Yo estoy disfrutando los ultimos dias de diciembre.

Waking up this morning I first was shocked at how late I'd slept and then proceeded to start dancing around the studio in my pajamas during which I realized mid-kick that....I must be feeling better.

Why don't you join me in my morning dance!! :)


I'm glad I'm feeling better.  It's quite embarrassing to be a doctor and be sicker than the patients your supposed to be making well.  Some mothers are a little too jumpy though.  Bringing your child in for a cough and runny nose is only going to succeed in making your child even sicker.  For example, Thursday the majority of my kids had influenza which they would be happy to share with your coughing child who is playing with them in the cramped waiting area.

Being sick didn't stop me from going into the city a couple of times this week.  Another student working Peds with me wasn't able to go home for Christmas due to her schedule being interrupted by Sandy so we went to Max Brenner's to celebrate the holiday.  If you haven't heard of Max Brenner's one word sums it up, Chocolate.  From Grand Central we were going to walk the 1 1/2 miles through the city, but we hadn't gotten even one block in the wintery mix coming down and Christine turned to me and asked, "Are we being dumb?" And in all seriousness I had to reply, "Yeah, I think we're being dumb!"  But thankfully we could remedy our situation and made the next exit down to the subway and arrived at 14th St. still relatively dry.  Our friend, Karan joined us at the restaurant.

L to R: Christine, me, Karan enjoying Max Brenner's.

Hasta!

Yo estoy enferma.

Merry Christmas everyone!  While waiting in the airport yesterday I wrote the post below and had planned to post it last night when I got home, hoping it would be before midnight, but....public transportation happened.  Funny how buses and trains don't run that often in the dead of night!  So I got home, but much after midnight, and therefore this is being posted now!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Feeling exceptionally blessed this year as I sit here at Midway awaiting my return flight to the Big Apple.  Within the past three days the vast majority of family has been greeted, gifts have been gifted and nephew has been everything short of smothered by kisses.  The date still says it’s December 25^th, the date on which the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is traditionally celebrated, but my “Christmas” is drawing to a close.  I walked past the long line at the McDonalds, my last Christmas meal still sitting heavy in my stomach, and was struck by the normality of life here at the terminal.  And then bemused further, “How many people had McDonalds for Christmas?”  Growing up in a Christian household, and surrounded by a church family, to my knowledge the whole world celebrated Christ's birth.  But sitting here at an epicenter of international travel, I am saddened to admit to myself my pretty picture of “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men,” fails to extend beyond my imagination.  That outside of my bubble the arms of Jesus, Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace are rejected sooner than accepted.  I think of my friend from Baghdad to whom December 25^th was just another day.  And here in the States he looks around goes with the flow trying to mimic us Americans, and now, December 25^th means commercialism, bright lights and just another day in the hospital.  Challenge to myself: when my friend from Baghdad asks me HOW was my Christmas can I also share with him the WHY of my Christmas?

I hope everyone’s Christmas was blessed.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), 1867)

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, Of peace on earth, good will to men!

Hasta!

Yo estoy contando canas...1...

I was in El Paso, TX last week.   I stepped off the plane and a part of me almost jumped with excitement; that part felt like I was coming home again.

One night I met up with a friend from GDL.  This is the view from Scenic Drive.  At the right you can make out a building with a christmas tree on it, that's downtown El Paso.  Cutting across the whole scene is a line of lights following the Rio Grande (they are seen most clearly on the left where they look like runway lights as the river flows perpendicular to my viewpoint.)  I realize this probably just looks like a whole bunch of lights, so I'll just say closest to you is El Paso, TX but the vast majority of the lights you're looking at is Juarez, Mexico.

Plaza de los lagartos in downtown El Paso, is all lit up with an eklectic assortment of candy cane lights, stars, trees, balls, santas and a nativity. Etc...

And I am proud to announce the arrival of my first white hair! I think I had seen it before, but I don't actually inspect myself on a regular basis so hadn't paid attention.  Then one day last week I parted my hair and there it was, a stiff white curl standing straight up about an inch off my scalp.  Stubborn thing refused to lay down, until I actually reparted my hair.  It makes me smile to see it hiding underneath strands of my colored hair.  As if it's a secret somehow.  Well....not anymore!! ;)  I wonder what I'll look like 80 and all white-haired. :)

Hasta!

Yo estoy temblando.

Week one of Pediatrics done.  In the morning I spend my time in the walk-in clinic.  It's actually my preferred part of the day.  All of the patients are Spanish speaking.  A few looked as if they would be fine with English but if you ask them they immediately say Spanish, so we oblige.  The other students are starting to realize they can use my Spanish to their own advantage and have started pushing patients off on me.  Honestly I don't really mind.  The kids are all so cute, and I had actually started to miss speaking Spanish in the 3 months away from Sound Shore doing electives. 

Once I was gushing over the cuteness in a little toddler dressed in a candy cane looking sleeper, and glanced up to see another student rolling her eyes.  I chuckled to myself at her hard attitude...you see, she's a pediatric nurse practitioner student, and with that attitude about kids, she's got a looooooong career ahead of her. 

In addition, my Spanish has gotten quite rusty during the hiatus.  I may be speaking and carrying on but in my head I'm thinking, "Whoops! that was a mistake....aaaand there's another....and yup 3, all in one sentence. Boy I'm on a role!"  So, I guess the practice is good for me. :)

In the afternoons I switch over to a wellness clinic.  Even the name doesn't make sense to me.  Wellness?  What are well kids doing seeing a doctor?  Don't worry, I adjusted.  I ask all the needed questions. Test all the needed physical aspects.  Plot all the growth.  Check all the milestones.  And the whole time I'm thinking, what a healthy child, go home!  But then again they need their vaccinations, and if we didn't check we'd miss that one child falling off the charts, so....I just think it and smile.

I enjoyed the overly dramatic antics of a 9 yr old in for her wellness visit one afternoon.  At one point while the doctor was finishing up with her visit she mentioned the dentist.  To which the girl gasped and exclaimed! "Noooooo!  Yuck! I don't like the dentist!  I don't like dentists! Or nurses!  Or doctors!" She then paused to use both arms to make circles in my direction and said, "Except, for this!" 

Hasta!

Yo estoy desinflada.

Attempting to create some Christmas cheer!

Say hello to my little tree!

 And all decorated!  Ain't see a beauty?

All it needs is a little love and even Charlie Brown would be proud.

A step up from the Santa Clause shaped jelly window cling I've used as my Christmas decoration the past three years.  Now, how to keep my coats from catching on fire....that is the question!

Hasta!

Yo estoy rodeada por ninos.

Started working in Pediatrics today.  Fell before I'd even left the starting gate.  Last Friday I meant to but ended up forgetting to call and ask about where and when to be this morning!  Whoops!  Great start I was off to.  So what did I do?... I slept in this morning!  Figured if I was going nowhere, no sense in getting there early.  Plus....I was just really tired.  After a few phone calls I had finally achieved a semi-understanding of the where and when, and well, I was late of course but set out anyways.  Found my way with just a little circle turning....okay maybe it was a bit more than a little.

Once there, had no trouble jumping right in.  The patients were lined up and packed in waiting for the doctor, and a very minority of them actually spoke English.  Started by helping with some translating.  When I finally switched to seeing my own patients turned out to be a 4 for 1.  Mom and Dad had brought all four of their kids in.  When I finally emerged from the room, had to smile.  In a way that had felt just like home...the medical environment I'd been raised in.  Although in Mexico Dad wouldn't have been there.  Just Mom and all four kids, none of which are sitting still but rather climbing all around the small cramped consult room.  And I must admit the 3 year old was almost immediately my favorite of the day.  He was a rolly polly Mexican boy with faint dimples in his cute little face. 

Hasta!

Yo estoy extranando a mi sobrino.

 Finished up my rotation at the Medical Examiner's office this week and without a doubt that was the fastest rotation yet.  How can it be over already.  To summarize my 4 weeks of dealing with the dead.... (I hope you understand the absence of photos)

I was surprised at the number of suicides that came through our office.  The medical examiner investigates "sudden and unexpected" death.  So even if a suicide note is left, an autopsy is performed.  (On average 1 out of every 10 suicides is a homicide...but I don't have a scientific source for that, I just heard it.)  If I had to guess the reason for my surprise is that suicide is a taboo subject.  Families aren't proud of it, don't want to claim it, and definitely don't want to talk about it. Even in the office we didn't talk about it...it was just another body to autopsy.  But I can't get past the evident lack of hope infecting and festering among the people today.  How and why could they possibly have believed there was no other way?  I saw gunshot wounds to the head, a shotgun to the head (beyond messy), suicide by electrocution, chemical asphyxia via carbon monoxide and perhaps most surprising (besides the electrocution) a high number of hangings. 

I had the opportunity to leave the office on two separate occasions with the investigator and venture into the realm of "crime scene investigation."  Neither case were anything exciting, nor were autopsies performed on either of the bodies we picked up.  The first, an old lady died in her sleep.  The second, an uncle had tried to visit a niece who hadn't been seen in two weeks. For that particular one we were in the projects which didn't smell too nice to start with and then the body on top of that!!  Let's just say I was thankful that the detective assigned to the case was willing to get down and dirty instead of staying outside of the door like most of them do, saved me from having to...and I wasn't gonna argue with that!

I had the opportunity to accompany the chief ME once to the county courthouse in White Plains, NY as she was called to give her expert testimony in a homicide case.  She had performed the autopsy on the victim.  Probably won't be my last time in a courtroom unfortunately, but was the first time I got to see in person how the game is played. Two opposing teams and the lawyers are at their best...the courtroom, that's their playing field; and the rest of us, just pawns to be moved/pushed around to their choosing.  From the stand Dr. Ashar could tell that I had gotten bored....but I couldn't help it. The process just moved soooooo sslllooooowwwllllyyy.

The one thing I am happy about with the ending of this rotation...now, when someone asks me what I've been doing I won't be met with awkwardness and hesitation when I tell them.  You'd think my ears would start spinning or something when I'd say the word "autopsy" by the wide-eyed tongue-tied responses it would cause.

Hasta!