I think a broke my back

Just when I started to get back into the swing of lifting again I jack my $#!t up. I know I mentioned back in November that I would go hardcore on the weights once again, but I lied. Yesterday, I had completed about a full week in the gym, getting all the aches and pains out that you get if you haven't lifted awhile, and next thing I know, wonderous crippling pain. In the middle of a deadlift, I felt a tweak in my back and shooting pain up my neck and down my back on the right side. Not a fun feeling, it hurts now when I cough, burp and even when I rip @$$. And this is after I finally figured out how to breathe right with deadlifts so I won't create too much intra-abdominal pressure and get the herniating feeling of my intestines dropping into my nuts. Anyways, it is now one of my favorite new superset lifts, you all should try it, the deadlift/shrug combo. Do 8 deadlifts followed by 8 shrugs, followed by 6 deadlifts, 6 shrugs...etc, etc*, down to 1 of each without a break between any *8/6/4/2/1. Stop at any sign of pain, back pain or herniating pain. The key is in the breathing, trust me, the last thing you want is to give yourself a hernia while lifting in front of attractive women in a packed gym. As you perform the main motion of the deadlift, pulling the bar up and extending your back, breathe out. It won't look good if you are rolling around on the mats grabbing your balls and crying like a little baby. In addition the surgery for an inguinal hernia repair, is not that fun, at least for me, that was the surgery in which I had to hold the ole scrotum of the patient while he was being sewn back up.

I'm gonna keep this short an sweet, that way I can try to make these more routine...not the self pain infliction, but the blogging

Blogging again?!?

Since Shaefer hopped back on the blogging bandwagon, I thought I might also. It has been a busy couple of weeks, and things don't look like they will slow down anytime soon. I finished surgery last month, and I really enjoyed the experience. There is no way in hell that I would ever choose that as a career, but I will definitely take with me the things I learned last month. I am currently at a Children's Hospital on the GI team. We are assigned 4-5 kids everyday to see and write up progress notes on. We get an even amount of kids with GI problems as well as those with general problems. Although it is intimidating after you present your kid to the group and the physician asks what you want to have done next, it is helping me with thinking through situations. Most of the docs and residents will gladly help you out and tell you if your decision is right or wrong and why it is that way. The hospital reminds me a lot of the Children's Hospital in Seattle. There are many interesting cases, and I'm trying to mix it up so I get a variety of cases to learn from. This rotation had definitely not helped me with deciding on what I want to do with my future. The last blog or two, I have mentioned interventional radiology, which is still at the top of the list, but now I can't rule out pediatrics once again. These kids are awesome and help me forget about all the crap I've been sulking about lately. Aside a few instances with unreasonable parents, I could see myself working at a hospital like Childrens. Also added to the list is gastroenterology, a combination of seeing a few scoping procedures last month during surgery and dealing with GI cases last month and this month.

I've had lots on my mind in these last couple months, and I have felt like this blog is one way to get it out. Lately I've been fluctuating between good days and bad, and I've learned to keep myself busy so I don't have to think about things at all. It has been a combination of being unsure of what I want to do for the rest of my life, where I want to go and a few problems with just being confused on some issues.

As far as KC is concerned in general, I think this place is starting to grow on me. I've finally hit my comfort zone with this area and I'm just starting to figure stuff out. The weather this year has been great, my main concern has been the snow and ice the last few years, but this year it hasn't really been to big of a problem. We got a day of snow yesterday, but other than it being balls ass cold, it was drivable and didn't mess with my day too much. It will kind of suck to live out of a suitcase next year, but I guess it must be done. So if for any inspired reason, any of you want to come visit me out here in KC before I move, now's your chance.

Although my plans aren't as exciting as Schaefers, in case I don't blog for awhile, my immediate future plans include:
1) Orthopedic surgery in March
2) Internal Medicine in April and May at the VA
3) Vegas in April with Salwa/Tricia and family
4) Seattle in April for Mike G wedding
5) Possibly Vegas again in May with Dave/Schaefer/Davis/and crew
6) Baseball journey either to Chicago/St. Louis/or Denver to meet Shaefer on baseball tour
7) Psychology in June
8) Deanna coming up to visit in June
9) Family Practice in July in Clinton, MO
10) Matt E. wedding in July in WA (Spokane)
11) OB/GYN in August
12) COMLEX Step II and USMLE Step II in August
13) Philadelphia for clinical skills exam in August or September

Well...that is all, sorry my short return to blogging isn't very exciting, I will do my best to get back in the swing of things, but no guarantees.