digging for gold

{This post is dedicated to the dude in the full gorilla suit-- I'm talking mask, gloves, gorilla feet, everything-- lifting at LA Fitness tonight. You made my sprint interval sesh so much more enjoyable, despite the fact that you probably had a heat stroke after I left.}

Bringin' back the gold crackle nailpolish. FYI, it's in now. 

One great thing about working in peds: I got to go allll out for Halloween today. I whipped out the Little Red Riding Hood cape and basket, and some crazy knee-high Halloween socks (which made walking out of the gym this morning after my spin class fairly embarrassing), though the cape didn't last more than a few hours-- much too bulky to treat kids in. Our lunch potluck was a highlight, as well-- I brought my (now pretty famous) homemade Butterfinger bars, which were a hit. And I even got out an hour early because of cancellations-- apparently the kiddos had other plans this afternoon/tonight...

As for Saturday night-- I vetoed the rugby player costume at about 11:35pm on Friday, meaning I had to get creative fast. So, I whipped together a gold digger costume-- you know, the kind of girl that's only interested in rich guys, HA-- in an hour. Lucky that I had some gold spray paint, a construction helmet, a shovel, and a blingy dolla sign necklace laying around. I debuted the costume first at Taylor's (she was a gypsy), then at Carl's/Tim's with Kristy (who was an '80s prom queen), then in Uptown, and only had to explain what I was to about 15% of the people I talked to. SUCCESS!

Here's the Gold Digger video-- warning: it's really pretty racy. My costume was totally not this scandalous. 

Other weekend highlights: Panera with John on Saturday, who works with my CI's hubby, an ortho PT in St. Paul. Stayed at Kristy and Abby's place in Chaska (so awesome!) Saturday night. On Sunday, Ben and I carved pumpkins. [Pop quiz: which of us made the Wild pumpkin, and which of us made the pumpkin with the Uncertainty Principle, a physics equation...? Predictable.] And last night, we had an awesome dinner with G&G Mess at Kozlak's (Groupon!). 

Side note: This was the best weekend for Minnesota sports, maybe ever. Wild beat the Wings. Gopher football beat Iowa to keep Floyd. Gopher hockey swept Alaska. The Vikes won to give Ponder his first win. MV football beat Stillwater in the last play of the game with no time left. And--last but certainly not least-- the Stars won the NASL Championship, which was pretty impressive, considering they were ranked 6th out of 8 teams at the end of the season and barely made the playoffs. Wowza, hard to top that weekend! {Good thing the NBA is on strike because no doubt the T-Wolves would've ruined that streak.}

Stars = champs! (photo courtesy of Kaitlin :)

disinfect

It will be a miracle if I get through these next 7 weeks without catching some contagious bug from one of my kids. It was yet another never-ending week-- I worked 46 hours in 4 days (just a friendly reminder, I'm not getting paid-- in fact, paying to do this.), topped off with some pink eye, a case of the flu (all of the lovely projectile symptoms included), and more runny noses than I can count--and that was yesterday alone. On the bright side, I probably have the cleanest hands of anyone in the state because I wash and sanitize and shower and scrub religiously. Because if I can barely handle this caseload and these hours healthy, I don't even want to think about trying to do so under the weather. 

one of our many toy rooms-- who knew all these
games from my childhood could be therapeutic!

On that cheery note, I thought I'd give you a quick overview of the patients I see, because pediatric PT is such a different world than where I came from at ORS. Here's a lowdown of my caseload:

One has a teeny tiny cerebellum (the part of your brain that controls balance, coordination, fluidity of movement, etc).

Two have infantile seizure disorders. {even though they're both almost 1, we're still working on helping them roll and crawl}.

Six have torticollis-- that "twisted neck" syndrome I mentioned earlier.

One has Down Syndrome (the worst case my CI's ever seen--he's 2, and hasn't started crawling yet).

Three have DCD (developmental coordination disorder). {they're my favorites because we do jumping, agility ladders, hopscotch, play catch, and ride bikes}

Two have general orthopedic issues--back pain and patellar dislocation problems. 

One has ALL, acute lymphocytic lymphoma (cancer). 

Three are toe-walkers with ankle equinus contractures (really, really tight calves). {we brace, stretch, play a lot of Wii Fit, and walk backwards}

One was just released from the hospital following neck surgery.

Two have hemiplegia (weakness on one side of their bodies).

One has brain damage resulting from non-accidental trauma (shaken baby syndrome). {she's a doll- we play a lot, using both hands and both feet, and challenge her thinking and problem solving too}

That's a lot of diversity, eh? From what I can tell, peds is a pretty unique mix of neuro and ortho. And what's great about working at Children's, such a large, well-known organization, is that I'll have all kinds of opportunities to explore pediatrics outside of outpatient PT. In two weeks, I'll spend a day at the hematology-oncology (cancer) clinic in the morning, then head to the serial casting lab in the afternoon. And the day before Thanksgiving, I'll shadow inpatient PT at Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, then hop in the pool in the afternoon to help out with some aquatic therapy. I'm also planning on scheduling days at the pediatric sports medicine and chronic pain clinics.

Halloween flashback: last year, we were pop singers- Ke$ha, Katy Perry and P!nk (nose ring!)

So, that's work. And considering how much I work, I haven't had much of a life outside of the clinic this week (i.e. yesterday = arrived at 7:15am, left at 8pm...). I did see A Wrinkle in Time at the Children's Theater on Wednesday (I just can't get away from kids, can I?), which was actually really great. And I've been consulting as Jack's personal PT. He's dealing with a grade 3 ACJ separation (a pretty bad shoulder sprain), and heterotopic ossification in his quad (he beat it up so bad playing rugby--hit after hit after hit--that part of his muscle started to turn into bone). What a brutal sport. In Jack's honor, I'm seriously considering dressing up as a rugger for Halloween (tight shirt, tiny shorts, cleats, and a little bit of mud should do the trick). If so, I guess I need to learn the Haka war dance--

Tonight-- the first fire of the year (oh, so cozy), some Sam Adams Octoberfest, and game 7 of the World Series. Tomorrow--let the Halloween festivities begin! 

selling my "powdered sugar" with Sully/Kaitlin

(Or maybe I should bring back the pimpin' Little Red Riding in the Hood costume? I actually got people to believe my powdered sugar was cocaine.)

shine on

Is there some law of the universe that makes weekend days feel a whole lot shorter than weekdays? It's just not fair. My first full weekend back in Minnesota sure was full of fun and adventure. Here are the highlights:

Friday --> Slept in until 9:30, 4 hours later than usual. Attempted to unpack/clean my room. Quit after it took me 2 hours to get through just about as many boxes. Drove to Maple Grove to retrieve the notebook I left on my desk (joyful). Went to the Verizon store to upgrade my Blackberry to the awesome new iPhone 4s. Became angry when they told me I couldn't preorder a phone from a business account. Threatened to switch to AT&T. Remembered that if I want another year of not having to pay my own phone bill/data plan, I can't actually switch. Walked out of the store angry. Worked out/let off steam for the rest of the afternoon.

Exchanged part of a gift from a patient in Illinois for a new sweater. Wore it out to Amazing Thailand and Chino Latino for apps/drinks with Alina, Kristy, Abby and Mac for Alina's 25th birthday! Played with the little plastic animals Chino puts in their drinks. Visited Alina/Carl's new puppy, Harvey. Called it a night.

Saturday--> Woke up way too early for a Saturday. Met Taylor at her house in Uptown and drove to Northfield to scrimmage with the Ole girls. Remembered how much I love the game of hockey. Also remembered how much I miss the team, St. Olaf, Northfield, playing for Buzz, and college in general. Reminisced as we drove through campus. Hung out with Tack. Watched the Wild almost beat the Canucks. Ordered my new iPhone!!! 

Made a last-minute decision to head up to the NSC to watch the Stars battle for the NASL (North American Soccer League) championship vs. Ft. Lauderdale using the FREE ticket I got thanks to the Twins/Wild/Vikes who bought a bunch for whoever wanted to claim them. Loved seeing Kaitlin, who's living in Fargo for the time being. Met Kaitlin's BF/Stars defender, Kyle's, parents from New Mexico. 

Silently thanked myself for bringing a scarf (my blue and yellow Stars scarf, of course) and mittens because it was so dang chilly. Spilled hot chocolate on my new white mittens, and realized I didn't care because that made me even warmer. Cheered my head off at all three goals we scored. (Technically, we scored 4, but one was against ourselves, so I really only cheered for 3.). Left Blaine awfully excited after a 3-1 victory, and highly anticipating the second game of the 2-game aggregate series next Saturday in Florida. (Aggregate = wins and losses don't matter- all that matters is the total # of goals scored.) Shine on, Stars! Got home, poured myself an Amaretto Sour and watched my new fav show, Up All Night. 

Apparently, this is how Tack spent his Saturday night before I got home.

Sunday --> Forced myself to wake up early to go to Caribou to organize my life. Sipped a hot cinnamon spice tea while I got some paperwork done for school, planned a few treatment sessions for the week, and read up about some of the mysterious syndromes my patients have that I wasn't familiar with. Met Carl and Alina at Como Park for engagement pics photo shoot, round 1. Took 90 shots in 30 minutes before the rain started. Pushed through my ridiculous hip flexor/low back soreness from hockey the day before and ran for a while at the gym. 

Set a goal to spend no more than 40 minutes editing photos. After 2 hours, I realized that wasn't a realistic goal. (See my fav shots here: carl & alina ). Watched Christian Ponder and the Vikes almost beat the undefeated Packers, significantly more impressed than I thought I'd be. Worked on my new fav website: extendr (each line is a link that you can click on!). Packed my lunch for tomorrow, finally admitting that the weekend had to end sooner or later. 

Back. to. reality. 5:45 am spin class tomorrow to start the week off right... which means I'm up way past my bedtime. 

peanuts and kiddos and toddlers and tweens

This was quite possibly the longest week of my life. I thought I was busy at ORS, but turns out I didn't know what busy meant until I started at Children's. And the funny thing is, I only see 5-7 patients a day now, compared to the 30ish I saw in IL. Yet these days feel oh, so much longer. I'm gone a minimum of 12 hours (11 in the clinic, hour round trip commute), or 13 if I'm motivated enough to get to the gym. Babies wear me out. 

But let me start from the beginning. I have two CIs now. Neither works more than 3 days a week (I'm not the only one who thinks these hours are RIDICULOUS). The other weird thing is that all the kids come in once a week, versus the 2-3 appointments per week in outpatient ortho. So while I don't think I'll get to know my little kids as well, the cases I'm seeing are quite a bit more challenging. I have yet to meet a kid with just one diagnosis. It's always delayed milestones + developmental delay + torticollis, or Down syndrome + idiopathic toe walking + type 1 Chiari malformation, with a few mysterious orthopedic cases here and there (if anyone has any ideas about what could be causing a medial patellar subluxation in a 15-year old girl, please clue me in). 

I was flattered.

After my first 7:30 am- 7pm day on Monday (Tuesday is the only earlier day-- 6:30am-6pm), I wasn't so sure about this peds business. And while I'm still not sure this will be the field for me (the clinic is quiet, subdued, female-dominated), I'm warming up to it. Babies do that to you. As soon as I got my hands on one, I immediately forgot I was working. I also love the 9-year old girls, who love telling me their stories and showing off all their cute clothes. But oddly enough, I've seemed to hit it off best with the 3-5-year old boy demographic (including a brother of one of my patients, who colored a beautiful Halloween pic for me today-- see right). Crazy to think that some of the parents bringing their kids in are younger than me, though. What I do know after week one is that I have absolutely no desire to have kids of my own in the very near future, because if I'm exhausted after an hour-long treatment session, how on earth could I deal with the other 23 hours of the day?

My favorite room?!

The pros: I never have to wear shoes. I play all day (yesterday, I spent half the afternoon playing Wii Fit by myself for the sole purpose of unlocking new "exercises" for patients-- and of course there's the ball pit, rock climbing wall, trampoline, yoga mats, and iPad, just to name a few). Babies are cute. I leave so early and come home so late that I don't hit rush hour. I am right in Arbor Lakes (and only went shopping during 2 of my 4 lunch breaks this week- now that's self-control!), next door to a Five Guys and to one of my all-time fav restaurants, Claddagh's. Yet another two months with 3-day weekends. I get to visit the Children's hem-onc (cancer), aquatics, chronic pain, and serial casting clinics. One of my CIs reminds me of Kristen Wiig. 

 I am a pumpkin in the lobby.

The cons: The drive to Maple Grove is kind of long. The hours are really, really long. The documentation is soo much more demanding than ORS. I miss wearing jeans my last day of work for the week. Toddlers. I'm still a little self-conscious talking to babies, especially in front of their parents (but I'm getting better). My lunches are only one hour long (ok, that's not that bad). I miss ORS. 

On my to do list-- practice my songs (i.e. Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, the clean up song), and learn sign language so I know what the heck my nonverbal kids are saying. 

I have so much more to say-- but I was brain-dead by the end of the day today, and left my notebook with all my notes and homework for the weekend on my desk. Can't wait to drive back to Maple Grove tomorrow to get it. That's a lie, I'm not looking forward to the extra drive at all. But what I AM looking forward to this weekend-- watching the Wild on a tv and not a computer (even though wow, they're bad), happy hour for Alina's 25th at Il Gatto tomorrow, scrimmaging against the Ole girls in Northfield on Saturday, and shooting some engagement pics for two of my favorites, Alina and Carl, on Sunday. Ahh, it's good to be home. 

but with every state line...

It's crazy, I know, to count on this road, 

to give me what I need.

But with every state line,

somehow I find another part of me.

~Love and Theft, "Runaway"

I'll miss the Perryville Path. 

It's been a wild weekend. But first-- a quick recap of the end of my time at ORS. Dave was out of town Thursday and Friday, so I saw his patient schedule-- and I've decided that the fact that he let me do that while he wasn't even in the state told me more than any formal evaluation could have. It was busy, but rewarding. And as I was finishing up my last bit of documentation (and savoring every last minute of dictation, because I'm banking on having to write or type the rest of my notes), Kaitlin rolled in! I gave her a quick tour of the clinic and my place before we ordered off of the date menu at Granite City. 

And even though we seriously weren't hungry, she forced me to stop at Red Mango, a frozen yogurt joint I'd never been in across the street from the clinic. Best decision ever. I had some (surprisingly low-cal) pumpkin spice and Godiva fro-yo, topped with fresh kiwi, blackberries, cookie dough bites, gummy bears and little balls of passion fruit gel that explode in your mouth. We sat in the car in the garage eating it, because we couldn't bear to waste time walking inside to take a break from the pure deliciousness in front of us. I spent the rest of the night packing my car (which I managed to fit ALL of my stuff in, by the way), then Kaitlin and I both worked on our blogs. Cute. 

only one of my greatest playlists ever. requirement: I had to know
 every word to every song.

6:55 am wake up on Saturday. I finished packing and cleaning the condo, and we rolled out of Rockford at 8:15 (Kaitlin had to make the drive up to Fargo for her next clinical that night, hence the early departure). I managed to rock out the entire ride home (see my playlist), which probably wasn't good for my voice I'd just gotten back the day before, but it was worth it. I got home at 1, unloaded my car, and celebrated being back in MN by un-freezing my account at LA Fitness and working out. It is SO nice to be home. 

Alina and Carl's new pup Harvey--precious.

At this point, if you've read even a quarter of the blog entries I've written, you can probably guess how I chose to spend my first night home. (If you're struggling, click here for the answer.) Mackensie and I caught up at dinner at Bonfire, then headed to the X to watch my fav team barely lose to the Red Wings in OT. We got severely outshot and horribly outplayed, but our (back up) goalie stole the show. We then danced the night away with Kristy, because that's what one does when one goes out with Kristy. Great fun.

Today, I've attempted to organize my life (and by that I mean unpack/clean my room), but I'm leaving most of the work for my 3-day weekend. I also saw 3 of my 4 grandparents (one was out of town), picked up Super Tack, got a great workout in, and cooked French Onion soup for dinner. (Is it possible to screw up soup from a mix? Because if so, I think I did. It wasn't all that appetizing. Too much boiling and not enough simmering, I'm guessing.) Now, I'm sipping my delicious spiced red wine that Kaitlin's aunt Deb sent me, and watching the Vikes play the Bears, happy I don't have to show my face at ORS anymore in the case that they lose (which they are in the process of doing).

Tomorrow marks the start of chapter two in my journey through clinicals in this last year of grad school. I'm off to the brand new Children's Hospital of Minnesota clinic in Maple Grove (right next to Arbor Lakes. DANGEROUS.) to complete a 9-week pediatrics rotation. A lot of people ask what kinds of things I'll be treating-- and while I'll obviously be able to better answer this question in a few weeks, I believe it will be a lot of torticollis (which literally means "twisted neck"), cerebral palsy, toe walking, hypotonia (Down Syndrome, Fragile X, etc.), and developmental delays (premies, autism, etc.). One thing I am certain of, though-- it'll be a whole other world from ORS, one that involves quite a bit more creativity, bribery and patience. Let's see if I'm cut out for that...

My parting shot of Rockford. I liked the ♥--for Loves Park?

what i know now that i didn't know 9 weeks ago

1. I can, in fact, cook. (Slow cooker island BBQ chicken & homemade Butterfingers top the list as biggest successes.)
2. Camping on an air mattress for 2+ months isn't nearly as exciting as it sounds.

3. Podcasts are cool, not geeky. (My hands down fav: NYC's Radiolab.)

4. Apple orchards define fall weekends. 

5. The Google Maps app on my phone is a lifesaver-- it saved me from a heckuva lot of wasted gas and phone calls by helping me to not get lost here in IL (or in WI or IN or MI). 

6. It is possible to go through LA Fitness withdrawal. It's been way too long-- I need to go back.

7. Respect the Buddha. 

8. My stomach can indeed handle the OR. And, I love the OR- so detailed, so intricate, so efficient. Yet, surgery is an art. 

9. Farmland makes for some beautiful fall bike rides. 

10. I finally understand the game of rugby. And now I have trouble watching football because it just doesn't flow quite the same.

in addition to sleepovers, Kaitlin and I think Red
Mango ice cream is pretty cool.

11. Sleepovers at age 25 are still cool. (Right, Kaitlin?)

12. Going out to eat/to a bar by yourself for the first time is not the scariest thing in the world (but yeah, it's up there in the top 10). 

13. Blogging is the creative right brain outlet that I didn't even know I needed. Turns out, I love writing more than I knew. 

14. (Despite my subpar experience,) Chicago is one of my absolute favorite cities in the U.S.-- and possibly the only big city I would ever consider living in.

15. No matter where I go, I always feel at home in an ice rink. The hockey community in Rockford was very welcoming to an outsider from the State of Hockey. Just like in MN, everyone I skated with here loves the game (whether or not they can play it very well).

the punchline: "it contains a BIG thank you"

16. It's always better to celebrate your birthday with friends and family than on your own. Lucky me, to have visitors throughout my whole birthday weekend. (In fact, I realized that I got to spend a weekend with each one of my family members. I am one lucky girl.)

17. First friends last. After 25 years of growing up together, growing apart, then re-connecting, Lindsey and I just completed our first (but not last) triathlon together. 

18. I really like driving. Before August, I had never driven longer than 2.5 hours by myself, but now I can tackle a 7-hour drive like it's nothing. Something about having control over my travels (versus being at an airport) and being on my own-- with the windows open and music blasting, of course-- attracts me. 

19. I can see myself dedicating my career to orthopedics. It drew me to PT in the first place, and while I've tossed around other ideas since, I think I'll probably end up back in this setting. (Who knows, though-- maybe I'll say the same thing after my next pediatrics internship...)

20. Living alone in a new city taught me a lot. I was continuously challenged to use all the skills and knowledge I've acquired in school in the clinic, and forced outside of my comfort zone outside the clinic. And hey, turns out I can handle it. 

21. I think I already knew this, but now I really believe it deep down (after so many patients asked me): I'll end up living in Minnesota because I'm a Minnesota girl at heart.  I'm not cut out for all of this time away from my fam and friends. (Though I'm still tossing around the idea of living on the East Coast for a few years after graduation before I settle down. We'll see.)

22. It's entirely possible to live for 9 weeks out of what fits in a car. Who needs furniture, anyways?

23. To people in Illinios, Minnesota = snow (do we really get that much more??). To prove my point- one of my patients gave me a hat/scarf/mittens set as a thank you gift yesterday. But hopefully after my stay, those I've talked to will now at least think-- Minnesota = snow + hockey. 

24. Owning your own PT practice seems to be a pretty great gig (i.e. setting your own hours, driving an Escalade, sending the kids to private schools). I could possibly see myself opening up my own place in the future. Anyone want in?

25. And last but not least, I learned that I'm pretty positive that I found my calling in physical therapy. One of my patients told me today that my passion for PT is written all over my face, especially in my smile. Another refused to wish me luck because she knew I didn't need it--success would find me. (Yet another gave me a good luck bracelet.)  But really, I would have figured out I was in the right place without all of that, because of how much I enjoyed coming to work everyday. (But of course, a little positive reinforcement doesn't hurt.)

Thanks for everything, Rockford. 

we didn't start the fire. you did.

Woah. Only three more days at ORS? Of all the super cliche sayings that are coming to mind right now, time flies when you're having fun seems to be the most appropriate to describe these past nine weeks. And I truly mean it- not only have I had a blast, but I actually feel like I'm ready to be a full-fledged DPT after my time here (even though I'm only on week 9 of 40 of internships). And tomorrow is David's last day, so we'll get sushi for lunch and discuss my evaluation/whatever hope he thinks I have for a future in this profession. (He and Woody are off to a poker tourney in Indiana. What a life, eh?) And I've already started saying my goodbyes... who knew I would grow so attached to my patients after a few short months? 

one of my fav patients (can I have favorites?) got me this awesome hat as a thank you. 

As the first stop on his road trip to the East Coast to see Jack at Hamilton and to visit Bowdoin for the first time as an alum, Ben stayed with me these past few days. He rolled in late Sunday night after spending the afternoon at the wedding fair in Mpls (working, not shopping). We grabbed Dairy Queen to go, and given the fact that I don't have a table or chairs (this hadn't seemed to be a problem before now), we had a pow wow on the floor. In fact, Ben was so enamored by my large, open floor space that he plans to make a similar space of his own when he gets his own place one day. Then, when I went to work Monday (such a weird feeling- the first Monday I've worked!-- to make up for the Friday I took off to fly to NY), Ben slept all morning and ate all of my eggs. We grabbed lunch at Granite City, and even convinced the staff to tune half of the TVs to FSN at noon so we could watch the Wild game-- it was home away from home. 

found this in my MICROWAVE. what a goofball.

I got off work early yesterday afternoon, so we hit up open hockey at Riverview Ice House. There were a handful of less-experienced skaters (the pace was much slower than last time), which was just what we needed. Ben hadn't skated in months but was flying, jersey flapping in the wind, setting up Dudley, the Gordie Howe jersey-wearing pastor who celebrated his 65th birthday with a goal or two yesterday. And anytime I am the only girl out there and score two goals in one shift, I'm an excessively happy person (despite the fact that by the end of the ice, I had lost approximately 75% of my voice).

We ate dinner at one of my town favs, Perry Rock Pub, where we kind of watched the Lions-Bears Monday Night Football game, but mostly 1) enjoyed some ice cold beverages (Shock Top Pumpkin for me, Mike's Hard Lemonade for Ben...yes, you guessed it, I was embarrassed), 2) ate an excessive amount of food (spicy sausage mac & cheese for me), and 3) reviewed notecards for Ben's physics GRE on Saturday. I was lucky if I could pronounce the words on the cards, let alone understand them-- I'm talking quarks, Hamiltonian mechanics, canonical whatnots, derivatives, something about truth and beauty, and enough Greek letters and ridiculously complex equations to make me happy to have all of my physics coursework behind me. Interesting? Perhaps. But the fact that anyone could dedicate their life to that blows my mind. You go, bro! (Though it seems as though his mind may be TOO full of physics jargon, as he left his car keys in my glovebox, and had to ride my bike to the clinic to get them before he could head off to New York this morning.)

MNF + hard lemonade + the laws of thermodynamics

Tonight--time to start packing! (Though of course I'm taking a break from 6:50-9:10 for the Wild game. Would you expect anything less?) Then, I plan to chug a lot of OJ in hopes that I'll be able to talk tomorrow (I couldn't today) while wearing the awesomely comfy North Face sweatshirt the lovely Alina sent me for my b-day (thanks to you, too, Kristina). And if I have time, I'll work on the major blog entry I've been working on for weeks-- keep an eye out later this week!

ORS has a Wall of Fame--this will be my contribution! gotta leave a mark. {I signed it Anna Messerly, (S)PT}

impressive

more surgery! how I love the OR.

The Wild are winning. And boy, oh boy, they're looking pretty impressive. The forwards are making plays, the D are scoring goals, the goalie is stepping up, and as a result, I'm having a great night. But before I get too riled up about the game (they're only 21 minutes into the season as I write this, after all), there are a few things that deserve mentioning about these past few days...

Remember that patient I wrote about on Wednesday? The guy that came in with horrible knee pain, and we decided to treat his hip? The same guy who came right out and told me that he didn't know why he was sent to PT, and that he didn't think it could do anything for him? Well, less than 24 hours later, he showed up for his second appointment, flowers in hand. I was flattered. Looks like we changed his mind, eh? Yet another one of those "I love this career" moments. After having arrived at the clinic at 6:30am for an eval (yes, it was still pitch black outside because not even the sun thought it was time to start work), I was dragging by 8:30, so that was sure a pick-me-up. 

Friday was another early morning- I left before 6am to meet David at Panera to pick up some cinnamon bagels and hazelnut cream cheese to take to the Rockford Orthopedic Surgery Center for the world-renowned shoulder surgeon that I met on Tuesday, Dr. Trenhaile. The first surgery we saw him perform was (ready for this?) an RCR+SAD+DCE+coracoid decompression+biceps tenodesis--5-in-1! (In other words, he shaved off parts of three bones, repaired her rotator cuff, and re-fastened her biceps tendon at her shoulder.) And the crazy part is, he did it all arthroscopically- through three tiny portals using a camera. And all while listening to Incubus, Weezer, Pearl Jam and RHCP on Sirius Radio. Impressive. 

no, I'm not breaking any rules by taking pics. as long as patients' faces aren't visible, it's perfectly fine. 

I've seriously lucked out with the surgeons I've had the opportunity to observe- first, Dr. Roh, the former Yankees' orthopedic surgeon, and now Dr. Trenhaile, who helped develop a new procedure for repairing a torn biceps tendon (see below) and who lectures to students and surgeons all over the country. Before each surgery, he sat down with David and me, whipped out his computer, and went over Powerpoint after Powerpoint detailing what he was doing, how he was doing it, and why. My brain felt like it was going to explode trying to process all of it (actually, that might have just been a combination of lack of sleep + caffeine overload), but I really got a good grasp of the shoulder joint complex as a result. Supposedly, he was pretty nervous about running his first marathon this weekend (he also has a torn soleus), but I sure couldn't tell. He flew through those surgeries, fixing structure after structure. Impressive.

Trenhaile is kind of a big deal...

Today, I slept until 10, spent a few hours wandering around the city looking for photo ops (the leaves are to die for right now), cooked for a while (in an attempt to use up all of my food before I head home), had a Becoming Wild marathon (the Wild media guys put together a 6-part behind-the-scenes show about the team this summer-- yes, I'm obsessed, deal with it), went for a short run, and now am trying to balance watching the Wild opener (illegitimately-- I won't give away my source because I'm selfish and I don't want them to shut the site down) and the Stars playoffs (very legally) live online. 

Right now, I'm sipping OJ out of my Buddha (no, it's not spiked- I'm still sick), absolutely thrilled with what I've seen from the boys in green through two periods, and pumped that exactly one week from now, I'll be there at the X watching the magic unfold in person. As I publish this, 4-1 Wild after 2. IMPRESSIVE.

P.S. Happy 53rd b-day Dad! You sure don't look it-- or run like it :) (impressive.)