Life (and death)...

The First Cut...

2009-12-13T18:43:00.004-06:00

As the song goes, the first cut is the deepest. Except unlike Sheryl Crow, I'm not talking about love.

Anyways, we dinged our new car a couple of days ago. A minor ding, with the paint still intact, and overall smaller than the size of a dime (well, for us Malaysians, less than a 5 sen). For the sake of simplicity, let's call it a pebble (it was a garage door incident, but too unbelievable to be told). Dime or eye of the needle, for that matter, it's never too small for a new item. It felt like someone had yanked out the family jewels and run them through the grinder. I moped around home and work for the next 3 days. I teared up everytime I got in and out of the car. It felt like Santa himself ran over my dogs.

Yup, the first cut hurts the most. And I'm not even talking about expensive things, but rather just things that one holds dear. I remember that Tommy Page button badge I had when I was in Form 1 (13 years old). He was like a God, with longish wavy hair and a voice that made all the girls crazy (God, I wished I could sing like him. I imagined me singing his ballads to the girls I fancied in school). Somehow, having that badge on my school backpack seemed to make me think that I was half as cool as him. After I got it scratched on that school bus, I felt like I had personally dug my nails into my idol's cheek and gave him a laceration on that sacred site that girls wanted to kiss. I spent a few hours painstakingly touching up and retouching the finish with some spray on clear paint (interestingly enough, no one I know this side of the world has heard of a famous-American singer named Tommy Page).

Oh, and I remember back in those days when cellphones were 'in' (now I consider them a pain-in-the-ass way for work to get in touch with me). I remember my first self-paid cellphone, that Nokia 2142 (the cheaper version of my brother's 2110) on the now-defunct A.D.A.M carrier, that I had saved up with months of allowances to buy. Never mind that it was the size of a brick, and had a talktime of an hour; it was cool. I remember how it felt when my (then) girlfriend dropped it onto the gravel road. Still worked fine, but it left a 1 mm nick in the corner of the phone and a gaping hole in my heart. It took a lot of effort to hold back the tears, and to convincingly tell her "It's ok".

Something else that I held close to my heart back in college was a yellow (yup, banana-yellow) Casio G-shock watch. Supposedly the craze all over America (never seen someone wear that here yet, but then again I've only lived here for 7 years). That watch was supposed to be indestructible (it probably is- it still works). But the first time it got a scratch darn near gave me a stroke. Now, it just sits in my dresser- my wife tells me that unless I'm planning to go deep-sea diving, it's not something people wear (and I'm not really sure why it is built to withstand depths of 250 m; would you need to know the time when you're dead?).

Anyways. Back to Lexi (the car)- it was heartbreaking. As I was relating the story to friends, I mentioned it was less painful to have my wife scrape her knee than to ding the car- at least that scrape heals. My wife didn't think that was funny though (I swear I was joking)(well, at least partially). Well, now that we've gotten the first ding out of the way, I'm thinking it'll be easier from now on.

(Dear readers, I swear I'm not that big of a materialistic bastard and certain emotions were exaggerated, but you guys out there- come one, admit it, you know what I'm talking about when you nick/ding/scratch a new prized possession!)

Update, Part 3

2009-12-09T16:58:00.004-06:00

So the snowing's slowing down, but the winds aren't. With windchill, it's a freezing -27 C. One fatality so far from hypothermia in the city, we heard from the news.

Just spent 2 hours of backbreaking labor to clear our driveway. The snow's too deep even for our gasoline snowblower. Damn snow came right up to the level of my hand.

Still waiting for the snowplows to clear our street, otherwise we're still going to be stuck here.

Brrr...

Blizzard Update, Part 2

2009-12-09T10:22:00.006-06:00

So we're stuck home. Kristin's Honda CRV, even with the all-wheel drive, was stuck just 3 meters out in our driveway. We couldn't even get her out onto the street. And we can't get in back into our garage, either.

From the news, sounds like things are pretty much a mess- all the schools are closed, most offices (including mine). The conditions are so bad that even the snowplow (trucks!!) have been pulled off some highways. This is the pile of snow just outside on our deck (which is actually a couple of inches lower, still). 15 inches so far.
Though the dogs are sinking into the snow, they seem to enjoy it though. And Calvin seems to like sticking his face into the snow. Which explains the icicles hanging off his face.

Oh well. Stuck at home. Only one thing left to do...

An Update!

2009-12-08T16:59:00.002-06:00

Got off work early today. 50% of my patients cancelled their appointments. Counted at least 6 cars in the ditches on the way home. Car was tricky, eventhough I was driving a 4WD. Oh, the joys of winter!

Blizzard

2009-12-07T21:32:00.005-06:00

And so they're forecasting blizzard-like conditions tomorrow night/Wednesday. Right now they're tracking the system over California, and it'll hit us in 24 hours. It got me thinking though, if we were to be snowed in, what would I consider my vital items in my survival kit? Well, I consider myself a simple man, with simple needs:

Indomie Mee Goreng. I can live on these for months
Internet
TV
Beer

With these, I'm more than prepared! Bring on the snow!

See You Later, Claudia!

2009-12-05T07:09:00.000-06:00

With a heavy heart, we put Claudia in storage for the season. With the first snow having fallen, this was probably time. I used the car through winter last year, and I have to say even with Blizzaks and 100 lbs of added trunk weight for more traction on the rear tires, there were a few days I couldn't drive the car. And so this year we decided to leave the car in the garage for the winter (which is what most Porsche drivers do I believe- to spare the car from the road gravel and salt). To avoid the battery draining, I got a battery maintainer which you leave plugged in to the car's outlet (you gotta love Ebay. Got original Porsche parts at a bargain).
Anyway, some tips I found online on how to store the car for the winter:

Replace all fluids
Top up the gas tank; prevents condensation and corrosion of the tank
Overfill the tires. They say go up to 40 psi, to prevent flat spots on the tires. That, or you can jack up the car for storage
Remove the battery and connect to a maintainer (or use one of those you plug directly into the cigarette lighter)
Plug up the exhaust; apparently mice like to hole up in nice, dark places in the garage!
When you're all set, give the car a good wash. Sounds counterintuitive to wash the car for storage, but this cleans off whatever dirt, sap and salt and avoids corrosion of the car's finish
Call your car insurance; you can suspend your coverage and save a bundle, since you won't be driving the car for a few months (but still retain basic coverage for fire. theft etc)

Hopefully this works, and the car isn't dead by Spring! Will probably still be starting the engine every week or so, just to let the fluids flow a bit. See you in Spring, Claudia!

The Good and the Bad

2009-12-03T19:48:00.003-06:00

Today was one of those days when even my office manager told me to take it in stride and not let a few bad apples bother me. But it's true, as much it is a science, medicine in many ways is an art too, and a very human one at that. Even for me, as a physician.

The first was a patient who said he wasn't coming back because my nurse pissed him off. Also claimed he didn't see eye to eye with me, and accused me of making him wait while I played tic-tac-toe on the PC. He requested a meeting with my supervisors but within a few moments it was clear something didn't add up. He was tangential, and went on and on about his animals at home, and his orchard, and kept talking about what his mother wanted him to do (he was 55). Also, the day he accused me of making him wait, he didn't have an appointment to see me, but rather he just showed up and wanted to see me. And not being very IT saavy, must not have realized I was on the computer typing up patient notes on people I saw and thought I was playing games (actually I hate tic-tac-toe). And he was pissed because I kept him waiting 10 mins, when he showed up unscheduled on a full clinic day and I still did him a favor by seeing him.

The 2nd was a patient who was seen by 4 of my colleagues previously, who refused to take their advice about a treatment, and instead left our practice to find someone (who wasn't even a physician) to start her on some non-FDA approved treatment she was wanting. She knew she wasn't going to get it from us. And so, after she was able to get on this treatment, she decides to return to our practice for us to manage this unapproved treatment regimen that some witch-doctor started her on but apparently can't manage anymore because of licensure issues. And so she sees me for the first time. I said what I thought, very professionally and courteously, but I made it clear I did not sanction that treatment and will not continue it though offered to at least supervise things until she got back to her previous provider. To which she took great offense, and wrote a nasty letter to the clinic accusing me of being a liar and threatening to sue me for 'stupidity'.

Neither one of these have merits, and my supervisors, after having reviewed both cases and my notes have unanimously supported my recommendations. On the logical side, if I wasn't on the receiving end I would have laughed my head off reading these stories simply because these were ridiculous. However, as professional as one can be, being a doctor, there is always an emotional side, one I do not share with most patients except my closest (I have on occasion shared hugs, and sometimes tears, with patients). And I have to say that eventhough your patients may be totally irrational or have their own ulterior motives, these things do sometimes get to you. You want to feel like you're really there to help the patients and that you're making a difference, but sometimes these things really do take the wind out of you for a few days.

Thankfully, near the end of the day, one of my patients clasped my hand with both of hers, and tells me, "Thank you, Dr. V. I've never had any doctor listen to me the way you did, and be as honest as you did. I know you have my best interests in mind, and I know I am in good hands. God Bless You."

I just muttered an embarrassed "You're welcome" before I left the room, only because it left me almost speechless, God knows how she knew I needed a pick-me-up then.

Yea, like any other job you have to deal with the good and the bad, and thankfully, hopefully, you get a lot more goods than the bads. And all one can do is to use the warmth and smiles and handshakes from the grateful patients to help us get through the bad days.

Christmas Tree

2009-11-30T20:01:00.000-06:00

2009-11-28T21:22:00.000-06:00

We had a swell weekend. We had a visit from friends from MN. To top it up, the weather turned out to be pretty nice this weekend, unlike the last several days. We took advantage of the warmer day and went out to the nearby lake/dog park.

As always, whenever we get together there's always a bit too much food. And yes, that's a SECOND turkey you see (the first one being Thanksgiving Day). Except this time, it was a 22-pounder. The dang thing took me 5 1/2 hours to roast, and by that time my guests were gnawing on my legs out of hunger.

Yup, it was a busy but extremely fun weekend. Thanks for visiting, guys!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T20:46:00.006-06:00

As usual, our maniacal chef (mua) got to play with his trusty flavor injector again.A lot of basting, herbs, and 4 hours later, waa-laa:
One juicy 16 lb turkey.
Really though, the secret to a juicy turkey is brining. Roasting the turkey for so long tends to dry the breastmeat out. So, my secret is to dip the bird in brine overnight. What I use are:

1 cup salt
Half cup brown sugar
Minced cloves, aniseeds, allspice
Also what I do is to inject the bird with flavoring (I use a concoction of soysauce and orange juice), and then make about a dozen slits in the meat and stuff in cloves of garlic.
Lastly, cover the top part of the bird with foil- prevents burning.

Works every time.
Also tried out this new recipe for pumpkin pie, with a twist. Besides pumpkin filling, I also added a cup of apple butter. Pretty damn good, even if I may so so myself.
The dogs seemed to agree.

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, folks!

Idle Christmas Thoughts

2009-11-22T20:07:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it- they've been playing Christmas songs on the radio for the last 2 weeks. The holiday lights and deco are up. Admittedly, if you've followed my blogging trends over the years you know I get nostalgic and perhaps a bit homesick this time of year. Not that I regret the path I took; I think I'm very fortunate and I am blissfully happy. But one is allowed to ponder, no?

I think about my highschool buddies with whom I'm still very close emotionally, though I wished we got to see each other more. I wish going out would be as simple as a call and a drive to the mamak stalls. Then again, with kids and work and all, even those who remain in Malaysia don't get to hang out the way we used to.
I miss my family. Though we never really celebrated Christmas, we do put the tree up. And the last couple of Christmases they were around. Not this year though.
I miss the snowless, hot and humid Christmases back home. With the fake (cotton wool) snow and the very fake Santa. I suppose it's inevitable in Asia; you're not going to find a white man with a big belly and a facefull of white beard to play the role. It's always going to be some Indian or Chinese guy. Not sure which is funnier. But yes, I do miss Malaysia's attempt at trying to be Chrismassy.
I miss my buddies from our years in Rochester; I miss simpler times when all we cared about were 1) What crazy cases we saw oncall and 2) Which buffet to hit now that we were postcall, pissed and hungry.
I am happily married, but I have to say Christmas makes me ponder about lost loves too. Girls who came and went, and a lot of what ifs. Most of all I wonder about my first love, Elaine, for whom I developed a huge crush when she performed in that Christmas dance when I was 11. Whose family migrated to New Zealand that following Christmas. Wham's 'Last Christmas' and 'Hark, the Herald Angels Sing' tend to remind me of that.
I miss hearing my dad sing along to the Christmas songs over the radio. Sinatra, Como, Elvis and a host of others. For some reason though, 'The Little Drummer Boy' seems to stick in my head the most.

Thinking about it all, I realize that what I'm missing most isn't just family and friends, but also memories we've shared, those special moments in the past that have forever left their mark in one's psyche. Moments that will never return, and for that reason, is probably even more special. Bygone times that seemed so much simpler; no jobs, no worries about mortgage or life insurance or bills, no wives or kids; just hanging out and fostering friendships, having simple, thoughtless fun. Having said all that, it's part of growing up (or old, however you look at it). I now have my own family, and it's exciting too thinking about how we begin to pave our own paths, and make our own family's (yes, MY family) traditions and memories (like what we've done for the 2nd year, heading out to the local Tree Lighting ceremony and how we discovered puppies don't like fireworks, but that'll have to be another blog entry).

34 more days to Christmas, folks. What's on your mind?

A Tale of Two Losses

2009-11-19T17:10:00.003-06:00

I lost two 'patients' in the last 3 days. What a difference it was between them, and no less tragic was either.
I'll call the first Karen, a patient with poorly controlled diabetes, a1c 12.2%, a 20 year old who also found out last month she was pregnant. This was unplanned, and though I hate to judge, I could not help myself. She still chain smoked, and still refused to check her glucoses nor was she compliant with her insulin despite my advise, despite glucoses running clear into the 400's. When she found out this week that she miscarried, she expressed relief. Now, perhaps she was putting up a façade or trying to act cool, but she actually told me, "That's good news than, I can stop my insulin and go back to pills". Now, I've seen patients more upset about losing a football game, than the level of emotion this woman showed. Perhaps it was true, the baby meant nothing to her.

On the other hand, Lisa was a patient who came a long way. I saw her during her admission for ketoacidosis and new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. After the initial shock, they took control and learnt all they possibly could about diabetes and insulin. They were also about my age, and in many ways they reminded me of Kristin and I. I have gotten to know her and her husband well; their dreams and their fears. A couple of visits ago, she had dropped her a1c to 6.2% and was doing well, and seeked my blessings for them to try to conceive, which I gave. When Lisa called me 4 weeks ago to share the good news, I was excited and supremely happy for them. She called me today crying, sharing that they had just miscarried. I have to say I felt genuine sorrow for them; my eyes actually welled up. I made it clear to her; there was nothing she could have done differently, she tried, and I knew she did. This was one of those things. After all, miscarriage occurs in at least 25% of clinically apparent pregnancies.

I was mad, mad that this happened. And while I can't say that anyone deserves this, I was mad because I knew very well that Karen could have changed the outcomes had she been more responsible. And I was mad that on the other hand, though someone tries their darndest, these things can still happen. And no two patients were ever more different.

Nonetheless, I still lost two patients. And for one would-be mother, she lost a child. For another, she had a burden lifted off her shoulders.

For that, we shall mourn together.

Dear Santa...

2009-11-15T11:21:00.003-06:00

Holy cow. Not that I'm unhappy with our Lexus IS or anything; conversely, it does what the Boxster can't- a quiet, comfortable ride for the family, and handles much better in the snow. But geez, watching this video just makes one lust for this like nothing else.

Question is, would anyone spend US$350,000 on not a Ferrari, but a Lexus???

The Lexus LFA is the Japanese answer to the Italian and German supercar makers. 6 years in the making, so much so that many thought the car would never ever be developed, this car costs more than a Ferrari 599, makes 560, hits 60 mph in 3.7 seconds and tops out just over 200 mph! Just listen to the engine; it sounds more like a Formula 1 race car than a luxury supercar.

Oh Santa, what would I have to do to get one of these this Christmas?

There's really nothing quite like:

2009-11-13T18:05:00.002-06:00

Having your patient spray you with his pee on a Friday morning.

Actually it wasn't that bad. Poor Mr. A had to potty during his visit with me. He was a disabled man on a motorized scooter, and usually needed help to go. Because I was the only man in the clinic, he sheepishly asked if I could help him, instead of getting the nurse.

I agreed, before he cautioned me that he has a tendency to spray (Uh oh...).

Well, he did. All over my hands as I held the urinal (he couldn't get up close enough to the toilet). He pretty embarassed by it, though we both had a good laugh when I reassured him that urine is sterile.

2009-11-10T20:45:00.002-06:00

I had this interesting experience yesterday. I saw a patient in consultation for thyroid cancer. He had received initial care at my alma mater, and then heard there was a WFMC-trained endocrinologist here (closer to his home). He was excited to find out I was Malaysian Chinese (so he said in his emails to the clinic making the appointment).

And so I saw him yesterday, a dearly older gentleman who reminded me of Albert Einstein. Even had the same crazed hairstyle. This Caucasian man in his 60s. But I didn't expect what came next.

He stood up to shake my hand. And started jabbering in some foreign language excitedly. And then it hit me that he was speaking in Mandarin (and it sounded fluent too).

Sheepishly, I had to tell him I didn't speak Mandarin, which prompted him to switch to saying 'Hello' in pretty damn good Cantonese.

Apparently, Mr. K was well-travelled, and spent considerable time in Asia, including Malaysia. At the end of our visit, after I had outlined the treatment plan for his thyroid cancer, and discussed the prep for radioactive remnant ablation, he proceeded to write 'Thank You' in Chinese on the whiteboard (well, so he says. Could have been F*ck you for all I know).
It was amusing, and admittedly a bit embarassing; my ancestors from China were probably turning in their graves, disavowing any relations to me.

Paintball

2009-11-08T21:14:00.002-06:00

Question: When is it legal to shoot your wife?

Answer: At paintball!! We spent the weekend visiting Kristin's best friend 5 hours away. And joined them for a paintball session. Something her friend has been hosting in conjunction with her birthday for the last 3 years, as a fundraiser for toys for kids.

It was our first time playing paintball. It was quite an adrenaline rush, actually. And great fun; we now have several welts and bruises to show for it.

(and no, I did not shoot my wife)(not that I wasn't tempted, but I was too fearful for the safety of my gonads had I shot her)

Of Remembering Names

2009-11-03T20:43:00.003-06:00

Any of your out there have the same problem as I do?

I shared this story with Kristin the other day. I was filling the Lexus up with gas in a nearby gas station. It was 6.45 am, and I was on the way to work. It was also pretty damn cold, for October. I was hungry (always too lazy to have breakfast, and I always curse myself 30 mins later) and sleepy.

"Dr. Magus!" I heard a yell (he had mispronounced my name).

A patient happened to be driving by, and recognized me. He excitedly looped around and drove into the gas station. He asked how I was, and proceeded to tell me how things have been for him since I last saw Mr. H. After a minute, he eyed me suspiciously, probably realizing that I haven't yet called him by name. He probably realized that I hadn't the foggiest idea what his name was.

I'm ashamed to say that was certainly the case. And though I do think of my patients as people not as diseases, when you see so many and you're as demented as I am, it's impossible to remember the name. The thing is, you do tend to associate faced with diseases. And while it took me days to figure out his name, I knew who he was right then. Mr. H with the hypopituitarism from neurosarcoid. I had not seen him in 6 months, but I had a clear picture in my head of his medical history, and what dose of steroids I had him on.

And so I asked him how he was doing, and when he last saw his neurologist, and how things were doing from that standpoint. I asked him when they next wanted to do his MRI. I asked him how his visit with his dermatologist went. He beamed, and excitedly gave me his updates while I waited for the tank to fill. I guess I had redeemed myself and he realized I do remember him. He shook my hand before we parted ways, and promised to keep me updated. And somehow, I wasn't hungry or cold or sleepy anymore the rest of that morning.

But it does remind me of the other time I ran into another patient in the store. Hadn't the foggiest idea what her name was. But I remembered her case, her diabetes. And I joked with her about not telling my nurses I had 2 frozen pizzas in my cart.

I think many of us are guilty of that though. We do think of patients as individuals, but perhaps to ease our recollection, we always begin our presentations with "This is a 50 year old man with Addison's" or "This is a 28 year old woman with hyperthyroidism...". Naturally we tend to remember medical details better than names. Nonetheless, I really should try to do a better job with remembering my patients my name though.

Anyone has any good remedies for poor memory?

Another Interesting Case

2009-10-28T14:45:00.003-05:00

I saw this interesting case that has me salivating all over it. No it's not because she's hot; but rather like many academics out there, I'm pretty much a nerd and a sucker for interesting cases. I'm in the midst of working her up but I have a pretty strong hunch.

This was a 54 year old woman referred to me for 'hypothyroidism'. Was found to have an elevated TSH of 6.2 (normal 0.5-4.5). Her GP started her on Levothyroxine and was puzzled when her follow up labs yielded a TSH of 7.2 and a free T4 of 2.3 (normal 0.5-1.5). The labs remained about the same after the medications were subsequently stopped.

Her history is otherwise significant only for hyperlipidemia, mild hypertension and a history of hysterectomy for fibroids. Family history is negative for any thyroid issues though diabetes is somewhat prevalent in her family. Aside from some rare palpitations, she feels well.

How would you proceed working this patient up? What is your preliminary diagnosis?

2009-10-24T21:34:00.003-05:00

Someone explain this to me:
Why do dogs like to stick their heads out of moving cars?

Consults I Dread Seeing

2009-10-21T10:13:00.003-05:00

I'll be honest. I think I had pretty good medical training, and I consider myself to be pretty damn good treating certain conditions like thyroid nodules/cancer and pituitary problems. Having said that, there are some consults I really dislike seeing, often because of misinformation to the patient from the referring physician, or misguided expectations. In random order:

Weight gain- "It must be the thyroid because you can't lose weight. Never mind that your TSH/fT4 were normal"
Fatigue
Night sweats- I saw one of these patients yesterday- she was a nurse and was befuddled when her referring MD punted her to me. She actually asked him, "My thyroid labs are normal- why are you sending me to an endo?"
Hair loss- unless this was thyroid or hyperandrogenism in nature, please do not promise the patient I can help them grow their hair back. A dermatologist would be smarter then I am in that regard. Believe me if I could treat this I wouldn't be putting up with thinning hair myself
Adrenal fatigue- despite a robust AM cortisol, and/or a normal ACTH stimulation test. I don't want to start a debate since I know what the believers say, but the science says otherwise. And I consider myself a scientist.
Low libido
Mood swings- (are you kidding me? My WIFE gets these. Heck, I get these myself)
Decreased muscle strength- I see a few of these regularly, usually bodybuilder types who are already benchpressing >150 lbs and have biceps the size of sequioa tree, but still aren't happy they aren't getting stronger. Some of these eventually make it known that they are hoping for anabolic streroids
Wanting a bigger penis- no, I kid you not. Seen a couple. Nothing I could do, unfortunately
Syncope- this one probably wins the prize, and I've gotten a handful of these from, of all people, a cardiologist!

Not that I'm downplaying any symptoms, just that there are some things the science and medicine and research has shown to be hormonal in nature. Many others, however, are not, and when the GP promises a cure from me (I suspect it's usually a case of them not having the foggiest idea and so making a blanket statement of "it MUST be your hormones" without actually having found any abnormality), is often counter-productive to the patient and a waste of their time. I can't say it's a waste of my time because the patient ends up paying to see me, but I do wish I saw fewer of these, and more of the stuff I can actually help people with.

The Weekend That Was

2009-10-19T19:43:00.008-05:00

We had a swell time. Never mind that the weekend was short.

Good friends, good food, lots of alcohol, and a firepit.

We rental a lodge in the Dells. It was a good 5-hour drive for Kristin and I, but armed with buckets of snacks and a 10-hour audio novel, the drive turned out to be pretty pleasant and not too tiring.

We met up with the gang in Wisconsin, dear friends from our alma mater, for a Malaysian-Singaporean reunion. It had been a while (since we moved to IA) since we had the company of our friends, with no regards for any curfew or needing to hold back on alcohol because we had to drive- basically we stuffed ourselves with food and wine/beer/mojitos (whenever we get together, we inevitably overeat. I came back 1.8 kgs heavier. Seriously).

Also spent the better part of a day hanging out at one of the indoor themeparks. I think the adults had as much fun as the kids with the laser tag, rock climbing and go-carts. I realized how much I missed my pals, and how precious these little gatherings are for us to catch up, be ourselves amongst our 'family' or just to see how much their kids have grown. Yes, we had fun, indeed.

And what better way to top this up than with a nice, toasty campfire to warm you on the outside, and lots of alcohol to warm you on the inside?
Thanks, guys, for a fun weekend!

Popquiz

2009-10-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

Question:

What do you get when you stuff:

1) 10 adults

2) 9 kids

3) Lotsa food

4) Highly flammable stuff

... under one roof for the weekend?

Answer:

A weekend full of chaos and fun! Will be meeting up with good friends for a weekend getaway and some much needed R&R.

PS: If I'm not back by Monday, someone please come and bail us out from jail.

End of life

2009-10-14T12:27:00.000-05:00

I was asked to to manage this patient's diabetes while he was in the ICU. As my medstudent presented the case to me, things began to sound grim.

This patient, a longtime diabetic on insulin, had a cardiac arrest shortly after a surgical procedure. Despite valiant efforts on the part of the code team, they had difficulties intubating him (congenital malformation of the airway) and then bringing a pulse back. Once they did, he was brought to the ICU. They coded him for over 10 mins, apparently. He was only 58.

Because things happened so fast, when he was apparently doing well, the family was left unprepared for all this. When I went in to examine the patient myself, they were optimistic, talking about how they were expecting him to wake up any day. The nurse, however, had told me that the neurologists had already given them the bad news and that the damage was done, but perhaps because of the shock, they had trouble comprehending the implications.

After I had requested for some private time to examine him with my medstudents, it became very clear to us. I opened his eyelids; his pupils were fully dilated, with no response to light.

When I was a medical resident, one of the things I hated most to do was to 'call' a patient. You check for signs of brainstem reflexes. Verify the absence of spontaneous breathing or a pulse. And then you say, as if to an audience, "Time of death ...".

Being a subspecialist, I tend to stay focused on the matter I've been consulted on, and steer clear of other issues. In this case, it was neither my duty nor my place to try to convince the family of how he was never coming back, and how he was being kept alive only by the ventilator. I don't miss those life-changing and devastating (for the family) discussions about the futility of keeping a patient on the vent. Nonetheless, it was a bit difficult to watch what that family was going through, and knowing what they would eventually go through when it sunk it.

And so, we came up with a reasonable insulin plan for him. And I quietly said a prayer for peace, for him and his family.

You know it's bad when...

2009-10-12T09:12:00.000-05:00

... the radiologist gets the right side confused with the left.

It's a good thing I did an ultrasound of the neck before I stuck that needle in.

ALREADY???

2009-10-08T21:32:00.000-05:00