Weekends and between

A couple of weekends ago I got to help my dear friend Elise celebrate her birthday by going to the Eastern Shore. We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast in a quaint, quiet town. We enjoyed ourselves so much! The bed and breakfast was hilarious. Breakfast was a sit-down, "three course" meal at a dining room table with all of the other guests--who were all old couples. The three of us girls showed up at breakfast following a run on the beach... everybody else was cleaned up and showered and ready for the day. Then we spent literally an HOUR at breakfast waiting for the next food, being polite, and making conversation. It was so funny. Elise's favorite part was when the three of us sat around the piano and played and sang together. It was so lovely to spend that time with Elise and Laurel!  

 That same weekend Burke took the youth to the D.C. temple. It was one of those marathon trips--6 am til 11 at night. So don't worry, he had plenty of fun without me too!

Last weekend was Harborfest. We went on Friday night as soon as I got done with work. We made it in time for most of Gavin Degraw's performance, and Burke, who for some reason unknown to me had previously referred to him as "Gavin De-Blah," also enjoyed the show. Then we looked around for a while, admired the huge ships, watched break-dancers and drummer guys, and then watched Colbie Caillat sing for a while. It's such a cool festival, one of Norfolk's funnest things.

In between weekends we've been busy working. I finished my primary care/internal medicine rotation. Now I'm on a nephrology rotation--that's the kidney specialists. The docs I'm working with are fantastic, but it's been kind of tough. I really started out having no idea what was going on. Week 2 is going better so far, but I'm awfully slow at figuring stuff out. I have learned a lot and I think it's pretty awesome stuff. I've enjoyed getting to be in the hospital and learning the culture there and the way things work. Burke is working hard at home still. Things are going well for him. He is staying extra busy as Young Men President. And I just got called to my 4th different calling in this ward! I was released as a teacher in Relief Society and will now be teaching Gospel Doctrine. I am so anxious about it, but I am also excited to study the Book of Mormon better. 

Next weekend we'll be heading to NC for another whirlwind weekend. Ian, Emma, and Beth are coming for a visit. We'll only get to see them for a day, but we're excited!

Two-car family

Proud to announce that we are now a 2-car family!

Yes, that is a big car. No, that was not the intention. Though now we can give rides to church to all of the members in our neighborhood with no problem. (Maybe it was Burke's secret intention...)

We have been sharing a car for our whole marriage, which has certainly been problematic plenty of times. But with Burke working at home since we've moved here, we've been able to make due. However, now that I am working full-time, varying hours, commuting to a different city every month, it's becoming (and will become) even more difficult. For example, Burke, who is the YM president, almost missed the youth activity on Thursday because I was stuck in traffic on the other side of the bridge-tunnel. We've been car shopping for several months, and yesterday, since we both happened to be off work, we went to check out this Explorer and decided to go for it. Burke is excited to have a car that he feels like he fits in. I am not super excited and I'm nervous about having such a big car... I hate driving big cars and especially putting gas into them, but hopefully we still won't be needing to drive it very much. We got a good deal and are hoping it will do the job for the next while!

Burke said he'll drive it for now, and when we have kids I can drive it. I just had to remind him that by the time we could have enough kids to need a car like that, that explorer probably won't even be running!

GIM Weeks 1 and 2

Alrighty! I am already halfway through with my first rotation! And today marks 355 days until graduation. But who's counting? I can definitely tell that this year is going to be one of the fastest of my life so far.

My first rotation is general internal medicine. It's outpatient, so I work in a primary care office. It's a little disappointing that I'm not in the hospital for internal med, and this rotation is probably going to be very similar to my family medicine rotation, but that's ok. At least I have a cushy schedule! I'm an 8-5er, with only half-days on Fridays. I work with a nurse practitioner 3 days a week and a doctor twice a week. They are both very different so it's good to learn from them both. It's been a bit of a challenge adapting the things I learned about history taking and physical exam to real patients who come to see this doctor all the time and have chronic problems instead of acute issues.

Most of what I have to look up/study these days is pharmacology. What I generally remember from pharmacology is drug classes, but suddenly I have to know specific drugs (trade names and generics) and their specific dosages, side effects, interactions, etc. I have met some patients with very interesting diseases. Chronic diseases are the norm. By the time I'm done I should be a pro at blood pressure drugs. I've seen a lot of people in chronic pain, and learned quickly how to recognize patients who are drug-seeking and need to be sent to pain management. I'm realizing how frustrated I feel with many of these processes that we really just don't have a lot of options for. My preceptor has taught me that most of medicine is not about "cures," and I think that's a little bit of a depressing fact. I do feel overwhelmed looking at a patient's medication list that is 10+ drugs long, or trying to sort out a 81-year-old's medication history when they're not really with it enough to tell you what's going on.

But it's rewarding too. I do love connecting with a patient. It's a really neat feeling, and it really helps them to make changes or to do the things that are hard for them in order to take care of themselves. And helping a patient to help themselves is the best thing ever.

Music in my life

On May 9th Burke and I celebrated 3 lovely years of marriage! Ok, well, "celebrating" is maybe a stretch. But Burke made a special breakfast, I made a special dessert, and we made a special dinner together. We tried to watch a movie, but I kept falling asleep so we only watched it for an hour. Romantic, huh? It was day 3 of my first rotation, and a long day of work for Burke too, so that just doesn't leave a lot of energy for much celebrating. (I guess that's what our Outer Banks trip was for).

Anyway, the highlight for me was Burke's gift to me.

I was so touched I cried. Music is really important to both Burke and I. Without having a piano in our home I know I have slowly been losing my talent. We both want to have a nice, real piano someday, but that is probably a very long way off. Ever since we first got married Burke has wanted to get us a piano, and he said he didn't want to put it off any more. He didn't spend a whole lot of money on it, and it's nothing fancy, but it is a full-length keyboard with weighted keys and a pedal, and a volume button and a headphone jack (a necessity for apartment living). He asked me to play Clair de Lune. I did, and as it usually does it made me a little sad how badly I fumbled through it, but it was so exciting to be playing the piano in my own home! I need it--I need music in my life.

Thanks, Best Friend, for filling my life with music! ...well before you bought me that keyboard. Our three years so far have been full of life's music. I'm holding out for an eternity more.

Oh and by the way, speaking of music, after so many years of not watching American Idol, a few weeks ago I caught it while I was at the gym, and I got hooked! This season's top few contestants have been phenomenal! Wednesday night's show this week was so good I even bought the songs.

OBX

Everybody around here has their "OBX" stickers on their cars. It's the #1 vacation spot. Not that Virginia Beach isn't a great vacation spot, because it is! But when you live in/around VB, you vacation in the Outer Banks.

Which is one place that this girl who grew up in NC had never been before (at least, that I have memories of)! It was a nice alternative to the backpacking in Shenandoah that we had hoped to do (Burke's ankle and belly are doing much better, but not really in good hiking shape yet). 

We stayed in a small "cottage" on Nags Head, but we tried to do all of the cheaper touristy things we could. Cape Hatteras lighthouse was so worth the trip down there. It was a beautiful drive and I was so grateful to finally be visiting this major symbol of North Carolina! 

*Fun fact: Cape Hatteras "protects" ships from the 12 mile sandbar, the Diamond Shoals. This area is called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic."

*Fun fact: It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the US and is 210 feet tall. 

*Fun fact: Due to beach erosion, in 1999 the lighthouse was moved 2,900 feet. They picked it up and put it on railroad tracks and pushed it! 

We rode the ferry down to Ocracoke Island. We didn't stay long, but it seemed pretty lovely!

We also learned all about the Wright brothers and the beginning of flight. 

We went to Jockey Ridge State Park. It's a huge sand dune.

Then, inspired by the people at Jockey Ridge and the excessive wind, we bought a kite to fly out on the beach.

I just have to say, if you haven't flown a kite in a while, you probably should. What fun and joy! ...And, what sadness when someone (who will remain nameless) accidentally lets go and the kite flies miles out to sea! (He was really very heartbroken.)

Throw in a trip to Fort Raleigh (the site of the Lost Colony) and a visit to the NC Aquarium, and basically we did all of the stuff that the fifth grade field trippers get to do when they go to the Outer Banks. (My 5th grade class went to DC instead.) And it was a blast! In addition, because our trip coincided with "Bike Week," we saw and fell in love with the following,

we spent a lot of quality time together,

and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting a beautiful place.

On being the patient

I just have to start there, because this video is worth every minute.

So it went like this:
Burke goes on a trip. Burke comes home from a trip. Burke says, "I have pain in my abdomen, and it's not going away." Burke can't sleep. Neither can his wife. Burke decides to ask for a priesthood blessing and go to the Emergency Room. Jess drops Burke off at the Emergency Room to park the car (see 1:43 of the video). Burke and Jess wait in the waiting room for an hour. Burke and Jess spend 3 and a half more hours in the ER. After much deliberation, Burke says 4 or 5, sometimes 7 or 8 (see 5:19 of the video). Burke gets diagnosed with appendicitis. Burke gets wheeled into the Operating Room. 1 hour later Burke's surgeon says everything went well. Two hours later Burke is settled in his hospital bed. Three hours later the resident tells him he can go home. Two hours later Burke is home in his bed, recovering from a very long night/day.

A few reflections on the whole experience:
-ER nurses are very special people. Nurses in general are very special people. I know that the ones Burke met made a big difference in his experience.
-When they brought in "the surgery team," we met a medical student and 2 residents. I didn't even meet Burke's surgeon until after it was all over. Burke met him right before going in for the surgery.
-It does not feel good to be sitting in that freezing cold waiting room all alone at 6am after staying up all night, hoping all goes well with the surgery. It was very lonely.
-It felt really good when the surgeon came and found me and told me that everything went well and Burke was doing great.
-Ever since being in PA school, every time I have gone to the doctor, or heard about the experiences of my family members, I have been very disappointed in how they/I have been treated. This was the first time since starting school that I felt satisfied by the history-taking and physical exam that was done. This was the first time they actually did it the way I was taught. Props to the student and the residents!

Burke is well on his way to a full recovery. Less than a week after surgery he hopped on a plane to Wisconsin to go spend some time with his mom. Tomorrow night we'll both be home again and taking the week off. We haven't figured out what we'll do yet, but we need a very relaxing vacation!

Happy...uh...Pascua!

In our apartment, if anyone is talking outside anywhere near us it sounds like they are sitting right next to you. So yesterday morning at 9 am someone knocked on our Puerto Rican neighbor's door (he's 2 doors down from us, and he doesn't speak English well, but he always tries) and he said, loudly, "Good morning, lady!!! How you doing!?! Happy...uh...Pascua!!!" It made my day. Because, the Spanish word for Easter always  escaped me. And I wouldn't have remembered it now unless I had heard him say it. Apparently, sometimes it goes the same way for Spanish-speakers remembering the word "Easter." 

On Friday I was asked to teach Relief Society today and I am really grateful I had the opportunity. I taught the lesson called "The Immortality of the Soul" from the George A Smith book. It was perfect for Easter too. I was so touched by the Holy Ghost and by the experiences and testimonies shared by the sisters in my ward. 

‎"The Savior's righteous life is a perfect example to all, and His resurrection was the first assurance to humanity that we, too, shall come forth from the tomb....

Jesus Christ was a man without sin. By reason of His purity, His uprightness and His virtue, He was able to unlock the doors of the prison, to overcome death and the grave, and pioneer the way...unto that heaven where we expect to go.

The Lord has not left us without hope. On the contrary he has given us every assurance of eternal happiness, if we will accept his advice and counsel while here in mortality." 

-George Albert Smith

I love my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives, and He loves each of us. I know we have hope through Him.

Feliz Pascua!