Life updates

I haven't posted in such a long time (I know) but if I told you surgery rotation hours weren't exactly the most friendly for extra curricular activities, I'm sure you could understand (you've seen Grey's anatomy right - do they even leave the hospital??) .

All jokes aside, I really do love my surgery rotation. I'm on my last week in transplant surgery ("A day in the life" post will follow) and I'm sad to be leaving that rotation. I haven't had a lot of time to study for my surgery shelf exam so I will need to make that a priority in the upcoming few weeks but I have learned so much in the last month (even if it's not directly tested on my Shelf Exam), I know it has been an incredible and once in a lifetime experience.  I've had the opportunity to hold a beating heart, assist in surgeries, develop relationships with patients recovering from surgeries, and learn about the risks vs benefits of surgery in general. 

It's been an amazing privilege to be with people before, during, and after their operations or transplants. The most incredible thing I've experienced and witnessed first hand is the impact an organ donor can make on multiple lives. I can't put into words what it's like after an unfortunate death of an individual who then donates their heart, liver, kidneys, small bowel, or lungs and helps multiple people live years longer and have so much more time with their families that they otherwise wouldn't have. The surgeons in this specialty work crazy hours for others, are extremely selfless, and incredibly talented. I don't know if I'll ever experience anything like this again, but I'm so grateful I had the privilege to meet and learn from all of the individuals working to help these patients.

I've been filling other parts of my time with Jake testing out new dinner recipes, finishing up episodes of How I Met Your Mother (before our fall shows start up), finding success at finally getting our apartment to smell nice, working on my fall reading list, and studying for my surgery shelf exam. 

Working on some more blog posts tonight, stay tuned.