#575 - F is for Frenetic

Momma told me there'd be days like this...

Here's an example of the kind of day I DON'T like to have in the E.D...

My shift started at 0800, there were already 5 patients on the board,

4 of which my colleague signed out to me waiting for lab or xray results.

The patients I saw today:

 - patient who swallowed an entire bottle of herbal supplement after confusing it with a bottle of 5 Hour Energy Drink

 - leg pain for a week, worse today

 - I Didn't Know I was Pregnant show candidate who came in about 7 months pregnant and using meth

- patient with facial lac after a fall out of their wheelchair

- psych patient off their meds who ran out the door twice, and brought back by police once

- patient who passed out while getting out of their trailer

 - strep throat

- skin infection

- patient who passed out while doing chair exercises with their senior group

 - asthma attack

 - migraine headache

- hair coloring on beard gone awry

- dental infection

- alcohol intoxication, passed out in front of the local market

- cough for several months

- chronic headache who could only be treated with demerol which we haven't had in the ED for years

- tick bite brought in because "we didn't get it all out"

- end of life hospice patient

- patient who was second in line to be seen, but left because after waiting 30 minutes they couldn't wait any longer for the CT they knew "they just had to have" for the belly pain that had been going on for several weeks

- appendicitis

- eye irritation

- panic attack

- alcohol intoxication hit in head by spouse with head laceration that then cussed us out and ran out the door

- skin infection

- febrile illness in transplant patient

I left out identifiers like sex... the pregnant person you can figure out.

I left out much of some of the back story because this is a small town

after all, and everyone knows everyone's business as it is...

These all came in within a 12 hours period and kept my ED busy

the entire time...

Let's now even talk about how many charts I have yet to do...

#584 - E is for Emergency

Let me give you an example of what constitutes an emergency...

There's a patient that comes into the ED often,

usually after trying to act like a tough guy

and coming out on the losing end of a pair of fists.

Alcohol is also usually involved.

Mr. Tough Guy messed with the wrong

pair of fists and received several stab wounds

as a reminder that there's some people

you shouldn't mess with no matter how drunk you are.

He got the "homey drop-off" at the entrance

to the lobby of the ED.

As he staggered across the room leaving a trail of red

that quickly caught the attention of the triage nurse,

she rushed out and met him 

escorting him straight back to the trauma room.

Her first impulse was to call out to the passel of people

waiting to be seen for their coughs, sore throats, or

knee pains that had been going on for the last 4 years

and say, "Now, THIS, is an emergency...!"

And the kind of patient that makes up for all the others that show
up on any given day....

#588 - D is for Delta

In science, the Greek symbol of delta mean "change."

And, sometimes, we need change in our lives

to take us out of a rut...

I started working extra shifts in Sacramento at the beginning of this year,

 so I have been making many trips 

over the hills to work in the "big city."

I did it as a challenge to myself intellectually.

It's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while, 

and working in the fast-paced environment of a metropolitan

hospital definitely does that to you.

Whereas I generally see about 20 patients a day in my small rural ED,

we see about 20 patient an hour in the city.

It really tests what you are made of as an ED doc

as you quickly make decisions about diagnoses and tests.

I think it's made me a better doc at my small main hospital.

Like Shania Twain sings, "A change would do you good..."

#593 - C is for Cats

I write about my dogs so often, that most people don't know I have cats...

Three of them...

Winston, Sofie and Lacey.

This month, Winston and Sofie turn 10 years old.

They're only a week apart in age, but I raised them both together.

*Sofie is my BabyDoll.

I love this cat so much, it's like I can't remember a time when she wasn't with me.

She almost died, and spent a few days in the kitty ICU just after I got her.

She never grew too big, and is my petite chatte...

*Winston is the big bruiser...

There was a warning sign on his cage at the rescue that said,

"Extremely Playful."

I didn't notice it until I had already signed the paperwork...

Haven't regretted my decision one bit.

The cats have been with me since the start of my residency,

in my first apartment in Chicago right after medical school.

They have been my comfort and joy on those days when I didn't think 

I could possibly make it back to the hospital for another day. 

Patiently waiting for me to come home and play with them.

They've made every single move from Chicago to Boston,

Boston to Minneapolis,

Minneapolis to Mahtomedi,

Mahtomedi to Buffalo,

and Buffalo to rental house in California,

And now finally Home where the redwoods meet the Pacific...

Cheers to another 10 years...!

*Links lead to scrapbook pages I made when they turned 5 years old...

#595 - B is for Brooder

We have 13 chickens on the farm.

This year I am trying to raise turkeys.

Hubby didn't like the guinea fowl much, and now there's just one left...

Here's the poults on the first day... 

there were six... were...

Here are the remaining 5 on day 5... doing well...

Believe it or not, they're starting to show little personalities...

We're just curious about everything...

One of them even managed to jump out of the box last night...

I heard loud "peeping" right about the time I went to bed.

Good thing I went to investigate...

Back in the brooder safe and sound...

They're growing so fast, they're not going to last in there much longer...!

#596 - A is for Appetizer

Hello!

And welcome to my Blog...

As an introduction to this month, I thought I would share a "sampling" of what I blog about

to whet your APPETITE and make you want to come back for more...

First off, I am an Emergency Medicine Physician, so I write about the

medical mysteries and observations I make during my shifts.

Sometimes I share photos about the patients I see:

Next, I live on a 25 acre sort of hobby farm full of ANIMALS; 

so I write about the critters, both tame and wild, which live amoungst us.

And, I share photos:

The two most important animals on the farm are

Dixie and Dillon...

So important they have their own blogs which 

they would LOVE for you to visit too...!

Their pics get placed there, and sometimes here:

Dillon and Dixie

Hungry for more..?
I love to cook, and so I often put pictures of what I make...

Like this:

Pollo con Mole en Sopa

Finally, my husband and I like to travel,

whether just around the state,

around the country,

or somewhere new in the world,

and I post our ADVENTURES here...

as well as pics, and sometimes videos:

I hope you'll continue to visit as the month goes along

and maybe even stay for a while longer...!

Cheers!

On the Road, Again...

Seems like over the last month I have been doing a lot of traveling...

First off, my husband and I celebrated our 5th year anniversary.  We went to Calistoga which sits just north of Napa in the wine country.

One of the things my hubby said he always wanted to do was go in a hot air balloon... so we did...

Meanwhile, I've been continuing to do shifts at several hospitals in Sacramento which has been both a challenge and a welcome break from the standard "clinic" fare I see at my usual job.

No sooner did we get back from Calistoga, then I left for Sacramento.  My hubby came and met me at the end of the week, and we were off again...

For a week-long cruise to the Southern Caribbean...!

I considered it the second "half" of our anniversary trip.

We had an awesome time, and here is the video I made

which only shows about 1/3 of the several hundred photos

and videos I took while on the trip...

For now, it's back to work and our life on the FARM,

but we're headed out on the road again next month...

Where will we be going next...?

you'll have to wait and see...!