Of Bad Times

Still - Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust

(and that's all i need to know)

Of Bad Days

these past two days have been bad. wouldn't say down-in-the-dumps bad, but the sort that made me crave for assorted foods like ribena, sotong sticks, ice-cream and sushi. these two days were not only a culmination of the past few weeks, where some not very nice things have happened, but also been overall -baaaaad- days. i won't say very much here, but let's just say that some people whom we worked with (or were supposed to have worked with) made our learning difficult. there's been frustration, anger and disappointment felt so far, but there's no use talking about it since firstly it all makes me get even more angry and secondly, i don't think those who are meant to listen will ever listen anyway, so there.

Of Pointe (Again)

you must pardon me for my obsession with pointe, but i just couldn't resist googling youtube for pointe videos, and found this really cool clip. it's funny and entertaining, and showcases the amazing strength that the dancer has. enjoy!




and another one about the making of the wondrous pointe shoe:



and that's the reason why pointes are so expensive!

Of Pointe Woes and Babies

question: what's more painful than forty-five minutes of pointe work?
answer: having someone step on your toe on a busy train after that. then again, i've waited so long and indeed, i never thought i would have the chance to go en pointe, so i guess the pain is worth it after all.

helped deliver my second baby last night. mother was a friendly woman four years younger than myself, and whose husband was extremely talkative. she was a real trouper, and could follow instructions while she pushed. that made it easier for her in the end, and her baby girl came after more than an hour of pushing. her daughter opened her eyes immediately after the rude shock of being expelled from the comforts of her mother's womb (yes, she came out in a burst of amniotic fluid that hit the midwife) and began to grasp at the air. it then dawned on her that she could no longer return to the safe, secure environment and she began to cry. very adorable. and the father, so chatty and cheeky and funny all through the night, suddenly started to cry himself! it was such a blessing to have shared this wonderful event with them.

so if that's going to be the last kid i'll ever deliver, i wouldn't mind it one bit. heh.

and talking about babies, we had a code last night on the delivery suite. was standing around talking with other "waiters" when a midwife rushed out of a room and said," help me call a code blue! baby's not breathing!" a few seconds later the announcement was made and even before the code was fully read out, the neonate reg-on-call had already swept past me and entered the room. neonate nurse carrying kit came next, followed by the nurse manager and other senior midwives. they drew the curtain so i couldn't see what they did, but less than a minute later the agitated cries of a newborn infant came through, and everything returned to normal. such is the world of the hospital.

4th week of o&g! almost midway through, time to get into shape for the end of postings. lol.

Of Night Calls

ah, now i see the allure of blogging in the wee hours of the morning. heh.

have just seen one delivery. came quite suddenly actually - the p2 patient was 5cm dilated and i was told that she'd probably take an hour or so at least before she delivered. so i went down to seven-eleven for a stroll, and when i came back up, she was already being prepped! hadn't had a chance to request for permission earlier because she was in much pain before that, but she was kind enough to let me witness the birth. she pushed and in about fifteen minutes the baby boy was out and crying lustily. amazing.

five more hours to go. meanwhile gossip and discussion about plans for the future and the lecture notes on gdm are my entertainment for the night.

it's time to get out of the mo room before i freeze to death!

Of Patients and Life

o&g is primal, it deals with life, and purpose of life, and the meaning of life. cases in point:

1) the 18 year old girl who's been married 5 years, and who's now coming in for a top (abortion)

2) the case file of a 54 year old lady with stage 4 ovarian ca which nonchalantly displays the label "DNR"

3) the disappointment of the woman of my age when she found out on the antenatal scan that the baby was not going to be a boy

o&g is also the only specialty where there is a column next to the list of doctors' names identifying them as "objectors" or "non-objectors".

on call tomorrow. will see how that goes.