The golden thread

So it's been quite a while since I've posted.  Medical school certainly has a way of stealing time away from me!  So last I left you with was the end of my first block which was Cell Science (gross).  After that I had musculoskeletal system (MSS) for 6 weeks.  I LOVE MSS! I guess it kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that I want to go into sports medicine :)  I find all parts of it fascinating and interesting and I loved those 6 weeks.  I also enjoyed it a lot because it tricked me into thinking I had a life outside of school again!  I still studied a lot..don't get me wrong..but I had more time to myself and to spend with family/friends.  I did well with my grades which was a plus and got to start anatomy! 

Let me say that working with our body donor (cadaver) has been such a humbling experience.  The fact that he was willing to give his earthly body up to 1st year medical students is definitely a great sacrifice.  He has allowed me to learn so much about the human body and  is helping me become a doctor.  We have even had some great 2am bonding times in the lab.  Yep you guessed it.  Just me and him and a lot of other bodies in the middle of the night.  At the beginning I thought I would never do that...too creepy.  Surprisingly it was quite peaceful.  I put my headphones in and jam away as I learn learn learn everything there is to learn :)  I have also had some reality checks in there too...it's amazing how you can get sidetracked so easily sometimes from what your focus is/should be.  Somehow staring at my cadaver always reminds me that the only path to becoming a successful physician is the hard road...and so I must charge on regardless of how tired I am some days.

I have also done some awesome things with the orthopaedic/sports medicine/pm&r clubs I'm in.  I got to learn how to do a total hip replacement in a saw-bones clinic a few weeks ago! For those who don't know what that is..it's basically a simulated hip replacement done with sawbones (fake) and a bunch of power tools.  Can't you see the excitement in my face??

I've also learned how to put on casts! We learned how to put on both old-school plaster and fiberglass casts on each other.  It was a lot of fun and I feel like I'm that much closer to becoming a doctor....

Also, I was able to saw open the skull of our cadaver and extract his brain and spinal cord.  How cool is that?! If you can't tell already..I love the feeling of having a saw in my hand and just going at it.  Adrenaline. stress relief. power. excitement.  Who really knows...but it's awesome!

Now on a more social note..I've done a few things here and there.  A powderpuff game is tradition for our school.  First year girls against second year girls.  We had tryouts in September and started practicing soon thereafter.  A bunch of the guys in our class were our couches and it was always really organized and fun (besides the occasional frustration!).  There was so much competition/animosity between the classes leading up to this game!  We all knew that it might be brutal (physically) but I never expected what was to come..  So it was supposed to be a normal flag football game right?  Well how about NOT.  It was basically a chance for 2015 and 2014 to hack it out on the field.  Yes it was definitely tackle.  It was rough, ugly, dirty....but yet so fun.  I played receiver so didn't get to block too much...but never have I ever wanted to shove/hit people more than I did that day.  Our casualties ended up being a concussion, a few broken fingers, a complete fracture that required surgery...and several cuts and bruises.  It was intense to say the least.  I think everyone agreed that it might have gotten a little crazy...but none of it got carried off the field so that's good!  We had some cute jerseys too :)

 Oh didn't mention that my awesome roommate got her tooth knocked out during practice one day!  It was awful.  She has now had 2 root canals and other problems because of it :(  She took it like a champ as always!  Laughing and carrying on about the whole situation..of course. 


 We also got a chance to go to the state fair!  We tried everything from fried bubblegum to a fried latte.  Delicious (minus the bubblegum...it was creative though!) and fun.  It was a nice break to be outside with my friends on our first "cooler" day. 

I kind of like this girl :)

 

 

 

Fried margarita!

I also made it back to college station a couple of weekends ago for the Baylor game!  So glad I went when I did...because looking at things now there's no way I can skip town again haha  Got to see my girl (real reason I went) and witnessed an epic Baylor massacre.  It was so good being in Kyle field again and tailgating...I've missed that place.  Gamedays are always hard being away from cs.  If you've never been to Texas A&M on a game weekend...then you have no idea what I'm talking about.  You have to see it for yourself :) 

Didn't clarify earlier...this is my girl! haha she never takes serious pictures with me

Beautiful weather and awesome seats!

Went to northgate expecting a good time as always...kind of disappointed.  WAY too many drunk obnoxious loud creepy people wandering around.  It was incredibly packed everywhere we went.  It smelled bad...people spilled drinks on me...etc.  I think I was just used to this in college...but not so much anymore.  I feel like medical school has aged me significantly haha!  I like my bars in Fort Worth..and at the present time I'll stick to those. thanks. 

Now I'm in block 3: nervous system.  It's SO MUCH MATERIAL!  Crazy crazy crazy.  Constantly keeping me on my toes.  I feel like I'm just now starting medical school.  Go figure.  Literally had a stack of double sided papers almost 4" thick of material covered in 2 weeks on our 3 exams yesterday.  Somehow I got through all of it...thanks to a lot of prayers and lots of coffee.  Got my grades back today.  I did well so I'm glad all the sleepless nights paid off! Now to charge through 3 more weeks of insanity until it gets better...


One thing about medical school...it has made me depend on my faith in God a whole lot more.  I cannot do this on my own.  It's coming at me from all sides and I have learned over the years to just let go and let God.  It's amazing the relief that comes from that :)  All I can do is learn as much as I can in the time that I have and after that...it's all up to Him.  I thank God everyday for giving me the brain capacity to store all of this information and the ability to retain it.  Prayers are what keep me going.  When I take time to look back at all that I have accomplished thus far..I feel immensely blessed. 

I must always remember why I'm here...what I have set out to accomplish...and God who's going to get me through it all.  The golden thread.