august 16-october 14, 2011: rockford, IL -- october 17-december 16, 2011: maple grove, MN -- january 2-february 17, 2012/june 18-july 13: st. paul, MN -- march 26-june 9, 2012: lakewood, WA -- june 16, 2012 = graduation.
I had a beautiful, long post about my preparations for Africa all typed up and ready to go. I was pretty proud of it, in fact. But my, how things can change...
my right shoulder-- AC separation with distal scapular migration!
I destroyed my shoulder during my hockey game on Sunday at Augsburg. Good news: we won the game. Bad news: I spent the rest of the afternoon in the ER with Clay as the doctors pored over my x-rays, which were apparently unusually interesting. I've spent the past 48 hours in extreme discomfort and pain, and finally got into see the doc this afternoon. To make a long story short, Africa is no longer an option for me, as I go in for surgery (a distal clavicular ORIF) at 8 pm tonight.
More updates to come, as I have more time to write from the hospital and without an overseas trip imminent, and as I become a faster left-handed typer!
12: Ending Friday, I worked 12 days in a row. Yikes. I know I am not allowed to complain because I have no rights as a student-- I am supposed to immerse myself in learning experiences-- but I'm exhausted. Maybe it would be ok if I didn't have a life (I like to think I do), and could just sleep all of the time. Anyways, Kate and I worked in acute (inpatient care) last weekend. I also spent time during those 12 days in inpatient rehabilitation (long-term inpatient care for patients who can handle a full 3 hours of therapy a day), at a doctor's appointment with a patient and at Tillges Orthotics and Prosthetics. (So awesome to see all of the behind the scenes work--both science and art-- that goes into making someone a new leg, an ankle brace, or a shoe insert. I witnessed a woman with bilateral below the knee amputations stand for the first time in 20 years, which was very cool.)
11: We had 11 fans in the stands show up for this year's SMRLS fundraiser game at the X. Scanty crowd aside, it's always a pleasure skating on what is arguably the fastest ice in the country. And I got to park where the players park (though they were out of town that night, obviously) with my VIP parking pass.
10: It took 10 awful, painful, unbelievable minutes for the Wild to misplace their 3-goal lead and lose to the Preds 5-4 Tuesday night. I'm still fighting back tears. On the bright side, I had a great time with Bennett and her dad, and a marvelous dinner buffet at Headwaters. (Though I was struggling to keep my head above water at times in conversing with 3 lawyers....)
Headwaters at the X!
9: It was 9 degrees outside when Clay and I went skating last week to help prep him for his big goalie debut-- considering how warm of a winter we had, brrrr. That's right, a mere 12 days after purchasing his first pair of hockey skates, he was stopping slappers (or at least trying to look coordinated while trying to stop slappers) at the RiverHawks (Monti's girls hockey co-op team) practice as part of a promo for the paper (see the ad to the left!). Video evidence shows he does indeed look suprisingly coordinated. ;)
8: My triangular commute in Washington will be 8 miles--from my house in Parkwood (yes! I found a place to stay!) to my clinic in Lakewood to the LA Fitness in South Tacoma. Thanks to Marit's connections, I am renting a room, and staying with a woman named Vilma and her dog. Come visit me!
7: I went to/watched 7 basketball games in the month of January (6 between three Sawatzkes, and one T-Wolves game on TV). Although I'm afraid my family will disown me for admitting this in a public forum (especially considering I've been to/played in/watched fewer hockey games), I will say that I've learned quite a bit about the sport. After having declined a chance to sing the national anthem at the Timberpuppies (as dad calls them) game in 4th grade (when Kevin McHale's son and Glen Taylor's daughter were in my class) on a matter of principle, who knows...maybe I'll actually be convinced to watch them in person one of these days.
6: There are 6 ingredients in the delectable treat Clay and I whipped up last week, courtesy of Pinterest (which will take over the world soon, watch out). Peanut butter + brown sugar + powdered sugar + butter+ chocolate chips + pretzels. Irresistible. (Click here for the recipe.)
5: Kate has bumped my caseload up to 5 patients a day, which is considered a FULL caseload! Woo! Though it's certainly busier and more stressful, I am starting (after all these months) to feel competent and as though I could actually be a full-fledged PT one of these days....
4: I treated patients across 4 different language barriers this week. I have one Chinese woman whose interpreter has yet to show up (try administering standardized balance testing via Charades) and one Spanish woman whose interpreter has showed up to 50% of the time. I also saw a Hmong patient this past weekend whose interpreter barely spoke English (go figure), and while shadowing at Tillges Orthotics and Prosthetics, I helped teach a Burmese man with an above the knee amputation how to walk with his brand new hinged knee joint for the first time, which was difficult even with an interpreter.
3: I leave for Africa in 3 weeks. EEK! I need to start packing. And create my Powerpoint about pediatric rehab. And try to remember how to speak French. And stock up on Cliff bars. And buy a Paris guidebook. And finish my residency applications. And research for my in-service at United. And see all of my friends before I go. And figure out how to get four more hours in the day so I can get all of that done...
(Runner-Up: It took 3 games to beat Clay in bowling. Ok, to his credit, he ended up pulling through the 3rd game and beat me, but I beat him for the first 7 frames. I did beat Ben one game, though, probably because he consumed an entire large pepperoni pizza solo. Admirable.)
2: I've been to the Uptown Famous Dave's 2 times in the past 2 weeks. First, Clay and I enjoyed a delish meal, though our eyes were bigger than our stomachs when ordering the dinner for 2. Second, we cheered Ben on as he competed in a swing dance competition last Monday. They made it through several grueling elimination rounds, all the way to the finals, right up there with the pros. Way to go bro!
1: My new favorite band, One eskimO. And no, I did not get my capital letters confused; that is, indeed, how they spell it. I mean, their music videos are all cartoons (remember Gorillaz, anyone?), so how normal can you expect them to be? One eskimO iTunes play count over the past week: 73. (Though, that's second after Train, with 113 plays. I'm addicted to Drive By. Amaaazing.)
As you may or may not have gathered, to say I'm busy right now would be a severe understatement. Between trying to finish up my sports residency applications (I'm sending them off to South Carolina, Colorado, Ohio and MN this week!), getting ready for Africa, staying on top of things at United, and trying to have some kind of social life and see my fam, friends and Clay at the same time-- I'll be lucky to sleep more than 5 hours per night between now and February 25th. Meh. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Life is short. Stay awake for it. (Despite what you think, Caribou did not pay me to endorse them in my blog. In fact, I pretty much paid them to do it, given how much coffee I buy from them.)
