Exhausted

Memo to those who don't have a car: signing up for gyn-onc isn't really an option.  4:30 start time today, 4:45 tomorrow...buses don't start running (or rather, won't get to to Magee) until after 5.  The work is good, and there are really no moral dilemmas involved -- you're taking care of women who, for the most part, either are or may be in serious cancer-related trouble.  Sometimes things go well (specimens return from pathology as benign; tumors are resected with clear margins and no evidence of spread) and sometimes things go poorly (a routine procedure suffers a serious complication and the patient ends up losing several liters of blood into her chest or we go to do a simple laparoscopic procedure and find that the tumor has grown and spread), but either way you're doing something that's worthwhile.  If you can deal with the early wakeup times (3:30 or so isn't uncommon), I'd definitely recommend this service over benign gyn surgery (as one of my friends noted, "the case before and the case after mine were both abortions").

Today went more or less ok.  The attending I worked with was phenomenal, and I wouldn't at all mind working with him again tomorrow if circumstances allow.  I also got to see a robotic surgery for the first time -- unbelievably cool.  The machine is undoubtedly expensive, and so is the equipment for it, but the incredible freedom it allows the surgeon may ultimately end up justifying the cost as the technology improves and the surgeons gain more experience.  Unfortunately, also saw one of my patients made CMO (comfort measures only); she's unlikely to survive more than a few days (if that).  Once again, prayers for her and her family would be tremendously appreciated.

Anyhow, I'm exhausted and barely coherent, so I'm gonna head to bed so I can do this all again tomorrow.  Hope everyone is doing well...peace and God bless!