It's been a happy start to the year 2012. Well, contrary to the naysayers' dire predictions, the world is still here, resilient as ever; and she isn't skipping a bit, 'cause there certainly is a lot of stuff that needs to get done.
To ring in my New Year (almost literally), which is also my last year of Medical School, I have started my "internship" (more like an Externship) at our WMC's First Affiliated hospital, and that's going great thus far. The first 2 weeks were spent by my group-mate (Jean) and I in the Emergency Department. This is certainly not a department for a rookie; you constantly feel like you're out of your league. The gist of this department is that most patients who walk in have about 2-3 comorbidities, so it's like being in a sinking ship and you're stuck trying to plug the biggest hole....just so you can get down to sealing the other holes.
I remember one patient we came across. He had a history of hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease...and Gout to round things off. With the restricted diet that he'll have to endure, I'm sure life won't be so much of a pleasure...at least he seemed to think so.
Lest you think the hospital is a deluge of patients (let's face it, this is China), we are presented with a rather peculiar Chinese condition - The Chinese Lunar New Year. It is not considered lucky to celebrate the New Year in the confines of the hospital, so people are clearing out of the hospital like 'hot-cakes'. So a lot of departments, even the Emergency Department should see a reduction in patient numbers (Amen!)
This situation is quite the conundrum, because as an Intern, I need the experience and the "sick people" :) Anyway, I think I'll survive. I'm currently in Orthopaedics, and some of the patients today were "seasonal injuries" - meaning they were cleaning the house, slipped and fractured something. The way my mentor talked about it, you'd think it was regular as rain (working here for 16 years, he probably knows best).
Anyway, 2012 is scheduled to be a great year for the Araos. Last year for my mother at Daystar University before she retires (since '87...WOW!), my eldest brother is having his 2nd child, and my other elder brother is getting married, plus this could be the time my elder sister comes back home (wider meaning = "Africa" or "Kenya"); this hardly compares, but I am helping out with my hospital's website during my free time, something I've wanted to do for them ever since they welcomed me warmly in 2009; glad I get to give something back.
Well, just a short intro of what's in store.
God Bless us all, come what may.
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