October was the month that I switched over to the Internal Medicine (adults) side of my combined program. It's been quite a culture shock not to mention having to a learn a whole new hospital and 3 new computer programs. To make it even more intense, my first rotation in adult medicine is the MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit). UAB is a large intensive care center and so the patients we have in the ICU are often described as the sickest in 3 states (Alabama, Mississippi and parts of Georgia), which is great for learning but a little intimidating when you haven't seen an adult patients in 6 months. The month has included learning many scary new skills, such as putting great big IV into large veins of the body (central venous lines) and sticking large needles into other body parts (i.e. the chest, abdomen). When on call, in addition to taking care of new patients coming to the ICU and taking care of the really sick ones already in the ICU, we are also part of the "code team" for the hospital. What does that mean? If anyone in the whole hospital codes (i.e. stops breathing, heart stops, generally trying to die) we have to run to the bedside and be part of the team that does CPR, give drugs, shock fatal heart rhythms, etc. With hospital that is spread over 3 city blocks, you can really get a good work-out in on call! The downside is that most codes don't end well. I've dealt with a lot of death this month. I've helped 3 families come to the incredibly difficult decision to withdraw medical care on their loved one to allow them to die peacefully. Many other families eventually make their loved one DNR (do not resusitate) when their heart stops. While a lot of these patients are elderly, I have had many young adults as well, several of whom I found that my greatest accomplishment was helping them go home on hospice. Thankfully, now I'm on to the next rotation. The one saving grace (and pitfall) of internship is that things change frequently!
Outside of work, Andy came to visit and we took a great trip....to Cullman, Alabama, the home of the
Ave Maria Grotto.
The Grotto is located in the St. Bernard Abbey, the only Benedictine abbey in Alabama and is composed of the work of the one of the monks that lived in the Abbey. It's tough to describe this feat of folk art: Brother Joseph made miniaturized replicas of religious landmarks.....
(Andy will you give you a perspective on size of the buildings)
(and here's one to give you perspective the extent of Brother Joseph's work)
including the birthplace of Jesus,
shrines,
and non-religious landmarks
....and random things, like Hansel and Gretel visiting the fairy castle with a "scary" dragon guarding the gates....
our personal favorite:
I think that sums it up. Oh! Except for the range of creativity and thriftiness Brother Joseph used in his art. Lacking traditional artist supplies, he used cold cream jars, concrete, broken glass, old flashlights and any number of scraps to create his pieces:
We tried hard to be respectful, but there was a certain amount of uncontrollable laughing...
and a little uncontrollable Beatles impersonation
at the chipmunk crossing, of course.
Stay tuned for the next unique Alabama adventure!
(Andy will you give you a perspective on size of the buildings)
(and here's one to give you perspective the extent of Brother Joseph's work)
including the birthplace of Jesus,
shrines,
and non-religious landmarks
....and random things, like Hansel and Gretel visiting the fairy castle with a "scary" dragon guarding the gates....
our personal favorite:
I think that sums it up. Oh! Except for the range of creativity and thriftiness Brother Joseph used in his art. Lacking traditional artist supplies, he used cold cream jars, concrete, broken glass, old flashlights and any number of scraps to create his pieces:
We tried hard to be respectful, but there was a certain amount of uncontrollable laughing...
and a little uncontrollable Beatles impersonation
at the chipmunk crossing, of course.
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