Sunrise, Sunset

Well, I lived through it.  My first official month as an EM resident.  33 more to go.  As I drove away from work this morning, I actually thought, "I'm gonna miss it (the ECMC E.D.), just a little."  It's sort of like being back in medical school.  You just start to get comfortable in a rotation, then it's time to shift again.

Last night wasn't too bad.  I had a period of about 3 hours where I had one patient on the board, and they were basically sleeping in the E.D. waiting for a bed upstairs.  I did get to do a trauma on my own.  A 25 foot fall from a tree stand while hunting will knock the wind out of you.  Not to mention breaking a couple of ribs, your arm, some important parts of your neck bones.  Yep.

One major event that made me miss my trauma days was a double stabbing.  You stab me, I stab you and we both end up in the E.D.  There's a bit of excitement in running down the corridor with your hand covering someone's gushing wound and going right into the O.R.  Last night I stood back and watched them rush by.  I had a finger to sew back together.  My patient would be leaving via the front door; not the morgue door like the trauma patient.



So this morning I sat for a second in the warmth of my car and watched the sun rise.  Pondered my choices in life.  Reflected on what might have been.  But, to be honest, I am looking forward to what will be.  Every day I pick up on something new to study, something I want to be better at doing, another skill I want to perfect. 

And sometimes, yep just sometimes, I get a patient that says "Thank you" and really appreciates that I took the time to help them.  And, that, more than anything makes me want to continue on where I am, what I am doing, this life I am living.

Tags: ECMC, trauma, stabbing, sunrises