I have a brain tumor
I have a brain tumor. I am convinced of it. How do I know. Well the signs and symptoms of course. For starters, I get headaches. Not all the time, but regularly enough and then you add the migraine with aura into the mix and that has to be an indication for tumor. There is also the weird numb pain I get in my left arm on occasion when I am stressed. This can not possibly be stress, MS, or a stroke. It can only be a tumor. A brain tumor. And then most recently the thing that has me utterly convinced is the runny nose. Yes, I said it. A runny...
read moreType O Personality
After a grueling, near spontaneous combustion session of hot yoga I stand and revel in my success of finishing the class alive, uncharred, yet soaking wet. My own body extinguishing the rising internal flame with sweat. While standing at front desk, feeling refreshed after a cold shower, I wait to thank my instructor. I begin to put my shoes on and listen to one of the woman at the desk talking about how she has so many things she needs to do and how she never likes to be anything but busy. I chuckle to myself because I know she is a...
read moreInnocense lost and my two cents
After having re-furbed by my blog and made a commitment to myself to write more, I am at a loss for words. It is hard to find humor in the face of tragedy on the week anniversary of the Newtown massacre. As a mother, I am faced with the reality of this situation. I suppressed any emotion or response for the last few days, but it has bubbled to the surface. Maybe it was the reality I had to send my daughter back to school, or was it the constant media coverage of the shooting, or seeing the pictures of the kids that made it a reality. Maybe it...
read moreTake this, you’ll feel better.
So you don’t feel good? Need something to make yourself feel better? How about a nice blog about the funny things that happen in medicine? Take this blog, once daily, or more if you feel up to it, and you’ll start to feel the laughter seeping in, making you feel better.
read moreIt happens to everyone
Just about everyone who has every been on a surgery rotation has had this experience at one point or another. Most may, and will deny it. Really, why admit it? It’s rumored to be shameful mark on your caliber as a person and for fear of judgement by others, most keep the event secret. What is it you may ask? What could it be that would be so horrible as to not publicly account, yet so many experience? Why, fainting during surgery of course. Or near fainting as it would be in my case. This leads me to the story. It was not only my...
read moreComrade Barf
“What faith were you brought up in?†“None. I’m atheist.†She looks at me like I am a dog with only three legs. “I feel so soooorry for you,†she says. I shrug. “I’m okay with it,†I reply. What follows is an hour long conversation where she, an elderly Mormon raised back east, tries to find common ground with me, a young atheist raised in the southwest. We are both human. That is the extent of our common ground. She tries desperately to convince me that Jesus had portended...
read moreComrade Barf
“Stabbed” In the spirit of rocket_tello’s pen post, I feel inclined to say something: No matter how nice your residents are, no matter how encouraging they seem, they will throw you under the bus when met with the slightest hint of adversity. The other night I was with my female resident and a pregnant patient who needed a pelvic exam. I will be honest. I am tired of looking at vaginas. So, if given half the chance, I will stay up at the patient’s shoulder, bed-side, making chitchat with her or her husband. The resident...
read moreThe Mighty Pen
I have this thing for pens. I often refer to myself as “pen particular†as I enjoy a nice wide point, retractable gel pen. The benefits of smooth, non smudging ink that glides onto the paper with greatest of ease and somehow manages to make my handwriting look great. The retractability that enables me to put the pen in my scrub or coat pocket with ease and without marking myself or re-capping is superb. You could say this particularity came from my mother. She is pen particular, but not pen specific. She just likes pens, lots of...
read moreThe Beast
Well, the beast that is known as Step 1 is behind me. I am not totally out of the woods yet, as it might still be lurking poised, ready to strike again. During that gruesome eight hour test I was able to get a good head start at finding safety. I ran like hell and I am now taking a breather, hiding out in the comfort of my home with the false sense of security that I am safe. The beast could rear its ugly head again in 3 weeks time, at which point I may run away screaming like a baby or screaming the songs of victory. I hope I fooled it, lost...
read moreTesticles
We spend the afternoon immersed in histological slides of reproductive organ pathology. Yeah, I know, it sounds horribly boring, and it is. We have to learn about all sorts of cancers. Who knew there were so many kinds? Carcinoma, adenoma, sarcoma, of everybody part you can imagine. Not only that, but the cancers can only truly be diagnosed by looking at slides of tissue under a microscope. We all desperately try to see the differences between the slides. Well, this one here looks pink and purple and this other looks, well, pink and...
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