She was sick too

This post http://kateharding.net/2007/07/12/fat-hatred-kills-part-one/ shook me, and hit too close to home. My mom was never diagnosed with problems with the blood vessels in her legs and almost died because of them. Her doctor always told her that the pain in her legs was due to her weight. I'm proud of Mom. Despite this, she knew something was wrong. Yes, she was fat, but her life didn't have to be so painful. She eventually had an angioplasty done and now works out almost every day. She's still fat, but she's living her life too.

It's easy to judge someone, make a snap decision about what their problem will be. I do it all the time at my job as a reception clerk. When I see someone coming to my desk, I decide before they reach me what their problem/question/quirk will be. 98% of the time I'm right (I'm just that good), but the times I'm wrong, I'm really wrong. It's often humbling.

I hope that I'm able to remember that it's not just that my patient is fat, she's sick too.

I may be a little evil

Yesterday was my final day for getting my shots. All together over the past month I have been stuck 6 times to get titres, do a 2-step TB test and be inoculated against mumps, measles, rubella; tetanus, diphtheria; Hep B. The frequent flier club has its privileges though - as I was waiting for my shots yesterday, the nurse recognized me and rather than going to the computer to see who was next, ushered me in. Yay.

While we were going over the form I filled out to get the shot, I heard little running feet.

Then I heard a scared voice repeating "I don't want a needle, I don't want a needle..." The little girl was clearly hiding in the corner just outside my own room and not at all impressed with what was about to happen. They finally got her scooped up and back into her own room. I could tell because the crying became much more persistent, then after the needle, just sad.

I couldn't stop laughing.

It's not that I did feel for the kid, needles really do suck, but this was one of those character building/"good for you, really" kind of things. Like the child that won't eat vegetables, this one knew she needed the needle but didn't care right then. The unfortunate thing for her is that her family is relocating to India in a few months and she needs to be inoculated before she can leave. She came by my room and the nurse offered to let her watch while I got my needle, just so she would have a better idea of what was happening. We talked to her about what was going on and why and she looked very attentive. I told her this was my 5th shot and she asked me if I'd cried. I said no, but I made a funny face during on of the needles. She got this very serious look on her face and told me that she cried. I said that was OK, it's expected, but it's not so bad now right? She was fine and started telling me about her soccer game that night. Hilarious.

I kept giggling.

The funniest part though, was the reaction of the poor nurse who had to stick the beautiful little girl. She was teary when she finished and needed to go to the break room to pull herself together again.

My nurse told me I thought it was funny because I would pass the hard needles like that one onto my nurses. I sure hope I'm not that afraid of kids!

When I asked my doctor if it was wrong that I thought the drama was so funny, she said "no, there are hilarious things that you'll see every day. The problem will be to fight the laughter."

That's definitely going to be an issue.

I figured that now that I was in, there would be no more hoops to jump through, much less, flaming ones.

Getting to the point that I was accepted was one hoop after another to jump through...get a decent GPA, succeed at the MCAT, get some killer volunteer experience, what??? in a clinical setting?? crap..., make the interviewer like you, now it's getting all my info in on time.

Vaccinations, letters, the name I want on my name tag, oh, my.

I have a place to live - check

I have the letter that says I'm physically able to attend - check

I've been vaccinated against everything under the sun - almost

I've sent in the letter that says it's ok that I wave all responsibility for bodily harm to me - gah!

That one scares me. I'm sure it's just to protect themselves in the case that I get a needle stick, but it's such an intense form. I'm too young to die!! Plus I just got into med school and I don't want to!!

Don't mess with my coffee

Among my list of things to finish this summer before starting meds in the fall is a round of vaccinations, blood tests and titres. This week I had 4 titres read to see if I need the vaccination/booster or not, 1 vaccination, one booster and a TB skin test. Ow.

As I was leaving the office, the nurse told me that I couldn't drink coffee for the rest of the day. What?? That wasn't in the fine print she made me read before signing the papers.

It was her little joke because I had taken so many pin pricks. Ha. Ha.

Flying out of Boston last summer, I was hungover, grumpy and desperately low in caffeine. I picked up a Starbucks latte on my way into the airport and was barely through a couple of sips before I made it into the security line ups. The woman behind the X-ray machine told me I'd have to dump the coffee out, I couldn't bring it with me. I tried to keep myself composed, but clearly she had gotten the reaction she was looking for because she giggled and told me I could keep it. Grrrrrr.

I will not, do not, react well to those who insist on coming between me and my coffee.