Organized Chaos

Okay, I feel as though I need to explain my sort of falling off the earth the past few weeks. Let me say that I really want to be phoning more people and staying caught up in your lives, but I have been consumed.

For example, this week I have:
1) worked one call shift (30 hours in a row) at the hospital
2) I have another call shift on Sunday
3) got passport photos taken for my licencing exam application
4) got my licencing exam application notarized
5) mailed exam app and two other business documents
6) attended RCIA class tuesday night
7) wrote four personal letters for my residency applications (count now 11 done, 1 to go)
8) went to Staples three separate times for invitation printing---they printed them wrong TWICE!
9) went to Costco for invitation printing twice
10) bought groceries
11)went to the pool to swim (only got there once)
12)booked appointments for when I at home in December
13) bought Eddie's birthday gift
14) finished my Christmas shopping (has to be finished before I leave for Orlando)
15) read my research papers for my presentation due in a week

AHG! I cant wait to sit still! I am at the hospital all day, and half the time there is nothing official scheduled for me to do in the afternoons (thanks to the rotation organization), but I am not allowed to leave the hospital. Then when I am finished at five, I am going on a dead run until bedtime. Everytime I cross something off my list of things to do, it seems four more things have been added in the meantime!

Its like I am caught in a frenzied storm and there is no way out, I just have to hold on for dear life and pray I get to the other side. Only nine more days of this rotation, only nine more days at the hospital. I am so READY for vacation!

Three weeks to go...

-Photo by KAG
This is how happy I will be come Dec 8 when I am on a plane for Orlando! Three weeks left of the term, and I can't wait to be done. Pediatrics is okay, not my favorite, but okay. Just have to finish the rotation, pass the rotation exam, finish our invitations, register to write my liscencing exam, finish my residency applications, do four more call shifts, and then I can leave!

We did our marriage prepartion course this weekend. It was okay, but I expected more. I think it was difficult for the presenters because they were presenting to a variety of couples from differing spiritual backgrounds. I would have preferred if the spirituality aspect was more of a central theme, and touched upon in all the different areas. On our Focus inventory (an inventory questionaire that each of us filled out separately), we scored 92% on our "Readiness for Marriage", so that's good! Eddie also accidently checked that he is concerned about how much alcohol I drink, so drinking issues was highlighted as something we need to discuss if further depth with our Priest. We both had a good laugh about that.

On a different note, we saw the new Bond movie this weekend--seriously they missed the boat on the Bond character; it felt more like a Rambo movie, with Bond as a meat head beating everyone up, rather than a smart, cunning Bond who out wits his opponents. Sigh. I would like to visit Montenegro after seeing the movie though!

Babies

I am on call today for the Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU). We attended the delivery of 24 week old baby, and it was all I could do to not burst into tears in the delivery suite. I am much too emotional to be able to deal with children who are sick on a regular basis for the rest of my life. The little guy was doing as okay as can be expected, but something inside of me twists in anguish each time I see his frail itty-bitty body struggling to breath, his tiny chest wall heaving with each breath.

And then there was another precious little doll who came back from Saskatoon today that I had to admit. She had been small for her gestational age, and thus is the most delicate perfectly small proportions. Her eyes were larger than the rest of her face, and she was alert and awake, with luminous blue eyes gazing out at me. I had to stop what I was doing and just cuddle her for a solid 10 minutes. This is the other reason I could never be a pediatrician--I would fall in love with all the babies and then not get my work done, and be an emotional mess when it was time to remain calm under pressure.

They really are the most vulnerable members of our society, these the sickest of our littlest people. It truly is a reflection of the society as to how we deal with and treat these our most vulnerable who most need our protection. It is quite poignant seeing the droves of adults swarmed around one little body all vigourously working to revive it, willing it to live. If we do not retain this drive to protect our little ones, we will on the whole be in big trouble. It is our job to be the voice for those cannot speak for themselves--our youngest and our elderly.

Regina Return

-photo by KAGlubish

193 days until the wedding....but who's counting? Eddie and I are both finally back in Regina together, yay! No more long distance phone calls, at least until the dreaded interview period. I have started Pediatrics this week and I am somewhat terrified of the little goobers--I dont want to break them! Give me old people any day.

Ummm so other than that, the next four weeks are dedicated to not letting little people die, finishing residency personal letters (pick me, pick me letters :), marriage prep weekend course, and RCIA classes. I think November will be a blur!