Here it is. My new love. I didn't know on Saturday I would listen to the final song/gasping breath of my white ipod nano. It came into my life a few years ago and I've used it practically every day since. I tried to revive it, but there was nothing to be done. The first thing I did was text my mom. Ever the problem solver, she suggested I jet over to Sam's (our holiday pricing project found that Sam's has the lowest prices on ipods) and buy another one. And that's exactly what I did. For $139, I 1) relieved my anxiety of being ipod-less, 2) doubled my music storage space and 3) acquired the video function I will certainly use when traveling. And speaking of travel, boy do I have some news! I got my first post-doc fellowship interview! I was invited for an interview at the Trauma Center at JRI, a Boston University institute headed up by one of my gurus, Dr. Bessel van der Kolk. So February 18th I'm going to make a trip up to Brookline to knock some socks off. I should hear from Mt. Sinai in Chicago by the end of this week, and hopefully Harvard Med will get off their collective ivy-adorned duffs and let me know one way or the other. I despise waiting. I submitted my Emory Med School application this past Thursday and saw that it arrived just in the nick of time for consideration. I struggled over that cover letter and simply wasn't happy with the results at first. I suppose writing it while being under the weather, under a heap of work, and on a tight deadline didn't exactly help either. But in the end it sounded like me.
I have to decide whether to apply to my own employer for fellowship or not. That soul searching makes the to do list for this week. That and getting my patient on a plane back to Shanghai. I spoke to insurance company representatives in California and London this past week, in addition to dealing with the Shanghaiese doctor who will receive my patient upon arrival in China. I learned that the country code for the UK is 44. I talked to a doc who's last name I couldn't spell because his sexy Irish accent was distracting me. When I asked him to repeat it, he responded "just call me Tom." So, Tom and I traded info and batted around clinical questions related to international transport while I imagined him being drop dead gorgeous. He actually used the words "chap" and "cheers" repeatedly. I nearly swooned. My attending agreed, that he HAD to be Patrick Dempsey-ish at least, but my supervisor insisted that the voice probably didn't match the body or the looks. Ah well, it was one of the bright spots in my work week!
I discharged my in-it-for-the-long-haul patient on Thursday. Despite a flurry of mini crises that impeded the whole discharge process, I took her to her new dwelling and did the paperwork. She was so serene and adaptive, and was so clearly ready for the transition. We took some photos together and read some letters I wrote her. One of the greatest joys was seeing her willingly go meet with the male psychiatrist (which previously would've been a massive trigger for oppositionality and anxiety). When she came back she was beaming and said "I just feel so comfortable!" I held it together beautifully until the paperwork was complete, and I left her with a nurse and walked out. I now experience a sense of loss and relief. Someone else is now in charge of taking care of her, and I have other patients to attend to. I feel like I did a very good job.
This weekend I nearly acquired bed sores from sleeping so much. I did manage to go down to Williamsburg to supervise 4 hours of the William & Mary Chi O initiation, basically to make sure the new initiates didn't get hazed in the process. My friend Abby and I got back to Richmond at 11:30 and I crawled right back into bed where I belonged. I can't say that I know what this week will bring. For the last two Fridays, my former supervisor Farah and I have turned to each other and said, "Jesus, that was tough week." I feel fairly certain I'll have a new patient assigned to me Monday, and a new rollercoaster will begin! Next weekend I'm off to NC to hang out with the Mama Bear. She doesn't know it yet but we're gonna binge on chick flicks :)
