Kudos to the person that can name that tune first.
Tonight I'm writing on my iPad in a hotel room in San Antonio, TX near Sea World where, tomorrow, Christina will get to swim with the sea lions in a private session (her birthday present from her mother and stepfather). I landed in Houston this afternoon and made a quick drive across the city in time to pick her up after school and drive to San Antone. I had forgotten what a long drive it is (four hours), but it was a beautiful drive under clear blue skies driving west into a spectacular sunset. I generally feel that Texans are excessively egomaniacal about their state, but I have to admit it's a pretty drive once you get out of Houston, and the flat terrain makes the sunset last for hours.
Tomorrow will be exciting and fun, but I'm a little frustrated. I've been trying to get an iPhone for Christina for her tenth birthday (I realize this is controversial and I appreciate people's skepticism for giving a ten year old an iPhone, but I have my reasons and we'll leave it at that). But I'm frustrated because there have been some technical issues with getting the phone purchased and assigned to the number she's had for the last two years on her mother's account, leaving me at 10pm two days before her birthday without her present in hand. Makes me nervous. Frustrated.
Oh. Last night I went to see Mithril, the Celtic progressive band my drum teacher, David Hughes, is in. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would recommend seeing them to anyone who has the opportunity. David is truly talented, and I'm hoping if I sit near him in class that some of it will rub off on me.
And the night before that I had another reminder why I love my work. The mother of one of our staff members was brought into the ER by her husband after she complained of chest pain. She passed out in the car on the way to the hospital and had to have CPR in the car before the nurses could get her inside. Doctor talk: initial rhythm was V fib, responded to first shock with return to sinus rhythm, started amiodarone and went to the cath lab, and should be able to go home. In plain talk: she was REALLY sick, but she responded well to treatment and will hopefully do well enough to go home without further incident. I'm not sure many people know how rare that is- to be brought into the ER having CPR done and surviving to be discharged from the hospital, but the numbers are well below 10%. It wasn't really anything I did that made it go well, but the whole team functioned beautifully, and fortunately we got a good outcome. But I love what I do. Frankly, most patients in the ER would do fine regardless (in spite) of what I did, but it's this small minority that makes me love my job.
Perhaps it's this phenomenal fall weather we're having, with the increased opportunity to get outside and absorb the sunshine and breathe fresh air, or maybe it's that I'm still so high from my medical mission work, or perhaps I've just reached a stage in my life where I can be happy again after a rough last few years, but SOMETHING has given me this really positive outlook lately. To all of you who suffered through all the dark times with me, thank you! I could never have made it through alone. I'm looking forward to good times for a long time to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment