Monday, June 28, 2010

Day 769: Doctordom

I volunteered at a Spinal Muscular Atrophy conference yesterday. This conference was primarily for physicians and the last day, the day I was there, was for the patients.

I want to tell you how much this conference affected me. It furthered my desire to not have children because who knows if you'll be one of the lucky ones to have a "normal" child. It really deepened my passion for medicine. Meeting these kids, who are so bright that I told their parents that if the kids kept talking to me, they would realize they were a lot smarter than me and wouldn't want to talk to me anymore, was just a truly precious experience that I'll never forget. And meeting parents who understood where I was coming from (my distaste of doctors and their holier-than-thou attitude) and found me to be "refreshing" was just added bonus.

I feel like being a physician is so far away but when stuff like this happens, I'm reminded that no matter how far away it is, everything is within one's reach. You just have to stretch. Really really far.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Day 766: The day has arrived

Medical schools begin accepting application submissions!

My best friend turns 24!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Day 762: Showers and letters

I co-hosted a bridal shower yesterday and it went swimmingly. I was quite impressed with how everything went off without a hitch. Except the fact I still have braces. Anyway.

The letter of good standing I needed from NYU has been sent and received by AMCAS. Whee! That's the last of everything I needed and now it's in. Now I wait until schools accept submissions and then the secondaries will (hopefully) come flowing in.

Something amusing. My sister called me last week to inform me I received a letter from Drexel University. I assured her it was a rejection letter, so I had her open it. She opened it and the first words she saw were "wait list" and she proceeded to tell me I had been waitlisted. I assured her this was not the case and had her read the letter (or at least the first paragraph) to get her facts straight. She read it. And she was certainly mistaken. There was no holding of breaths when she told me I was on the waitlist, I just thought it was funny and amusing how poorly worded these rejection letters are. A novice reader of rejection letters, like my sister, would be stuck in grammatical limbo based on how terribly phrased these letters are.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Day 751: Brains and shoulders and verification

I shadowed a neurosurgeon yesterday. Can I please express how crazy it is to be two feet away from a guy who is getting his head cut open? The entire procedure took about 4 1/2 hours and it was completely amazing the entire time. Cutting through the scalp, slowing peeling away tissue and muscle. It took us two hours just to get to the skull. Anyway, the whole experience was a little extremely awe-inspiring. Uhhh, I just watched brain surgery. How weird is that to hear?

I noticed something last night. My shoulder started to bleed, wonderful I know, after I removed the gauze from the wound. When I put Neosporin on it (just the bleeding portion), it stung. My arm has been stinging most nights due to the fun things I put on it (Iodine and/or Neosporin), but I didn't think it had anything specifically to do with the Neosporin. Using the knowledge I gained yesterday, I am now putting Vitamin E on it and two things. 1) It no longer sting-stings, just the good ol' skin-is-(re)forming-so-get-used-to-limited-mobility-and-constant-pain. 2)...I didn't actually have a second point. If I did, I forgot it.

Oh, my AMCAS (aka medical school application) was verified yesterday. All I have to do is wait for a letter of good standing from my undergrad (I'm crossing my fingers it won't get screwed up...but we all remember what I said about hoping and wishing and wanting. So. I'm going to stay on top of this and hopefully not get screwed beyond belief. Ha. Good luck with that.)

Monday, June 7, 2010

Day 748: I want to tell you a story

There once was a girl named Jessica. She was a happy, friendly, idealistic child. As time passed, she saw that the world was not as happy, friendly or idealistic as she was. Jessica grew up fast.

She did lots of things her own way. She graduated high school at a young age. She graduated college early. She decided working 80 hours a week at a job where she would barely move up the food chain was not going to cut it for her. She looked elsewhere and found medicine. She went ahead and studied and learned things and did everything she could do get her medical/science act together. She applied to medical schools. She proceeded to get rejected by 18 medical schools. During this time she got braces. She felt unattractive, unwanted and just about as small as a human being can feel.

Things were looking up. Her teeth were shifting and getting straighter. Her mind was getting clearer and she realized medicine is where she belonged and she would not be defeated. All these things were picking up. However, the universe decided that too many things were picking up. So, the universe picked Jessica off her bicycle and threw her (face first) onto the pavement. Her shoulder hurts. Her face is bruised. Her braces are not coming off in June as planned. Instead, they are coming off half-past never. Her application will never be submitted, or so it feels like. June (and 2010 in general) hates Jessica.

Jessica can't even fully feel anything anymore without feeling guilty. She has a good life and yet she wants to be a sourpuss and rot in her own depression, deprecation and deformities. This is where we are today. Jessica is bruised, broken and bandaged. She doesn't believe in good things happening to her and doesn't want things anymore. Believing and wanting only lead to face planting. Literally.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Day 746: We all fall down

Le shoulder

It's still oozing.

Right by the nook of my elbow.

Wrist

This isn't decaying. It's fun Chinese medicine to help it heal.

My bruised chin


Yes, yes, I'm fine.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Day 745: What? Seriously?


I'm sorry. Tell me again why I submitted so early if the schools won't be receiving my application until June 25th?!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Day 742: Round two, in it to win it!

Applications...submitted.

Let the insanity begin.