Estoy haciendo malabares.

I walked into her room this morning, and pulling out the extroverted energy from somewhere in my being, exclaimed about the size of her room. For added emphasis, I told her she must teach me her ways to have gotten upgraded to such a nice big room. She didn't say anything in response, merely lifted her nose and gestured with her old wrinkled Italian hand. The movement had her desired effect as I was bent over laughing. 

It is generally taught that one of the hardest things about being a surgeon is learning when NOT to operate. Granted it is easier in these days of advanced imaging and interventional radiology, but it is still a skill that requires development over time and experience. I would counter that to also include knowing how quickly to operate must also be learned. Sometimes the patient's clinical presentation dictates that for you, other times you pull on that arsenal of "time and experience" and make your best recommendation. 

Finishing up this week I look down the list of patients, a fair share have my name attached to them. It's been a very busy few weeks and the list reflects that. Sometimes the hospital is gentle, and call goes by without much ado.  Other times it seems to be poking you on purpose, seeing how much of your time it can inefficiently waste before you call it quits. And then still other times the patients themselves leave little room for question. They come in one after the other and you can do little else other than add them on to the OR schedule and keep going until you've finished. 

My little old Italian lady I mentioned above is on that list. Leaving her room this morning and moving on down the hallway I walked into my next patient's room. I had good news for her! Based on her numbers and improvement I was going to take the suction tubing out of her nose. I was not met with any resistance on that front. In fact I received a smile in response and to even greater delight she ripped a fantastic example of healthy flatulence. The giddy look on her face told me that if she could have gotten out of bed and danced, she would have. I praised her again on the work she is doing on the healing front, and moved on. Few steps I was out the door and on down the hallway to the next patient. 

Yes they are busy weeks, but at the same time they fill me with gratitude for the work I get to do. 

Much Love.