Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Doctor's advice -- Don't get sick in the summer
Wes reminded me the other day how important it is not to get sick in the summer. This, despite the fact that last summer, I spent a day in the ED and OU with my infamous kidney stones. Of course, I had something going for me that offset the problem of visiting a teaching hospital in the summer.
If you were to become seriously ill in Chicago right now and go to a teaching hospital, here is who you would have taking care of you in the MICU (medical intensive care unit):
1 brand new 3rd year medical student who has never actually taken care of a live patient
1 brand new 1st year ED resident who just became a doctor about three weeks ago
1 brand new 2nd year resident who has only done this once and now is supposed to supervise the two below
1 brand new 3rd year ED resident who is overstressed and sleep-deprived because he's trying to teach the three below and, because he is dutiful, also trying to make sure he 1) doesn't let the patient die, and 2) doesn't make the three below have as agonizing an experience as he did (this is Wes)
and possibly 1 brand new 3rd year internal medicine resident who, despite being as senior as the 3rd year ED resident, has only spent one or two months in the ICU because s/he has been doing internal medicine for the first two years in a clinic
Maybe, perhaps, an attending will round now and then. You can see why being in the hospital right now possibly isn't the best timing. What saved me? First, when I went in it was the morning of conference in Evanston, which meant all the residents, both new and old, were not in the hospital and their absences were replaced with attendings, and second, I am one of those resident's wife. A medical student saw me initially, but when Wes came up in conversation, an attending quickly materialized. Nepotism has its benefits sometimes.
If you were to become seriously ill in Chicago right now and go to a teaching hospital, here is who you would have taking care of you in the MICU (medical intensive care unit):
1 brand new 3rd year medical student who has never actually taken care of a live patient
1 brand new 1st year ED resident who just became a doctor about three weeks ago
1 brand new 2nd year resident who has only done this once and now is supposed to supervise the two below
1 brand new 3rd year ED resident who is overstressed and sleep-deprived because he's trying to teach the three below and, because he is dutiful, also trying to make sure he 1) doesn't let the patient die, and 2) doesn't make the three below have as agonizing an experience as he did (this is Wes)
and possibly 1 brand new 3rd year internal medicine resident who, despite being as senior as the 3rd year ED resident, has only spent one or two months in the ICU because s/he has been doing internal medicine for the first two years in a clinic
Maybe, perhaps, an attending will round now and then. You can see why being in the hospital right now possibly isn't the best timing. What saved me? First, when I went in it was the morning of conference in Evanston, which meant all the residents, both new and old, were not in the hospital and their absences were replaced with attendings, and second, I am one of those resident's wife. A medical student saw me initially, but when Wes came up in conversation, an attending quickly materialized. Nepotism has its benefits sometimes.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Just in case you were wondering
My father, after receiving several emails in a row yesterday from me looking for people's new contact information and such, jokingly asked me if I'd like to also know the price of bread in Denmark. I beat him to it. The next time someone brings it up -- as in, What's that got to do with the price of bread in Denmark? -- you can tell them that, according to one website, a loaf of wheat bread currently goes for 24 Kroner, the equivalent of $4.33.
Cold Case
Wes doesn't often confide in me about his cases at the hospital. He's a reserved guy to begin with, and it's a breach of ethics and HIPA rights -- even without names -- for him to tell me about these things. But any doctor's wife or military wife or police wife or whomever's wife knows that sometimes spouses need to share these stories and experiences in order to maintain balance in their outside relationships. Wes told me about one case he had today. I won't give details in the interest of the things mentioned above, but suffice it to say that a woman about my age went from happily married and pregnant to dead in about 24 hours. The fetus was delivered and is in critical condition. Wes had to tell the husband/father that his wife was dying. He said it was horrible. He commented specifically on the fact that, although he will soon forget the specifics of the case and the conversation, these people involved will remember it for the rest of their lives and possibly relive it. He keeps that in mind, he said, when having these conversation. I know Wes is a great doctor -- educated, dedicated, and by now very skilled -- but it still seem surreal to imagine him doctoring in the hospital. These cases in particular are hard to imagine, though it's clear he's doing a fine job.
Moms the word
Wes's mom visited us last week after we got back from Portland. Wes had Monday through Thursday off, so he got to spend a lot of time with her -- good since they hadn't seen each other since June of last year when we visited in Atlanta. I had to work all week but got to hang out with the both of them in the evenings, when we did steak and shrimp on the barbeque, ordered in Giordano's, and went out to Hackney's (normally it's me who entertains company and Wes who just shows up for the food; this week we switched roles). His mom and I did get some MIL/DIL time along on Friday, when I rode with her out to Midway. We all three had a lovely time, and Lucy enjoyed having someone around who would let her nap during the day on the blankets from the air mattress in the office. It's hard sometimes being so far away from family that we can only visit when planned way in advance and plane tickets purchased when cheaper, but neither Wes nor I want to plan our lives around where parents and siblings live, especially since 1) that's not always permanent on my side of the family and 2) neither of us wants to live in the south, which is where the vast majority of our immediate family lives. Next up are my parents, who are coming for 3 days in July. We have a trip to Wrigley planned. Hopefully, it won't be in the 90s, and I won't be fighting kidney stones.
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