how little i'm trained

today was supposed to be like any other. i take the shuttle from cpmc (california pacific medical center) to the bart station and then i take muni home. except...today...

at one of the stops, a homeless man in a wheelchair came onto the train. i was standing right in the front behind the driver watching the train drive through the tunnel, listening to my music. he was a very friendly guy, talking to the elderly sitting in the front and telling me i wasn't in his way because he wasn't getting off until later. so, i just keep listening to my music. until i notice that he's stretching for an awfully long time...and hitting his head against the glass...shaking... OH MY GOSH! HE'S HAVING A SEIZURE!

i quickly tell the driver to call for help, that this man is having a seizure. then i scream into the train, IS THERE A DOCTOR ON THE TRAIN? no response...quiet... i then turn towards the man and kneel down to see if he has regained consiousness. a very quite but strong elderly lady sitting nearby pulls me back and shakes her head at me angrily. while i tell her that it's okay, that i know what i'm doing, she still gives me angry shakes and keeps pulling me back. i shake free of her (we're at the stop now) and call 911 right away. meanwhile, muni has been called and the paramedics are on the way.

(not verbatim)
911: 911, what is your emergency?
me: i'm on the L train stopped at the west portal station and there's a man here who just had a seizure.
911: is he currently still having a seizure?
me: no, it looks like he has stopped seizing.
911: how old is he? can you tell how old he is?
me: i can't tell, but the muni people here say he's 60 years old.
911: is he consious?
me: his eyes are closed and he's breathing, the muni people are trying to talk to him (muni person: he's listening to what i'm saying, but he's not responding)
911: if you can, try to get him to lie to his side so that he doesn't choke on anything.
me asking muni: can we turn him to his side?
muni: it's best we leave him where he is. we know him, he's had multiple episodes on the trains.

when i leave the station, the paramedics are already on their way and the muni people have assured me that he'll be in good hands. but, i can't help but think how ill prepared i was for this emergency situation. i'm almost done with 4 years of schooling and i can't help a man who seized right in front of me. i kept wondering if i should have checked for a medical bracelet or if i should have looked for anti-seizure meds in his bags.

but, as one of my friends put it: "don't feel bad. on the other hand, once we get into residency and are code trained and have IV meds nearby, then you'd TOTALLY be all over it."

away again

it has been quite a while since we last posted anything. so, rather than blabbing on, let's just get straight to our vacation adventures.

for christmas, we headed down south to san diego to spend time with gladys and duke. that's when we first found out that gladys is expecting! yay!!! eugene and i will be uncle and aunt! :) the day after we arrived, we drove up north again, to sequoia national park for a few days of fun in the snow. it was absolutely freezing up there, but the gorgeous view made up for the cold. we went snow shoe-ing among the giant sequoias and found out that there were fleas in the snow (ew!). we also went to see the oldest tree, the general sherman. it was so relaxing up there not having to worry about school or anything else. :)

the day after christmas, eugene and i headed to the san diego wild animal park. the sun was out and blasting, but we were still pretty cold. eugene really enjoyed seeing the gorillas and i had fun pretending to be a flamingo.

recently, we made our way to the california academy of science in golden gate park. we attempted to go the first weekend it opened (it was free the first day), but we got stuck in traffic on the way there and then were informed by our friends that the way to get in was over 2 hours! so, we waited and waited for a good weekend to go and we finally made it! it was spectacular inside! the rain forest globe that we walked around was really warm, but the different types of animals and reptiles and insects we saw inside were truly amazing. here are some pictures of what we saw...we liked the spider-man frog the best! :)

where did we go?

lots have happened since we last posted anything. my back got better, then worse, then better again. then...if back pains can be caught or transmitted like the flu or the cold, eugene caught my back pains! did that make sense? but his pains were not as severe as mine and didn't last nearly as long as mine. he's all well now, but who knows what happened. i think they were sympathy pains. :P

the chihuly exhibit was at the de young museum all summer, but we didn't realize it until a few weeks before it closed. luckily, we were able to get tickets for its last weekend in sf. so this guy chihuly...he does the craziest and weirdest and prettiest things with glass. it was amazing to see! a bit crowded, but as you can see...absolutely breath-taking...

eugene got a whole year older and wiser!! i had a conference to go to during his birthday weekend, but we still celebrated in style the weekend prior. we did the unthinkable! we went out on a saturday night! :O we had a very cheesy, very thick dinner at steps of rome, walked all around north beach (maybe each block at least 3 times), and ended the night with a slice of thick and yummy chocolate cake.

while i was away at a conference to learn all about residency programs, eugene celebrated his birthday by going to the blue angels show at the marina. the weekend of the blue angels show every single year is always clear and warm and summery...without fail!

last weekend, the red bull soap box race came to san francisco! i (luckily) finished work early so we headed out to dolores park to see all the soap box cars and the race itself. all the soap box cars were so creatively made! we got really lucky as the race started -- we found a spot along the course where we could get some great shots. we even caught one as it fell!

how i turned another year

as some people get older, they get sad or upset or bitter because ... well ... they're older. as for me, i was really looking forward to turning 32. being 31 was kind of odd (despite that 31 is an odd and prime number). 32 just had a better ring to it, so i was really looking forward to it. but, things never go as planned in life. you expect all to be well, but...alas...curveballs get thrown and we learn to deal and lean on God. so, here's how i turned another year:

sept. 2: i started getting some lower back pain that is more soreness than pain. i shrug it off, take some tylenol, and go to bed.

sept. 3: i wake up in excruciating pain. waves of pain go up and down my back to the point where i have trouble breathing. i figure it's too much for me to drive so i email in sick and stay home to rest.

sept. 4: i'm still in too much pain to drive to rotations, so i email in sick again. the pain goes away later on in the day and i actually feel a lot better.

sept. 5: i'm well enough to go to work! i'm even well enough to go onto a coast guard cutter (i'm on rotations at the coast guard pharmacy), climb into the captain's chair, and take plenty of pictures. i figure the pain has gone away and i'm alllllll better now. in fact, here are some pictures from the cutter...it's really really cool! we got to walk around and go into the sick bay.

sept. 6: 3am--i wake up in excruciating pain. so much pain that nothing eugene does can help. i can hardly breathe and have to take small quick breaths, but that hurts too. eugene rushes (but really...slowly rushes because any movement hurts too) me to the emergency department at the uc medical center. they (slowly) stick an iv in me and give me morphine and ativan right away. then, they proceed to ordering lab tests to rule out a pulmonary embolism. eugene and i are basically in the ER from 4am to 1pm, when they finally release me with a prescription for vicodin. i'm still in pain... here's a great picture of me that eugene took after i got the morphine and ativan. i was quite comfortable and not in pain...

sept. 8: i'm still in so much pain that it takes me over an hour to be functional in the mornings. it hurts to breathe, it hurts to shift positions, and i'm on my back all day. obviously, i can't drive, so my great friend pattie comes to the rescue and drives me to school to see Student Health. i get prescribed a muscle relaxant and am given a referral to get accupuncture. "it'll go away with plenty of rest," i'm told.

sept. 9-12: i'm on my back most of the day to rest and relax and heal. i have to stop my current rotation and take only 3 out of 6 units because..well...basically i am not fit to return to work. the school is great and tells me that my health really comes first and that they're here for me for whatever i need. i'm a little devastated that i cannot continue with my current rotation, but am relieved that getting the 3 units means that i won't fall behind and will graduate on time.

sept. 12: for the first time in weeks, i am able to get out of bed without pain. i can breathe without pain and can go from sitting to lying down and lying down to sitting with no pain. isn't it fitting that i am feeling great on my birthday? i'm still on my back most of the day, but i am in good enough condition to celebrate. eugene takes me to a bolivian restaurant that has live music (cuban music on friday nights) and we have a great time! the hostess was great and gave me a huge pillow for my chair so i am more comfortable. we eat soooooo much food that we must have gained at least 10 pounds!

sept. 13: i am able to wake up and walk around without too much pain once again! just a bit of soreness, but pretty good overall. a group of my friends and i get together for a birthday brunch at colibri (a really good mexican restaurant in downtown san francisco). we have a great time and eat a bunch of great food! maybe this back thing will go away after all.

today: the back pain came back this past wednesday, but yesterday and today have been pretty good. i hope that all the resting and pain killers i've been taking are working...in addition to the relaxing and letting go of things that give me anxiety and stress. pattie gave me a book about mind over back pains and so far, i'm realizing that i put a lot of my stress and anxiety on my body. so...i'm learning to let go and relax and not to hold on to so many things so that my body can finally be healthy and 100%.

three days of sun

lo and behold...it was actually very nice in the city this weekend. and as a result, we both got a few shades darker. partly because we were in the sun quite a bit and...sadly...also because we forgot to wear sunblock. oh well.

our dear friend pattie finally came back from taiwan and to celebrate, her husband threw a surprise picnic for her at tilden park (in the berkeley hills). it was gorgeous there on saturday! we had lots of fun catching up with pattie and manu, walking along the lake, and playing with maya and kerby (the dogs). there were a lot of trails around, but since we didn't wear hiking shoes, we made a note to go back in the very near future for a day of hiking.

saturday night, we got to see our other friend shirley (who was visiting from san diego). it was great catching up with shirley as well and doing what we do best...eat! after a huge meal at citrus club, we went to crepevine for some delicious dessert. maybe the title should read...three days of sun and fat!

no pictures to show, but on sunday, we walked all around downtown, made our way to japantown, and then found our way back home. all without driving! while downtown, we had a refreshing lunch at david's (an old deli across from the curran theatre)...and egg and onion sandwich on rye. who knew i'd be able to eat raw onions! it was actually quite yummy and refreshing!

monday...labor day...laundry day! we were supposed to wake up at 7am, do laundry, and be ready for a day of relaxation and fun, but we didn't get to the laundry-mat until 9:45am and didn't start our day of fun until 2pm! it was SO warm in our area, we actually made our way to the beach! seriously! eugene wanted to go swimming (he was so cute...he put on his swimming trunks, brought a towel, and was ready to jump in). but...just because the air is nice and warm doesn't mean the water is. it was ice-cold!!!!!!!!! so, we just enjoyed a nice sweet walk along the beach. i think i've had enough sun for a year. :P