Ever been to a library book sale? I love them. If your are exceedingly olfactory, it's pure heaven or hell. They always seem to smell like pickles, urine, and generalized body odor. I'm not sure why book-lovers are often so careless with hygiene, but there seems to be a trend.
I got the 2005 PDR. That was pretty sweet. I also got a book on common surgeries. It's for patients. They are overviews of exactly what happens during the procedures. I'm excited about that. There was also a 1905 book about the state of medicine, and it talks about all kinds of diseases and how to cure them. Fantastic! That kind of history is really fascinating.
I spent my Sabbath reading medical journals in the library with medical dictionary in had, or rather, in lap - it's huge. Can somebody explain eclampsia to me? I didn't fully understand the definition. Is it really like a seizure? Why is it life-threatening? Thanks for educating me.
I'm tired, but I just ate pizza, and I'm too wired to go to sleep. We went to this little hole-in-the wall place and asked the owner to put on whatever cheese he thought would be tasty. We get this wonderful blend or mozzarella, Gorgonzola, blue, Parmesan, and several others. It was perfectly balanced. Yummy.
We spent all of today cleaning and organizing. I've never had closets and filing cabinets so neat and tidy. We officially put our house on the market next Sunday. We have a little more painting to do and some general cleaning. We bought a new computer desk (currently we're using one for kids) and a bureau (my husband has a tiny one, but all of my clothes are in stacks in the closet). So next week, for the first time ever - I will living the life of the ultra-organized, clean girl, I always envied. I always wanted that lovely little house that you walk into and a woman greets you at the door in an apron with cookies and milk. Can you picture her skinny little leg as she bends towards you offering the perfect cookie? Okay, I would hate that, but in some deep dark cavern of my mind I feel that I should be doing those kinds of things. Weightlifting, reading, being a doctor. . .totally not your trophy-wife. Unless you go for the kind of woman that would rather talk about politics and the state of education today than whatever (insert current cool-type movie-star person here) is up to. Or should I say, "Up to what is (insert current cool-type movie-star person here)? That may be a bit extreme.
All right, so once again I'm in the position of saying that I need to study and not yet doing so. I need to break this habit. I think once the house is ready to go, and my applications are rolling along I will be able to focus. I really like biochemistry, I'm just so fried by the end of the day that I tend to make excuses to not study. Okay, that's an excuse for an excuse. I just need some down time to regroup and stay my happy well-adjusted self. The coffee calls my name ever so sweetly. Don't try the Burger King mocha joe! It's 10 times more addicting than crack! It's like a milkshake covered in coffee. . .thankfully they are closed right now. Mmmm, but at 6:00am they are not closed. . .
Speaking of 6:00am, I really need to go to bed. I really need to finish my Johns Hopkins application. I'm carefully crafting every answer so that they can see as much of me as possible in as few words as I am able. I may not be the brightest, but I think I have a lot to offer. Trust me. . .I want to be a doctor. . .
Posts
6 comments:
Did I ask for a trophy? And what about the state of education today? I'll buy you that coffee if you say I can get myself one, too . . .
I don't know about the enclampsia-- don't pregnant women sometimes get it? I was so fortunate that I never had a real issue with anything other than a sour attitude when pregnant!
Your vision frightens me-- aren't you thinking of The Stepford Wives?
Every time I think of a nice clean organized home with pretty things, I realize that i will be at least 43 years old with less children and it makes me sad!
How are your applications going? When will you start getting accepted? I have a feeling that you will be collecting acceptance letters as opposed to rejection slips.
Jason - I did buy you that coffee this morning. Yummy. If anyone knows my views on education you do.
Tea n. crumpet - Yes, I do have some sick version of what a "good" wife is in my mind's eye. However, I will continue to marvel at odd bugs, read, and adore ugly pets like my rats. Don't worry, I'm far too stubborn to change. I hope your estimation of me is accurate. We shall see. . .
Oh do tell me you views on education!
We had some rats and they were the coolest creatures. I was in a messy custody battle at the time. I'm either a decent artist or my ex's wife has too psychotic of an imagination as I drew the adventures of Rickarat on post cards. She thought they were too close to looking real and she'd shudder as she handed them to my daughters. The ex wanted me to stop mailing them and I refused and suggested we show the judge which they didn't want to do as it would plump up my ego and the judge would laugh his robe off.
Now Rick-a-rat's adventures follow my daughters to college! Rick-a-rat's got it going' on!
"I just need some down time to regroup and stay my happy well-adjusted self." Exactly what I say after every exam. I need to spend the rest of the night cleaning my place up.
You've got a lot on your plate right now. Good luck with the house, studying, and applications! Sounds like you've got a nice husband to lean on.
As for eclampsia or toxemia of pregnancy, I don't think that the primary cause or causes have been determined yet. I'll try my best to give a brief explanation (as I understand it). For unknown reasons (immune response, genetics, or something else) there is abnormal development of the placenta. Abnormal growth or some other factor leads to decreased blood flow to the placental and uterine tissues. Various substances are released from these cells that are no longer getting the oxygen they need. These substances lead to (1) damage of the blood vessel walls, (2) constriction/obstruction of the blood vessels, and (3) activation of coagulation within the blood vessels. The pregnant woman develops hypertension because of the increased resistance in the vessels (constrict a garden hose and the pressure builds up behind the blockage). This leads to fluid being pushed out of the systemic vessels into the tissues (edema (like when you first get a mosquito bite and you get that initial swelling, only in this case it's your whole body)) and to "leaky filtration" of blood in the kidneys (so you get lots of protein in the urine, proteinuria). Together, the hypertension, proteinuria, and edema are known as preeclampsia and should be controlled by a physician. The most dangerous aspect is the clot formation in the pregnant woman's blood vessels. The condition is known as disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) (very complex -- get both clotting and destruction of the clots (thrombolysis), but I'll keep it simple here). So you get these clots in the placenta, the kidneys, the liver -- everywhere. Clots in the brain lead to convulsions/seizures and coma (eclampsia, once the central nervous system is involved). Now you see why it's life-threatening? As these small clots are forming throughout these organs, it blocks oxygenated blood from reaching cells. No oxygen --> cell death. Kill enough cells and the organ fails. More than two or three organs fail and . . . Hope that helps you understand the condition a little better.
dc - you're the best. That was really helpful and interesting. Ever considered teaching?
Post a Comment