Snow storm

So Iive in the Mid-Atlantic region that just got toppled with a giant snow storm. For normal people this is a reason to panic and buy unnecessary groceries in quantity and scramble home as soon as possible. For those of us however that are "essential" employees this is not the case. On Friday afternoon we were all well aware that the snow was coming....but the question was whether to go home with the possibility of not returning or to stay the night with the hopes of finding a cot to sleep on. The nurses always think they have it rough....and they do....but they have unions and stuff that make sure they get cots or beds to sleep on. Residents however have a certain number of call rooms available...and once those are taken you're pretty much out of luck. So despite fair warning I went home even though I knew I was on call Saturday. The idea of staying at the hospital from Friday morning til Sunday morning was not appealing...as was the notion of sleeping on a cold and dirty floor.

So Saturday morning I layered up and went for it. I didn't make it to the end of my complex.....I didn't even make it to the end of the driveway. Fortunately my husband was able to walk to me and keep me company as we waited for the tow truck to get us unstuck. But then the craziest thing happened. The tow truck guy told us to follow him so we could get my car back in the garage. Then the tow truck got stuck, and so did we. The truck got out and took off.....we later got a call from them stating it was too dangerous for them to be in our area and if it was an emergency to call 911. Mind you we were stuck in the middle of an intersection.

So after abandoning my car I actually still made it into work, although late. My chief lives close by and he picked me up hours later with his SUV. I admit I was hoping for a day off. My husband was too....he was worried about his pregnant wife getting stuck in a snow bank or worse.

The get together

So one of the most difficult things about being in surgical residency is actually getting together with your friends. I know this seems silly, but it's true. I live outside of the city where I work. Most of the single residents live right near the hospital and can almost walk there. I on the other hand have a handsome husband who actually has a great job. Unfortunately this means we have to split the commute. In the evenings it sometimes takes me an hour to get home, just cause I can't get out of the city. What this also means is that once I get out, there is no way I'm going back into the city to hang out. Sometimes on the weekends if I'm not on call we'll venture to an event, make it easy and take the metro. But on a week night it's just not going to happen. I'm sure the single residents looking for love have a much more robust social life. That of course may be due to desperation, and not wanting to actually sit all alone in their tiny apartments. I don't blame them.....I like coming home to my husband and our little cats (and soon our baby).

The other complication is call. I'm buddies with lots of people that aren't the same year as I am. If I want to have a bunch of people over together I have to scour over the call schedule to see if anyone is even available. This also means that whenever we go someplace someone is cranky cause they are post call. So tomorrow night I have finally managed to get all my peeps together for dinner at our place. I'm terribly excited. There will be 8 of us, and one baby (not mine, a toddler). I've been living here for about a year and a half and I haven't had any of my close friends to my place yet. Slightly embarrassing, but true. Let's see how joyous the 2 post call people will be....

Post call...

So the hell that is being on call is always followed by the joy that is being post call. This morning, after rounding and operating (yeah patients don't want to know this) I was finally released. The way it works most places is that you can only be on for a max of 30hrs straight....which is what I do almost every 3rd or 4th night. It's kind of crazy really. If I were a patient I would be furious to know that a resident with baseline sleep deprivation who has just stayed up all night long is doing my surgery. Sure the attending is there.....for most of the procedure. Little do people know that most residents do significant parts of most operations. So as I was trying to make myself see straight while alone operating I began to have a serious pregnancy related craving. CAT MEAT! Oh come on, tell me you didn't know Taco Bell was made from cat meat....it is....I'm convinced.....and I LOVE it. Some how I actually made it there too, to Taco Bell that is. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and I ordered a #1 supreme meal. And they had caffeine free root beer. Glorious. As a huge diet Coke drinker before becoming pregnant I'm really having a hard time with my carbonated beverage intake. I gave up caffeine and artificial sugar for the good of the parasite within.....so no Coke. This is particularly a problem in hospital cafeterias and such. Needless to say I had such a heart warming experience over my little cat filled burrito it almost made being on call worth it....just to be post call.