I received many well-wishing texts and messages on 1/1/2019, I think I responded to some of them. I’m sure not all, honestly, I don’t remember what I responded to or not that day. But I will remember that call. Always. Monica had been the chief, and as we left the hospital the next day, she asked me if I wanted to go for pancakes. I knew she was just as exhausted as I was, but I appreciated what she was offering. Yes, we always want pancakes, but she was also trying to be supportive, make sure that I was okay. But sleep was needed more and so we parted ways.
When I woke up from my post call collapse, hunger was knocking hard. I realized that except for the random sweets I would grab when running through the ED or passing by the ICU, the only food I’d had in a while was a side salad and a few bites of gyro. I managed to stay awake long enough to eat and then go to the hospital for a review study session. Making it home again to crawl under my covers and disappear. I finally woke up this morning having slept more in one night than is typical in three.
As planned I had gone into work almost an hour earlier than usual January 1st. Depending on how you want to argue it, that extra hour was extremely beneficial or completely futile, due to the fact that everyone else seemed to start equally just as early.
The OR was a supposed to be closed for the holiday, yet we had three ORs operating for the vast majority of the day and at least one going on into the night. With a five person call team, I had to send three members of our team to cover cases. Leaving the rest of the hospital incredibly impatient at the fact that I couldn’t split myself into three people to make up for their absences. Including my Vascular Attending who mentioned more than once, “you seem distracted, are you paying attention?” As I would steal a look at my cell phone in an effort to prioritize the nonstop onslaught of messages demanding responses; new consults, cases rolling back into the OR, requests for emergent dialysis access.
Yes, yes I was distracted.
At one point late in the day, I commented on how my feet were starting to hurt. Shortly after that I was pushed up to the OR and my Attending yelled out running after our speeding stretcher, “well, you said your feet were hurting!” Ha. Not exactly what had been going through my head. It was one of our level one traumas trying desperately to exsanguinate on us! I had jumped on top of him, jabbing pressure onto his bleeding vessels, not about to let up until we rolled into the OR and I finally had to so surgery could happen. That one made it!
I’m thankful for the team I had working with me that call. All of the cases were covered. All the consults were seen as quickly as possible. All the traumas were handled and prioritized. All the lines requested were put in. This is because everyone willingly worked together, everyone from my chief to my junior and both of my interns. When a request, a job or responsibility was given out it was immediately attended to by the respective resident. I’m very thankful for the responsiveness of the call team that day.
Much Love.
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