The past week of my life could be accurately described by the Rembrandts' Friends theme. A couple days ago I was still in bed at 10 (well, 8:35, when I woke up to my pager) when work began at 8. I didn't burn my breakfast, but have had a few mishaps in the food department (melted an entire ice cream cake :( ). And I dumped coffee on my laptop, so am now computerless with research writing and Powerpoints to get done (also, blogging!...not a fan of tablet blogging).
I could go on, but I do realize that all the things I'm complaining about are first-world problems. And honestly, despite feeling a bit tired and overwhelmed (currently catching up on 2 weeks' worth of laundry in this 12-hour break between call shifts), I'm still pretty happy with life and residency...which have become one and the same.
Last weekend I read When Breath Becomes Air, the moving account of Paul Kalanithi's life after diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer during his final year of neurosurgery residency. I highly recommend it. Best prehydrate -- so many tears. Paul's is a tragic story that mirrors some of the ones I encounter from day to day in oncology residency. I think, more than anything, seeing these sorts of things has instilled in me a greater appreciation for life. Really, I'm so priviledged; it seems so silly to worry about my laptop coming out of admitting someone a few hours ago with a GBM. And, sometimes, I just need to remind myself of that.
No comments:
Post a Comment