Sunday, July 22, 2007

July 22, 2007 4:07pm

Just a few quick thoughts because I have to get back to the books.


I am absolutely loving my rotation with this doc. Every day is a blast. I'm excited to see every patient (even the stinky ones), and I go home every night excited to read up on something new.

Been trying to get back to working out a little. Mostly walking and stretching. My attempt to quit the anti-depressants didn't go as well as I would have liked, so I'm back on that and trying to boost those natural endorphins.

Roger came down to visit for a few days. He just left today and he will be back again on Thursday! Guess the boy just can't get enough of me. :-P

Saturday, July 14, 2007

July 14, 2007 8:18pm

How does a person not notice that all three of their children are infested with lice? I don't just mean that they picked it up at school a day ago and nobody really saw the nits.... I mean that your 8 year old daughter has (literally, yes I said "literally) THOUSANDS of lice in her head. They have been there so long that her scalp has these raw, red patches where the bugs have EATEN away at her skin.

Your other two kids have bugs on them too (though not as many), and even you have some nits in your hair.

How, may I ask, does this not come to your attention long before the situation gets this bad? And how, may I ask, is it possible that this problem is only identified when you bring the aforementioned 8 year old to the Dr. for her WELL CHILD VISIT??

What pissed me off about this is that the mother here is just too stupid to know any better. She's not mean or cruel or intentionally neglectful....she's just stupid.

It also burned my ass that these kids all had a "medical card" aka Medicaid, mom gets WIC support for the little one, they're on food stamps and yet the oldest daughter (13ish) and mom both have CELL PHONES?!?! How in the Hell does someone who has no job, whose husband has no job because, you see, he has a "back injury" and couldn't possibly work manage to pay for CELL PHONES?!!

Actually, I should rephrase that. Why the fuck are the rest of us paying for the cell phones of people like this? When did a cell phone (particularly one for a teenager) become a necessity like electricity and running water?

And furthermore, how does one in this situation have the audacity to answer the question, "Do you work?" with "Oh no, I'm able to stay home with the kids!" ABLE? ABLE? Right. No. ABLE to stay home would be if your husband made a decent enough living that you didn't HAVE to get a job. Since your husband has this non-descript "back injury" and won't work, nobody seems to be able to get actual health insurance and you can't buy your own food, I'd say that ABLE to stay home is stretching it just a bit.

Besides, what the hell are you doing at home all day with them in terms of raising your kids if you don't even notice that they are INFESTED with lice?

I walked out of that exam room just wanting to take a shower and de-louse myself immediately. I felt a combination of anger and pity.

Just to round off the day, behind door #2 was a woman with her baby in for a check-up. This was her 4th baby. The first 3 had been taken away from her over the past few years by Child Protective Services. Doc said that after they took the 3rd one, he asked the mom what she planned to do to straighten up her life to get them back. She replied, "It doesn't matter. I'll just have another one." Sure enough, she did.

My closing thought for the day: Mandatory Sterilization

Sunday, July 08, 2007

July 8, 2007 3:04pm

Yeah, I suck.

But I've been busy!

I moved. I moved from the one little town in WV to another little town in WV. My first two or three days here, I hated it. I hated it so much I was practically crying on the phone with Roger. My house had no AC, my stove/oven was so old that it had a pilot light that regularly went out, the floors are crooked, the cabinets don't close right, the bathroom is tiny, and it hasn't been cleaned since WWI.

With a little help (okay, a lot of help) from SuperMom, I got a new oven, some AC's installed, the place spic and span, and generally settled in. I hate it slightly less now.

My first clinical rotation (Family Medicine) began last week. I'm enjoying it. The doc is cool. He wears jeans and t-shirts to work every day. He's very laid back. He is a very practical kind of doc, and I like that. He does have some odd ideas, though. He told a patient not to use deodorant because he thinks it causes breast cancer. I wasn't in a position to argue with him, but whatever, I won't hold that one thing against him. (by the way, that link has never been proven by any studies, he's just going on a hunch)

I took some pictures of the house that I will put up when I get around to it. I especially want everyone to see how the previous rocket scientist renters had billowly curtains over the gas stove. What the hell kind of a dummy does that?

I also can't figure out how the heaters work. Not that I need heat right now, but I'm curious for future reference.

The neighborhood is okay, except for the rehab/halfway house that's a block away. There's also someone's home that looks like it should not be legal to inhabit it. There are more windows with missing glass panes than ones that have glass. There seems to be electricity. The place is painted 6 different colors, bit it's badly chipped. The front stairs and porch are caving in. The porch is covered...and I mean covered in assorted trash ranging from children's toys, lumber, and a chain saw. I'd love to take a picture of it, but I'm afraid someone might shoot me from the attic window.

Roger came down for a few days this past week. He just left a bit ago. It was wonderful having him here. We were up until 4:30am today just laughing. I don't think I've ever laughed with somebody so much as I do with him. I love that we can talk about anything and everything. I love that he is probably the only man I've ever been with who is brilliant. :-) We are a good match.