Back in the Burrito

Justin and I are sorry for not posting earlier. We are currently back in Hillsboro (near Portland, OR) and have been having a crazy awesome time.

I am working in the Emergency Department directly across the street from Pacific University where I spent 50+ hrs per week last year slaving away in the classroom/library. Now I slave away (literally b/c I'm working without pay) in the ER but it's so much more enjoyable! I had ER experience prior to PA school and feel very comfortable in this fast paced atmosphere. I love it actually.

Today I saw a corneal harvest. This procedure was performed by an eye tech in accordance with organ donation wishes by a patient who expired earlier this morning about 1.5 hrs before my shift started. It was an incredible thing to behold. #1 that this person will be giving the gift of sight to someone else this Christmas season and #2 that I saw the back of someone's cornea. The removal of the first couple layers of the eyeball is probably pretty gross to the non medically inclined person so I'm not going to describe it anymore than saying awesome, incredible, and that the eye is much more sterdy/indestructible than I would have thought.

The ER in general is fun. I've done night shifts, day shifts, swing shifts and seen lots of fabulous things. There have been acute stroke patients, heart attacks, and crazy people who are a) having hallucinations or b) pretending to have all kinds of problems so that we'd give them narcotic pain medications then flipping a lid when we tell them they can only have 800mg ibuprofen. I've gotten to incise and drain a peri-rectal abscess (giant pus pocket near someone's anus), incise and drain a peri-vaginal abscess (giant pus pocket near someone's vagina), and pop in a teenagers dislocated elbow. I truely look forward to going to work because there's always something different (except when there's 20+ low back pain drug seeking people in a row!) and always something new to learn about. So work is good, and home is good too!

Justin and I are back at the elks and loving it. Right now I'm in the elks lodge, using their wi-fi, drinking delicious oregon microbrew beer, and watching 35+ people over the age of 60 learn to line dance by following the directions of a live band performing in tuxedos. Forget meth or cocaine, this is what we do for fun on a Sat night. We both wish you were here :)

We will be headed back to California for xmas break soon and I particularly have really been missing home. It's been a lot of fun traveling but I miss my hometown and am really looking forward to celebrating the holidays with family and bacon rolls. mmmm....