The ICU is tough.
Tough on the mind, the body, and the soul.
It sounds cliche but it's true. I've learned a lot in this month, most of it not new, but a lot of it hard to swallow. Getting ready for residency is terrifying. People die in unexpected ways. The medical system is infuriating at times. It was a difficult month for me in the medical ICU at UWMC but I made it. Some of the things I saw:
- Acute liver failure in people that overdosed on Tylenol, suffered from hepatitis B, and (most terrifying) for no seemingly known reason
- Terrible pneumonia complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that required us to position a patient prone (lying on their stomach) while on the ventilator
- Upper GI bleeds that require people to have massive blood transfusions
- Failed kidney, liver, and heart transplants
The work weeks were long, but I was blessed to be given the weekends off to help me organize my life as we prepare for the big move to Providence.
Now I'll focus on all the good and bright things that happened while I was stuck in a world of terribly ill patients.
First, I was able to join in on an incredible celebration of a new life--a baby shower for one of my classmates who is due any minute now! We had an amazing waffle bar on a Saturday morning.
We created new onsies with fabric markers and iron-on patterns.
A cute diaper cake complete with beers for dad :)
Kiki and her hubby Apollo were thrilled to crack open their new pack and play as they will be on the go for the first few weeks of baby's life since they will be moving to Portland, OR for her residency at OHSU in Emergency Medicine.
We had great weather in Seattle sprinkled in with the days of cloud and rain. I got to catch a glimpse of this crane preening himself in the sunshine.
Last weekend I had been having a particularly difficult week. I needed a little refreshment from it all, and I found it at Marcia's Silver Spoon Cafe in Tacoma!
It made life great for the last week of the rotation because I had breakfast already prepared for myself. I couldn't eat there without getting the classic "silver spoon scramble"!
Finally this week I was nearing the end and it became clear that I was going to have a beautiful weekend day ahead of me and I couldn't have been more excited!
We've already made 3 trips to Goodwill and 2 trips to Half-Price books with laundry baskets full of books in an effort to whittle down our belongings to those things that are worth moving 3,000 miles away. I've also been filling out mounds of paperwork and getting TB tests, immunizations, and passport photos taken to become official as a resident physician. The to-do lists are incredibly long, but we're tackling them bit by bit. Amazingly, we only have about 8 weeks left until we move. 8 WEEKS! It's hard to believe.
Now, I'll work on trying to stay focused in my final 2 week rotation of medical school in the neonatal ICU (NICU). Deep breaths, I can do it!
Tough on the mind, the body, and the soul.
It sounds cliche but it's true. I've learned a lot in this month, most of it not new, but a lot of it hard to swallow. Getting ready for residency is terrifying. People die in unexpected ways. The medical system is infuriating at times. It was a difficult month for me in the medical ICU at UWMC but I made it. Some of the things I saw:
- Acute liver failure in people that overdosed on Tylenol, suffered from hepatitis B, and (most terrifying) for no seemingly known reason
- Terrible pneumonia complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) that required us to position a patient prone (lying on their stomach) while on the ventilator
- Upper GI bleeds that require people to have massive blood transfusions
- Failed kidney, liver, and heart transplants
The work weeks were long, but I was blessed to be given the weekends off to help me organize my life as we prepare for the big move to Providence.
Now I'll focus on all the good and bright things that happened while I was stuck in a world of terribly ill patients.
First, I was able to join in on an incredible celebration of a new life--a baby shower for one of my classmates who is due any minute now! We had an amazing waffle bar on a Saturday morning.
After that ridiculously large breakfast, we were due for some exercise, and we joined Dave at Point Defiance Park on a classically beautiful sunny afternoon.
Tom and Dave are training for the Spartan race on April 22nd and I was just along for the ride. I let them do the more intense portion of a work out while I happily jogged at a snails pace, but we did meet up at the end and did 3 miles along the water with 20 burpees between each mile. It was brutal and wonderful at the same time!
As usual, I retreated to Magnuson park for a sense of renewal and refreshment as I head into my last 2 week rotation of medical school.
The beauty is overwhelming at the park right now
When it was all said and done, Tom and I enjoyed a fire-side dinner at a new restaurant by our house, capped off by some blooming jasmine tea.
It almost felt like summer (well, probably because I was in such a warm jacket :).
I did have lot to celebrate but I also found myself mourning some losses this week. It may not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but to me it was pretty hard. I said goodbye to my garden plot this week. My oasis when times got rough is now getting passed on to someone else. It doesn't look like much right now, all covered up in burlap sacks for winter, but it has been such a source of joy for me. As I said goodbye to the plot I dropped off some of my planter boxes from my porch and as I watched them get wheeled off in people's wheel barrows to go and plant in their own garden plots it felt bittersweet. Bitter to see pieces of my work and joy getting wheeled away and sweet to know that those chives, daisies, and basil plants are going to be loved by someone else and not just thrown away.
Goodbye Magnuson P-Patch! You have been MORE than good to me.
Last night we capped off the weekend with a picnic in the park with John and Bri. We managed to not get a single photo of our picturesque picnic spot....but rest assured it was amazing. And, we of course, had to introduce them to the pie bar afterwards because they had never been! Like an idiot I forgot my ID, so we couldn't dine indoors, but we enjoyed pie from the to-go window :)
Now, I'll work on trying to stay focused in my final 2 week rotation of medical school in the neonatal ICU (NICU). Deep breaths, I can do it!
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