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.)