Pediatric shift

I'm less than two shifts away from finishing my residency and I thought it was necessary that I ask, nay DEMAND to go to pediatric surgery.

Little adults these small loud creatures are not (hah!).

The wide teary eyes staring back at me while I hold the oxygen mask over the face they belong to with an iron grip are always and I do mean always, wide with fear. Anesthetic induction in kids is definitely a lot more traumatic to them compared to the surgery. It's also a bit traumatic for the anesthesiologist, to be quite honest.

It all starts with some pampering and baby talk and devolves into the eventual "pin him down!" and "please keep the kid from kicking me in the face/scratching off any more of my skin!". I like to call it the "Raya and Sekeena method". The physical immobilization, the mask firmly held over their squirming faces and the terror of it all. Those poor kids.

It's for their own good though and if I have to be the mean guy they have nightmares about for the rest of their life (and there must a shit-ton of kids "dreaming" of my masked face right now), then so be it!

 

Source : http://www.kindernarkose.ch/cartoons.htm

No Regrets

He was undergoing a metatarsal amputation of the right foot, which means they were chopping off all his toes at the same time. They had already taken his left leg just below the knew. Diabetes tends to do that to you if you don't treat it with the respect and care it deserves.

We gave him spinal anesthesia, so he was awake but silent for most of the operation. I actually thought he was asleep until he suddenly said, " I don't have any toes anymore. Everyone has ten and now I have none. ". He said it with a calm smile on his face as he continued, " But I've had a full life. I've seen the world. Thanks be to God for everything".

I just sat there not knowing what to say. What can I say to that, anyway? It was sad and tragically poetic.

I hope I speak the same words in 40 years or so - minus the part about the toes, of course.

Here's Edith Piaf - Non, je ne regrette rien.

Am I being a hypocrite?

I decided recently that I would finally do it, I would finally get braces. I've had this annoying crooked tooth for about 6 yrs now. The lateral incisor is pushed behind the other (surprisingly very straight) teeth. People tell me they hardly notice it if I don't point it out but to me, it always stood out in a picture when I smiled or when I looked in the mirror. I always thought, "hey, if nobody notices it then why down a long , expensive and possibly painful road just for your vanity?". Thing is, I've been recently thinking that it might get gradually harder for me to clean it, food might get stuck there, sinus trouble (according to what one dentist told me) and it already bleeds sometimes when I brush my teeth. So even though braces aren't paritcularly attractive at any age, I'd rather have them by choice at 21 than have them by necessity at 30, or possibly an even more expensive procedure like dentures or implants or something.
The thing is, I've always been against plastic surgery. I've always hated ppl who complained that their noses were too big or their chins were too small. I mean, unless it's causing some major psychological distress(though in cases of low self-esteem, I don't think changing your appearance is necessarily the right way to go), why go through major surgery just to fit society's perception of beauty? You can be absolutely beautiful and still loathe yourself. I even dislike colored contact lenses because I feel that it somehow makes you ungenuine. So does getting braces make me a hypocrite? Granted I'm getting it for health reasons as well but I won't exactly be upset with the cosmetic outcome of it. I never wanted perfectly straight teeth, I just wanted them to look normal.

Le sigh, I guess I'll visit the orthodontist next week and see if I'll go through with it.