I've always wondered myself

This article from the Wall Street Journal made me drudge up thoughts about some of the Hotel patients and other surgeons.

One patient had a common ailment that we see at the Hotel. It is always has the potential to be dangerous, even when it doesn't appear to be. It hides in the body and while we see the disfiguring side in nursing, mostly pressure sores, it's an illness that often requires the participation of multiple disciplines, ranging from plastic surgery (our most common), infectious disease, orthopedics, and sometimes even hematology/oncology.

People want to know what will happen and when one particular doctor gave his take of the situation, they called him "Debbie Downer". I explained to the patient (and the relatives) that this is not to scare them, but to tell them the truth. Informed consent really is a good thing, and sometimes, I spend way more time talking to patients after they hear life-changing news, and they ask the what, where, and why questions. Often, they just don't want to believe that one doctor.

However, our surgeon wasn't the only one. He also consulted with orthopedics. The patient was offered a procedure that was not acceptable. The other option was two different procedures: a hemipelvectomy or a girdlestone, but the patient wouldn't consent to those, either.

Our surgeon took the patient to the OR, since he/she agreed to the odds. The odds were not on their side. There was no miracle. The procedure could not be completed. We are pretty much where we started.

Now we wait to see what happens. Some things are just not what they seem, so being informed is a very good thing.

The randomness of life

I really enjoyed this story about a lady winning the lottery by playing her fortune cookie numbers. The odds may be slim, but at least, they were in her favor for one draw.

The randomness of life hit me when I watched the news today and saw a familiar face. My BLS instructor, a big burly fireman, who taught at the community college here in RehabLand, was killed in a drunk driving accident. A woman was charged today.

He wasn't wearing his seatbelt while off-duty. The same guy who stressed how "seconds count", was himself gone in an instant.

Just makes me want to live this randomness to the fullest.

Because you just never know when your lotto numbers will win, or when someone you love won't be around.

Stay tuned...

New Year's resolutions

I always have a couple. Nothing fancy this year. I'm planning on drinking more water and reading more. I know I should be able to accomplish those.

The rest, if I knew I could, I would resolve to travel three times this year (and not always on business), and I would resolve to get into shape. I think it's more realistic to say I will keep evaluating my diet and watch the carbs. My measuring tool is my scale. I know my magic number and I'll be looking to keep it under or at that!

Well, there's lots of articles on the subject out there right now, so have a look if you're interested.

• The LA Times has this one about improving your odds of successfully achieving your resolutions.
• Suite101 has some odd resolutions.
• Wanna make your own? Check out the Resolution Randomizer for some silly ones.
• Example: "I (state your name) hereby resolve to justify my love of arm wrestling with coworkers."
• And finally, if you want to see a really odd one, see Dr. Grumpy's post about New Year's resolutions this year. WTF?