Estoy recuperando.

Last couple of weeks of trauma did not flow quite as smoothly. Willing as they were to work hard if asked to do so, the interest from my team began to peter out. They were being overworked, as comes with the territory of having a small team. When one team member is gone, the burden on those remaining is felt. And when one hesitant to carry that burden in the first place is asked to carry extra for too long without respite, they begin to drag their feet. By the end of the four weeks I had shied away from relying on my team, and felt more energy being poured into making sure they were as happy and healthy as the patients were. I was rather edgy and jumpy by the end of those four weeks on trauma. Tension that I had begun to feel in my neck, had spread throughout my back, leaving me in a subtle uncomfortable rigidity. When I went into work last Friday morning, I wore my street clothes. 1) I had a flight to catch, and if work kept me too late, it would cut down on the time I'd need at home to be able to leave, and 2) in a not-so-subtle manner and without words I was announcing to everyone that I wasn't staying, I had a flight to catch and I needed to leave. Whether that was the reason or not, I do not know, but I was out of the hospital with time to swallow a yogurt and hit the road.

I met up with Amanda V and Kevin & Cheryl Ryan in CT and we flew together from Boston to Portland, OR. My first time to Portland.

 View of Mount Hood and Mt. Rainier coming into Portland.  

#PDX : yes, I realize now that I was supposed to get my feet in the picture too. Next time!

Spent our Saturday exploring the Pearl District of Downtown Portland. Was tickled to see Portland recognized Guadalajara outside of the Pioneer Courthouse. 

Stopped by Salt and Straw for some ice cream. The carrot cake flavor was delicious. The fennel and maple, not so much. 

Jenna and Ethan's wedding {8.25.19}

Amanda, Jenna & I

Jenna and Ethan's wedding {8.25.19}

Emily Walder, Amanda, Jenna, Ethan, me, Kate Walder

From the reception we all split directions again. Jenna & Ethan headed to Bali, Amanda, Emily and Kate back to CT. Kevin & Cheryl spent another day in Portland. JaNae Schneider and myself took our rental car North to Seattle. JaNae had approached me about possibly visiting Seattle a few months ago, and I was very happy it could work out!

 We got into the city late, well past the time that street parking was free, so we were able to park around the corner from our hostel which was nice. Checked in and dropped our bags on our bunks then set out to explore the city (a.k.a. find an establishment that was still open and selling food.) 

 Monday morning JaNae and I drove out East of Seattle and hiked Mount Si. 4 miles up and 4 miles back again. It was beautiful weather, perfect for our hike. And finally, at the top, perched on a rock sunning ourselves in the warmth, I was no longer able to sense the tension in my back that had built up over the past weeks at work. 

The Essential Baking Company. Exploring the Fremont area of Seattle. 

No matter the time of day, the breeze down Post Alley carries the scent of half chewed bubble gum from the Wall of Gum left by the thousands of gum-chewers that have stopped and shared their spit over the years. 

View over Elliott Bay from the Seattle Great Wheel at Miners' Landing.

 

 Pike Place Market at Twilight.

This is Rachel the Piggy Bank at Pike Place Market. She likes her photo taken! 

View of Seattle with Mt Rainier in the distance from Kerry Park.

JaNae and I at Kerry Park.

I have a few more photos on my actual camera that I want to share, but will have to wait and do so when I get home in a couple weeks. In the meantime, I am doing my best to ignore the endless texts/messages from work related What's App strings and emails, etc!!

Much Love. 

Estoy a la mitad.

First week was rough. Huge list and team members changing halfway though. Long days, high expectations and really just not enough time. But we got through and by the second week we had a handle on things. My team works hard and has a good attitude while doing it. Makes a huge difference. We started to understand our patients which makes the list becomes much more manageable. And now, I’m already halfway done with this block of trauma. This new master schedule of 13 blocks in a year, 4 weeks each block, makes each rotation seem so much shorter than a full month’s rotation.

Much Love.