Back in the Saddle

Dear faithful blog readers,

I know, it's been awhile. I'm alive. I made it back to Seattle fairly in tact, though not without renewed chills, fever, and a constant barking cough making me the virulent enemy of the airplane. The pressure changes on my journey nearly caused my sinuses and ears to explode, though it was nothing that a few days of coma-like sleep and round the clock Tylenol couldn't handle.

Now I'm back at it here in Seattle. For the first week back, I embraced the mid 40 degree dreary gray February weather like it was a new best friend. Now, though, I'm back to the usual disdain for Seattle "winter". I am, though, holding on to an appreciation of not having to wear 4 layers of pants and a face shield to go outside. And the mild dreariness of Seattle sure beats being pounded by feet of snow as the other coast has experienced of late.

Since my return and recovery I've turned another year older, and celebrated the lunar new year in style (by in style I mean having a day off of work and excessively napping). I think I'm still in sleep debt from my harrowing trip up to Alaska.

Fun tidbits from my clinic time lately:
51 year old patient with c diff who is so grateful that I treated her condition she can not stop coming to see me. I see her weekly and she loves to shake my hand, hug me, pat me on my (dry clean only sweatered) back. I can't shake the feeling that she might still have c diff particles on herself...

72 year old severely demented patient who came to me (of course our first visit ever) to have me fill out a very official looking immigration form for me to fill out. The purpose of the form is for a medical practitioner to document why he can not take the US naturalization exam. Seeing as though he can't feed or dress himself (and of course can't speak English), I highly doubt he will be able to learn about US civics. It was quite the detailed form, to say the least.

Oh - and I forgot to mention that while I was in Alaska I got to write the most humorous official letter ever. I sometimes think I should compile a book of these letters. I had a patient in the hospital in Bethel with a severe back injury that prevented him from hunting this season. Apparently if this happens, you can get a doctor to write a letter to the Alaska wildlife and game commission requesting they provide you with community meat. So there I was, opening my Word document, starting the good ol' "To Whom it May Concern...." My letter requested that the government provide my patient with a moose (a hunted moose, not a live moose). I wonder if it worked. If only the world's larger issues could be solved by a mere letter from a doctor.