Doogie Howser

Remember Doogie Howser, M.D.? I sure do. Sometimes I feel like Doogie. Like right now, when I am typing on my blog. Other than the whole child prodigy thing, we are exactly alike.

On that note, it's time to get personal. I am doing my ICU rotation right now. It is hard. Really hard. The hours aren't so bad. Q 4 call isn't so fun, but other than that most days I am home before 5. The work itself is exhausting though. All of our patients are unstable and I feel like every decision I have to make could be the one to tip them over the edge. From day 1 of this rotation, I'm on day 6 now, I have been nothing but anxious. Anxious about misdiagnosing, ordering the wrong medications, or performing a procedure incorrectly. I really can't remember a time in my life when I have been this anxious and afraid. I think a lot of it stems from a lack of experience. I am hopeful that as I gain more experience this month I will become more confident. Having patients die within hours of admission to the ICU is also rough. That has happened several times and it is heartbreaking. After working a 30 hour shift the other day, I had to tell a mom that her son was not going to survive. As she collapsed in tears, I almost broke down too. All I could do was hug her and tell her how sorry I was. Besides the pain of knowing someone has just lost somebody important to them, the fear that a mistake was made in the patient's management is overwhelming. It is so important to go over every detail of care of a patient to identify any mistakes that were made in order to not make the same error again. Unfortunately, by the time someone comes to the ICU, the prognosis is often so poor that little can be done to improve survival. This is so frustrating.

Last night Jon and I went to our couple's Bible study and it was such a relaxing and refreshing time. Spending the time worshiping God through fellowship and music was rejuvenating. I have been praying that God will calm my anxiety and give me wisdom and good judgement to take care of my patients. The Lord has been faithful to me and provided me with just that through our small group last night. Today was a good day and I am actually excited about being on call tomorrow.

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 1:3-6

I hope everyone has a blessed week!

Waco Fun

This weekend Jon and I went to the town of our Alma mater, Waco. It was so much fun seeing our friends that still live there and being in the town where we spent some of the best years of our lives. Being in college is such a unique experience. There is newfound independence with very few responsibilities. After college the independence is still there, but now with a bajillion responsibilities. Anyway, back to our weekend:

Friday way finally made it to Waco after fighting our way through Houston rush hour traffic. We spent the night with two of our friends and stayed up late catching up. Saturday, Jon and I got up early and met at the Suspension Bridge for a 50 mile bike ride benefiting The Match Bone Marrow Foundation. Let me tell you, it was so refreshing to bike through the countryside outside of Waco after spending the week in Houston. Don't get me wrong, I love Houston, but sometimes I forget how beautiful Texas is when I have been in the city too long. There are few things better than biking past green pastures, rivers, and ponds with a cool breeze and some good music. An added bonus was that at each rest stop there was an abundance of candy and cookies that I could eat guilt free, knowing that I would bike off all of the calories over the next hour. After the ride, Jon and I met a bunch of our friends at a local Italian restaurant we love for lunch. We continued to catch up with friends until around 10 pm that night. We then headed back to Houston so we could still make it to church in the morning. We ended up not making it back home until 3 am due to missing a critical exit and having to drive to Conroe to pick up Wrangler. Needless to say, we didn't make it to church. Sunday was a very relaxing day full of football and studying. What a difference making Sunday a day of rest can actually have on the rest of the week.

That's my weekend wrap up! I forgot to take pictures this past weekend, but here is a picture of my dog Wrangler. He's pretty great. I hope everyone is having a great Monday and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Well, I have decided to return to the blog world. I never really kept up with this blog in the first place. I used to update another blog regularly a few years ago and I miss having that time to stop and reflect on my day.

Jon and I had a fun weekend. I am sad that it is almost over! I had Thursday and Friday off for my holiday this year. On Thursday, I went to Conroe to visit my mom and grandmother. Grandmother and I had a delicious lunch at Luby's. I don't know about you, but I find Luby's to be so comforting. Jon think's I'm crazy. I then went up to my mom's school to hang out with her during her off period. Once my mom was finished with school, we all went to the mall for an impromptu shopping spree!

Jon had Friday off as well, so we + Wrangler went camping! We had so much fun fishing, swimming, and eating hot dogs and s'mores. We even made some new friends. Saturday night we came back early because we had free tickets to see the Astros play. The Astros didn't play that well, but the Robert Earl Keen concert afterwards was awesome!

This morning we went to church and now are relaxing and watching football. I love our Sunday school class so much and am so happy that we have finally found a church home.

One thing I want to do on this blog is mention the local restaurants Jon and I discover. When Jon and I do go out to eat, we love to find local restaurants and try out the food. We also love recommendations from people, so if you have any local restaurants you love please let me know! I think having so many locally owned places to eat is something that makes living in a city fun. SO.... our most recent find is:

Hank's Ice Cream!

This ice cream is so delicious! Think of the best ice cream you have ever tasted. Hank's is better. Trust me, I've eaten a lot of ice cream. I recommend the banana pudding and cookies & coffee.

That's all for now. I hope everyone has a wonderful and relaxing Sunday!