Okay, so here it is another Friday and I'm once again behind in updating my blog which I told you I was going to try and update once a week. Please forgive me. It seems that whenever Friday rolls around, I have a million things to get caught up on and the blog gets pushed to the bottom of the list. Thanks for continuing to check the site even though it's not getting updated as regularly as I promised.
This last week entailed a Respiratory Exam, a doctor's visit, and the beginning of a new study session. The Respi exam went well. It's not my favorite system (so far that's been cardiology) but it was interesting. We had some great lecturers which always makes things more interesting. When we were studying about some of the diseases, one of the doctors had us all take a normal breath, and then, instead of exhaling, we tried to then go on breathing from that volume - if you try it, you'll find out it's pretty tiring. There are thousands of people who suffer from lung diseases where they cannot exhale all of the air they inhale. This can be caused by anything from asthma, cystic fibrosis, or even emphysema/COPD. These are debilitating diseases and it was interesting to learn some things about what patients with these diseases go thru as the disease progresses. I'm still amazed that our bodies work right at all! One of our professors said, "Some people see God in the mountains. I see God in the alveolar sac in our lungs!" I have to agree - our Designer knew what He was doing. :)
I've attached a picture of the pediatric building of the hospital - it's not a great picture. This building includes the pediatric ICU, in patient ward, and emergency room. At the end of the respiratory system, we were given the opportunity to tour the pediatric ICU and see some of the children who were on ventilators, learn about their illnesses, and their treatment. It was a fascinating but sobering time. It's so difficult to see children who are so ill but also good to realize that many of these kids can be saved because of new medical technology and medicines. I'll try to attach pictures once in a while so you can see where I'm living/studying.
I also visited my doctor this week - seems I've sprained my shoulder although we weren't able to figure out why. Suffice to say, I'm learning not to take my arm for granted - and to be thankful it's my left shoulder and not my right that is bothering me! :)
I also began my study odyssey for the USMLE (board exam) step 1. There are several steps to this exam the first of which will be this coming summer. It may seem to be early to begin studying - but it will cover these first two years of medical school so there's a lot to remember and a lot that needs to be refreshed in my mind. Sometimes I think it would have been nice to be a doctor in the 1950's when we didn't know so much! :)
So, that updates you on my incredibly exciting (okay, mostly book involved) life. Thanks for reading up and for all your prayers. I did get my phone and internet connected and so am back in the land of the living so to speak.
Take care,
Peggy
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