So for those of you who have been around me the past several weeks, you all know that I’ve been sort of, kind of, well…a little sick.  It felt just like any other cold to me and it wasn’t that big of a deal…fevers, chills, sore throat, cough, a little bit of muscle aches…nothing really to call home about.  But since I was coughing so much and feeling like crap while I was at work (and work let me tell you is a place where infections run rampant), one of the attendings made me go and see a doctor during my lunch break just to make sure I didn’t have a pneumonia or anything.  I told him the story of how I had been exposed to a patient with swine flu a week ago and had been offered Tamiflu for prophylaxis against infection…and from that point on…the wheels started turning in his head.  Maybe a little bit of excitement / concern on his part set in, but he left the room, put on a mask (brought me one too to limit the exposure of droplets in the room) and proceeded to swab my nose and mouth for cultures.

I told him that I was 99% sure I didn’t have the swine flu and that it was all probably just a little cold/pharyngitis and that everyone was making a big deal out of nothing. Well…

Shows how great of a doctor I am huh?  I’ve got great intuition

To be honest, for a couple of days I was pretty sick.  Sweat dripped from my head when the fevers came on…uncontrollable coughs kept me up at night, but I didn’t have respiratory difficulty and I wasn’t bedbound for days.  I got sick…I got over it.  I guess that’s not the case with everyone…especially if you’ve got other comorbidities  or have respiratory problems in the first place (swine flu + respiratory problems/immune problems = ICU admission.  Trust me…I’ve seen it).  In any case, for those of you who were hanging out with me while I was “sick”, let me know how you feel.

And if you’ve got fevers, chills, etc………..uhh………….well………………..

Good luck!

Not that all days aren’t long…but when you’re doing internal medicine and working in the hospital 6 days a week…the days can get pretty long…sometimes 13-14 hours for a regular day.  Anyway, I performed my first procedure today and was lucky enough to pull it off without a hitch.

Ascitic fluid

That’s right! I performed my first paracentesis today!  For those who don’t know…I basically stuck a big needle into someone’s belly to drain off fluid that was accumulating in a patient’s body.  No complications. No ultrasound guidance.  Just good old fashioned physical exam skills and a big needle!  Pretty awesome!

Still had to work today..but at least I made it back in time for the fireworks!

I love smoke balls

The LOL firework that we saved since last year…pretty spectacular!

Since I haven’t been going out and grabbing sweet shots this week (yes…the sad life of an intern), I figured I’d maybe direct you to a place where you not only get to see great pictures, but you’ll also learn a little something about what’s going on the world right now.  Project Transient is a documentary started by one of my amazing UCSF classmates, Anobel Odisho, who is not only one of the smartest people I know, but one of the coolest and nicest guys you’ll ever meet.  Since day 1 at UCSF, Anobel has always helped me when I needed it, and just this past year, he took a trip to Iraq and put together a documentary on the displacement of countless numbers of Iraqi citizens as a result of the war (see…he’s always trying to help).  You can check out his amazing work here, and if you’re not busy, check out his travel blog and photography.