Yo estoy saltando.

The surgery I helped with yesterday was the most tedious and meticulous work I'd witnessed yet. We were working with stitches so fine that when you held up the thread, you'd lose sight of it. It was such small slow work that for the first time I got a bit bored...and then annoyed that I was bored. I was bored because I couldn't understand what exactly they were doing. But then the picture became clear, they had finally made progress, and it ceased to be boring. When they finished their work Dr. Russell asked me if I understood what they had done. I replied that yes I did understand but to be honest, I had been rather lost at the begining. Both he and Dr. El Tayeb broke out laughing with that. Apparently they had been just as lost. That both makes me feel better about myself being lost and amazed at their ability. The procedure that they had opened the chest expecting to do was interrupted by the location of a single artery. On the spot they had to adapt and individualize the entire surgery. And to be honest their finished work was beautiful. I am so proud of these surgeons, and so blessed to have this opportunity to learn from them.

One of the attendings on the care unit has the most brillantly orange hair I have ever seen. And when he's thinking he wrinkles up his forhead and peers down his nose through small circular spectacles. He reminded me so strongly of someone, and for days I tried and tried to place those spectacles, and then finally...light bulb!!! "He's Paul's grandfather, very clean!" To be honest I hadn't really liked Paul's grandfather due to his causing problems with Ringo, but now I'll think of Dr. Costello and it'll make me laugh.

When I started helping with CV surgeries at Children's I was the 2nd assitant, and content to be so as a med student. It got me close. It got me dirty. In other words I was those extra hands when the surgeon and 1st assitant needed a 3rd, 4th, or 5th hand. And to tell you the truth, I wasn't expecting anything more, figuring they wouldn't let me get close to the heart or main vessels themselves. But then they did need me. I've worked as 1st assitant various times, and what surprised me most....what scared me most, was that I wasn't scared. There isn't time to second guess or be scared. You have to be sure of your hands.



Hasta!