The Pool Room/ Party Place

So, I've been telling Steve for about 3 weeks now that getting a pool table would be really cool. He agreed. I told him I would seriously consider buying one around spring break so I had time to drive out and look at them and all. However, two night ago, on Wedesday I was pulling almost an all nighter for studying at the school, I stayed there till 3am, (went to the ER that night too). I was taking a study break around 8pm and so I got in Craigslist to see some pool tables. 3 links down on the very first page i saw an ad reading "$POOL TABLE FOR SALE FREE INSTALL AND DELIVERY - $400 ".

 The picture in the add is to the left. I saw that they were going to install it and get a table for 400 dollars I was sold. That was it. I dialed the number, got in contact with the guy. He askd me if I wanted to look at it I said no I didnt want to drive 45 minutes and that I trusted him. It may have been impulsive, it may have been foolish to go soley off the picture shown. I didnt care, I felt like it was a steal, it usually costs 200 dollars just to get the table installed. So, the guy said "Good, I'll be there tomorow at 3:30pm to install." So that was it. It's a grand 8 foot, which is really nice size pool table sitting in our living room as of now. Ive already played my roommate a couple of times and had a couple of buddies over to play! It's going to be a hit! It's so fun for a study break and so nice instead of going downtown! and it's looks sweet in the apartment. So impulse sometimes pays off! Or gut intinct! Which instinct is a good trait to have as a doctor.

-MD in 14 

Patients that have Impacted me in 1st Year of Medical School

Last Wed, February 16th, I went to what is called Preceptor, which is part of the program. It's a 4 hour long doctor shadowing. Every once in a while I get to talk to a patient on my own or get to listen to irregular heart sounds or abnormal lungs sounds. For some reason I had to journal about last week. I wanted to do it last week but have kept putting it off. So, I am writing about it before I go to bed. Anyways, last week my doctor was seeing a patient that had an effect on me. She was a mid fifites Hispanic woman named Eee (can't use her real name). She had multiple sclerorsis, otherwise known as MS, and it is a disease that eats away at the covering of your neurons, and gets progressively worse until you essentially become paralyzed. Ee's attidude about her disease was what had an impact on me. It's people like her that want me to be in medicine. She kept talking about how even though she has MS she is going to take every possibility to work with physical therapists to try to make its effects less.

 She kept saying how she wanted to see her sons get through high school and see them graduate even though she has MS she wants to go see them graduate and not be wheelchair bound. She knows her fate is not good, eventually she will be bound to a wheelchair, but she had will to fight it. She was in so much pain I had to help her get up from her chair to the examination table, and she winced while walking. She uses a walker to help her now. She is going to rehab to slow the progression of her disease. I have never met anyone with MS and seen its direct effects like I did that day in the clinic. It was moving. I've never seen so much courage from a patient in spite of tremendous odds against her. It's neat to see how people can have such a positive attitude.

-MD in 14 

Called Out in Lecture Hall: Professor teases me about my iPad

Today, my medical school professor, Dr. Williams apparrently gave a shout out to me about our iPad feud today in lecture! I skipped class on purpose, which started at 8am, because it was cadaver day and it wasn't my groups turn, so i slept in! When I woke up at 930am, I had over 10 texts, and freaked out, and here are some of the texts:

"Dr. Williams sent out msg to U in lecture to tell U he beat U out...He got his engraved...Dude ur name is mentioned on Camtasia...now that's cool!!" -Lai

"Dr Williams called u out about not being in class"- Aaron

"Hey bro. Dr williams was given u some shout outs in class today. You should check out the camtasia." -Ryan

Dr Williams just called you out because he was showing off his 64bit engraved iPad. He says you're busted for not being in lecture, lol.

"Williams just called u out for missing class. He got an Ipad and said "who's your daddy now"-Debbie

"dude, williams is talking about you in class :)...bad day to skip ;)" -Shaheena

"Yo Williams just called u out in class man rofl he's got ur iPad"- Freddie

"Dude, where are ya? dr williams totally just called you out in class - i think you two are supposed to have a nerdy tech smackdown."-Cory

It was hilarious. It began last friday during the Cardiovascular block exam in the anatomy lab during the practical. I was at a rest station, where you don't have to label anyhting, its just a blank station. So, while I was sitting there waiting, Dr. Williams came out of no where and exclaimed to me: "Max, I just became the coolest person today at 9am. I got an really neat shipment. Brand new. 64 gigabyte. My very own iPad. I am officially the coolest person."

 Which I responded to him : "Whoa, hold it now, I think I still am, mine is cooler!" At the next rest station he came running up to me waving the iPad in hand, "I want you to look at that" he said pointing to the slick silver back of the iPad where i glanced to see "James Williams, PhD" engraved nicely on the back. I replied "Ok, now you are getting closer to being cooler than me!". So, today in lecture he continued the feud and called me out apparently in front of the entire class! I was cracking up.

-MD in 14 

Anatomy Lab Horror Story: I will never look at a saw the same

We cut a human head in half yesterday in anatomy lab with a regular hand saw that you can get at a hardware store. It was DISGUSTING. I never thought I would have to do that. you could smell the bone and hear all the crunching. I wanted to puke.

 Everyone I know thought the same thing. And then to top it off, watching the professors tear through the face like it was nothing was extremely unpleasant. It was the nastiest day of anatomy lab so far. Anyways, a huge test next friday for CV block.

 Superbowl tomorrow. My roomate, Steve, and I got a pull up tower and he is challenging me to do more pullups. We are getting really competitive. We'll see who comes out on top! He can do 20 already, and I'm only at 10

-MD in 14 

In Deep (that's what she said!)

School is tough right now. We are covering about 150 pages of in depth anatomy and physiology material every week. It's extremely challenging to stay on track. Today is Monday and we are just starting week 3 of the 6 week block called "Cardiovascular Pulmonary Block". It is really interesting, we are learning about the heart and lung system in depth for 6 weeks. I have been playing catch up with the material since last week. Almost caught up, and then more gets piled on!!

This past weekend was Martin Luther King weekend and the student group I am with at Rush called OCP held a medical fair, where we provided free medical screening for people in the Latino community. It was great! I took blood pressure for about 20 people.

The best part was the little kids that wanted to be doctors, we inspired them to want to get into medicine and it was neat having them listen to their hearts!
So as I am starting week 3, I truly am in DEEP. It hurts, but at the same time it is awesome. Medical school is a way of life. STUDY. EAT. WORK OUT. STUDY WHILE WORKING OUT. COFFEE BREAK. IPAD GAME BREAK. STUDY. GAME BREAK.

-MD in 14 

My Heart is Pounding: Opening my First Medical School Grades

Ok, so I wanted to write this last Friday after our exams, but I was too lazy and too tired! Today is Tuesday and I just opened my email 10 minutes ago and got this message,
"Hello M-1 students:
We have received the 'all clear' for use of the new and improved Blackboard system, therefore I have released access to the grading center for you to view the scores and final grade information for the Musculoskeletal Block. Each column has information about the scores listed and the final grade column includes information about MPL, mean and SD."

I just went to my email and the first thing I see is 60/75 for the first part of the exam and 56/73 for the other part. I thought I had failed! So, I got 80% on the first part and 77% on the second part. I passed!! Overall I got a 78%, and I needed a 70% to pass the class, so I passed by a nice 8%. My heart has never pounded so fast though, I saw the 60 and thought that was the overall percent I got in the class! Whoooo. I am in the clear, and P=MD (P is Pass). I did fine. This was the hardest class I have ever taken. Studied my ASS of for three weeks and still only got a 77% overall. WTF right?! It's crazy how much harder Medical school is than regular college. 3 weeks of studying hard every single day, and only a 77%?!! WOW. But I feel great about it, because I knew my stuff, and its just the way the tests are written, they are IMPOSSIBLE! Why was it so hard? We just memorized all the muscles of the entire ARM, LEG, and BACK. We also learned nerves, arteries, and a complex of nerves called the BRACHIAL PLEXUS. We also learned all about how our bones grow and the hormones that help with that. I feel very doctor like for learning soooo much.

I can't believe that I am 1/8 of the way to being a DOCTOR! Its gone so quickly, it's just like a few days ago I was writing essays and applying, getting the acceptance letter, and now I can say I have completed my first full semester of my medical education! It's such a great feeling!! So, I think one of the reasons I passed was that a friend of mine, Josh, and I randomly went out for Sushi in the Sear's Tower (also called Willis Tower) after our first major test. We did that again after this exam, and we have agreed to start doing it after all exams as a good luck charm, it worked so far! We have agreed to keep it up. I think its the Wasabi sauce giving my brain the spice its needs to stay sharp! Anyways, I am really excited that this semester has gone so well.

Its Christmas this Saturday, I have stayed in Chicago since Friday, on Friday the M1 class went to a classmates apartment and partied and then to a club called the apartment to get our groove on! It was a blast! It's the best feeling ever to not have to start any studyin until January 3rd! I have already used the time to catch up with a friend who just came back from India for 4 months, and seeing Chicago with the Christmas lights. Its nice to just chill. Going home tonight to see the family and have a great Christmas! Wow time flies. Before I know it, the whole M1 year will be over. But I am going to take it slow and just enjoy this awesome Christmas break. Time for Christmas movies!

-MD in 14 

Say Hi to the Cadaver: First Day in Anatomy Lab

Today was our first day as medical students for real! We got to see and meet our cadavers. It was intense. As I type this, my hands smell like crap. I already thought the lunch meat I opened smelled just like the chemicals in the lab. It kind of ruined my lunch. My hands smell and I didn’t really even do anything. There are 4 people per cadaver. Today, two people dissected and they will teach me and my partner on Friday what they learned today. 

 My cadaver is a old woman who had breast cancer. One of her breasts is completely destroyed. As we unzipped the bag with the cadaver in it for the first time, the cadaver wreaked and the cadaver had ropes tied around the neck and arms and a black bag over the head. It was really disturbing. What I didn’t like is that the cadaver had pink nail polish on her finger nails. It gave it a more than needed lifelike appearance. Also, the hands and feet are very realistic. The skin is really wrinkly and the face looks pretty real.

-MD in 14