My middle daughter, Kaitlyn, has correctly pointed out that I have not posted a picture of her recently. So with my with my apologies for being remiss, here is my beautiful daughter in one of her famous self portraits. I love you and miss you baby!
My (winning) caption for this weeks caption contest:
As an aspiring veterinary dentist young Pedro was infatuated with the toothy beast. Unfortunately for Pedro however, the field of prosthetics has not yet advanced to the point of incorporating a dental drill into his mechanical arm.
Hat tip once again to Dazed and Confused for holding these contests. Click on the link to see all the results.
Your oldest daughter goes to her first high school homecoming dance.
Rileigh had her first cereal this evening. Only a tablespoon of powdered cereal mixed with some milk, but she took to it pretty well. She eats well- you know what they say apple...tree...not far. Meanwhile her big sister is going to her first high school homecoming dance tonight and I hope to have pictures of her soon.
While driving today I noticed that our security jeep has decided to cater to the dyslexics on the island. Click on the picture to enlarge and read what number to call in case of "ycnegreme".
The weather here has been uncharacteristically rainy over the last week or so and today was no exception. here are a few pictures taken while driving to and from the grocery store.
The rain apparently wreaked havoc among the local drives as there was a pretty impressive accident that happened in front of us. Notice the wheel was ripped right off.
The Associated Press released the results of a poll it conducted and the results are...well, frightening!
Slightly over 1/3 (34%) of Americans say that they believe in ghosts. Amazingly, 23% claim to have actually seen one. 19% of Americans believe in witchcraft and spells. Let me repeat that last one. One in 5 Americans believe in the existence of Magic spells!
STOP THE STUPIDITY, I WANT TO GET OFF! Magic spells indeed! If I had Harry Potter's magic wand I would wave it at the country and yell "Cogita, Cogita, Cogita!"(yeah its Latin, look it up)
In addition to ghosts and spells, almost half of those surveyed claim that they believe in extra sensory perception (ESP). Despite there existing no credible evidence whatsoever tho substantiate the claim.
If you have any doubts, consider the adage that money talks and bullshit walks:
Since the 1960's James Randi, the one time magician and escape artist(the Amazing Randi), has offered a cash prize to anyone who could, under observable conditions, prove the existence of any paranormal, supernatural or occult event. What started as a $1000 challenge in 1964 has mostly through donations, grown to a MILLION DOLLARS. The contest is handled now by the James Randi Educational Foundation and you guessed it, to date it remains unclaimed! Randi has on numerous occasions challenged self-claimed psychic Sylvia Brown to accept the million dollar challenge and she has accepted on TV but has yet to show up for the test. It has been over 5 years. Click here for more on the Sylvia Brown incident complete with video clips.
It's way to easy! I'm just gonna let you read the article for yourself. [shows incredible restraint]
From Reuters:
Prostitutes sew lips together in protest
See, I told you it was too easy!
As part our school's arrangement with the hospital on the Dutch side of the island, the 5th semester students get to shadow a physician for a day-in one of several different specialties such as ER, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Orthopedic surgery and OB/GYN. Today was my day. I was scheduled to go to the Orthopedic surgeon with a classmate, Vaughn. Not that I am particularly interested in orthopedics, but it was an open spot on the sign-up board so I figured, what the heck.
For those who don't know, Orthopedic surgeons are stereotypically the Neanderthal-appearing doctors with 18 inch forearms who are usually covered in a mixture of plaster dust, bone chips and, blood splatter. They are called in to reassemble a person after he and his bones try,unsuccessfully, to defy the laws of physics. Tools of their trade include cordless drills, vibrating saws, mini sledge hammers and of course an assortment of screws, rods, plates, pins, wires, and other metallic accouterments. Pretty fun work if you ask me, think Bob Villa meets Marcus Welby.
Actually I have known several Ortho docs while I worked at the hospital and they are some of the most down to earth and personable group of physicians you can meet. (I guess it is hard to be a prima donna surgeon when you use a hammer and chisel more than a scalpel or thread)
The doctor we shadowed today is actually an American who retired from his practice and moved to the island with his wife; and I guess was lured out of retirement by the promise of $24 office visit reimbursements. As it turns out, he had a practice in West Chester, PA and worked in a couple of the hospitals where I worked as a paramedic. He was quite a likable guy and we watched as he had a half dozen or so follow-up visits with patients. There wasn't anything terribly exciting for us do do except watch and look at a few x-rays, but he did do a little teaching between patients and told the occasional war story.
Here are some pictures from this weekend's Triathlon fund raiser held at Fathoms. Pete and I put forth a respectable effort in each event and had a great time. Friday night we were eliminated in both pool and darts by the juggernaut that was team DiCarlo. John and Geri beat us at both events and sent us into triathlon obscurity.
Now before you laugh silly calm down. Not that kind of triathlon.
In an effort to raise money for our 5th semester party, a traditional formal banquet-type party to celebrate our finishing on the island, we are having a triathlon, of sorts. Our class representatives have convinced a local bar, Fathoms, to host the 2 day "athletic" event. Rumors persist that those same said representatives have forsaken their respective apartments and reside full-time at the bar, and their full-time patronage has had sway with the owners, but I for one will give them the benefit of the doubt. The events?
Beer Pong
Pool
Darts
Yes that's right, in an effort to shrug of the stigma of attending a Caribbean medical school, we have decided to go the high road. No longer will people be able to point their finger and accuse us of being hard partying-underachievers that did nothing but sleep on the beach and drink for 2 years. No, sir. Not us.
The format for the triathlon is pretty simple, it will be a team event consisting of 2 person teams and begins tonight with the beer pong event. I have teamed up with "Jersey" Pete Scheinder. (although there is no word if he will show up sleeveless, carrying his protein powder, and adorned with his "child-molester" mustache- as he did for the infamous dodgeball tournament a couple semesters ago- see photo)
Events begin tonight at 8pm and the pool and darts events will begin tomorrow at 8pm.
Stay tuned for results and photos. Wish us luck!
This morning Kathy wanted to head to the beach, so Rileigh and I got a chance to hang out and and engage in some intellectually stimulating games. We played Tickle-the-Belly, Who's-In-The-Mirror?, Make-A-Monkey-Face, and my favorite, Wave-Your-Arms-Like-You're-Crazy. Let the record show I WON the Make-A-Monkey-Face game. We also listened to some Vivaldi and danced around the living room while the trumpet concerto blared. (you haven't lived until you've danced to Vivaldi)
Daddy-play-time must have been tiring because someone decided to take her nap on the couch!
This afternoon its back to studying for me. I hope I can recover from my exciting morning.
Well spank my ass and call me Shirley! I woke up this morning feeling actually refreshed! I got a whopping 11 hours of pure, unadulterated, non-interrupted, drool-inducing SLEEP! I feel like a new man. A few more nights of this and I may start my own cult! It is amazing how badly I felt not sleeping. I forgot what it felt like to be human. Last night I took my sleeping pill and 15 minutes later went to bed and in a mater of minutes I was ...living on a houseboat with Heather Locklear and a small group of ninja assassins trying to devise a plan to break into the White House... but I digress.
Day 1 of Operation Restore Humanity is a resounding success.
Hopefully tonight will mark the beginning of my first night of sleep in some time. I'm pulling out the big guns now. The above box is the European version of Lunesta® (eszoplicone). I have used Lunesta before when I worked at night and had trouble sleeping during the day and it is wonderful- No hangover like effects the next day and you don't feel doped out of your mind. Also, it is not addictive, unlike some other sleep-aids. The only downside is that, in the morning you wake up with the nastiest metal taste in your mouth. But this is an acceptable trade-off considering I haven't had a decent night's sleep in ...I can't remember. So tonight, I am going to bed at 10 and hopefully will be a zombie no more. Come on 10 o' clock!
...have been greatly exaggerated- to quote Mark Twain.
I know I haven't posted much lately but the last week has been kind of a blur to me. My insomnia has reached epic proportions and I am averaging only a few hours of sleep per night. Over the last couple of weeks my sleeping has been getting worse- I lay in bed for hours tossing and turning. It has caused me to have no energy whatsoever during the day and my concentration is for crap. I am going to the doctor's office tomorrow to and hopefully will be able to get some sleep soon. Enough whining.
This past weekend went well, we finished the genital exams on our professional patients without any major problems. It was mildly amusing to see how some of my classmates reacted to being up-close and personal with a real live patient(and their genitalia). This is one area where my experience as an ER nurse came in handy- hundreds of Foley catheter insertions had a purpose, after all.
Saturday night Jersey Pete had a few of us over for home-made lasagna to celebrate Grace's birthday. Then they went out to the local casino- we went home after Pete's since Rileigh still gets carded at the casino.
This week is off to a slow start. In our clinical medicine small-group we are discussing: Syncope. For those of you who don't know, syncope is a momentary loss of consciousness, i.e. passing out. We were discussing the physiology, diagnosis, treatment, and the myriad of causes of syncope. Riveting stuff, to be sure. But I can't help but feel a little cheated in my education. The discussion of "The Vapors" never came up! Maybe tomorrow.
I have been quite busy over the last few days and haven't had a chance to post. I received the results of my first comprehensive examination taken a couple weeks ago. This exam is given by the National Board of Medical Examiners, the same body who issues the USMLE. I did better than I expected- considering I hadn't really gotten into a serious review of everything. There is a conversion chart that predicts your score on the USMLE based on this test and according to that I would pass the USMLE but not with an incredibly high score. That being said I have kicked up my studying into high gear and have been immersed in biochemistry, the subject I am the weakest in.
In my clinical medicine class we have been focusing on the genital and rectal examination of both male and females. This Friday and Saturday we have professional patients coming to school. Now I appreciate the learning opportunity and all, but I can't wonder about the serious errors in career choices one has to make to wind up a professional patient- especially for the genital/rectal exams. I would hunt down and have a serious "come-to-Jesus" conversation with my high school guidance counselor. "I'm pretty sure I said I wanted a career that DIDN'T involve 37 fingers going up my butt!"
