One week away

This time one week from now, we will be boarding a plane in LA on its way across the ocean! A little nerve wracking, yes, especially making the trip with a 4 year old and a 1 year old, but exciting none the less. If anyone still bothers to read this blog, pray for us as we make our final preparations!

Hospital or Hotel?

Here are a few pictures of patients' doors I encountered while rounding last week. I got a good laugh out of them. Before you look at these, you must understand that a majority of the leg work in an academic hospital happens between 6am and 8am, and nurses really need to be checking on patients through out the night. Also, when we're changing your long-acting insulin, it behooves you to have your blood sugar checked in the middle of the night (traditionally at 3am).

(by the way, that "shooting star" is really a "falling" star and means the patient is a fall risk... just another reason to leave them totally unattended all night!)

All in all, though, that was pretty tame and understandable. Who wouldn't like a good night's rest while trying to recover from an illness serious enough to land you in the hospital? This next one, though, is priceless.

If you're having trouble reading the signs, they are as follows:

"DO NOT ENTER BEFORE 7:45AM!!!"

"NO UNNECESSARY VISITORS! - INCLUDING CLERGY"

"DON'T KICK PT [patient] SHOES UNDER BED"

"KEEP DOOR SHUT AT ALL TIMES!!!"

That stop sign is actually there because he is on contact precautions. They must think his crabbiness is catching.

Reading for fun

Recently, I decided I should start reading for enjoyment. I used to read a lot as a kid, but kind of stopped when life got busy in high school and have only read for fun periodically since then. I think the last book I read just for the heck of it was the Chronicles of Narnia set back before the The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe came out in theaters. So, on the recommendation of my brother Joe, I picked up The Shack by William Young.

It's basically about a guy to whom God appears in a physical body - actually three physical bodies: Father, Son, Spirit. It's a pretty interesting take on God and the way He relates to us. There is a lot of theological discussion and questioning about why bad things happen. I've read some of the criticisms of it, but I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It definitely helped me see my relationship with God from a different perspective. There really wasn't a lot from a theology standpoint that I hadn't thought about before, but I loved the portrayal of God's love for each person and his desire for a loving relationship with each one of us. I'd recommend it.

On a different note, the kiddo from PNG with the Burkitt's Lymphoma is no longer doing so well. I gotta say this was pretty disappointing for me to hear. You can read about this new update on Dr Erin's blog here. I read it almost two weeks ago, but haven't really felt like posting it. It breaks my heart to see kids like Nathaniel fighting cancer. Fortunately, she also has follow-up patient stories that are happier.

My family and I will be in PNG in just over two weeks now! I recently started compiling a list of things we need to buy and things we need to bring. Let me tell you, those lists are pretty long! I am really looking forward to my time there, (hopefully) taking the skills God has given me the ability to learn and putting them to good use along side these great missionaries.

Update on a little boy in PNG

A couple years ago when I was in Papua New Guinea, I had the opportunity, with Dr Erin, to see a young boy named Nathaniel who had Burkitt's Lymphoma. Thankfully, this is very treatable, and we had the chemo there to do it. Read about his update and see pictures here on Dr Erin's blog. Only 6 and a half weeks until we're on our way back!

Back to PNG

Well, we finally bought our airline tickets to go back to PNG! This trip has been in the works a long time, but it feels so much more definite when you put a nice chunk of change into it. We will be leaving the States April 30 and spending almost 2 months with our friends in Kudjip, Papua New Guinea! Just like last time, I will be working in the hospital and Stephanie will be tending to our boys. Good stuff! In a few short months, this blog will get WAY more interesting. Until then...

Trauma

Since the last time I posted, I haven't been up to too much. I've been mostly working, hanging out with my wife and kids, and thinking about our return trip to PNG in a couple months. This month, I am on the Trauma service at UNMC. If this weren't the land of HIPPA (medical privacy), I would have some good stories and even better pictures. In general, though I have learned - or relearned - several important lessons:

1)Wear your seatbelt.
2)Don't go to work under the influence of anything - especially if your workplace happens to be 50 ft in the air, and even if you think your influence of choice should be legal and it just "mellows" you out. Just sayin.
3)Don't get shot.
3b) Don't shoot yourself - especially if you have bad aim.
4)Some surgeons still really do fit the egotistical hothead stereotype
5)If you have some chronic disease, like diabetes or high blood pressure, for heaven's sake get it under control before the bad stuff starts happening. (This is from clinic - though I suppose a stoke or heart attack could cause a MVA and a Trauma situation)

Feels good to get all that off my chest.

I love my job, but sometimes I wish I could do more to help people see things from another perspective (usually MY perspective). I want to make a difference in the lives of my patients. But probably better than that, I should want God to make a difference in their lives, and use me to help. I think maybe it's me that needs help to see things from HIS perspective. Here's hoping I can do a better job at that.

NPO

Here's a pretty funny blog post that kind of sums up my earlier statement about "Stupid" being a big problem in our country. Enjoy! (I sure did)
http://serenitynowhospital.blogspot.com/2009/05/npo.html