Life as an Intern

I thought these were two neat shots of the West Texas sky.

I was glancing back over some of my old posts and I realized that I have never really talked that much about what life is like as an intern in internal medicine. I just realized I need to change the blurb on my blog to read, "Life as an INTERN. "Run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith." Internship has really cut back on my free time and that has certainly meant less time to post on this blog. The blog isn't the only thing in my life that has been neglected though.

I started off internship on CCU. The call is Q4 which means every fourth night you are working a 30 hour shift and you only get the day off if it is a weekend and it isn't days 1 or 2 of your four day cycle. Needless to say, it was a busy month. You have to learn quickly when you are on call by yourself and at 3am in the morning, someone starts complaining of chest pain or their heart rate jumps to the 180s and they start complaining of shortness of breath. I can't remember as a medical student having to interpret EKGs, but it is a little different when you are the only one looking at it and the person with chest pain and possibly have a heart attack is in the next room. It was a fun month though and some of the attending physicians at my training program were excellent instructors.

The next month was spent on the "wards" which means inpatient internal medicine. We were on call Q5. There is a greater variety of patients. They tend to stay in the hospital longer and there are more social issues. It was also my first time to have medical students working with me. As an intern, it is really a struggle to take care of your patients, do all the paperwork, keep in touch with the attendings and consults, and then do a good job of teaching the medical students.

The next months was an elective in ophthalmology. This is the are of medicine that I am going into starting next year so it was fun to get some early exposure. It was a change of pace from inpatient medicine. The month made me realize just how much I have to learn before I start next fall.

The past two and half months have again been back on "wards." There are certainly times when I would like to go back to being a fourth year medical student. The other day at noon lunch/lecture, I was talking to an old medical student friend of mine who took a year off from medical school to study at Bible college in Canada. I did three years of medical school with her, but now is is one year behind. It was funny. I think it was a Friday and she we were discussing what we were up to next. I had the next two days, the weekend, off and was thrilled. She had the next two months off.

The hours for internship are tough. I know that it used to be harder back in the day, but it certainly is no walk in the park these days. Four days off a month is not much. Most days start for me at 5am. I try to get there at 6am or soon thereafter. We average one day off a week and every fifth day is a 30 hour shift. I have certainly come to have a great appreciation for my time off. A weekend off is something to be treasured. Friends that you used to see everyday at school, you might see every month or two if you are lucky. Trying to coordinate the schedules of people who are working 80 hours a week is tough.

Last spring when I was enjoying my fourth year, I managed to get bumped off two flights and picked up two vouchers. Both have to used within one year. I guess starting in July, it didn't really dawn on me that it might be April before I would get more than two days off in a row. Last night I drove the airport and I now I think I have something worked out where I can still get some use out of the vouchers.

Making it out the assembly is also another challenge. You are working about 50% of you Sundays. And going to the weeknight meeting is tough because you are often either on call or have to be at work early the next morning. I am very grateful that several people from the local assemblies live nearby and I can meet up with them outside the regular meetings.

The first two months of internship I was living with an older Indian couple here in the Dallas area. They were kind enough to take me in for a bit after my lease ran out on my apartment and before I found a more permanent place. I ended up buying a home not too far from where I will be doing my residency next year. Being a first time homebuyer was a learning experience. There is a lot of work that has to be done to keep up a place too. Three months later, I still have boxes spread out around my place. There is still quite a few things I can't find. I am sure they will show up eventually. Two days ago I went to put on a pair of boots and realized there was a dry erase eraser in there so who knows were everything is going to show up.

Well, I have a little free time tonight and going to try to catch a racquetball game before it gets too late. You have to eat, sleep, and exercise when you can in internship.

Israel (Day 10)

4/12/08 We left Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee and headed for the Jordan River baptism site at Yardenit. The water was very dirty looking and contained many unclean fish. The verses of Jesus’ baptism were posted in multiple languages at the site. After four people from the group were baptized, we drove to Beit-Shean/Scyhthopolis. The told us it would be an impressive archeological site, but I was more than impressed with what has been excavated so far. Its location is at the juncture of the Jordan and Jezreel valleys and it has been occupied for much of human history. Most of the buildings were well preserved but many pillars were damaged in an earthquake. From the site, we were able to see Gilead. We continued to drive south past Mt. Gilboa and Jericho. We were less than one mile from the Jordan River, the border between Israel and Jordan. We stopped at Qumran and saw the caves were the dead sea scrolls were discovered. They were spread out through many caves in the rugged hillside. We kept going down to the Dead Sea where we would spend the night. I believe this is the lowest place on earth, at several hundred feet below sea level. That evening, I went down to the Dead Sea and went for a float. I was surprised at how easy it was to float. I had been assuming I would need to use a little bit of effort. I used a rock to help with balance. The water was warm and I could see crystallized salt everywhere. There was a boat attached to some steel poles. The poles had about six inches of sold salt surrounding them. The salt water certainly made any wounds or sores uncomfortable. I was able to pick some rocks up off the bottom of the sea. They were covered with crystallized salt. I brought them back to the US, but many of the larger crystals were knocked off.

The baptism site at Yardenit on the Jordan River. They had these verses posted in thirty to forty different languages. This one kind of caught my eye.


I think they actually dam up the river so there is enough water for baptisms. The pastor on our bus was only willing to baptize believers who had not be baptized before. As you can tell, the water doesn't look so clean. I can understand why Naman wasn't so keen on dipping in here.



An early Roman bathroom at Beit-Shean/Scyhthopolis. You can see the drain where the water flowed. It was probably cleaner than most of the gas stations we stop at these days.


Standing on the Tel overlooking Beit-Shean/Scyhthopolis. According to 1 Samuel 31, this where the Philistines fastened the bodies of Saul and his three sons after defeating them at the battle on Mt. Gilboa. Some remains of the walls of a fortress of the time of King David and Solomon is seen here too. Gideon also went to a brook nearby here for people to drink. This place has many impressive structures including bathhouses, a larger public theater, and public latrines. I can only imagine what it looked like back then.


I have some more pictures of Qumran and the Dead Sea. They will be in my next post.

Additional Pictures from Day 9 in Israel

Looking along the security fence between Israel and Lebanon. There were several signs warning of uncleared mines. This is where Israel and Hezbollah fought a year or two ago. I am not sure if those are bunkers in the left side of the photo.

The two thousand year old boat at the Kibbutz.

Riding on the bow of the boat on Sea of Galilee.

You can see how the wind can be strong on the surface of the sea. Apparently the air rushes out across the water after coming down from the Golan Heights which you see in the background.

I tried to walk on the Sea of Galilee but started to sink immediately. Sorry for the blurry photo.

Israel (Day 9)

4/11/08 We left Tiberias and drove to Capernaum where we saw the ancient synagogue. There were two sets of remains, the originals from the time of Christ and then those that were built on top in about 400AD. In the same area we also saw the remains of what is thought to be Peters house. Over top the remains is a large Catholic church. After that we drove up a hill behind the city to the Mt of Beatitudes, which included a natural theater on the hillside. On the hill, we visited the Church of Beatitudes, a Roman Catholic Church built relatively recently. If I remember correctly, it was built with some financial support from Mussolini. From there, we drove north to Dan. We saw many streams from springs which feed the Jordan River flowing to the south. Driving from Dan to Caesarea Philippi we went along the Lebanon-Israel border, site of recent conflict with Hezbollah. Looking out from the bus we could easily see the Lebanese towns, Israeli patrol roads, and large fences. Beside the road were signs warning people not to go there because of land mines. We were certainly within range of gunfire or rockets as we were less than one mile from the border. We had lunch in Caesarea Philippi. There we saw the remains of multiple temples, city ruins, and a deep cave with a spring that also fed the Jordan River. We drove back south to Galilee and saw an ancient boat, estimated to be 200 years old, in Kibbutz Ginosar. From Ginosar we took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Tiberias. During the trip there were several short messages and songs (Hebrew and English). I managed to get a seat on the bow with a great view. It was neat to think who would have been sailing around on this lake about 2000 years ago. From the boat we could see the Golan Heights on the Northeastern shore. That evening after dinner, I took a walk along the Sea of Galilee. I walked in the water, not on it.

The excavations and synagogue at Capernaum.

Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee where Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.

The springs of Caesarea Philippi. It was here at the site of much pagan worship that Peter confessed "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Israel (Day 8)

4/10/08 We drove up the coast to Caesarea and saw the ancient remains. There was Herod’s palace, the hippodrome, theater, and quite a bit of other stuff. I think the hippodrome is where they held the horse or chariot races and later where Christians were put to fight animals. From there we drove up and saw the aqueduct that brought water from Mt. Carmel to the city. We went up to the top of Mt. Carmel where we had a commanding view of the Jezreel Valley. While looking out, we saw several F16’s fly overhead. We also were able to see Nazareth and Mt. Tabor. We drove down to Megiddo and saw the ruins of many civilizations. From here you could see Jenin, the site or much conflict only a few years ago. We saw the Valley of Megiddo, the site of many battles in the past and one to come. Leaving there we drove to Nazareth, a Jewish and Arab city. In Nazareth Village, a 1st century recreation, our guide, an Arab believer, explained to us many of the parables that Jesus would have shared. They had many recreations of what He referred to in the parables. There was a wild little donkey tied to a tree that made me think of that children’s song, “there once was a wild little donkey, who had to be tied to a tree.” We drove past Cana on the way to Tiberias where we would spend the night. It was interesting to drive 200 meters below sea level. That evening, I was able to walk along the Sea of Galilee. I also had the chance to visit with a fellow tourist about Christianity, faith, logic, the reliability of the Bible. It was also that night that we figured out our guide was a Jewish believer, when she prayed in Jesus name.

Caesarea along the Mediterranean Sea, where the Gentiles first heard the gospel from Peter. This is the hippodrome beside the amphitheatre and aqueduct.

Looking out across the Jezreel Valley from Mt. Carmel, where Elijah hid from King Ahab. Notice the runways where the F-16s flew out and then over our heads.

Looking from Megiddo, across the valley to Nazareth on the left and Mount Tabor on the right.

An ancient olive press at Nazareth Village.

A little ship on the Sea of Galilee.

Hurricane Ike is Coming

I just moved into my new place a few weeks ago and had plans this weekend to apply the water seal to my new wood fence. It has already been rained on a couple of times. I frantically painted as much as I could yesterday afternoon. The container says that you should give the stuff 24-48 hours to seal before it gets wet. I kept checking the weather forecast and it now looks like Dallas will start getting a lot of rain from Hurricane Ike about 10AM tomorrow morning. From what I can tell, we are going to get a few days of rain. So much for getting the thing painted in time. I guess I will just use the afternoon to assembly my new non-motorized lawn mower and see what I can get done. Tomorrow I am going to try my hand at sealing some tile and grout. Owning a house is great, but it seems like their is always stuff to get done. I kind of miss being able to call the office and having them send some one to fix it.

I am not sure if I will ever get my notes typed up from my Middle East trip. Somehow in this move I have managed to misplace quite a bit of stuff, including my trip notes. Last week, an English couple that was on the trip sent me a DVD that had almost two hours of footage from all three countries.

Internship is going well, but it is quite busy; thus the month or two delay between posts. There is so much stuff to learn and you really have to learn it on the fly. One of the hardest things about internship is figuring out a way to meet up with some of your other co-interns at other programs. With our call schedules, it is nearly impossible to meet. We are limited to 80 hours a week, but if you have three or four people working 80 hours a week, what are the chances of finding a time to get them together.

Busy

I am well aware it has been ages since I have done an update. I have yet to even finish typing up all the notes from my trip. Even though I was out of school for a little while there always seemed to be something that was taking up my time. Since my last post, I have graduated, moved twice, gone to Canada, and started residency. For the past week and half I have been working in the CCU or on the CCU team. Every fourth night I am on call and that just doesn't allow for a whole lot of free time. Once I get a little better routine, I will finish typing up my notes from my trip.

Jordan (Days 6-7)

4/8/08
The day started early with a 6am wakeup call. I guess compared to the third year medical school schedule that isn’t bad at all. On surgery, I would have checked the labs, rounded on all my patients and written my notes by then. We drove about an hour to Petra. Before we arrived our guide took us up to the hills surrounding the site. Even with him pointing out the site, I couldn’t see the city. He also pointed out Mt. Aaron where there is a mosque on the peak as well as Little Petra. After arrival at the park entrance, we walked back toward the city. The entrance is a small “siq” which can’t be more than five to ten feet wide. It seemed like about a one kilometer walk back into the city. There was incredible stone work. There was an aquaduct carved in both sides of the walls to bring water down into the city. There were also clay pipes. The multi-colored red sand stone was impressive. The first building you see upon entering the city is what is called the Treasury. It was huge and the carvings were detailed. It exceeded my expectations. Several parts of it had been damaged in the past century by people using it for target practice. At some point, I believe this area was inhabited by the Edomites, the descendants of Esau. There were many other structures, including a large theatre. I think they said it would seat close to five thousand. After leaving Petra, we drove to Amman, which I believe was Rabbath-ammon in the Bible, going through the land of the Moabites and the Ammonites.

You can see a picture of the treasury in Petra in an earlier post.
Picture 1: Donkey and buggy riding through narrow pathway out of Petra.

Picture 2: Building carved in hillside.


4/9/08
This morning we left for Madaba, the Biblical town of Medeba, south of Amman where we visited the Greek Orthodox Church of St. George. There was a mosaic map there, which I believe was from the Byzantine era. It showed the earliest known map of the Holy Land. From there we went up to Mt. Nebo, were we had an amazing view of the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and Israel. I think we could also see Jericho and Gilead from there. On this mountain many years ago, God showed Moses the promised land. Leaving the mountain, we headed toward Israel and made our crossing of the Jordan River at the Allenby Bridge. Security was tight. They x-rayed my bags, asked questions, and sent me through one of those air sampling machines. Driving into Israel and toward Netanya, we must have driven through some of the West Bank, because we had to pass multiple security checkpoints. Israeli soldiers with machine guns were common as were military lookouts. After dinner at the hotel, I headed out to walk along the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. Several military planes and helicopters passed low overhead. I wondered if they were heading to Gaza or if they were just on routine patrol.

Picture 1: Using cut stone to create mosaic.

Picture 2: Standing on Mt. Nebo with Dead Sea over my right shoulder. Directly behind me is the Jordan Valley and River. Beyond that is Israel. Over my left shoulder would be Jericho.

Picture 3: Mediterranean Sea at sunset.

Egypt (Day 5)

4/7/08
Wake-up call was at 12:30am and coffee was served at 1am. At 1:30am we arrived at the base of Mt. Sinai and I hopped on my camel. It was a single hump camel. I rode it in the pitch black for about two or three hours up the mountain. We were supposed to have Bedouin guides, but they rarely checked in on us. Even though the path was about six feet wide, the camels always seemed to walk about six inches from the edge of the path. I was sure it was going to trip and go off the cliff. In the pitch black, they did remarkable well. There seemed to be no way for me to get comfortable in the saddle. Every half mile or so, we would come across small shops selling batteries, tea, coffee, or cokes. As a small amount of sun appeared, the barren landscape became more visible. After riding the camel for quite a ways, I hopped off and began to hike the last 750 steps to the peak. There were some people in front of me in terrible shape. Even though they tried to warn people that it was a tough climb, there were people up there who had no business being there. I had to run around a few people to make it up peak for sunrise, but did make it. There was a little bit of haze but the view was still incredible. The walk down was nice because I could finally see what I was riding by earlier. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we drove up to St. Catherine Monastery, what I was told was the oldest monastery in the world (built somewhere around 300AD). The day before we had been sold tickets to tour the place, but that morning we were informed that in fact they were closed due to the celebration of a feast. Our guides explained that because it was on Greek Orthodox Church territory, they didn’t really have much say in the matter. In the end, the monastery people let us see the courtyards and the burning bush. The tourists loved the bush, but I am not sure that it would have survived the past couple thousand years. We didn’t get to see the chapel. The wilderness in Sinai is incredibly desolate. Maybe I understand a little bit better why the Israelites weren't so content to hang out there. Leaving there we continued on to the Gulf of Aqaba where we boarded a catamaran for a trip across to Aqaba, considered by many to be Ezion Geber, the seaport of King Solomon. Unfortunately, there was so much luggage on board that we couldn’t access the upper deck and therefore had to make the crossing inside. At one point I was able to sneak outside. From the boat, we could see Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. When we arrived, I was able to see some huge tankers and cruise ships. That night I walked down to the Gulf of Aqaba, the northern part of the Red Sea. I walked through the water, but it did not part for me.

In and earlier post you can see me by one of the camels.
Picture 1: Here is one of the camels we rode pat of the way up Mt. Sinai.

PIcture 2: Sunrise on Mt. Sinai.

Picture 3: St. Catherine Monastery with what I believe is the lower part Mt. Sinai in background.

Picture 4: "burning bush"

PIcture 5: Standing Gulf of Aqaba (Nortern Red Sea).

Egypt (Days 3-4)

4/5/08
Waking up exhausted, I head off for a quick breakfast. It was then on the tour bus. We visited the pyramids and sphinx on the West Side of the Nile. I guess they are on the West side, because Egyptians bury people on the side that the sun goes down. I was amazed at the size of the pyramids. I believe Cheops, the tallest, was originally 496 feet. I knew they were big, but not that big. I was also impressed with the amount of tourist there. They were everywhere. During the morning we had our first “pre-arranged” shopping stop. Our guide would tell us not to buy from street vendors and instead buy from the shop of his choosing. However, I got the distinct feeling that the places we stopped gave our guide a nice cut of the profits from our visit. We weren’t given too much time at any shopping place either which meant that we couldn’t really bargain much. Anyway, I bought a simple painting on papyrus. In the afternoon, we visited the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. There was a phenomenal amount of stuff there. I was surprised that they weren’t doing a better job of preserving what they had there. The crowds were huge. King Tutankhamen’s stuff was impressive; gold and more gold. There was no shortage of mummies either. On the way back to the hotel we made another shopping stop. It was over the Nile River and back to the hotel.

Picture 1: Standing in front of Cheops, the tallest of the pyramids.


4/6/08
I had no problem sleeping during the night. We left Cairo early for Sinai, the peninsula in Eastern Egypt. The desert on the way out was very dry and barren. We crossed under the Suez Canal in a tunnel. We could see the big ships passing along the waterway. We stopped at what is believed to be Marah (springs of Moses) and the oasis of Elim. We could see the Gulf of Suez before heading toward Rephidim and Mt. Sinai/Horeb. There were quite a few Bedouins along the way. We arrived at the base of Mt. Sinai and had a quick dinner before catching a few hours of sleep. The hotel was primitive.

Picture 1: Marah, which was surrounded by desert.

Picture 2: Hotel near base of Mt. Sinai. It is not Mt. Sinai the background.

Getting There (Days 1-2)

4/3/08 I didn’t get to bed until 3am because I was up packing and getting last minute stuff together. After eating a late breakfast with Dr. and Mrs. Yamamoto, they dropped me off at the airport. It was off to Chicago on a Boeing 777 at 1pm. During my seven hour layover, the Kisers picked me up and we went over to Bible Truth Publishers for dinner and a tour. I was impressed with the place and grateful for the chance to visit with people during my layover. Then it was off to Amman, Jordan on an Airbus A340. If I remember correctly, it was close to a 15 hour flight. I was surprised that in addition to the usual flight tracking, they also kept track of where Kaaba was relative to the plane. There was also a travel prayer in Arabic. We arrived in Amman at 6:30pm the following day.

4/4/08 A scheduled one and a half hour layover in Amman turned into a three hour delay. They never really told us what was going on. I was worried to because that meant I would get into Cairo, Egypt pretty late. I was already concerned about getting in at 8:15pm. I wasn’t sure that my ride would stick around to take me to the hotel. The guy in the seat next to me, a refugee from Ramallah, was actually supposed to stay at the same hotel and offered to let me go with his driver. As it turns out, my ride was there when I got in a close to 11am. He already had my visa and we were back at the hotel, Intercontinental Pyramids, by mid-night. It had been 30 hours since I left my apartment in Dallas. Cairo is huge and the drivers are crazy. People just drive where they can fit and sometimes can’t fit. A quick little dinner and then I tried to sleep. However, it was 5pm Dallas time, so I tossed and turned for five or six hours.

Trip Log Plans

I am going to attempt to post my daily notes from my trip to Egypt, Jordan, and then Israel. Hopefully, I can include a few pictures from each day. If you notice errors in the notes (other than grammar), please feel free to let me know.

Back from Trip

I just arrived back in Dallas a few hours ago, but am still wide awake. It might take a day or two to adjust to the eight hour time change. The trip was great. I am quite worried. I purchased a new memory card for my camera before leaving on the trip. It contains about 1000 or so photos, including 99% of the Israel portion of my trip. For some reason, my computer is not wanting to read the card. Hopefully this is something that can be resolved tomorrow.

Here are a few photos from the Egypt and Jordan portion of the trip. The first two are near Cairo at the pyramids and sphinx. The next one is of one of the camels I rode on my hike up Mt. Sinai. The last one is of Petra.

Last Match

After a few days up in Colorado skiing, I flew back to Dallas last night in order to be around for Match Day. Today was the second big match day. Before I start my ophthalmology residency, I need to complete a preliminary year of internal medicine, so I had to participate in a second match. This morning at 11am, all the medical students in my class went down to their mailboxes, opened them and found their match results (where they will be going for residency). I had already matched for ophthalmology here in Dallas so it wasn't quite as big an event as some of my friends who were matching for the next 5-6 years, but it was still exciting. I matched at one of the major hospitals in town. It's great because I won't have to move twice. It has been some time since I had seen a lot of my classmates. During third and fourth year we get so spread out that we rarely see most of our fellow med students, people we saw nearly every day during first and second year. I guess the next time I see most of them again will be graduation which is about two months away.

Second Canada Trip

Well, it wasn't much more than a day in Dallas before heading back up to Canada. This time it was up to the Ottawa area to visit some friends and family. It was great to see my grandparents.

My flight up there was chaotic. I got in about six hours late and had no luggage. It didn't arrive for another two days. On the second day we had 8 inches of new snow and there was already a ton on the ground. Earlier in the week, there had been some freezing rain so we had 8 inches onto of glass ice. That was the day I drove to Ottawa. I regret doing that. Most of the neighborhood streets were impossible to navigate. People were getting stuck all over the place. At one point I drove around for 45 minutes because I was afraid that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start again. The picture here was taken a day or two later after they had "cleared" the streets. Many of the snowbanks were 6 or 7 feet tall. From the picture, you can also see it was near impossible to park on the street. You will get stuck, towed, or get buried in snow by the plows.


On the last day in town with my grandparents, I went over the the local hospital with them just for fun to play the bagpipes for some patients and staff. I wore my grandfathers Scottish outfit which was interesting. I don't think I will post any pictures of that. It was fun though.

The last night that I was in Ottawa, we all had met up at the Smith's and headed out to play hockey on one of the public outdoor rinks. We had been playing for 45 minutes to an hour and someone said "next goal wins" so we were just about to wrap things up. Anyway, a teammate of mine and I were heading toward a loose puck at center ice. We both decided at the last second to leave it for the other person and skate around. Well, we both stepped to the same side and collided head to head at a pretty good clip. It sent both of sailing backwards. I really don't think I have ever been hit so hard and the ice wasn't such a soft landing either. Blood was coming from inside and outside my nose. There was soon a new red spot at center ice. All my teeth were still in place, so I was thankful for that. The next morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been run over by a train. I hopped on flight, all three of them and made it back to Dallas. Once again, my luggage failed to make it.

Fernie Ski Trip

This past Monday I took off for Calgary, Alberta to go skiing in Fernie, British Columbia. I was supposed to leave on Sunday but ended up getting bumped twice and leaving the next day. I just couldn't turn down the vouchers. The flight was direct to Calgary and the shuttle left within an hour of touching down. That night I met up with the others who had already arrived from Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the whole group. I know the others took hundreds, if not thousands of pictures, so I guess I need to get one from them. On Tuesday, I got my skis and we all hit the slopes. There wasn't a whole lot of warmup as the second run was bumps in the trees.

The scenery was amazing. I was impressed with the ruggedness of the terrain compared to what I had seen in Colorado.

It seemed like everywhere you turned there was another avalanche warning sign.

On Wednesday we took a hike up Polar Peak. We started the hike around 3:30pm in the afternoon so my legs already felt like Jello. My guess was that it was about a 400meter hike at about a 45 degree angle. Here is a picture from a ridge that was about a mile away. Way down on the left you can see some people climbing. We climbed up and then had to head right out to the peak.

Some in the group had made the climb the day before. I was told two less than reassuring comments from them before we started. First, "I am sure you can get up there, but I can't really guarantee that you will get down safely." One of my cousins mentioned that it was the first time in a long time that he really sort of feared for his life. Anyway, we made it up to the top. At the saddle, we found what was likely a stone or some tree that had been blown solid with snow. It doubled as a horse.

At the top, there was a nice snow cave large enough to hold about five people. There was also a lone 'closed' sign. The view was spectacular. You could see so far in all directions.


Skiing down was fun. I didn't really get a good look over one of the edges, but I would estimate on the side we ended up skiing down, that if you fell, you would probably go for about a kilometer before coming to a stop. You had to avoid heading over the rocks and trees too. Here is Seth taking the plunge. If you look way down the hill, I think you can see a lone skier.

Here is Erin catching a break on the way down. It gives you an idea of the slope.

We must have been the last people down the hill as we didn't get back to the condo until well after 5pm, but the climb was well worth it.

Overall, it was a great trip. I enjoyed the chance to visit with the others. After a hard year of school and interviewing, it was nice to get on a plane and bring a ski suit instead of a dress suit. On Monday, I should be heading back up to Canada but to the other side.

Ranking Again, School Done

It seems like it was not too long ago that I was ranking my ophthalmology programs. The results are already back for that I and I know where I will be. However, before I start my ophthalmology training I need to complete an intern year. Tonight I certified my rank list for those programs. I had a pretty good idea what I wanted for spots 1-4, but after that I was not sure. The deadline is not until next week, so there is still a chance I may go back and alter my list, but that is unlikely. At the end of March, I will get the match results.

Tuesday was a very big day for me. It was the last day of my medical school classes and rotations. I completed all my emergency medicine shifts and took the final exam. The rotation was interesting. You never knew what might come through the doors. There will be a few days of ACLS training in May, but that is essentially it before graduation at the end of May.

I am leaving the country for a trip next week, but I am hoping to sit down some time in the next little while to give some thoughts on my medical school experience. Tonight I am just too tired.

Mixed Signals

I came across this photo today from one of my trips I took during medical school. Seems like someone could get confused by this signal. You're not really sure what to do.

This reminded me of the gospel message I heard last night. The speaker was a gentleman from Singapore. He spoke of the passage in Mark 9 where God speaking to Peter, James, and John tell them "This is my beloved Son (Jesus): Hear Him." He then went to John 3 where Jesus tell Nicodemus "you must be born again." There was no uncertainty in the signal. He told him he MUST be born again.

The Results Are In

I had hoped to post this message a little sooner, but I have been on call for the past 32 hours. Sounds like a few of you have already heard the good news. I matched at University of Texas-Southwestern here in Dallas for ophthalmology. This was my first choice so I am obviously very happy. There were a few nervous hours yesterday morning. In the past our Dean's office has had our match results faxed to them early in the morning. However, yesterday morning, the results weren't there. Instead of the call I was expecting at 7:30-8am, there was silence. It wasn't until 10:30am that I got the email from UTSW. A little while later I got a call from the Dean's office. Unfortunately, I was on call yesterday so I had to head up to work for the day; not much of a celebration.

Now I know where I will be for three of the next four years. In March I will hopefully match for my preliminary or transition year. Then I will know where I am going for next year.

I know a couple of my friends are matching in the next week or two and then the rest match in March. I am excited to see where everyone else is headed.

What Will Tomorrow Hold?

The end of an era draws nigh. I only have two more months of rotations, my sub-internship and emergency medicine, left during this my fourth and last year of medical school. Today my ophthalmology rank list was finalized. In about two weeks I will receive notification if and where I have matched. In March, I will find out where I am to go for my internship.

Right now I am on my sub-internship rotation and staying very busy. Trying to write notes and get all the paperwork done with a broken finger on my right hand is certainly a challenge.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6:33-34