Report of 19 Sept 2011
Hello from Greenwood, Indiana -
I have a few days off from work, and the socialising has been as exhausting as the working - in a different way, of course. My work shifts are 7 days at a time, 7 AM to 7 PM, and the days are long. Hospital medicine is good, though - the patients are truly sick. In outpatient settings, they could come in for anything. Or come in for 1 thing and mention 4 to me when I got in the room. Certainly, complications can set in, in our hospitalised patients, but there are some that one can anticipate.
The lack of the weekend takes a bit of adjusting, but days off include weekdays and those are nice. So, after working 7 days, I get 7 days off. And a weekend certainly does feature there, which is nice because Scott does not work then and we go off and do fun things.
The patient who used to be an IV drug user was re-hospitalised with a kidney infection and this time, she had an upset stomach, too. When one takes antibiotics, they can cause diarrhea, and that is indeed what she had: Clostridium difficile colitis, and I treated her for it. She was doing better by the time my shift ended, and we spoke of things such as her return to school. She would like to do behavioral science or psychology, and be a substance abuse counsellor. This is good. As she put it, "I would like to tell folks who think their situation is hopeless and they have to do drugs and there is no other way, that there IS another way. And I found it." Some of the best substance abuse counsellors are those who have recovered from it themselves.
There was another older patient who needed her gall bladder taken out. She was extraordinarily sweet and all - nurses, doctors, techs - loved taking care of her. I tell you, there truly is some truth to the adage "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I don't particularly like the fly analogy, but it was a great pleasure taking care of this patient. One day, her pretty grand nieces visited along with the fiance of one of them, and my patient had a very good visit. It is extremely therapeutic - usually - to see family.
Speaking of which, I talked to my Dad last week. He had received the "Plastic Surgeon of the Year" award from the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, and was pleased. I was happy for him that he had got this award and we talked at length of it, and other things. Awards certainly float his boat: to each their own. I also talked to Naren, who just finished a small movie role! We talked and laughed about it, and it was good to hear him.
Some of Scott's relatives, including a beloved aunt and uncle, and his sister, joined several fabulous friends last weekend to celebrate his 50th b'day. A grand time was had by all, including the b'day man. A couple of our college friends, Cathy and Mike Monteiro, also came up for the party and that was therapeutic - to talk of old times, compare kid notes, parent notes (all of us are at the age where taking care of parents features in conversation), etc. The Tabers, Olivia, and Carolyn Scanlan and boyfriend, Andrew, rounded up a very nice gathering. Olivia spent part of the weekend with us and that was nice.
Before Navin left for school, we had visited Theresa Jefferson, who is an exceedingly lovely lady, and I was happy that he had been blessed by her. We had seen Kris Rea and Gabe Soukup (Navin's boss) and daughters as well, and that was like getting together with family; Navin particularly appreciated their kindness.
I met some former colleagues at Elwood and Alexandria and we had lunch, which was great fun. Some former colleagues at St. V and I got together for lunch with the former manager of Medical Education, Jim Hillman, and his wife, Brenda, and that was nice. Navin came up from college for Scott's party, and it was great to see him; his hair is wild and woolly and he is figuring out his way at college - it was challenging not to direct operations wtih this young man, and to take a back seat and let him do his thing, with his education. Our wonderful extended family - Colleen, Mark and Christopher Taber - took Navin back to school, and Christopher to Indiana State University, also in Terre Haute. Scott and I then saw "Contagion," courtesy a gift certificate from Olivia. I had earlier seen "The Guard," which was truly magnificent and "Crazy, Stupid Love," which was very good because I could easily get an eyeful of Ryan Gosling.
Time to wind up. Hope all are well.
Unw -
R
I have a few days off from work, and the socialising has been as exhausting as the working - in a different way, of course. My work shifts are 7 days at a time, 7 AM to 7 PM, and the days are long. Hospital medicine is good, though - the patients are truly sick. In outpatient settings, they could come in for anything. Or come in for 1 thing and mention 4 to me when I got in the room. Certainly, complications can set in, in our hospitalised patients, but there are some that one can anticipate.
The lack of the weekend takes a bit of adjusting, but days off include weekdays and those are nice. So, after working 7 days, I get 7 days off. And a weekend certainly does feature there, which is nice because Scott does not work then and we go off and do fun things.
The patient who used to be an IV drug user was re-hospitalised with a kidney infection and this time, she had an upset stomach, too. When one takes antibiotics, they can cause diarrhea, and that is indeed what she had: Clostridium difficile colitis, and I treated her for it. She was doing better by the time my shift ended, and we spoke of things such as her return to school. She would like to do behavioral science or psychology, and be a substance abuse counsellor. This is good. As she put it, "I would like to tell folks who think their situation is hopeless and they have to do drugs and there is no other way, that there IS another way. And I found it." Some of the best substance abuse counsellors are those who have recovered from it themselves.
There was another older patient who needed her gall bladder taken out. She was extraordinarily sweet and all - nurses, doctors, techs - loved taking care of her. I tell you, there truly is some truth to the adage "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." I don't particularly like the fly analogy, but it was a great pleasure taking care of this patient. One day, her pretty grand nieces visited along with the fiance of one of them, and my patient had a very good visit. It is extremely therapeutic - usually - to see family.
Speaking of which, I talked to my Dad last week. He had received the "Plastic Surgeon of the Year" award from the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, and was pleased. I was happy for him that he had got this award and we talked at length of it, and other things. Awards certainly float his boat: to each their own. I also talked to Naren, who just finished a small movie role! We talked and laughed about it, and it was good to hear him.
Some of Scott's relatives, including a beloved aunt and uncle, and his sister, joined several fabulous friends last weekend to celebrate his 50th b'day. A grand time was had by all, including the b'day man. A couple of our college friends, Cathy and Mike Monteiro, also came up for the party and that was therapeutic - to talk of old times, compare kid notes, parent notes (all of us are at the age where taking care of parents features in conversation), etc. The Tabers, Olivia, and Carolyn Scanlan and boyfriend, Andrew, rounded up a very nice gathering. Olivia spent part of the weekend with us and that was nice.
Before Navin left for school, we had visited Theresa Jefferson, who is an exceedingly lovely lady, and I was happy that he had been blessed by her. We had seen Kris Rea and Gabe Soukup (Navin's boss) and daughters as well, and that was like getting together with family; Navin particularly appreciated their kindness.
I met some former colleagues at Elwood and Alexandria and we had lunch, which was great fun. Some former colleagues at St. V and I got together for lunch with the former manager of Medical Education, Jim Hillman, and his wife, Brenda, and that was nice. Navin came up from college for Scott's party, and it was great to see him; his hair is wild and woolly and he is figuring out his way at college - it was challenging not to direct operations wtih this young man, and to take a back seat and let him do his thing, with his education. Our wonderful extended family - Colleen, Mark and Christopher Taber - took Navin back to school, and Christopher to Indiana State University, also in Terre Haute. Scott and I then saw "Contagion," courtesy a gift certificate from Olivia. I had earlier seen "The Guard," which was truly magnificent and "Crazy, Stupid Love," which was very good because I could easily get an eyeful of Ryan Gosling.
Time to wind up. Hope all are well.
Unw -
R
posted by Renu Weiss at
7:15 AM
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