Today was one of those days when I’m thankful to be able to do what I do for a living, even if it was a 14+ hour day.
This morning started out in my clinic, which was pretty busy. One of my patients that came in was one of my OB patients who was now term (i.e. past 37 weeks). When I saw her last week, she wasn’t dilated at all, and baby’s head was down then too. When I checked her today, she was 4 centimeters dilated (yay!), but unfortunately, baby’s head wasn’t down anymore (boo!). These days, we don’t do breech vaginal deliveries, so this was not good news. I was able to send her over to the hospital, where she had a successful external cephalic version (i.e. turn the baby around by pressing really hard on mom’s belly), and she started to labor more on her own. Later in the afternoon, somebody paged me to say she was 7 centimeters (yay again!), but then I got another page a few minutes later letting me know that baby had turned again and he wasn’t head down anymore. (Little stinker!) Unfortunately, all that meant that she was heading back for a c-section.
To make matters worse, my patient’s husband wasn’t able to leave work, and even though her mother was there, she didn’t want to come back to the operating room. That left me as the person to stay next to her during the whole surgery.
I felt so blessed when I saw her face relax once I walked into the OR before things got started. I explained what they were doing when the nurses prepped her skin, when they started the surgery, when they pushed really, really hard to get that little guy out, and when they were closing her back up again. I gave her my hand and told her to squeeze as hard and as long as she needed to. And she did. After the team cleaned him up, I gave her the rundown of weight, length, and how cute and perfect he was.
It was an amazing feeling, and I’m very thankful for that.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
There's Nothing Mini About It
We did it. My dad and I completed the Indianapolis 500 Festival Mini Marathon, and we ran all 13.1 miles of it.
Saturday morning started bright and early at 5am when my alarm went off. I got ready, ate some breakfast, had my obligatory cup of coffee, got all my gear together, and my dad and I set off for downtown. We got there around 6:45, found a parking spot without too much hassle, then headed to the Marriott where we were planning to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin before lining up. (I was also very happy to use a regular bathroom before the race.) We got into our assigned corral (based on our estimated finishing time when we registered) a little before 7:30 when the race started. It was quite an experience to line up with over 35,000 other runners and walkers in anticipation of going 13.1 miles. Finally, the crowd started to [slowly] move up towards the start line. It took us a little over 20 minutes to just get to the start line, and then the timer started.
We didn’t have any particular goals as far as time…my only goal was to finish and run as much of it as possible. Well, we started running and we both felt great. I had to take a pit stop right before mile 5 (I blame my morning coffee), then we were off and running again. We entered the track around mile 6, and once you complete the 2.5 mile loop, it was right around 8.5 miles. My dad and I still felt fantastic the whole way around the track…the temperature was great (I think in the 50s) and it even started drizzling a bit so that was a nice cool-off. It wasn’t until mile 9 or so that I started to feel the toll on my legs and lose a little bit of steam. I knew we still had 4 miles to go, but I thought to myself, You’ve run this far, you can keep running. Those last 4 miles were the toughest, but finally we were turning the corner at mile 12. Along that last straight-away on New York Street, they had signs counting down to the finish…3/4…1/2…1/4….0.13… I could have done without those personally because at that point I just wanted to be done. Before we reached the finish, we saw my mom, brother, and TJ standing off to the right and cheering us on. I think that definitely helped both of us to power through and get to the finish. I threw my arms up in the air, crossed the finish line, then looked down at my watch and saw that we had finished in 2:28! I was so tired, but so energized at the same time. We had done it, and we had run the whole thing in under 2 and a half hours! After the finish, there were tons of volunteers handing out water, bananas, granola bars, and our medals. My dad and I got our picture taken, then went over to meet up with everyone. The sun had come out by that point, so we were able to enjoy the post-race party in Military Park before going to Champps for some lunch.
Overall, it was a fantastic day. It was a great feeling to run with all those other people, have tons of people (young and old) cheering you on from the sidelines, and just know that we had completed our goal and even surpassed it. I already can’t wait for next year.
Who’s with me?
Saturday morning started bright and early at 5am when my alarm went off. I got ready, ate some breakfast, had my obligatory cup of coffee, got all my gear together, and my dad and I set off for downtown. We got there around 6:45, found a parking spot without too much hassle, then headed to the Marriott where we were planning to meet up with my aunt, uncle, and cousin before lining up. (I was also very happy to use a regular bathroom before the race.) We got into our assigned corral (based on our estimated finishing time when we registered) a little before 7:30 when the race started. It was quite an experience to line up with over 35,000 other runners and walkers in anticipation of going 13.1 miles. Finally, the crowd started to [slowly] move up towards the start line. It took us a little over 20 minutes to just get to the start line, and then the timer started.
We didn’t have any particular goals as far as time…my only goal was to finish and run as much of it as possible. Well, we started running and we both felt great. I had to take a pit stop right before mile 5 (I blame my morning coffee), then we were off and running again. We entered the track around mile 6, and once you complete the 2.5 mile loop, it was right around 8.5 miles. My dad and I still felt fantastic the whole way around the track…the temperature was great (I think in the 50s) and it even started drizzling a bit so that was a nice cool-off. It wasn’t until mile 9 or so that I started to feel the toll on my legs and lose a little bit of steam. I knew we still had 4 miles to go, but I thought to myself, You’ve run this far, you can keep running. Those last 4 miles were the toughest, but finally we were turning the corner at mile 12. Along that last straight-away on New York Street, they had signs counting down to the finish…3/4…1/2…1/4….0.13… I could have done without those personally because at that point I just wanted to be done. Before we reached the finish, we saw my mom, brother, and TJ standing off to the right and cheering us on. I think that definitely helped both of us to power through and get to the finish. I threw my arms up in the air, crossed the finish line, then looked down at my watch and saw that we had finished in 2:28! I was so tired, but so energized at the same time. We had done it, and we had run the whole thing in under 2 and a half hours! After the finish, there were tons of volunteers handing out water, bananas, granola bars, and our medals. My dad and I got our picture taken, then went over to meet up with everyone. The sun had come out by that point, so we were able to enjoy the post-race party in Military Park before going to Champps for some lunch.
Overall, it was a fantastic day. It was a great feeling to run with all those other people, have tons of people (young and old) cheering you on from the sidelines, and just know that we had completed our goal and even surpassed it. I already can’t wait for next year.
Who’s with me?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
{almost} Wordless Wednesday
Last Saturday, my dad and I took a nice drive in the Boxster down to Cincinnati for my grandpa’s 80th birthday party…here’s a pic as we whizzed down Indiana Route 1 in southeastern Indiana.
I am my father’s daughter. Good times.
I am my father’s daughter. Good times.
Monday, May 2, 2011
A Good Day?
President Obama is calling today “A good day for America.” As Americans, we may be a little safer today than we were yesterday because of the death of one man. Don’t get me wrong, I am very thankful for the many men and women that sacrifice their lives everyday to keep me safe at home, but at the same time, I have a hard time celebrating the death of a human being. It’s kind of hard to put it into words, but I saw this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr that pretty much sums up how I’m feeling:
I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
I also saw this from a Vatican Spokesperson:
“Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event be an opportunity for further growth of hatred, but for peace.”
How have you been feeling today?
I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
I also saw this from a Vatican Spokesperson:
“Faced with the death of a man, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibility of each and every one of us before God and before man, and hopes and commits himself so that no event be an opportunity for further growth of hatred, but for peace.”
How have you been feeling today?
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