Estoy debil.

I called my first DOA (Dead on Arrival) the other day.

There are things a surgery resident just adjusts to and it becomes par for the course. "Normal" a very dynamic variable in the equation of life. Sometimes finding that corner of the psyche in which to compartmentalize takes a bit longer than usual. So instead of sitting here staring at a cup of tea I thought I'd spend some time talking to that great vast void of nothingness, a.k.a the interwebs.

One of the level 1's we had last night was a GSW to the right flank. The decision was made almost immediately to go straight to the OR. Therefore imaging was post-poned until post operatively. As my senior and I crowded around the images this morning we got quite the surprise. The path of the bullet projected straight through the body of one of the lumbar vertebrae. It had blaze through millimeters from transecting the spinal cord. Wow! I tell you what, Wow!
- Unfortunate that our guy happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Fortunate that an EMS just happened to be driving by and saw him stumbling and then collapse. Fortunate that the bullet hit things fixable. Pushed down a path to a new normal in a split second of time.

There's a new song that has recently been playing on the radio a lot called, Tell Your Heart to Beat Again by Danny Gokey. I'm not sure why the artist wrote his song, but evey time I hear it I am transported to Trauma Bay 1 back at Westchester. I've played the song for a few colleagues and they agree with me that this song could be re-titled, Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, a.k.a. The Level 1 Theme song. I found it amazing how save one or two lines the song is perfectly applicable in a level 1 situation.

I picture the scene enfolding in front of me, muted. A blur of activity, all roles orchestrated for the goal of the patient. 


Much Love.