NEWS
Now that things have slowed down a bit, I can do an update on what’s been going on with my end of things.
I just deleted 2 huge paragraphs that I wrote about my work because I just don’t have the right words to describe it.
-I’m in Connecticut.
-I haven’t examined my own patient in over a month.
-BUT…I feel like I’m going to take away a lot from this rotation.
How do you explain the detrimental effects of losing your vision? How do you describe the struggles you observe in your patients? Can you ever put into words their lonliness, the isolation, and their embarrassment? There are solutions out there but it’s disheartening to see how many people actually know about them and it’s even more painful to see the patients that have reached out for help in the past and got so discouraged by the results that they are afraid to hope for any more changes. It’s the first time I ever felt that a private practice setting just cannot provide what is needed and it has been good reminder of how much time and dedication is really required…or perhaps just how important an interdisciplinary approach really is. It hasn’t been as depressing as I described it, the patients are quite excited to be in a program that strives to help with their independence and there’s a great camaraderie between them since they’re all veterans that have served their country at one time AND they’re pretty much their own support group. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to say about this topic later on.
Another reason why I haven’t blogged in a while was because I was studying for part 2 of my American licensing boards. It was long and draining...and I don’t want to guess at how I did. It’s over, we’ll just leave it at that =) I should be thinking about my Canadian boards soon too…eeks! It was interesting to see some of my classmates again after being apart for 6 months. It’s crazy to hear of babies being born and how many people got engaged/married. I love looking at other peoples' rings. My husband says I have ring envy which is not true. I absolutely love my rings. I'm just always on the look-out for future anniversary presents! Any way, it's hard to believe that there's only 5 more months until I graduate with these friends!!
Alex came down this past weekend to celebrate with me. We went to New York on Saturday, he treated me to a delicious dinner and then we went to see STOMP. There’s something about banging things and making loud noises that I think boys never fully outgrow. It was a great performance, comical at times even when they don’t speak, but I definitely know that he enjoyed the show much more than I did.
On the family front, I just found out that Popo was placed in a nursing home. They didn’t want to tell me before because of the board exams. Apparently her Alzheimer’s getting a lot worse and her behaviour’s really out of control to the point where she might hurt herself or others. It’s been tough on the family but my mom and Yiyi especially. The healthcare system in HK isn’t exactly ideal but no one’s back in Canada yet. Along with the whole guilt aspect of sending your parent away to be taken care of…it’s taking a toll on the family. It's been rough so please just keep our entire family in your prayers. I know in my head that I need to have grace and forgiveness and patience…all things that I am having a really hard time with at the moment.
Lastly congrats to Wendy/Victor and Steph/Gord. I am super excited for you guys and can’t wait to hear all the planning details!! I’m really starting to look forward to coming home after graduating. It’s been too long…especially all the moving around this past year, it’ll be nice to finally settle down and stay put in one place for a while.
Oh yeah, I forgot one final thing. I got a hamster! It got really lonely when I first moved to Connecticut cuz my place was so big and I got used to seeing Alex home with me so I went onto Craig’s list and bought Mustang for $25 bucks. Yup, I replaced my husband by our 2 month anniversary =P He’s my first boy hamster and he sleeps a lot more than my previous hamsters. He’s also pretty skittish but I’ve learnt not to bother him when he sleeps. He keeps my attention occupied and it’s nice to know that there’s another warm body around, even if it’s a tiny one.
That’s all for now, stay tuned for more updates.
P.S. We’re leaving this Friday for our honeymoon in the Caymen Islands. Provided there’s no more of these freak snowstorms of course.
Stay safe and be merry =) Joyeux Christmas and God bless everyone.
