*pat pat*

Following my post from a week back..

Apparently, I am now the object of ridicule and scorn among the nurses at HITH RPH and some of my classmates, over my fainting episode.

*sighs*

Can't say that I didn't see it coming, can't say that I'm surprised..

But boy. Quiteeee a blow to the ego, this is.

Something worth patting myself on the shoulder for, I reckon. :(

Ngeh. It will soon come to pass, and like every other blooper in life, be something to laugh over in the future.

On the bright side, I have FINALLY completed IMC's 2010 Camp Trailer Video!

It's caused me a reasonable amount of stress, to be honest, because of the other million things I have to get done for uni and also because I'd never done anything like this before.

BUT IT'S DONE! YAYYYY!

I am so proud of myself at the moment - another thing worth patting myself on the back for, yup yup! :)

crowds

It was so crowded on the train this morning that I had to keep my head down to avoid being kissed.

Instead of the usual staring at chests (because chests are all I see at eye-level), i was face-to-face with an Asian old man and a Chinese lady. yes, we were standing THAT close.

How uncomfortable! :( Total invasion of space! (Well, I suppose they could say the same about me..although in reality it's nobody's fault)

The prospect of getting squashed by an off-balanced ginormous angmo actually seemed more appealing.

..More appealing than being kissed by Asian old man and Chinese lady.

That's right. I gave it some thought.

Eugh.

Irony

I was at RPH today for my Hospital in the Home (HITH) placement, where I was meant to follow nurses around while they took care of the different patients.

Had the opportunity to see two diabetic feet - one was ulcerated, the other, 3 toes had just been taken off. The sight might make you retch, but I was fine. It was rather interesting actually, compared to normal mediocre toenail cases.

Then I saw a pilonidal cyst. I remember feeling abit sick, because there was a little bit of a yukky smell as well. Felt really light-headed, so I left the room for a breather. Next thing I know, I was on the floor, and the nurse was asking me repeatedly if I was alright.

I had fainted, for a few seconds.

I have no recollection of re-entering the room, but according to the nurse, I'd followed her in and just collapsed.

As a result, I ended up being a patient at the RPH Emergency Dept instead of being the Podiatric student observing patients. Lol. Funny how life throws you around sometimes hey? Had some blood taken, had an oxygen mask strapped onto my face, had my pulse taken, had an ECG done. Apparently my pulse was really low when I lost consciousness - 80/40?

But all vital signs improved after being taken to the ED. It was quite an experience, I must say. Looking at the ceiling while being wheeled to ED, it was just like in the movies. I see flashes upon flashes of light, and I hear the nurse asking me how I am every few minutes.

There was a bit of a conduction delay from my atria to the ventricles, the nurses told me, but I was otherwise fine. I just have to go see a GP now. Also Pastor and Auntie Kim came - I must've filled up a form and entered their details where it'd said 'In case of emergency, please ring:'. Thank God :) What would I do without them?

All that time, I didn't feel scared or worried - I know God's in control. It wasn't anything like a near-death experience, and it wasn't like I was struggling to stay awake. It felt pretty normal. Lol. Crazy as it sounds.

And one other thing: I couldn't think of anything else but the sandwich I was going to have for lunch (I didn't end up eating it, because the patient arrived, and I fainted) because my brother made it for me. That made me sad. :(

This will probably be one of the most interesting hospital placements I will ever have, I think.

Looking at camp pictures

Dear Duncs,

i wonder how you're doing.

it's been a long while.

i hope you're smiling, like you always are in the pictures.

like you always do when i see you.

i hope you know He's right there by your side.

and so are we.

i can't wait to see how far you can go now. :)

until then, big smiles.

Praying for you,

Mel (yes, it sounds just like your brother Mal-colm).

Loving Your Enemies

"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."

-Martin Luther King, JR-

An epiphany! I have come up with the perfect solution to loving difficult people.

Think about the ONE GOOD QUALITY they have. Juuuuust one.

It doesn't matter that they have a thousand other bad qualities. It doesn't matter that they've wronged you in the past. It doesn't matter that you've tried again and again to forgive them, but seem to have failed. It doesn't matter that the sight of them makes you spin a 180 degrees on the spot and start walking in the other direction.

Just think of that one. good. thing.

And hang on as hard as you can to it.

...now to see if this actually works. :)

weekend's here!

I've had a pretty interesting week - on Monday I had the chance to watch up-close a partial nail avulsion procedure and a total toenail removal procedure. Truth be told, I was abit apprehensive at first; I thought I might pass out, seeing as it almost happened the last time I saw a wart removal. But thank God! I survived with 0% churning stomach and clammy feeling and pale sweat, despite the goriness of it all. :)

Tuesday saw me and Gabby at a vascular clinic with Dr. Paul Norman. It was the first time I came into contact with high-risk foot patients. People of sorts came in, ranging from young mothers to senior citizens, healthy adults with normal feet to diabetics with 4 toes on a foot, ulcer patients and skin disease patients. I learnt heaps that day - normal academic and educational stuff, and just a little bit more about life and the world out there.

Seeing those patients made me feel thankful for a couple of things:

1. Vision - A patient was going blind because the artery to her eye was blocked following a minor stroke. She wakes up every morning and everything on one side of her eye is blur. She was frustrated, worried, anxious, everything negative you can think of - heck, I'd be too, if I had to fall asleep every night, knowing that there's a possibility of waking up the next morning and every morning after that to blackness. Imagine that.

2. The ability to walk without feeling pain - Another patient had this problem called 'intermittent claudication', meaning there is blockage to one of the main leg vessels, resulting in reduced blood flow further down. As a consequence, there is pain upon walking a certain distance. The furthest she could walk was across the road, and I could tell it was really breaking her heart because she loved walking. Imagine not being able to walk for normal periods of time. :(

On more than two occasions patients came in with their spouses. They were both old, they were both hobbling along, but they were both holding hands and watching each other's steps. I found that really sweet. Mental note to self: Yes, I will take care of my hypothetical husband even when we're both old and wrinkly, and even when I'm sick, because he will deserve that much. In health or in sickness, for better or for worse, right? :)

The rest of the week pretty much sailed by, I am proud to say I stayed awake for the whole day on Friday - that's the longest day of the week. Tute, then 2 lectures, and another 2 lectures. It's stupid how everyone else is like TGIF TGIF! and we're all like ughhhhhhhhhhhh fridayyyyyy.

ah well. such is life. gotta run now, work time :)

Back to uni.

woohoo, i'm pooped. just finished 2 Pharmacology lectures - what a pain! i'm glad i've got this grey Monday arvo to catch up tho. the last 3 hours have been good for my conscience, seeing as Easter and study break zipped by in a flash.

Speaking of which, I had a pretty awesome Easter! Long story short, here's how I spent my Easter weekend: Maundy Thursday service, Youth Leaders Meeting on Good Friday, One Tree Hill, D&Ms, steamboat dinner at Tim's, Kim's birthday cake, all-day work on Saturday(boohoo), Alice in Wonderland, choir on Easter Sunday, cupcakes and hot tea, heart-to-heart conversations and finally, family bbq with the new set.

Thinking of Easter weekend still makes me smile. :) :)

As for the rest of the study break, once more, long story short: Titans on Tuesday, fell sick, sleepover on Wed night, IKEA $1.95 breakfast(Y) on Thurs morning, work, fringe-cut and shopping on Friday, watched 'End of the Spear' Friday night, worked more on Saturday, had IKEA meatballs in cream sauce for dinner on Sat night, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, and did up Bible Study Material and Summary too.

Evidently, no time for study. and yes, IKEA meatballs for dinner, very worth mentioning.

Thank God for no mid-sems or assignments this time round! And thank God too, for hearing my prayers and answering some of them. :)

Rightio, it's time for exercise!