Wandering in Wexford

The journey to Wexford took two and a half hours by train.

Even though it’s slightly more expensive than the bus, going by train allows one to walk around, and more importantly, go to the bathroom.

......

I pressed the green button on the door. It slid open. It was one of them automatic toilets. As I entered, the door closed on its own.

I almost wet the floor when a woman’s voice suddenly said, “Press red button to lock door and ensure privacy”

It came from a speaker right beside the sink. You gotta love technology.

.....

I had arrived at 9.30pm. It was slightly drizzling so I decided to walk up to the bed and breakfast about twenty minutes away from the station.

That wasn’t the best of decisions.

1. It was a dark night, drizzling and cold
2. I took a cab the last time, hence wasn’t really sure of the directions
3. I had google map on my phone so it was a foolproof idea (at the time)
4. I’m a great a navigator, just like mom
5. The streets were empty

This was what happened

1. Within 10 minutes, I was lost
2. The skies opened and it rained heavily
3. Since it was so heavy, I couldn’t take my phone out to check for directions
4. I’m pretty sure I stepped on a grave
5. There was NO ONE around (on the ground at least)
6. The wind made the tree shadows all the more scarier
7. I knew that the B&B was up on a hill
8. I just didn’t know which hill

Soaking wet, I dragged my luggage back down the hill, past the graveyard and into the city centre. I managed to grab a cab and finally arrived at my destination.

Moral of the story : ?

One step at a time...

Amidst all the uncertainty and chaos, I woke up on Friday morning alert enough to realize that it was D-day.

To my relief, I passed everything, albeit horribly. None of the 'D's I got bothered me at first, it was a solid pass and loads of my colleagues were worse off.

As the day went on, I realized how low my standards have become. I've become accustomed to scoring above average in a majority of exams.

Then I chose medicine.

At least I passed..

Gone with the wind

It’s been a windy few days in Dublin. Reports were coming in of an elderly lady who died as the wind caused a tree branch to fall right on to her.

I even witnessed a guy getting blown off his bike while taking a corner.

Even though the weather was dark and gloomy, it was heartening to get smiles from quite a few patients while I walked along the halls of St Joseph’s Ward.

....

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself that morning. I had obtained an “outstanding “ grade for my case presentation on a patient with a perforated sigmoid diverticula.

I could tell that the consultant was impressed by the fact that I could answer all his questions. It actually came to a point where he admitted,

“Well, the more you answer, the more I’m going to ask. The way this goes is that I’ll keep on asking until you say, ‘I don’t know’,”

It was turning out to be a really good day for me.

As I made my way back home, I looked down and realized that my zipper had been open all the while.

No wonder I was getting smiles all round....

Tight Lipped

Dean the intern was really into teaching us the 'practical' bit of being a physician. He had us running around putting cannulas in and taking consents from patients undergoing minor procedures.

I was asked to obtain consent from Mr AR, who was due to have a left sided colonoscopy later in the evening.

He was sitting on a chair right beside the bed looking lucid and alert. I noticed that he had a really thick moustache which was covering his upper lip.

"Mr R, we're basically going to put a camera through your back passage to have a look at your bowels. You will be sedated for this procedure and will feel groggy. You will be concious enough so that you can adhere to our instructions as you will be lying on your side"

I asked if he understood what I had just explained.

"Hmmph," he mustered.

"As with all procedures there are some inherent risks associated with it. However I assure you that you are in good hands"

I raffled on about the potential complications of a colonoscopy.

Throughout the whole "consult", all he said was "hmmph".

At this point I was worried that I might've not explained the procedure well enough to warrant a signature of the consent form. Something was definitely off about the guy.

I asked for leave and went to seek Dean for help.

"Oh f*** it, I forgot to mention that AR had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from his upper lip. Yeah, he basically has no upper lip and can't really talk."