Stethoscope!!!

As you may or may not recall, I lost my stethoscope earlier this year. Shortly after that incident, I entered an anecdote into Stitches (a medical humour magazine) in the hopes of winning a replacement.

I didn't hear back, and I eventually got tired of borrowing the nurses' stethscopes, so got a replacement. On the company website, this scope was a 7/10, as opposed to the 9/10 that was my previous scope. I figured this would be a good thing since it would make it less steal-worthy. I was wrong. I lost this stethoscope somewhere on the ward last month.

Anyways, I've been going around without a stethoscope for the past while, and just when I was thinking I may have to cave and purchase ANOTHER one, I got an email today informing me that:


Congratulations! Your story was selected as the best medical anecdote in the November/December issue of Stitches. Please provide me with your mailing address so we can send out your prize, a 3M Littmann Master Cardiology stethoscope.


YES! You'll note that this is a 10/10 stethoscope. It's so blinging I'm gonna start wearing it as jewelry when I go out.

Last Call

I just finished my very last night on-call for clerkship. There will be many more in residency, but I think this is a milestone in one way or other.

Enrichment year is a go!

McMaster has a three year medical program. This is a year shorter than most other schools. The system has its pros and cons. Being done a year early is nothing to sniff at. On the other hand, there are fewer breaks and there is less time to make decisions.

Fortunately, McMaster has given its students the option of doing an 'enrichment year'. Not many students choose to do an enrichment year. I suppose it's always difficult to walk the path less taken.

Anyways, I started thinking about it earlier this year, and I came to the conclusion that this was the thing for me to do, for a whole variety of reasons. I wrote up my application earlier this month, and I just got notice that I've been approved!

It's official. I'm now part of the class of 2007.

It's rare to be given an opportunity like this. A blank canvas upon which to live my dreams.

I shall make this next year one to remember.

Coneheads

I did a pediatric neurosurgery(careful when scrolling down) clinic today.

Now when you're born, you have these cracks in your skull. They're there so your head can keep on growing, to accommodate your brain, which is also growing. At some point, these cracks fuse over. BUT, if these one or more of these cracks fuses prematurely, you get something called craniosynostosis.

Essentially, if your head can't grow in one direction, it'll try to compensate by growing extra in another direction. For example, if your skull can't grow width wise normally, it'll compensate by growing extra length wise and height wise.

You can end up with a bit of a conehead really. I don't think intellect and functioning are affected too much. It's "just" cosmetic.

Anyways, the point is that I saw a baby with craniosynostosis, and the parents opted against corrective surgery. They thought the kid looked fine. Apparently his older brother had the same thing, and they think he looks great.

On almost every level, I think that the parents have made a super decision. Surgery is painful. Surgery has its risks. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. etc. etc.

And yet, I wonder if I were the kid, would I want the surgery? If not now... then someday?

In other news, I've decided that I should link more to fully take advantage of this here internet.

Bubbles

Yesterday, I saw a set of twins who were born prematurely, and a little baby girl who was born late. They're in the nursery, where they are kept in little incubators to keep them warm.

The twins are tiny little things. They meow softly when they cry, and their hands don't even fit around my pinky finger. The baby who was born late weighs more than both twins COMBINED. You can hear her crying from across the room. The one thing these babies all have in common is that they live in little bubbles of isolation. Just like I do.

My house in Hamilton, is devoid of roommates, television and internet. It's shocking to realize how dependent I've become on the internet to keep me connected, entertained and informed. I feel very cut off without it. It is remarkable how the internet has created, modified and changed the relationships I have with people.

Persons within

I should very much like to start approaching everyone I meet with my eyes closed. To ignore the husk that encloses a human spirit. Ignore it completely.

Society, and evolution itself has made us so very superficial.

It is ugly.

Sunday Soccer

I played soccer this past Sunday.

Distressingly enough, I feel as thought I've lost my skills.

I haven't scored a single goal this year! For a striker, this is not a good thing.

I think one of the issues may be my lack of fitness.

Good thing I have friends to cheer me up.

Be like Mom day.

Each morning, our team meets to divide up patients. There are seven of us: 1 senior resident, 3 junior residents, 3 medical students. The residents take care of 4-5 patients. The medical students get 2 patients each.

The first patient I get assigned is a girl from Hong Kong who only speaks Cantonese. Looks like I'll be doing some translating today.

After giving a few of the more problematic patients to the junior residents, the senior medical resident asks if there are any patients on the list who we would particularly like to take care of.

I scan through the patient list. Do I want the girl with the kidney infection? The boy with the odd rash? But no. I see something even better.

"There are twins? I'll take the twins!"

"Will you have time for 3 patients?" the senior resident asks me.

"No problem. I'm very experienced at dealing with twins," I say. He acquiesces. Looks like I'll be taking care of twins today.

So to recap. Today, I'll be doing Chinese translation and taking care of twins. I'm my Mom!

I decided to see the twins first. Two girls. Fraternal. Born just yesterday!
They're sleeping in the same basinette. I spent most of last night reading about the newborn exam. I'm feeling uniquely qualified for this. I start unwrapping Twin A. Twin B starts crying. I put Twin A down to soothe Twin B. Twin A starts crying.
If you put your finger in a babies mouth, it usually quiets them down. A trick I've picked up.

So it was that I found myself with two tiny mouths sucking on both my pinky fingers, wondering how on earth I was going to find the extra hands necessary to actually do any examining.

There was no solution. I moved valiantly onward with the examination, with both babies wailing their disapproval.

A nurse walked in a little later.

"Um, this baby pooped itself," I tell her.

She hands me a diaper.

I realize I have no idea what to do. She tells me to clean the baby off with a wet towel. I start dabbing at the baby's behind.

She grabs the towel away, "Do it like you MEAN it!", she says. I must admit her technique is much better than mine.

When I leave the twins, one hour and two diaper changes later, I am hot, sweaty, dishevelled and running late late late.

I scurry over to read the Hong Kong girl's chart. I realize that this will not be an easy translating job. She's a teenager. And she needs a psychiatry consult. My mind is swimming. I realize I may be in over my head. Understand that I've only ever really spoken Cantonese with my relatives and with family friends. Some words just never come up.

I call a friend who is fluent in Cantonese.

"Hi. How do you say 'illicit drugs' in Cantonese? Right. How about 'sexual activity'? You sure? Kay, great. How about...."

I hang up the phone a few minutes later. A friend has been listening in. He shakes his head at me, "You are so screwed."

It's not easy living up to one's mother.

Touched

I finished rounding on my patients early this morning, so I sat down to do a bit of reading. Over the hustle and bustle of the ward I heard a baby crying.

This is not unusual on a paediatric floor. On this morning, the crying just would not stop.

I decide to be curious.

I walk around the corner. There's a blond little baby, all alone in her crib. Crying, crying, crying. She is surrounded by toys which she ignores. She's lying on her belly, propping herself up with her two little arms.

I return to the nursing station. I'm told that a volunteer is due in to cuddle with the baby, but she won't arrive for another half an hour. Until then, there really is no helping things.

I throw on a hospital gown and walk into the baby's room. She almost falls over trying to reach for me. Lowering the side of her crib, I carefully pick her up from amongst her IV line and monitors. She stops her crying to chew on my gown. Her hair is soft soft soft.

Most babies are afraid of strangers. If I were to guess, I'd have to think that Mother Nature would select against genes that gave rise to babies that clung to strangers. What sort of loneliness would cause a baby to cling to a random medical student? It's so very sad.

Two-Four

Another birthday has passed me by. I didn't even remember until one of my classmates reminded me that morning.

As a child, I use to wonder why birthdays seemed like no big deal to my Dad. I now know it is because he is somewhat heartless. Haha! Just joking, Dad.

Anyways, this was quite a wonderful birthday. I thank everyone who took the time to mail/email/call me. Life is all about relationships after all. I must be mellowing with age.

It's my first day of paediatrics today. It's a whole barrel of awesome. I'm at the hospital right now (I'm on call). I've done three emerg consults already. Cute little kids add a LOT to a work environment.