Out of Limbo...

It's been a crazy year, our fourth year of medical school. A different crazy from third year. Third year is a sleepless blur. Fourth year has been sleepless for different reasons entirely, mostly due to the fact that we've been sleeping in beds other than our own since August. It's been a whirlwind really. September was Terrace, October was Vancouver, November and December were here in PG (but with a strange dude of a roommate and a classmate (we love her) living with us). January was Vernon, February was residency interviews and visiting relatives, March was Nelson and April, finally, back home again, still housing a classmate. So, we've either not been home or have been home and not had our house to ourselves for eight months. It's time...

This week, we are in the last week of our last rotation of our last year of medical school. Can you believe it? I can't. In two and a half weeks we will write a licensing exam and three days after that on May 10th we become Dr. Malley and Dr. Harvey. I wonder if I'll ever feel like a doctor because I certainly don't right now. What does being a doctor "feel" like, I wonder? I surprise myself sometimes at the things that I know and that come rolling off my tongue when questioned by an attending. However, I am more present to the amount of knowledge I know that I don't know yet. It will come. As my Dad would say, "millions have gone before you and they're all just fine".

So, we are certainly looking forward to the end of school and some time off before we start residency. I will be doing my whole residency here in PG and Layne will do the first three of his five years up here. We'll then have to move to Vancouver so that he can finish off his last two years down there. At first we were disappointed to find out that we were matched to PG but realistically, there is no way with our debt load that we would have been able to financially make it down there. We really miss our friends and family and it would have been nice, for that reason, to be in Vancouver. However, the bright side of the coin is a cheaper cost of living, being familiar with the hospital and the docs, not having to "learn the ropes" and the hallways and the doctor's offices all over again and a great house. None of these things would have been the case if we had been matched to Vancouver. By the time we move to Vancouver for the completion of Layne's residency, I will have been practicing for a year already. This will be a great place for me to get my feet wet as a new physician, practicing alongside those who have known me and taught me for six years. What a nice way to start out as a newbie.

Wedding plans are coming along for the big day on August 23rd. With only 20 people and a simple theme things are rolling along smoothly. We will be having our ceremony at a waterfall on Layne's sister's property just outside of Nelson. We have rented a beautiful outdoor property with a funky house/lodge in Nelson for the weekend. It will be fun and relaxing. We'll post and send lots of pictures!

We have been able to spend some great time with Lochlan. He'll be three in just over two months. Crazy! He's getting big and funny and chatters non-stop. Layne is a doting Daddy.

Yes, some of our own will be coming along in the next year or two...well, that's the plan anyway. We'll see what fate has in store. As one of the Gynecologists at the hospital has told both Layne and I, my eggs are "getting old" so we'd better get on it!

During our time off between school and residency, we will be doing some renos to the house. No major knocking down of walls or anything but we will be replacing flooring and painting and changing all of the doors to spruce it up a little. We are excited to give it a little face lift.

We will have a house full for the weekend of our grad ceremony, May 10th, here in PG. Layne's parents (Kim & Rhonda) and sister (Tara) and her two little ones (Zack & Ayden), my parents (Kathy & Laurence) and brother (Reid) and Lochlan will all be here for the festivities. It will be the first time that our families will be together and we are delighted and excited! Mom and Tara, Zack & Ayden will stay on for a few days after. We are looking forward to extra time with them.

Having Lochlan and working on the house will fill our time off before heading into residency. We start at the end of June. I am excited and dreading it at the same time. Layne is the smart one choosing Psych - one call shift per week, only until 11pm. I, on the other hand, have chosen to torture myself for another two years, the first year being the worst. First year residency in Family is like third year over again but with more responsibility and less sleep. So, if you don't hear from me or I'm grumpy when you do, that will be why!

I have to say that, with the amazing life and love that I have, I have been feeling kind of out of sorts lately. I am LOVING my last elective this month which is Palliative Care - working with the terminally ill and dying. I really didn't expect to like it so much. However, the pace is much slower and the hours are minimal compared to the rat race that I am used to. Is it pathological to feel discombobulated when you have time off? Normally I am loving my down time but I feel like the past three weeks of down time has almost sent me off the edge. I think I have to relearn how to relax! That is definitely something med school takes away, or maybe something it adds - if you are not sleep deprived, running around, hungry and have a list of 75 things to do then you are not doing your job. From that to quiet mornings, while I thought I would love it, has been kind of stressful. I know, those of you running around with insane lives are thinking, I wish I had some quiet mornings. Yes, I was of the same mind. Oh well, it won't be long before I'm back to the insanity of intense medical training so I can feel "normal" again (whatever that means).

I think that's all for now. I will try and post some pictures as well and hope you enjoy them.

Love to you all xox

Man oh man...

Wow, I can't believe that it's been 3 months since my last blog. I thought to myself, wow, a Blog, what a great way to try and let everyone know what's going on without big gaps of time in between...hhhmmm....well it's the thought that counts isn't it? I don't know. I guess part of being in med school is the associated guilt about having little time for those you love and think about often. I find that if I'm not at the hospital (Layne had 3 days off this last month) or sitting with my head buried in the books trying to keep up with reading for exams, then it's sleep, oh heavenly sleep! Oh, and then there's the trying to find time to eat thing. I find lately that eating usually happens in one big feast at about 10 or 11 at night. Coffee for breakfast seems to be the order of the day.

Well...let's see...since last blog from the boonies where I did my rural rotation, I have completed my rotations in Opthamology, Dermatology, ER and Orthopedics.

Opthamology - I would rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick every day rather than have to look in people's eyes all day long. I do have to say though, Thank God for Opthamologists as your eyes are so important and they discover some very weird and wonderful things, which if caught in time, they can usually do something about. Cataract surgery is a pretty cool thing to watch. It's amazing to be able to restore someone's sight with such a short, fairly uncomplicated procedure.

Dermatology - not nearly as gross as I thought it would be. Again, I think I might rather rub my skin raw than be a Dermatologist. I did see some pretty interesting conditions though. Unfortunately, many dermatological conditions can only be managed, not cured.

ER - loved it of course. I must say though that I didn't happen to come across any "emergencies" while I was doing my rotation. It seems that lots of people think that a sore throat and a sniffle qualify as an emergency. Hhhmmm....quite baffling really. I am very good at using my inside voice and not looking directly at the person and saying, "Are you kidding me? You have a cold. Get some nose spray and Kleenex". Or my other favourite is, "I need stitches". Hhhhmmm, let me get my microscope out and see if I can find the gaping wound that you claim to have sustained. Oh, I know, bad student doctor, bad! I did grapple with "Does that make me a bad person?" The answer, after talking to many a physician, is a resounding NO. You just get good at "reassuring" people that they are just fine.

Orthopedics - cool stuff. Any bone or joint you can think of is involved. I quite like it and the surgeries are interesting. Everything from tendon releases to joint replacements to amputations. Unfortunately I was struck with the super bug going around and was knocked out for a week of that rotation (which happens to have been last week). So, I'm a bit bummed about not having seen more but I'll have another shot at it in residency.

As for what's next on the list...General Surgery. Interesting and exhausting. Layne just finished his Gen Surg rotation and I think he will need almost as many weeks to recover. I start tomorrow morning. I'm about 75% back in the game after the superbug. Hopefully they won't kick me out of the OR again for having germs.

As for the most interesting/sad/gross thing I've been involved in. Well, it seems that trying to commit suicide with a firearm to the jaw is common in these here parts. Two in one weekend. The last guy we were up with until two in the morning trying to sew up what was left of his face so that he could be transported. I wasn't sure what that would be like. It was like business mode, do what you can for the guy so that he remains stable and hopefully lives. The hard part was when we were wheeling him into the OR and his Mom was talking to his bloody, bandaged face, telling him how much she loved him. I felt tears start...and then onto the OR and the tears subsided. An interesting phenomenon. Maybe a protective instinct. I don't know what it is, but it kicks in in those situations so you can remain clear-headed and get the job done.

So the next four weeks should prove to be another medical adventure. This year has been an interesting ride. Six more months to go. Two weeks off in August and then straight into our last year. Crazy. We are in the process now of choosing our electives for our fourth year. Next year is also the year where we are going to be going insane trying to apply for residency positions, kind of like applying to med school all over again. We'll be flying all over the place to interview for residency spots. It will be interesting to see where the chips may fall. It could mean staying in BC or it could mean being on the other side of the country for a couple of years. Who knows?

On the home front all is great. When Layne and I actually do get to see each other, we are usually pretty exhausted and spend time just hanging, studying and sleeping. We have managed to get in some x-country skiing and some squash as well as a little bit of gym time. Layne successfully completed his first indoor cycling class! And he actually enjoyed it!

We had a fun Christmas in Pemberton with his family, his little guy Lochlan and his sister and her husband and their two boys. It was rambunctious and loud, but lively is more fun than quiet. The big hit over the holidays was the chocolate fondue fountain that Layne got me for Christmas. Yes my friends, a dream come true for this self-professed chocoholic. Yes, he is enabling me in my addiction and I love him even more for it. We had several chocolate fondue-fests that were absolutely insane. Think of it...think of a small waterfall...only with chocolate. HEAVEN!!!

We also managed a couple of days on Salt Spring Island relaxing and being pampered (I've turned my Layne into a true spa-boy!) before heading back to the hospital. A bit of heaven before heading back to reality.

I hope this finds you well. I look forward to hearing from you and finding out what is going on with you. Send pictures!!

Take Care,
L xo

The Boonies

Here I sit, in a medical clinic in the boonies, in a town called Fraser Lake. Fraser Lake is about 2 hours west of the thriving metropolis of Prince George. I am here for a two week elective in rural medicine and so far, rural medicine looks pretty damn exciting!! The clinic has four docs, a nurse practicioner, nurses, a lab tech, an x-ray tech, a small ER...and the list goes on. The doctors here took this place from a run down hole in the wall, to a beautiful looking and beautifully functioning facility over the past 7 years. I have seen some pretty interesting patients and have had ample opportunity already to practice some new skills.

As for the weather these days, I do believe that two days ago it was -35 C here. Not my idea of a good time. I really am much more of a fairweather kinda gal. I must say though that the snow is beautiful. You just can't really get out to enjoy it when you're fingers freeze in 15 seconds if exposed!

I can't believe how fast this first part of the year has flown by. I have another week here in Fraser Lake then I am back to PG for a week of Dermatology followed by a week of Opthamology. After that, two weeks for Christmas and then back at it until another two week break in August. I will be living at the hospital for some time to come.

My rotation in Psychiatry was fabulous and I did enjoy my rotation in Obstetrics, although those babies are really not familiar with my schedule. They tend to put their mother's into labour at all hours and decide to come at ungodly hours in the morning. I'm not sure if obstetrics is on my list, as I really do need my sleep!!!

I will write more when I get back to civilization.

L xo

My First Blog

Hello out there!

I thought that writing a blog would be a great way to reach the masses as well as a way to relieve my guilt of not emailing/calling to keep you up to date individually.

When there is a break from the hospital and the day to day things that have to get done (ie. clean underwear and some food are usually a good thing), sleep usually seems to trump all else. Propping your eyes open with toothpicks while trying to take a detailed history from a patient often doesn't go over well (I'm not sure why?!?). Yes, it is the year of the patients, let the fun begin! Finally, after all of this waiting, we get to the part where we start to play "kinda real doctor". This year consists of several rotations over 48 weeks spent in the hospital. We are officially called "Clinical Clerks" this year. Luckily, being that we are in Prince George and not in Vancouver with a million other students, that doesn't mean that we fetch coffee for the real doctors. No glorified gopher in these here northern parts! Most days this is a good thing. On the days when you haven't slept, it might be nice to be a gopher.

I have completed my six week rotation in Psychiatry, which I loved, and I have just completed the end of my second of six weeks in Obstetrics and Gynecology - all about the ladies and the babies! Of course, there are the dreaded exams at the end of every rotation so it's the day/night in the hospital and then hitting the books. I happen to be having one of those "where has my life gone" moments. For the most part it's fun (and exhausting at the same time) but there are days when you're not sure what day it is and what you're supposed to be doing because you've been up for a couple of days. The call for Obs/Gyn is 1 in 4 and let me tell you, those little babies often choose to either come late into the night or keep their mothers labouring all through the night. Those little creatures are not at all cooperative with my need to sleep ;o)

At the beginning of September, before most of the craziness set in, Layne and I got away for what we like to call our "cheesy weekend" in Barkerville! Yep, we spent the weekend in Barkerville, the Gold Rush Town a couple hours south of here, and went back in time for the weekend. They have actually converted two of the original townsite homes into B&B's, complete with your hostess dressed in period costume. Quite funny! We went to a "court session", bought candy from jars at the "General Store" and checked out all of the old medical paraphenalia in the Dispensary.

I'm hoping that we will be able to get out on another little mini-adventure sometime soon. I have a feeling that it will entail snow as we have already had a couple of days of snow up here. There aren't any leaves left on the trees, things are starting to become covered in white and the mornings are cold and dark. I'm looking forward to more snow so that we can break out the snow pants and crazy carpets and surf down the snowy hills at top speed!

I hope this finds you all well and I look forward to reading your comments. More to come as I find time and funny anecdotes!

Love Laura
xox