Surgery update

Surgery is going surprisingly well! 

I am a lucky, lucky girl, because my surgery rotation is with a group that has me work M-F 8ish-5ish, no call. Some of my counterparts work those 60-80-something hour weeks when they're on surgery, but not me! The only complaint I can muster is that I sometimes don't get lunch, but that sounds pretty lame when I consider the schedule I could be working.

The docs are great overall and I'm learning a ton. The first couple of weeks I did more rounding and sometimes went to the office to follow the docs there, but last week I was in the OR all day every day. It's been almost surprising how much I have enjoyed my days, most of the time. I was so anxious about this rotation, but it's really not been a big deal. In the OR I recognize that it is easy for me to just be in the way, so I try really hard to just do as I'm told. This week I'm trying and ask to get a little more involved if I can. It's a great opportunity for me. 

Because I am enjoying the rotation, the patients, etc., I feel like I would certainly look into a job in surgery if it were available. PAs can fill all sorts of roles in a surgery practice, taking care of the patients in the hospital, doing consults, seeing patients in the office, or assisting in surgery. It's hard to imagine, though, that any doctor would want me for a first assist in surgery! With my meager 4 weeks of surgery rotation experience, I think that would be a tough sell. But it's exciting to consider what my options might be and refreshing to no longer feel that fear and aversion to the OR. 

I will never forget some of the things I've seen and experienced on this rotation. Getting to meet these patients, and then see the anatomy so up close and personal, really puts their pathology into perspective. It's a great way to learn. 

The commute

One thing I miss desperately about my time at BYU was being able to walk, all the time. If I got to drive/get dropped off at work it was lovely, but most of the time I walked everywhere. I miss that.

Especially because I am now in my 4th rotation, and all 4 of them have been in different cities, other than the one I live in. And because traffic in this region is hideous. Horrendous. Not near as bad as D.C. But still horrible.

Today I left work on the east side of Virginia Beach around 5. I had to run 2 small, short errands. I got home at 7:30. Now that is bad for the environment.

We live right next to the bridge-tunnel that leads to the peninsula (where Hampton and Newport News are) and the traffic backs up there like you wouldn't believe. It's bizarre, because the freeway is only 2 lanes for miles and miles leading up to the tunnel... it's not like it's merging traffic. And yet, every single day, traffic backs up like there's a friggin hurricane coming. I don't know if I will ever understand it. Today just happened to be particularly bad. 

So today I say, I can't wait until I can live really close to the places I have to be every single day. Maybe walking distance, even? I miss Provo.

Can you tell I've been home alone all week?

Weekend

We sure had a great weekend... it was a cryin' shame for it to end. One highlight--and dream come true--was when we saw 10-15 dolphins in the water just out from where we were swimming. It was awesome! But of course, no photos of that.

Thanks, you two, for coming to visit! Have a great semester at BYU!

July in photos

July just slipped right on by, and we were busy as ever.

Passing a lamborghini on I-85 in northern NC. It's safe to say it was a defining moment in Burke's life, hence the picture he made me take.

Spending a long weekend with Mom, Dad, and Dill, including an evening hike/swim at Stone Mountain

Celebrating Burke's 26th birthday with candles and his favorite Raisin Cake

Bowling... and Burke got two fantastic scores--an excellent birthday present!

Watching a glass-blowing demonstration and checking out the Chrysler Museum of Art (these are some of my favorite glass sculptures)

Taking our neighbor David to the temple for the first time

Firsts

This week, for the first time, I

-Watched a baby being born. Beautiful, happy and strange. Wonderful. I felt like laughing and crying, but instead I just smiled.

-Assisted with a C-section. Oh my bloody goodness! I couldn't believe how bloody it was and I sure hope that doesn't happen to me. It was pretty incredible too, though. During pregnancy mom's body makes lots of extra blood to more than compensate for birth, so even c-sections usually go okay as far as blood loss goes.

-Scrubbed in for surgery. This is where you get all dressed in sterile gown and gloves in order to assist with surgery. I learned how to do this and all about sterile technique last fall, but I had so far not had the opportunity to scrub in.

-I got profusely sweaty and "about to pass out" sicky during surgery (a hysterectomy) and had to break scrub and sit down. Oh don't worry, this was DAY ONE. I was HORRIFIED. Talk about a fantastic first impression. As it turns out, breakfast really is a good idea.

-Sutured on a real, though asleep and anesthetized, person. So much easier than a pig's foot.

-Drove the camera during a laparoscopic surgery.

It was an incredible week! But firsts are stressful!!! And exhausting! And exciting!!!
I also did some pelvic exams, learned to measure pregnant bellies, and some other such stuff. OBGYN is a pretty fun rotation. It's super weird though that every single patient is an adult woman. Since general surgery is the rotation that I am the most worried about and I have that to look forward to in August, I am really grateful that I'm getting the opportunity now to get some good surgery experience. I am somewhat anxious but excited for what week 2 will bring! 

Dreams, little dreams

This morning I woke up dreaming about kidneys.

For real.

It happens all the time nowadays. I'm studying in my sleep people! Making up for all the time (like, oh, now for example) that I'm not studying when I'm awake.

I wonder if this will continue for the rest of my life. It's fairly annoying, really. But can we blame my brain? When I have been spending the majority of my time lately learning and thinking about the kidneys, what else is it supposed to give me at night?

So I was thinking about my dreams and this little gem of a song popped into my head. Burke brought home a whole slew of CDs from Paraguay, and one day while listening to a CD I had never heard before, we ran across this. And we happen to think it's charming! So I decided to look it up on Youtube.

Here you have it. The lowest budget music video ever made. But do enjoy the song. It's mostly Spanish, but my favorite part is the two little English words in every chorus. And the violin.

Love family time.

Ian, Emma, and Beth came to visit from Utah. Ian and Emma got in later Saturday night, and Beth came in on Sunday morning. It was a blurry, busy Father's Day. We ate breakfast, went to church in my parents ward, Daddy opened his presents, all of my dad's side of the family came over for a get together, and then they had Dillon's eagle scout court of honor at my parent's house. Burke and I unfortunately had to miss that so we could get back home for work on Monday morning. The weekend was lovely, but very busy. 

My family's plan for the week was to go to the beach for a few days, to the beach in southern NC. However, through much persuading, they were convinced to come vacation by us. I couldn't get out of work to go with them, but since they were close we are able to hang out in the evenings. And it was priceless.

The house they stayed in was on the bay, right down the street from us. They were able to go to nicer beaches during the day, but play with us at night.

Emma loves the beach. The sand, the water, the shells, the crabs... she loves it. But she did not want to smile for a picture!

 Bright colored pedicures for Mom's birthday! 

 Ian got a much-needed vacation from his 80+ hour work weeks.

 We enjoyed a little bit of much-needed sister time! So sad to live so far apart.

 Grandpa loves his little girl

...and can provide hours of entertainment for a 4-year-old!

Thanks, family, for coming to Virginia instead! Being able to join in on your vacation a little felt just a bit like a vacation for me.