Thanks King George!

Many of you acquainted with me know that I'm a strong supporter of A1 Steak Sauce, and hold that it's the only condiment that can make anything better. It beats out ketchup by a long short, and narrowly passes Salsa. (Salsa is good and yummy too, I wonder if they can be combined to a super-condiment.) I never really questioned the origin of A1, but CNN had a fun story on condiments today.

Isn't that the coolest? My sauce has history! And I have no idea what hollandaise sauce is, but now I kind of want to try it.

Bunny count has been restarted, it's now at 8. The bunnies here in California are different from St. Louis and San Antonio bunnies... they're a lot less poofy. With longer ears.... but they're still cute! Especially when their noses twitch while nibbling grass, and even more when they start hopping around. Next time I'll try to stick a picture in. Yay!

PICU Playa'

I was a little surprised at the pain meds neurosurgery ordered for a kid they admitted to the PICU last night. He had just had his skull opened and grids placed to help figure out the location of his seizures. Our ICU team was consulted to help with pain management overnight. I figured it was probably just me not being used to adult doses—he was 16—so I thought I’d try it out and follow their plan. It was this combination of frequently scheduled Toredol and Valium… and if he still had pain he could have 5mg of Morphine (big adult dose!) or Tylenol with Codeine. Neurosurgery does not mess around!

Turns out, they worked a little too well… I woke him up before examining him and saw him looking at me kind of funny while I was introducing myself. I asked him to follow my light… but instead, he just said “Woah… doc! You’re beautiful!” His mom started laughing pretty hard while I just went on with my exam, but he was like “no really—you’re really beautiful!” Nice. I had to cut back on his meds a bit. The best part was watching the reactions of any female nurse or resident who came out of his room… they all had smiles on their faces!

Countdown to California… 25 days!

Bunny on Easter!

Today at work was brilliant. I found an Easter egg in my pocket, had homecooked lunch, talked smack to my favorite 5 year old CF friend who had to be readmitted. She likes to make funny sounds to herself in between ordering everyone around like a little diva. Kinda reminded me of that scene in Garden State when Natalie Portman's character starts talking about doing things to feel unique... that's so much like this little one- last time she was admitted I caught her dancing by herself in her bed! Hopefully she won't be in too long... she needs to be home more!

One family also brought a surprise with them... Bunny! They um, crashed their car on the way home after just getting the bunny. So all afternoon there was a baby bunny hopping along in various areas of the pediatric ER. The nurses found carrots (I wonder if bunnies actually like carrots or are resentful of that stereotype), a cup of water, abandoned wagon and blanket and we set up bunny camp. Good news- everyone was ok! They even let me take some pictures of the bunny. He was sooo tiny. :-)

Gonna hit the sack. Updates: turns out that patient's dad was just really confused, and no real damage control needed to be done (or so my colleagues tell me... maybe they are just protecting me...) My new years resolutions are doing ok: 1. I am reading. 2. Can't anymore- out of stock. 3. haven't been put to the test yet. 4. played with bunny today. 5. Holy goodness has the news gotten interesting lately. PIRATES!

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A lovely Easter to all! :-)

"Thanks for makin me feel like a real [idiot], doctor..."

No more explaining things that already should have been explained to semi-confrontational angry dads while leaving the ER especially when I've already stayed 30 minutes past my shift. The funny thing was that I actually was starting to question his mental competence... at least he didn't punch me. I owe another resident for digging me out of that hole. It was a deep, deep hole. (I woulda punched me.)

I met my new little hero today! He was a three year old who was wandering around an appliance store, when someone opened a refrigerator door in his face. He had a pretty deep laceration on his forehead that needed stitches. If I knew enough Spanish, I woulda said to him, "Aw, buddy I know exactly how you feel! I get accidentally whacked in the face all the time!" But no need- he looked so happy to be getting all this attention. Can you believe it- he sat through lidocaine shots AND three stitches. Those parents should give classes... the whole family helped keep him calm but had to keep switching off because they'd get lightheaded.

I love being in the Pedi ER! Things seem to come in themes. Today was head vs. hard object day. Yesterday was appendicitis day. Looking forward to swallowed foreign body day (those have fun X-Rays.) And things don't "come in three's" here, more like fives or sixes in a row... all at once. Unfortunately we also seem to be having sexual assault week. I hate that theme.

But here's something super awesome- we're giving away stuffed bunnies now in honor of the holiday! We've also been having an easter egg hunt every morning for the staff. The hunt isn't the fairest of hunts since when I have trouble finding normal things like tongue depressors, how am I supposed to find eggs? Luckily, my confusion seems to be winning me some jelly bean donations. Mmm! Just like FAT BUNNIES! ;-)

Resolutions, Version 27.0

After a year of being knocked out by sleep deprivation (did I even have resolutions last year?) I thought I’d try this resolution business again. This time I’ve had more sleep, and more time to soak in the world around me. So much, that even though my call this month in the NICU is every five nights instead of the standard four, I still feel like I’m being run to the ground.

But, as self-improvement is an adventure in itself, I have some great ideas brewing. Some of my resident friends here may join me in my most ingenious idea. If it works, I shall blog about it in a year, if it ends disastrously (Wikepedia says I have an 88% chance of failure) it will still be worth writing about, as it will surely be an ingenious disaster. :-)

Here are a few other ones I came up with: (Hold me accountable!)

1. Take time to read more often. For example, for the past year our clinic has had a shortage of the Hib (Haemophilus influenza B) vaccine. This vaccine was a breakthrough in preventing one of the most common potentially deadly illnesses and reason for hospital admission in children. Never really questioned the shortage, but after reading this, I know that Merck made a mistake, kids ARE getting sick again, and if anything this may help parents understand the importance of childhood vaccinations.

2. Get the flu vaccine. (I hope my chief residents aren't reading this... I'm gonna get it soon!)

3. Try not to suck so badly at Kareoke again. The uncomfortable silence and nervous laughter after my version of "Mr. Jones" during my friend's new year's party comes to mind...

4. Do something kid-like at least once a week. Yesterday I played basketball for the first time in years. It was with a group of men and women with an average height of like, 5’3". I know... I know... but man it felt good. ;-)

5. Stay updated on current events. Despite the instability surrounding us now, I’ve never felt so patriotic or proud of our country before for the version of leadership we’ve chosen. In the past it’s usually been an apathetic detachment, or disappointment that issues I supported (or cared enough to form opinions for) were in the minority. It’s a humbling, wonderful thing, this witnessing of who we are slowly becoming.

The NICU is a crazy place. Crazy, but always interesting. A baby with a sacrococcygeal teratoma was born today, there's a giant mass coming out of her lower back/rectal area. I wonder if there's teeth in it. Extra eyeball? :-) Ew... ok subject change... another resolution maybe?




6. Celebrate Bunnies more often! AWWWWWWW!! :-)