Shouzer

Today I finished up my last shift with Nicole Bernal, a 4th year general surgery resident and the Trauma Chief at SLU Hospital for the past six months. Nicole was kind enough to let me shadow her during the month of December and again this month after returning from a two month stent at St. John’s–a hospital off of I-64/270.

This was more than a shadowing expereince–she treated me like an intern, which was pretty awesome and scary. I was in my SLU-issued scrubs armed with a trauma pager, phone, and stethoscope. I was as official as I could get without the M.D. behind my name.

When she was in-house I was in-house, be it a 12-hour shift or a 24-hour shift. The day would start at 6 a.m. when we would get the sign-out from the night team. At 7 a.m. we would start rounding on all the patients. I had my patient list and I would go fill out the progress note, record any labs that were drawn, and check on any radiology films. I would then meet with her and we would go over any pertinent findings and get everything ready for Grand Rounds with the Attending physician.

When a trauma came, my pager went off and I headed to the ER. It was difficult working in the exact same setting with my co-workers in the ER but being in a different role. I wasn’t the ER tech in the trauma anymore. She let me examine Level II traumas and get their history. I filled out the H&P form and wrote admission orders for the floor or ICU.

But I didn’t just do paperwork. I was able to get some procedures done as well. I assisted with at least 10 chest tubes (placed one of them), some intubations, reductions of fractures, FAST Ultrasound exams, splinting, some resuscitation….and I got to practice suturing as well.

I also got to go to the OR on cases. I saw three ex-laps, a left lower extremity fasciotomy, craniotomy and lobectomy, triple-A repair. The OR cases were really interesting and it was a great way to see real anatomy.

One of the things I like the most was that she spent a lot of time reviewing CTs and Xrays and showing me how to read them….and then asking me what I saw on new films as we reviewed them.

When there was nothing to do and we were caught up with everything, I crashed in a call room. And, of course, I would sleep for 30-45 minutes (if I was lucky) and the pager would go off. My favorite was this…and this is how it went out over the pager “TRAUMA TEAM STAT: 26 y/o M GSWx3 Homeboy dropoff”

This is pretty much how I looked after one night in the ER after six traumas:

I think my eyes were a little more glossed over and blood shot because I was so tired though.

It was an awesome expereince….one that challenged me physically, mentally, and emotionally. She taught me a lot. If anything the experience of being on the trauma team has only strengthened my desire to be a doctor.

It’s gonna be sad going to work this weekend as a tech again. Oh well, I’ll survive it.

This happened a couple nights ago, and because everybody loved the last one, here’s another injury for you. That’s Jorge Garbajosa of the Toronto Raptors.

So, we pay Insight every month for something. I’m not sure what that something is, but I know we do, because Kyle comes down to my room occasionally asking for a check. Honestly, for all I know, he’s sequestering that money for himself–I’d say I’m rather credulous when it comes to my friends. My trust is starting to wane, though.

I guess our cable TV service is decent, but honestly it’s not like I’ve ever had bad cable, so I expect it to work as it does. We get digital cable, which is to say that we get a few more channels, but we need an ugly box in our living room to view them. I guess this thing wields some occult power, as we can only watch the channels through the magic box. Perhaps there are mini Jack Hannas or Steve Irwins inside who wrestle the otherwise untamed digital signal into something our feeble TV can handle? Whatever the case, the service is thus relegated to something less than what it could be. Moreover, the “special” channels that flow through the thing can’t easily be recorded by the Media Center.

With that out of the way, I come to the crux of our (read: my) complaint against Insight. To put it bluntly, our internet service is typically pathetic and, at times, altogether useless. They claim it’s “fastester”, but unless that means something other than what it should (who the hell knows anyway?), it’s an outright lie. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had to bear 56k, but from what I recollect, it wasn’t much worse than this.

If I want to watch a clip on YouTube, the steps are typically something like this:

1. Open YouTube in Firefox
2. Wait 2-3 minutes
3. Search for video
4. Wait 2-3 minutes, AGAIN
5. Click on video
6. Go to bathroom, likely even take a shower
7. THEN, wait 15 damn minutes
8. Watch video halfway through
9. Wait another 15 god damn minutes
10. Though I’ve lost interest by this time, finish watching the video
11. Rinse
12. Repeat

I can only conjecture that somebody at Insight is using all the bandwidth to bolster his private porn collection. Or, perhaps more likely, he’s spreading his porn across the web like some kind of p2p professional. I guess in that case it could be construed as “sharing”, which intimates that at least he’s congenial. But, honestly, how much porn does this guy have to give? Naively, I guess, I thought at some point he’d grow weary of the long hours he spends staring at his porn and give it up in pursuit of something more constructive.

Well, it certainly hasn’t happened yet. This guy’s got some fortitude.

An email I sent to Bill Simmons was used in his latest article at ESPN.com. I feel extra special.

Link to the blog entry. I’m “Kyle H., Herrin, IL”.

Prague

They are in the same album, but there’s more of them now.

I suppose I can go public with my post-graduation plans now. I requested my transcript be sent today, so now my application is complete. I’m gonna be back home at SIU. In two and half years, I’ll have a secondary education degree to hang on the wall next to my finance one. I’ll be certified to teach high school math and business. My decision stemmed from wanting to do something that I could actually get excited about, and I wasn’t finding that in Finance. It’s gonna be really good.

Oh, and since no one wants to read sports rants here, I put my first (hopefully, of many) over here. I may also include non-sports, non-Shouzer related things from time to time.

My family’s been sitting around for awhile now watching this show on the History channel (yeah, that’s how we roll) about the most likely ways for the world to end.  While some of the scenarios they mention are interesting, I find that for the most part the show is useless.  It seems that rather than spending their time describing the science behind some of the natural disasters they’ve mentioned, they’re trying to scare us.

Honestly, if a super-volcano erupts and covers the United States in eight feet of ash, I think I’m more or less fucked, no matter how much food I saved or how sturdy my bomb shelter is.  I’d much prefer them spend some time describing what would actually cause this catastrophe.  Unfortuantely, telling me that a lake of magma underneath Yellowstone is “overdue” for eruption doesn’t cut it.

Here’s a link to my photo album:

Prague

Here are some highlights I have picked out of my travel diary. Yes, I’m keeping a diary. I don’t have anyone to talk to at the moment, and I wanted to share some of this stuff so I wrote it down. Now I’m sharing it. It’s kind of long, but I did try to pick out the more interesting parts. I hope you enjoy.

6:42 pm CST somewhere over the Atlantic

I am in the middle of part 2 of 3 of my trip (St. Louis->Detroit->Amsterdam->Prague). Being the transatlantic portion, it is, of course, the longest, 7:03 to be exact. My triumphant return to Detroit was exciting.

I arrived at gate A9 10 minutes after my connecting flight started boarding. I glanced up at the monitor to find that I had to get to A54, first mistake. I power walked up to the train thing that goes between the gates. It had, of course, just left, and wouldn’t be back for another 3 minutes. I didn’t think I could wait. I glanced down the concourse, and I figured I could make it faster than the train, mistake number 2. Detroit must have the longest concourse in the world. They put a ridiculous amount of space between the gates. The train passed me on the way there. I finally made it to A54, and the lady at the gate nervously told me I was at the wrong gate. There was a later flight to Amsterdam, and that was the one displayed on the departure board. I was in such a hurry that I didn’t check the departure time. Anyway, the kind lady told me that I had to go back to gate A24, and that I had to run because they were in final boarding. I nearly knocked over 3-4 old ladies on the moving sidewalks while running past them. Why people can’t stay to the right on those things I can never understand. I just hope the baggage handler moved my bag over with the same veracity. Obviously, I made it on the flight because here I am, on tape delay from over the Atlantic Ocean, watching Dream Girls.

7:36 PM 3-14-07 Prague Hotel Room

My transport from the airport to hotel was with a company called Cedaz Transportation. My driver was the first person in Prague that I encountered who did not speak English, or at least, he did not speak any to me. He was not a crazy as I expected, but he was still out there. He drove the minibus through a narrow street lined on either side with much faster than I would have even in my car. I would have been terrified of hitting one of them, but he seemed unconcerned. He punished the poor suspension on that minibus by mercilessly speeding over cobblestone roads. The ride in the van was fairly smooth though so maybe European cars really are better made.

The initial drive through Prague was breathtaking. The pictures on the internet did not do it justice. I wished that I remembered the Czech phrase for “What is that?” which I had learned earlier from the language tapes, but it escaped me as so many phrases from that course do. We passed so many magnificent structures that left me in awe, and I had an overwhelming desire to know as much about them as possible.

My afternoon consisted of wandering around downtown, or I guess, Old Town Prague. This is the Prague you see on the postcard. Ancient, amazing buildings now house modern shops on their first levels. Sidewalk cafes line Wenceslas Square. As you walk around, you see some glorious building down the street that begs to be seen. Then, you arrive at the building and find that it is no monument, but rather a fancy housing for some cafes. There is no need to fret though because by wandering to this pseudo-disappointment, you stumble upon some hidden-away church with ornate gold appointments. Old Town Prague is a wonderful place to get lost.

3-15-07 9:01 PM

The highlight of St. Vitus’s (Cathedral at Prague castle) was the stained glass. All throughout the church was the most beautiful stained glass I have ever seen. One wall in particular stunned me. Sunlight burst through vibrantly colored glass, casting colorful rays onto a gold encrusted fresco which glimmered in its reflection. It was simply poetic.

9-16-07 8:11 PM

The metronome was an interesting place. It sat on a hill at the end of a major road, overlooking the center of the city. It sits on the spot that used to have a statue of Stalin. I imagine that when that statue was there, it was a great focal point of the city. Everyone who came there saw it, and they made a special trip up the hill to pay homage. Now, the site is overrun by punk kids on skateboards. Graffiti is everywhere on the surrounding walls and surfaces. There is a stone courtyard behind the metronome, made up of tens of thousands of square stones roughly 2 inches wide. (These same stones make up most of the sidewalks in Prague.) Patches of stones are missing. Weeds and grass grow intermittently between stones and up around some of the larger stones surround the courtyard. Stone stairs lead up to the courtyard, and I noticed that at least one was missing. A small fence surrounds the metronome (which is not turned on), but some of the pylons have fallen over. In short, the area is in disrepair. I loved every bit of it for its irony.

Spring Break is almost upon us, and I’m certainly looking forward to it.  I wanted this to be an easy semester, but unfortunately this ended up being one of my busiest in a quite a while.  Oh well.

As Kyle said, the NCAA tournament started today, but it hasn’t been what I’d hoped for yet.  There’s only been one real upset thusfar (a 9 over an 8 doesn’t count).  I guess that bodes well for my bracket in general, as I didn’t have as many upsets throughout the tourney as I would have liked.  On the other hand, I just think there’s more polarity between the top and bottom of the tournament this year than recent years.

and I’m feelin’ the madness. Thursday is here. Rejoice.

If you find the weather getting warmer, and you happen to be a college boy desperate for some college girl pie, there are certain things you must clothe yourself in. First, find your wrinkled khaki shorts, the more wrinkled the better. Chicks dig these, and since they are the only kind of shorts you own, you are off to a good start. Next, the shirt. Try looking through your little sister’s closet. You are trying to find something bright, preferably pink, and way too small for you. If you are out of luck, get a shirt emblazoned with fraternity letters. It doesn’t matter if it’s your fraternity or even if it’s your shirt, just make sure it isn’t clean. Get yourself some flip-flops, because shoes are so faux pas in the spring time. Finally, if you’ve showered, shaved, or brushed your teeth in the last week, you might want to stay in a few more days. There’s nothing that turns a girl off more than fresh breath, a smooth face, and the sweet aroma of Axe.

Yeah, I saw some interesting characters on my way to class today. All of them looked like the above. I think I might be getting the flu.

I’m off to Prague tomorrow; pulling out of Herrin at 8am. I’m really excited about my trip as you can imagine, and probably read elsewhere on this site. I figured I’d throw up one more post before I go.

I saw two movies this weekend, Breach and 300. Breach was about a leak at the FBI, and it was based on a true story. I liked it except for the true story bit. I remembered the even in the news, and it felt a little dirty to be watching a movie about it. 300 was pretty awesome. Obviously, it was overdone and ridiculous, but that’s why I liked it. There’s nothing like digitally enhanced abs in the morning, that’s what I always say.

The other purpose for my posting tonight it to try out Picasa. I plan to use it as a means for sharing all of my trip photos. I created an album tonight showcasing screenshots from my senior design project. The other members of my team are still working on it, so if you have an comments, I’ll forward them along. I’d appreciate the input to be honest. They updated the menu screen this week, but I don’t have the new stuff. Anyway, here it is:

Senior Design Screen Shots

I like the way Daylight Savings Time works it, no diggity (got to bag it up (bag it up)). I especially like it since it started earlier this year. It’s 10 til 7 and the light through my window is still enough to illuminate my room. I never realize how sucky some winter days are until Spring starts to arrive. It’s like when I bought that pint of mint chocolate Ben & Jerry’s, and I thought it was great stuff — cold, sweet, satisfying. Then I discovered Half Baked, and it was like the first time I opened my eyes. I’m sure someone can relate.

I could probably write an entire feature on sideline reporters and studio analysts, but here are a couple of thoughts about some guys you might be forced to listen to during the remainder of March.

I have long hated Jay Bilas. The adjectives and adverbs he uses to describe college basketball players and their actions are the same words that were used about the FDNY and NYPD after 9/11. I don’t have to tell you that these two sets of people have less in common than career arcs of K-Fed and Britney.

Billy Packer has always had rocks in his head, he just decided to come out of the closet last weekend during the Duke-UNC game. Search Youtube for Hansbrough+broken+nose, and see what I mean.

Packer is not, however, the founder of the rocks-in-the-head club. That would be Digger Phelps, who ESPN has to remind daily that the ACC tournament, in fact, holds less bearing that the NCAA tournament. It’s okay, Digger, Dick Vitale gets the same memo.

Finally, you MUST know Bill Raftery. He could make watching paint dry exciting. He’s the perfect guy to do the color for early round games. He’d be great for the Final Four, too, but his head might explode.