quick update...

hey everyone! sorry, i know it's been awhile. things have been a little crazy here. i about pulled my hair out after work today, lots of craziness at the hospital...it seems like the really difficult patients come in waves, and today was a monsoon! (haha)

however, one exciting thing...i got to observe a hip resurfacing yesterday!! the coolest thing i have EVER seen! a hip resurfacing is similar to a hip replacement, but is typically used for younger patients with more active lifestyles. during the surgery the femoral head is not removed and then replaced with a metal ball, it is simply "shaved" into a smaller more cylindrical shape and capped with a metal cover. anyway, i was about three feet from the operating table, had to totally dress out, and could see everything! oh, so this hip resurfacing is still new in the us...the fda only approved it two years ago. and somehow i got to observe one of the "greats" as far as surgeons for this procedure go. he is one of two surgeons who do it in the state of wi, has a 100% approval rating after performing the surgery approx 250 times, and people travel from all over the country to let him operate on them. the surgery took about 2 1/2 hours and when it was over the doc personally congratulated me on being 1 out of only 3 people who didn't faint the first time they saw the surgery...needless to say, i was pretty proud (and most definitely cut out to be a surgeon now)! today i got to follow up with the patient and treat him in ot...kind of strange!

just now proof read my new post (very convenient to proof read 10 minutes after you post it), and saw lots of typos...i was shocked and upset. it really makes me wonder how scary my patient documentation was today. oops, i forever be tagged a nutcase by the people who manage medical records. anyways, hope you're not disenchanted and continue to read. let me know if you need help deciphering the sentences. ps. i attached photos of myself to document my utter shock and disbelief. (i think that it's quite fitting that i still can't figure out how to rotate photos, or arrange them for that matter.)

midterm week

i can't believe that this is my 6th week in madison...it has flown by ridiculously fast!! it's been awhile since i've written on here, but the days seem to be growing longer and more challenging, which leaves me (WAY TOO) exhausted to sit at my computer and type (or maybe lazy is the correct wordage)!! nevertheless, i am here now and i will update you all on this past couple of weeks. last week was extremely challenging, i had two cognitive evals and two non-english speakers. the cognitive evals were bizarre...left me wondering what my name was. one of the cognitive evals was performed on a man who was fluent in only punjabi, which left me wondering how accurate it actually was. who knew if he was answering the questions or his translating grandson was. however, his grandson was so attractive and sweet to his grandfather that i let it slip this time (haha, just kidding. he was very attractive, but i did have to document in the notes that the answers might have not been the patient's). i have one patient that has lewy body dementia and is constantly having the most bizarre hallucinations. he is constantly telling me (very wide eyed) that i am standing exactly where "the men that climbed the tree outside my window and came in" were standing last night. [fyi: he is on the 8th floor of the hospital, and there are no trees outside his window] very sad, but a VERY, VERY sweet man- a joy to work with really. another pt speaks hmong, one has severe manic ocd (that is my diagnosis, not dsm-IV), a triplegic (3 of her limbs don't work), and an amputee...among many others. today i worked a ten hour day, and if you want to hear exhaustion, listen to this...i got greeted by kiss from one patient before she told me that she could crochet all the baby clothes that i need in the future (good thing, i told her it might be awhile), got one 10 minute break to inhale a pb&j, spent the afternoon in the locked inpatient psych unit doing arts and crafts and discussing panic attacks, and observed my supervisor's son in pediatric ot. then i had to walk home...boohoo!! oh, and did i ever tell you all that i had to make a splint for a lady who had been in a car accident?? very scary and exciting at the same time. i was very happy that she was heavily medicated, it was less painful for both of that way!

overall, i have really loved it (so far) and have been very lucky to work with such great people. i still love interraction with the patients (even the grumpy ones) because they all have interesting stories and personalities to share with me (even if they aren't/can't talk). many of them are very sweet and get so excited when i came all the way from missouri to "work with them." i always get, "isn't it hot there?" (funny, they think it's a heat wave when it's above 79 degrees here) and "so, you must like the cardinals."

oh, and no worries friends, i have been having fun too. this past weekend my friends and i went to a festival called the madison rootsfest. very fun. it was an all day outdoor festival, featuring about 11 different music groups. very fun indeed! there was a bicycle powered stage (literally bicycle powered...about 20 people on stationary bikes positioned next to the stage pedaled to produce all of the power used by that stage)...AWESOME!! my favorites were the african drum corp, a reggae group, and of course the two headlining groups (the real reason that we went). [the pic above is my friend genny and i awaiting the headliner at rootsfest] anyways, i don't know what i'm doing this weekend...hopefully it doesn't involve spending any money! (haha, fat chance. there are two many fun, not free things to do here.)

stay faithful, keep reading and i'll keep you updated!!

love & peace

kt