Wow, it's been almost two months since I've touched this thing.
Well, Robin is now working at a county hospital. Luckily he only has to do this for one month during his first year, I would probably go crazy otherwise. OK, I've been going crazy and it's only the beginning of the month. He hasn't had a day off since the beginning of Sept, and he doesn't have one till Friday. I was a little bothered about that one, but err, I can't do anything about it.
Other than that, last month he did a Hematology/Oncology rotation and learned a lot about cancer and blood. I think it's something he could specialize in, but I think he would need to do a fellowship out here in Cali versus back home.
I'm going to get going. I'm hungry and tired.....
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Things that Make it Work.
Those are the three things that make it work.
- James.
- Scrapbooking.
- The two-way pager.
Yesterday evening we met up with Robin at the hospital since he was on-call. It was nice, sure, it's only a few minutes (not anything more than 1/2 hour) and Robin is constantly getting paged, but I will take it for what it's worth.
James and I were very happy campers. We ended up leaving there and going to Petsmart to pick-up kitty litter and a new toy for Hiro (our cat--I had a $5 off $10 purchase; bill was less than $10 so Hiro got his toy for free). After that we headed to Wal-Mart and Rite Aid for miscellaneous items, James got train thing and I got a new flat iron. My hair needs to be flat ironed so I've learned.
Well Robin should be off in a hour or so and so will I.Thursday is his "official" 24-hour period off in 13 days. I'm excited!!! Maybe the OC Fair?
Monday, July 16, 2007
Need to Make it Work.
Well, lets see, life is chaotic as usual. Nothing out of the oridinary. With Robin being on-call Q4, it's hard to really plan anything. Even with calls, he still has no 2 day (Golden) weekend off, which at times can be disheartening, but we make do. I just can't wait till next month where he will only have clinic.
It's funny, I read a friend's blog on Xanga this morning, it talked about her journey and how she wanted to attend medical school but she instead is now attending nursing school. She lives w/some regret, but looks at the whole picture and realizes that her life is fine w/o medical school. As of right now she's struggling to balance a relationship, nursing school, work and friends; I see this as "normal" but it's worse when one attends med school. All of your priorities are shifted and are hard to readjust.
Since she is working in a hospital setting, she talks to doctors and such. She is now learning the lifestyle everyone portrays as such a lavish one, well isn't so lavish afterall. Many doctors' marriages end in divorce and have virtually no extra time on their hands, especially if you run your own practice.
Well, she is right.
But not completely. I have met many doctors out here, many of which are married and have children, and had them during residency. Many are still married and have a wonderful relationships with their spouses, how so?
Example: I was scared out of my pants when Robin started residency. Many people don't know that I had a pity party all to myself. I cried. I cried for days. I was happy Robin was a doctor, but upset because I knew the hours would suck. I couldn't fathom raising James out here w/o any family and my own husband not at home. I took what the worst case scenario was and multipled it by 100, I was funny and let my hormones (I had PMS at the time) and emotions get the best of the situation.
Well, I look at it now. We're making it work. Robin is guaranteed one 24-hour period w/o work and we go out and make that 24-hour period well worth it. He also gets three weeks of paid vacation, which he is required to take it one week at a time. Ultimately, it's not the amount of time spent together, but the quality of that time we have spent.
Sure I make Robin leave his pager at home when we do go out on his day off, but heck, that pager runs his stinkin' life 6 out of 7 days.
We make it work; those days he's on-call I'm either shopping or cleaning the house, hey gotta kill time somehow. It's not easy by any means and I sure wouldn't wish this on anyone else's family...
It's funny, I read a friend's blog on Xanga this morning, it talked about her journey and how she wanted to attend medical school but she instead is now attending nursing school. She lives w/some regret, but looks at the whole picture and realizes that her life is fine w/o medical school. As of right now she's struggling to balance a relationship, nursing school, work and friends; I see this as "normal" but it's worse when one attends med school. All of your priorities are shifted and are hard to readjust.
Since she is working in a hospital setting, she talks to doctors and such. She is now learning the lifestyle everyone portrays as such a lavish one, well isn't so lavish afterall. Many doctors' marriages end in divorce and have virtually no extra time on their hands, especially if you run your own practice.
Well, she is right.
But not completely. I have met many doctors out here, many of which are married and have children, and had them during residency. Many are still married and have a wonderful relationships with their spouses, how so?
- God is first.
- Family comes second.
- Work is last.
Example: I was scared out of my pants when Robin started residency. Many people don't know that I had a pity party all to myself. I cried. I cried for days. I was happy Robin was a doctor, but upset because I knew the hours would suck. I couldn't fathom raising James out here w/o any family and my own husband not at home. I took what the worst case scenario was and multipled it by 100, I was funny and let my hormones (I had PMS at the time) and emotions get the best of the situation.
Well, I look at it now. We're making it work. Robin is guaranteed one 24-hour period w/o work and we go out and make that 24-hour period well worth it. He also gets three weeks of paid vacation, which he is required to take it one week at a time. Ultimately, it's not the amount of time spent together, but the quality of that time we have spent.
Sure I make Robin leave his pager at home when we do go out on his day off, but heck, that pager runs his stinkin' life 6 out of 7 days.
We make it work; those days he's on-call I'm either shopping or cleaning the house, hey gotta kill time somehow. It's not easy by any means and I sure wouldn't wish this on anyone else's family...
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Another Day. Another Call.
3 down, 5 more to go for the month of July.
I have gotten through, well, sort of gotten through the month with the help of friends and family. I have spent hours crying or hours laughing, just depending on the emotions.
I love Robin and I miss the man.
Oh yes, scrapbooking has helped keep me busy too.
This evening Robin called me, sure it was from the bathroom of the hospital, but the point is, he is trying. He is trying to make this relationship work through the chaotic schedule and I love him just for that.
I miss him like crazy and I love him lots.
I have gotten through, well, sort of gotten through the month with the help of friends and family. I have spent hours crying or hours laughing, just depending on the emotions.
I love Robin and I miss the man.
Oh yes, scrapbooking has helped keep me busy too.
This evening Robin called me, sure it was from the bathroom of the hospital, but the point is, he is trying. He is trying to make this relationship work through the chaotic schedule and I love him just for that.
I miss him like crazy and I love him lots.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Cherishing Each Moment.
30 hours, one shift.
Robin did not get off call until 330p on Sunday afternoon. It was rough on him. It was his first call and one of the patient's he was cross covering was not keeping their heartrate stable. He actually had to call the "shots" as to what to do with him. In the end, Robin stablized him and transferred him to the ICU at 500a.
Poor husband didn't sleep that much. It was just a crazy night for him. I had to drop off his "call/travel bag" aka his toiletries and I looked at the moon, it was full. By the time he actually had 10 minutes to grab dinner and meet me downstairs to say a quick hello to our son and a small kiss to the both of us, it was already 900p.
In the end, pretty much this is the reality of what the next year will be. Thank goodness next month is a bunch of outpatient stuff, but too bad there is no actual holiday during August. I should maybe ask him to take the day off for my birthday/James' birthday and our "special date". Ultimately he needs to get his vacation days submitted ASAP.
Tomorrow is the 4th of July. It's our first holiday where we will be seperated during this residency. I hope and pray that Robin will have time off during the day actually sit down and have lunch. I would love to just go out to the hospital and have lunch as a family; 30 minutes, that's all I'm asking for. We shall see....I am scared since it is a holiday, a lot of things happen, especially with all the smoke from fireworks, Robin could be dealing with patients with heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and heart attacks (all the unhealthy BBQ'd food).
So from what I'm typing, we don't have anything planned for Independence Day. It may be a blessing in disguise since the temperatures are supposed to reach up to 106 degrees. Yikes! I'm not about to sit out in the scortching sun if I can be hanging out at home in A/C.
Well, the title of this blog is Cherishing Each Moment because now that Robin has started Residency I realize that I can't take that extra kiss or snuggle for granted. We actually become more physical in a sense. We kiss and hug more often, it is nice. I should have never backed away from him this past year. I guess I just took him for granted and got caught up with life.
I need to get ready for work, so I hope you all who read this has a wonderful 4th of July. Stay cool and safe!
Robin did not get off call until 330p on Sunday afternoon. It was rough on him. It was his first call and one of the patient's he was cross covering was not keeping their heartrate stable. He actually had to call the "shots" as to what to do with him. In the end, Robin stablized him and transferred him to the ICU at 500a.
Poor husband didn't sleep that much. It was just a crazy night for him. I had to drop off his "call/travel bag" aka his toiletries and I looked at the moon, it was full. By the time he actually had 10 minutes to grab dinner and meet me downstairs to say a quick hello to our son and a small kiss to the both of us, it was already 900p.
In the end, pretty much this is the reality of what the next year will be. Thank goodness next month is a bunch of outpatient stuff, but too bad there is no actual holiday during August. I should maybe ask him to take the day off for my birthday/James' birthday and our "special date". Ultimately he needs to get his vacation days submitted ASAP.
Tomorrow is the 4th of July. It's our first holiday where we will be seperated during this residency. I hope and pray that Robin will have time off during the day actually sit down and have lunch. I would love to just go out to the hospital and have lunch as a family; 30 minutes, that's all I'm asking for. We shall see....I am scared since it is a holiday, a lot of things happen, especially with all the smoke from fireworks, Robin could be dealing with patients with heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and heart attacks (all the unhealthy BBQ'd food).
So from what I'm typing, we don't have anything planned for Independence Day. It may be a blessing in disguise since the temperatures are supposed to reach up to 106 degrees. Yikes! I'm not about to sit out in the scortching sun if I can be hanging out at home in A/C.
Well, the title of this blog is Cherishing Each Moment because now that Robin has started Residency I realize that I can't take that extra kiss or snuggle for granted. We actually become more physical in a sense. We kiss and hug more often, it is nice. I should have never backed away from him this past year. I guess I just took him for granted and got caught up with life.
I need to get ready for work, so I hope you all who read this has a wonderful 4th of July. Stay cool and safe!
Saturday, June 30, 2007
The Journey has Begun.
On Friday, June 29th, 2007, my husband finally embarked on his mission to become a doctor. He's doing a prelim year and our lives have just begun.
It's been a long road with a 3 year-old in tow and a marriage that has only just begun.
I am a wife of a resident.
I am scared to death from hearing the horrible stories of crazy Attendings and the outrageous 80 hour work schedule.
But, today....
Today is his first night on-call as a resident. He went in at 0800 and didn't finish rounding till 1500. Unusual for a Saturday morning, but I guess when it's crazy, it's crazy, I hope he doesn't take that long rounding tomorrow since he'll be post-call.
This afternoon I was given the reality check; we were hoping to grab lunch together this afternoon, but since he didn't finish rounding till 1500, lunch was out of the question. Most likely as I type this, he is probably thinking about the taste of food, a warm shower, and going to bed.
It's been a long road with a 3 year-old in tow and a marriage that has only just begun.
I am a wife of a resident.
I am scared to death from hearing the horrible stories of crazy Attendings and the outrageous 80 hour work schedule.
But, today....
Today is his first night on-call as a resident. He went in at 0800 and didn't finish rounding till 1500. Unusual for a Saturday morning, but I guess when it's crazy, it's crazy, I hope he doesn't take that long rounding tomorrow since he'll be post-call.
This afternoon I was given the reality check; we were hoping to grab lunch together this afternoon, but since he didn't finish rounding till 1500, lunch was out of the question. Most likely as I type this, he is probably thinking about the taste of food, a warm shower, and going to bed.
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