The wrinkly ones

My mother once taught me that if I can't say anything nice, then I shouldn't say anything at all. Well...that would make for a pretty boring post about geriatrics.

Here's the thing, you can't go from running around all day long feeling like you are saving the world - to 6 patients per day doing the same cognitive screen and neuro exam and not feel a little bored. Well maybe other people can, but I can't. I literally wanted to poke my eyes out. Not that I didn't love the patients, cause I did. I will never get tired of sweet old women calling me dear and old men making inappropriate comments. And the doctor was great - one of the smarted women I have ever had the pleasure of working with. But the pace....good lord....you'd think since the patients are all this old there would be at least a bit of a rush!

However, I thoroughly enjoyed being in Guelph for two weeks. I got to have a surrogate mom and homemade food. Took a roadtrip to Peterborough to see my favourite actress, who also happened to buy me the best most perfect gift ever - a rain globe! (think snow globe but of vancouver!!) Personal guided tour of campus and the downtown. Tried out a great bakery and a fabulous restaurant. And the new Dixie Chicks cd came out :) (Most of the time I try to hide the fact that I'm a hick...you know keep under wraps how much I enjoyed my teenage years of pickup trucks and field parties, that I own a cowboy hat, worked at a texmex restaurant, and know how to drive a tractor...but when something as big as a new dixie chicks cd happens, well you just have to let the world know!)

And now I am about to embark on the world of Anesthesia. A controversial specialty. Some would have you believe it is the most challenging and exciting as you are literally holding lives in the balance. Others would want you to know that anesthesiologists sit back and read books while the surgeons do the real work (something along the lines of "You're not the one boning the chick and you never will be..." LOL). From my brief experience last year, it was pretty damn cool. When you are holding a bag, helping someone breath, and then the drugs wear off and they start to be able to do it themselves...its like you can literally feel them live. You can feel how much they breathe. How strong, how fast, how deep....my little brain can barely fathom it. It is amazing.

So now, on the night before this exciting endeavor, where I need to know a ton of drugs and all their effects....I think I will go sew something and forget about the fact that I have to be a doctor in the morning :)

Lots of love
Pamela

Currently reading: Captivating
Currently listening to: The Dixie Chicks! Weren't you paying attention earlier?!