Hello Out There

So, an interesting thing happened to me the other day in my clinic. I walked into the exam room to greet a man I had never met and talk with him about his health. Now, I like to talk with my patients about other things and get to know them a bit. I think that's one of the really enjoyable things about Family Medicine. I have been assuming that they know as little about me as I know about them when we meet, but we all know what assuming can do! You see, the first thing out of his mouth was "So, has your wife had the baby yet?" I'm sure I had a pretty interesting look on my face. At first I was trying to think of any way I might know this man... church, a friend/relative of a friend, saw him before in clinic... nothing. Then I thought about who in the office might have filled him in... receptionist? nurse?... who knows? I'm not sure, but I think I just asked him point blank who told him. His answer?

It's all right here baby. Yep, turns out when he scheduled his appointment, he Googled my name and read my blog! Kudos to you, sir, if you're still reading! (By the way, feel free to comment on just how goofy I looked.) I really hadn't thought about it before, but Google-ing your doc is probably a pretty good move. You never know what you'll find, right? Anyway, he had read all about Caleb, Stephanie, little Thane, and also about our trip to PNG! Let's just say he had a definite leg up in the getting-to-know-you department.

So, I decided to Google myself and see just what I could find. Turns out it's a little suprising what makes its way into cyberspace. I was reminded of some pretty poor wrestling performances at the State Tournament, relived my exploits in Olivet intramurals, and learned that there's a guy with my name who was a helicopter pilot in the Korean War. There were also links to my Facebook and MySpace profiles (which haven't been updated in eons) and, of course, a couple of links to this blog, one via a story in the Olivetian.

Just how many of my patients have read about me? I really have no idea. This gentleman was the only one who has said anything. It really made me stop and think, though, about what I have written. I don't think I've posted anything I shouldn't have or don't mean, but I wonder what impression of me this blog gives people. Well, he didn't cancell his appointment, so I guess the picture of me and Caleb with pull-ups on our heads isn't too alarming!


In other news, Stephanie is still pregnant. She's a whopping 38 weeks and 4 days! Neither of us even dreamed she'd make it this far. I think for Stephanie, though, it's turned into more of a nightmare! The poor thing has been banging out contractions like nobody's business for a solid 2 weeks. Now, I've seen a few ladies in labor, and there were a couple of times, including Friday, when I thought we were in business. But in the end, it was 'Sorry folks, show's over.' All she had to show for it was some lost sleep and an appreciation for the epidural she's going to get. The good news is that she'll be induced at the end of this week if she hasn't popped by then (39 weeks!). There is an end in site! Who woulda thought we'd be saying that... We are pretty darn blessed.

Not a whole lot going on

The title pretty much sums it up. Sure, life is busy with residency and family stuff, but it sure seems like not a lot of life changing stuff is happening. My grandpa died a couple weeks ago, which I guess is a pretty big deal. My brother wrote a nice post about it. Funerals like his were, I think, about how things are supposed to go. Everybody gets together and has a good time, remembers an elderly guy who had lived a long, full life, and enjoys a nice lunch together. I hope that doesn't sound too cold. I feel badly for my dad and especially for my grandma, but I really think that in the grand scheme of things, this pretty much fits the ideal plan. Maybe I've just seen too much death in general and premature death in particular to look at it like a normal person. Maybe being in medicine does that to people, I don't know. Anyway, I really had a good time hanging out with my siblings and my grandma. I was also very proud of Caleb, who spent a good deal of time playing with his cousins without me anywhere near him. He's a pretty timid/paranoid/social-skills-lacking kind of a guy usually, but hopefully he's starting to come out of it. He is also pretty darn funny, saying lots of the kind of things that I guess kids say. Stephanie has written a couple of blogs about that, I think.

As far as residency goes, I'm now in my fourth month, and if nothing else I've gotten more used to people referring to me as "Dr Kumor." Still a bit weird though. After my orientation month (July), I spent a month catching babies on the OB service, then had a month of clinic and dermatology, which was a pretty good time. Now, I'm on a general surgery service at Methodist, and it's going really well.

I guess the big news is that I've got the clearance from my program director and the guys at Kudjip to spend another two months there in Papua New Guinea! We are still working out the details, but it looks like spring/summer of 2010. I'm really looking forward to it.

Sorry about the lame-o post. Read Stephanie's. Much funnier. She, by the way, is full term!!! Who woulda thunk it? She made 37 weeks last Thursday! So, everybody can quit praying... we're ready for him to come now!

At least I'll leave you with a picture. It's similar to the one Joe mentioned of all the Frank's, except this one has two Frank's, a Ben, and a Caleb. We'll miss you grandpa!

Things are a changing

In this case, we're talking about Stephanie's cervix. She had an appt at the OB office today, where she was told she is starting to dilate, currently 2cm. Sorry for those of you who think that's TMI. At any rate, this was not entirely suprising. Stephanie has been pretty uncomfortable for about the past day and a half, with the contractions becoming a bit stronger.

What does this mean? Well, it's hard to say, but it seems as if baby Thane is coming sooner rather than later. Contractions like Stephanie is having tend to move things along. It's possible for a woman to hang out at 2cm for weeks, but if things keep going like this the munchkin will be making an appearance by the end of next week for sure. The "if things keep going like this" is the key. Stephanie was instructed by her doctor to, and I quote, "Take the bedrest a little more seriously." :)

Will it make a difference if she stays chained to her bed? Probably not too much, besides driving her crazy! In spite of all the razzing I do about the Wal-Mart trips, Stephanie really has done as good a job as possible of limiting her activity while caring for a 2 year old and a 26 year old (i.e. me). She is now a full 34 weeks and 2 days, so they won't try to stop her labor this time. Statistically, otherwise healthy 34-36 weekers do just as well (in the long term) as their 37-40 week counterparts. The only drawback is the requisite NICU stay for breathing, feeding, and body temp issues. For her part, though, Stephanie seems pretty determined to keep this kiddo baking in her belly as long as possible.

6 weeks ago, I was pretty sure we were gonna have that kid any day. A couple weeks later, it seemed like our new boy would never get here. It's a little odd switching back and forth. We mentally prepare for one thing, only to readjust our plans, then readjust again. I guess that's life!

No News is Good News

I've sort of been waiting to write another blog until I had some sort of exciting medical story or new happening on the home front. Well, it seems that cool stuff just doesn't pop into my clinic rooms as often here in Nebraska, and someone would probably try to sue me for telling you anyway. Just kidding... well, sort of. As far as the home front goes, I must say that things are pretty boring (in a good way, of course). No news is, as they say, good news. Stephanie's still pregnant. Caleb is still learning new things and trying (or, trying not) to socialize with other people. Me, I'm still plugging away at the hospital, enjoying a pretty chill month of clinic/derm.

Those of you who follow my wife's blog have already heard about my sweet schedule these first two weeks. She exaggerated a bit, but you get the idea. I honestly didn't quite crack 40 hours either week, which is probably the only time that will happen, but I'm not complaining. I've been at my family medicine clinic, which is limited in how many residents can work at a time by nursing staff, patient rooms, attending physicians, etc. This is why I wasn't scheduled all the time. These next couple weeks will be a bit longer hours, but I still will have no call and no weekends! It really is a nice time for this as Caleb knows a big change is coming and Stephanie is supposed to be taking it easy.

Which brings me to my next topic. I present to you Exibit A

Yep, that is Stephanie pushing around a cart at Wal-Mart. Now, some of you will say, "Well, why in the heck are you letting her do that?!?" To which I humbly respond, "Have you ever tried to stop that woman from doing something she wanted to?" I did drop her off at the front door and encouraged her to get one of those sweet motorized wheelchair/shopping carts. She obviously didn't respond well to said advice. Okay, you say, at least she can lean on the cart and take it nice and slow. She can let her boys get the stuff she needs and she can stretch her legs for a bit.

To that, I say, look at Exibit B.

This was taken without her knowledge, as I walked around looking for Caleb and Stephanie. You see, I had gone to the back of the store to get something so that she wouldn't have to walk all that way. Here I find her a significant distance from our cart (that one in the background isn't ours) and practically crawling under the clothes rack looking for the right pair of pants. Needless to say, I had to put my foot down and get her back in line. Doesn't she look happy about it?

In a bit of unrelated news, Officer Kumorski and his wife just had their third kid, little Gabriella. Congrats guys, we can't wait to see her! You can check out his blog for a picture.

We also learned that another of our friends from our Olivet homegroup are pregnant. Stephanie and I are pumped that we won't be the only ones with screaming kids at the next homegroup reunion!

Life is good

I'm just sitting here tonight reflecting on what a blessed guy I am, and I thought I'd put a few of those thoughts down on paper... er, I mean a screen, I guess. You must forgive me, I'm sort of into lists right now. It helps me keep my day straight at the hospital, which leads me to #1 (these are in no particular order)

1. I have a job I really enjoy. Looking back, I really don't know how I ended up in medicine except that the Lord must have had a hand in it. I mean, I didn't even want to go to college for goodness' sake. The only job I had before this was in a concession stand! Now, I have just today finished my first clinical month of residency. I was on the OB service and worked a good amount of hours, but I never got sick of it. In fairness, a better test will probably be how I feel in February after not seeing the sun for a few months, but things are going really well right now. As a bonus, I've been talking to several people within the program, and it looks as though I'll be able to spend at least a month or two overseas in my 3rd year of residency -- perhaps back in Papua New Guinea!

2. I have a great family. Stephanie and Caleb are great, end of story. I wouldn't change a thing about either of them. Okay, so maybe that's not quite true, but I sure do love them both exactly as they are. I am so happy to see them at the end of a long day, and they are happy to see me. Stephanie is still pregnant, and getting bigger by the day! We are now all hopeful she can keep this up for another couple of weeks, which will significantly shorten little Thane's NICU stay.

3. I have a great family. I have really enjoyed being back in Nebraska the past couple of months with my dad, his wife, and all my brothers and sisters. I've kind of given my dad a hard time in the past about not being super involved when we were kids, but the guy did his best and loves us all, even if he doesn't always come out and say it. He and Pat have been real supportive of us and great to Caleb, and Caleb sure loves them for it. It has been so much fun hanging out with all my brothers and sisters and their kids. Now that Andrew and Brittanie are all moved in (great wedding by the way! and here's a shout out to their pastor Jonathan. What's up man!), everybody but Joe and his family are in the Omaha area. We always seem to have a fun time when we're together, and it is great for Caleb to get to know his cousins. Hey, we all know the kid needs a little more social interaction!

4. A God who loves me, and Everything else. To be quite honest, I'm getting tired, so I'll have to cut this blog a little short. I could go on and on about our good friends, a place to live, my wife's cooking (which has improved significantly in the past 6 months!), and a bunch of other stuff, but I'll spare you. One thing that amazes me more everytime I think about it, though, is the way the Lord keeps loving me and reaching out to me. He really is with us all the time, which I guess is why life looks so good and full of promise right now. Crappy stuff happens and life deals some big disappointments. I think everybody and their dog understands that. As I've mentioned in a previous blog, though, it's just really nice to know I'm not in it alone. And, if I keep my head up, I might just learn something.

Yep, I'm a lucky guy. If you'd ask just about anyone in Papua New Guinea, all of us are pretty darn lucky.

Oh, and for some icing on the cake, Nebraska beat Western Michigan on Saturday. You gotta love all the new T-shirt slogans: Bo knows football; Got Bo?; My Bo Friend's back; Boses leading us to the Promised Land. Great stuff. Go Huskers!

"Bed Rest" - well, sort of

Well, Stephanie made it home on Tuesday, and things seem to have quieted down. You can check out her blog for her take on the whole matter. We are glad to have gotten things calmed down and her out of the hospital, but I think this whole inactivity thing is going to be especially tough on Stephanie. Caleb will manage (with the help of his trains), but Stephanie has trouble sitting still for 5 minutes, much less 5 weeks. When I got home from work, I caught her hauling laundry around. She says she is just trying to get a good handle on how much she can do and still keep her uterus quiet. I feel bad for her, but we all know how important it is to keep this kiddo in as long as possible. We'll see what happens!

Deja vu all over again

Well, in spite of all our hopes and plans, Stephanie is in preterm labor again. It all seemed eerily familiar as Stephanie had a really uncomfortable night Friday and woke me up in the wee hours of Saturday to take her to the hospital. She was banging out contractions every 2-3 minutes at one point, but the docs got all that quieted down with the dreaded mag sulfate. It hasn't made her quite as loopey this time, which is nice. The steroids for baby take 48 hours for full effect, so she's just chilling out at the hospital now, hoping things stay calm tomorrow after they shut off the mag (at the 48 hr mark). If so, she'll be able to come home on some modified bed rest, but if not.... well, we may end up with a baby this week.

The downside? This is even earlier than when she went into labor with Caleb. He was a 30 weeker (she went into labor at 29 weeks, then spent almost a week in the hospital). This little guy is only 28 weeks, which doesn't sound like much of a difference, but a lot changes in a week or two for those little babies. We'll see how it goes, but this might signal the end of biological children for the two of us.

The upside? Well, she's not had any issues with blood pressure this pregnancy. Many of you will remember that with Caleb, she had pre-ecclampsia, which is basically high blood pressure in pregnancy and some associated badness. That is not the case now, so at least we have one less person to worry about this go 'round. This also means that we can pull out all the stops to keep the kid in. With Caleb, Stephanie was in such rough shape it just couldn't wait any longer. Here in Nebraska, there is also lots of family around who have been great about offering to help with Caleb while we get through all this. And there's always the advantage of working where she's staying, so I can pop in throughout the day and see how things are going.

The other thing that worked out so well was just the timing of it all. My little brother, his fiance, and her dad just happened to be staying at our house Friday night, and I just happed to be home with the weekend off. As a result, Stephanie could wake me up without worrying about me working the next day and Andrew et al could be at home with Caleb while he slept. Makes me wonder how much of life, at least at times like that, are coincidental vs orchestrated. There were also a few "coincicences" that brought us to the doctor when Stephanie was in labor with Caleb that very well could have made the difference for both of them. It all just serves to remind me that even when things happen that are less than ideal in our minds (to say the least), the Lord is always there in the midst of it, letting us know we're not in it by ourselves. He has showed over and over that whatever the situation and whatever the outcome, He will be by our side, sharing our joys and our burdens. That is what He promised. It is more than we need, and infinitely more than we deserve.