your password?"

"Ummm... What's my password. Oh! It's _____."

"Ok."

Pacing around the sore waiting I tell her, "I know I failed, everyone fails this one their first time. I won't be surprised if you tell me I failed. I know I failed."

"You passed."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? I PASSED??? HOLY COW!!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! YOU JUST MADE ME THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD!!! MERRY EARLY CHRISTMAS TO ME!!! HOLY CRAP! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Ok... Everyone in the store is staring at me now... So I'm going to go..."

So... I passed... And simutanesoulsy made a fool of myself in the mall. One of the hardest two exams of the year is over. And I passed. Yay.

News of the day

"You know it's cold when the precipitation of the day is ice crystals."
Kare 11 News Weatherman

I payed off my car today. For the first time in my life I fully own something over $1000. Although, as my dad reminded me, although I own a car worth about $7000, I own student loan companies almost $100,000. So, I am in no way out of debt. Oh well. I own a car... I have collateral. I've never had anything more than a computer that I could use as collateral. So, that was my excitement of the day. Merry Christmas to me.

Home sweet home...

Well, I survived. My internal medicine rotation is over. My evidence based medicine paper is turned in. My internal medicine exam is taken... I'll find out if I passed in a day or two... most people don't their first time, but I really don't want to study during break. I moved out of my apartment in Bala Cynwyd, PA and into Dan & Susan's house in Newark, DE where I will be for the 1st 6 weeks of 2006... Yesterday I flew home and had Christmas with my mom's side of the family. Today I relaxed. I am tired. I will try to keep up posting more often. Sorry. Hope you still love me! :)

That kinda girl...

Today I heard a comercial on the radio for Wranglers I think it was, it went something like this...

"You expect your girl to be able to throw a 100 pound bail of hay, but you DON'T expect her to carry two bags of groceries."

I can be that kind of girl. If you're the kind of guy that wants that, let me know. :) lol...