Long day.
On call.
Sleepless night.
Little wriggly body in bed. “Mummy, your bed is wet. I need new undies.”
Awake again. Creeping through the house, shoes in hand.
Operating. Hands steadier.
Blood, steam.
Theatre banter.
Baby asleep. Home late. Missed him.
Bleep in the dark.
Night visit to a sick patient in a four bed ward – snores and swearing from behind curtains.
Nice patients.
Mean patients.
Grateful patients.
Excited intern.
Wry consultant.
Jaded ED doc.
Panicked referring intern.
Hear bruit, feel pulse, poke swollen foot.
“Does that hurt?”
“When did you give up smoking?”
“Can you feel a thrill?”
“Do you speak English?”
“When did you notice his foot was blue?”
Learning. Growing. Improving. Gaining confidence. Learning stuff. Step backward. Step forwards again.
Tired. Happy.
Hang in there.
@rlbates:
I’m hanging in there. The best side of this is I know I love my job and I want to help those in my care. But if that wasn’t important to me, dealing with these sort of issues might be easier, at least for me.