5 Down, 3 to Go!

My manly man!

10/29/08

OK-- so technically Mark still has to write another paper and pass his end of rotation exam before we can check #5 off the list. He just completed his surgery rotation here in Albuquerque with Dr. Arredondo, a general surgeon. The Dr. mostly specializes in laproscopic procedures like gall bladder removals, hernia repairs, subcutaneous cyst removals and other boring things, but then of course there was the famous bilateral gynecomastia lumpectomy (man boob reduction--see post from 10/22). Mark was able to do more and see more exciting things assisting in big bloody OB/GYN surgeries, but I guess the patients are happy that laproscopic procedures are getting to be more common. Mark would LOVE to go into surgery as his career once he's out of school, but those jobs are hard to come by, so we'll just have to wait and see.

I talked him into taking the camera to work with him last week, and Dr. Arredondo said it was OK to have a nurse take some pics of him in the operating room. I was so excited!

A burly scrub tech and Mark

Dr. Arredondo (in glasses, holding scope) and Mark during a gall bladder removal

Yesterday (Tuesday) was his last day, and he was planning on working on his two papers, studying for his test, and revising his Master's thesis during the rest of the week. Well.....last night he was on the phone with his friend Jeremy from PA school, who said, "So did you turn in your thesis?" Mark said, "It's not due till Friday--what are you talking about?" Jeremy was like, "Dude, it was due yesterday." Turns out he was right. NOOOOO!!!!!!! He has had to turn in two drafts of it in previous months, but this was supposed to be his final draft, and of course he had put it off. He can't seem to write unless he's under pressure from an imminent deadline. Needless to say, he worked on his paper all night and this morning, and then I spent about 4 hours editing and proofreading it. If you think that's a long time, let me give you a taste of his paper, entitled "Physical and Psychological Implications of Growth Hormone Injections in Idiopathic Short Stature Adolescents":

Hindmarsh and Brook examined physical effects of growth hormone therapy by comparing 16 children that were two standard deviations below the median height for their same age cohorts.2 They were given growth hormone injections and compared to 10 children who did not receive injections over the course of 4-9 pubescent years. Both groups' overall growth results were measured at the end of the study. The 26 participants were followed until their growth level had reached a level of less than 0.5 cm per year and an x-ray showing effusion of the epiphysis plates of the hand and wrist.

...and it goes on like that for 20 pages. Actually kind of a short thesis, but plenty to sink your teeth into (I know there are others out there who think editing and proofreading are fun. You can admit it! I think it's rather enjoyable.) Anyway, I have written my fair share of technical research papers in my time for my biology minor, so Mark is always glad to have me finesse his. Now we're just hoping he doesn't get in trouble for having turned it in two days late....

His next rotation will be ER Medicine in a town called Española, which is 90 miles north of here. So on Sunday he'll be moving up there. Boo-hoo! It sounds like he'll be working some graveyard shifts. Española is known for its drug problems, so that should make things interesting. I am kind of-- well not kind of-- I AM stressed out because this means we'll be moving in about 7 weeks, which means I have to think about packing (EW) and actually cleaning/finishing up my life here in Albuquerque. It's the beginning of the end!