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My last AM in NY was a beautiful one. I ran the same route I ran the day before because the view was way too cool to only see once, then I had breakfast at the diner with Jack and Rizzo. And while Jack went to some math class whose name is too complicated for me to remember, I explored the campus and found the graveyard especially tantalizing. One of the things I love best about New England that we don't have a whole lot of here in the Midwest is history. If I could have made it work with my requirements for grad school, I would have majored in history in college because I find it fascinating. That evening, my flights back to Chicago were long and uneventful-- but I did connect in NYC this time, and the breathtaking view of the city at night from my window seat made the longer flight considerably less annoying.

I jumped right back into life at ORS by spending three hours at a continuing education course last night, where we watched arthroscopic shoulder and knee surgeries being performed on cadavers. It was co-hosted by Dr. Trenhaile, one of the most well-known ortho surgeons in the region who refers almost all of his shoulder patients to David. (I hear they co-own a hot dog truck, but I'm not sure if my sources are trustworthy. I'll look into it.) I had the pleasure of meeting him before the course started as we nibbled on appetizers (which, after having come straight from work, was more like as we devoured our dinners.) Trenhaile is another one of those good-to-know guys in northern IL-- he's the team physician for the Ice Hogs, and he even said he'd try to get me on the ice with the team before I head back to MN. I know not to get my hopes up, but it's pretty hard not to... 

Another thing that's hard to do is get too excited about this weather. I love fall, not 80 degree weeks in October. These temperatures are not conducive to my favorite sweatshirt-jeans wardrobe, nor to my cool afternoon runs or obsession with scented Yankee candles. If this is what I get for complaining about snow in NY on Saturday, fine. Just please don't skip over fall completely and head straight to windchills and black ice. 

A few more life updates:

+ Major breakthrough with a patient today. Came in with severe, debilitating knee pain that his doc couldn't diagnose, and we figured out it was in fact referred pain from the hip. Spent a few minutes doing manual therapy on his hip, and he was almost pain-free for the first time in months. How's that for a feel-good story?!
- I'm getting sick. It probably has something to do with spending quite a bit of time on an airplane and/or living with 6 college boys in fairly small quarters over the weekend. I'm relying on lots of water and sleep, plus the super spicy jalapeno chicken enchiladas I made for dinner tonight to help clear my sinuses. 
+ Made more sleepover plans with Kaitlin! She'll spend the night next Friday on her way home from Michigan, and we'll caravan back home together. 

- I work 6:30am- 6pm tomorrow. I'm getting tired just thinking about it.

- For the first time in 7 weeks, I'm finally feeling homesick. So ready to get out of Rockford, and back to my family and friends. Which brings me to my next point...

+ HOME in 10 DAYS! Despite the fact that I'll be moving back home for the 3rd time in as many years, I can't wait. The countdown begins...

crying havoc in new york

Jack lifted this guy off the ground--I was one proud sis.

For those who have traveled with me, you know that I'm one of the most prepared travelers on the face of the earth (which isn't always a good thing). I always spend an excessive amount of time packing (though I never overpack--I'm just an efficient packer), I always double check my flight status about twelve times, and I always arrive at the airport way too early (I'm talking hours). Always. So when my alarm went off at 5:45 Friday morning, and I rolled over to check my phone before jumping in the shower, the email from Orbitz entitled "Flight Cancellation Notice" shot waves of panic through my body. Really, it skipped over "delayed" and "rescheduled," straight to cancelled? That sure woke me up faster than any dose of caffeine ever could have. It ended up working out just fine-- I channeled my flight or flight panic reaction into flighting to my computer to check for other flight options, and Delta's website was surprisingly helpful. As if to apologize for freaking me out, Delta set me up with a much faster and easier travel schedule than I had originally planned for-- I left an hour later, had a quick 40 minute flight to Cincinnati (whose airport was far easier and less stressful to navigate than JFK would have been), and my layover time was cut in half. (Side note: I used to confuse "layover" with "hangover." Now I know why I would get funny looks in the airport when I was younger...)

xo

The trip went smoothly, though I had two hours to kill at the airport before Jack could come get me because he had practice (which I am 100% okay with, considering the kind of game I saw on Saturday). For the first time, I hit up the airport bar. After paying $9 for a beer, I can confidently say that will also be the last time I'll hit up an airport bar (until I'm no longer #livingoffstudentloans, at least). Jack and one of his roomies/rugby teammates Fink picked me up at 7, and I was welcomed by a slightly belated birthday prez- a homemade card and a CD. Pretty sure Jack hauled a typewriter with him to the airport to finish the card, but regardless, it's pretty cool. After the hour or so drive to Hamilton, we hit up the diner for a deliciously greasy dinner. Jack was even nice enough to let me sleep in his bed, while he took the couch. (Clean sheets were a prerequisite for my coming to NY.)

Saturday was gameday. Or, as the HCRFC (Hamilton College Rugby Football Club) likes to say, "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!" (Kind of weird, I know, but apparently it's a quote from a famous rugby coach.) The girls played at 11, so I spent 80 minutes trying to decipher some of the rules and figure out how exactly this crazy sport is played. I had a pretty good grasp of it come Jack's game at 1, and lucky for me, saw what I hear was the best game the Exiles have played all year. The forecast called for temps in the mid-40s, rain (I swear I saw a few snowflakes, by the way), and 100% chance of mud-- miserable conditions for spectators, but pretty great conditions for playing, I hear. The Exiles won big against RPI, a team they lost big to last year, and Jack scored twice. My body was numb and my fingers lost circulation, despite the blankets some of the rugby girls and I wrapped ourselves in, but it was thrilling. 

at one point, his shirt was white and his shorts were blue--I didn't dare get too close.

Risky Business with Julia and Rizzo

That night, one Super Pie (a gigantic pizza that doesn't fit through the door horizontally), two hot chocolates and a nap later, we donned our best Risky Business outfits and headed over to the social hosted by the girls and guys rugby teams. This was one thing I didn't pack for, but thankfully Nick had a few extra buttons downs that Rizzo and I borrowed. The referee (referred to as "The Sir") even made an appearance, and took down a beer pong team or two. We ended the night the same way we started- with a brief nap before another Super Pie, our second in about 9 hours. 

Sunday was the epitome of a lazy day. Slept in, and barely left the room (which, by the way, is a pretty cool setup- a quad and a double connected by a big common room, complete with wooden floors and a fake brick fireplace) before dinner. Jack and I trekked over to the WHCL studio for his radio show at noon (tune in here: WHCL 88.7), which was pretty dang cool. He and a few pals spend an hour each Sunday talking and playing a few of their favorite new tunes. Today, we chatted about the big Exile win and Dad's 28th Twin Cities Marathon finish this morning, and they even let me play a few songs. 

My picks for the radio: "Mine Is Yours" ~ Cold War Kids and "Blue Cassette" ~ Friendly Fires.

After I digested my sesame chicken (we ordered $87 worth of Chinese food for about half the rugby team that spent the day in Jack's room), I went on my customary new town run (the least I could do after a diner meal, two super pies, a 3-keg social and Chinese, all in about 36 hours). It was a gorgeous sunny day in Upstate New York, and I was treated to some breathtaking views of the valley (I knew taking Valley View Road would be worth it). 

{courtesy of hamilton.edu/photos}

At about 7, Jack decided it was time to be productive (somehow, I don't remember ever being able to afford starting homework at that hour in college, but that's just me), so now, we're at the science center studying/blogging/trying to figure out how the only two winning sports teams in MN are soccer and women's basketball... {The Stars won their first playoff game last night, and the Lynx are in the national championship?!} Tomorrow, I say adios to Jack and to Clinton, NY and head back to IL for just 9 more days at ORS. If only I could spend a few more days acting like a college kid on this gorgeous campus, but back to reality...

the "i" word

Having spent only one full day and two half days in the clinic, this week has flown by. Tuesday morning, I was at Rockford Spine Center shadowing Dr. Roh and his PA, Matt, where I truly felt like I was learning from the best-- when I wasn't distracted by Roh's Yankees World Series Championship pin from when he was the club's team physician, that is. For a split second, in admiration of the puzzles and challenges and critical thinking Roh faced during his patient visits, I wondered whether I should have indeed stuck with the med school route. But when I realized just how crazy busy he is, and how little time he is allowed to spend with each patient, I snapped back to reality and realized just how rewarding it is to guide the patients back on their road to recovery after the fact. 

I was in an unusually good mood for 6:45am. 

Wednesday morning, I headed over to Rockford Memorial Hospital, where I donned some sexy blue scrubs and observed two microdiscectomies/laminectomies, which are performed on patients who have herniated discs that didn't respond to conservative treatment (PT and epidurals)-- see the pic below for a very basic understanding. Because the procedure is performed through a tube using a microscope (the scars are only about an inch long), I watched most of it on a video camera, but it was still quite an experience being there, so close to the patient, and seeing all that goes down in an OR. But, I made the mistake of mentioning the dreaded "i" word [infection] in the OR, when talking to Matt about the new technique Dr. Roh is pioneering that is drastically lowering infection rates after spinal surgeries. (His latest article, entitled "Intra-wound Application of Vancomycin for Prophylaxis In Instrumented Thoracolumbar Fusions, was published in February 2011. I'll spare you by not attaching the link.) When that man has time to conduct ground-breaking research and write it up for a journal, in addition to spend time with his family, remain trilingual and golf, is beyond me.

Disc herniation --> pushes on nerve (the white spaghetti-shaped thing) --> leg pain. Remove the protruding disc = remove the leg pain.

In other news-- for the first time today, I said goodbye to a patient, who is leaving for vacation and won't be back until I'm done at ORS. She was one of the very few patients with whom I didn't think I hit it off particularly well, but she must not have felt the same because she gave me a huge hug. If that was semi-tough, I can't imagine what two weeks from Friday will be like. Only 2 more weeks in IL, yikes! (And also, yay!) After work, I've been going to Peak, the fitness center that you could only imagine in your wildest dreams. This place is downright incredible, and several of my patients are members, so they hooked me up with guest passes-- gotta know the right people. 

Speaking of knowing the right people, I went to the Rockford Ice Hogs game last night, where I met the Assistant GM of the Blackhawks. Never know when that connection will come in handy. (Actually, I do know. That'll come in handy when I'm applying for my dream job as a PT for an NHL team. Score!)  Unfortunately, though, that's one thing the Hogs didn't do enough of--score-- and they lost 4-2. I also talked to my friend the zamboni driver from Monday night hockey, who used to compete in the X-games. (I'm less clear as to how that will come in handy in the future, but that's ok.) And I met all kinds of big hockey names in Rockford, including guys who were just sent down from the Hawks but didn't have time to dress, when watching the game with my patient, who's one of the equipment managers. So refreshing to spend time in a rink, which always makes an unfamiliar city feel more familiar. 

Talk about great seats, eh? 

But now-- off to Hamilton, baby, where I plan to hunt down Jon Bon Jovi's daughter (she's a freshman, and I am ridiculously obsessed with several of her dad's songs).  Hopefully, I'll also have time to see Jack. I'm dreading the airport parking situation at O'Hare, but I've done my research and have figured out the absolute cheapest long term lot there is, which, of course, isn't very cheap. (This is where, on Twitter, I'd hashtag something along the lines of #livingoffstudentloans.) Assuming I don't blow away with these 60 mph winds gusting through Rockford now (the power better not go out, or I'll be packing with the help of my scented Yankee candles), I'll be in the air before 11am. Clinton, here I come. 

At the Bon Jovi concert last spring. It's my life.