Triathlon

Last weekend was Brian and my brother, Chris's first big triathlon of the year. I try to make as many as I can because not only do I want to cheer on my triathletes, it is also a lot of fun and really inspiring (not quite inspiring enough for me to want to do one though). Also, Adam Smith was there competing in his first tri. It was good to have Jamie to hang around with during the event.
Here is some quick snap shots of the race.
Pre-race pic- skinny boys


Chris just getting out of the long swim- looking good in his pink swim cap.

Adam getting out of the swim. Still feeling good apparently.

Brian just finishing the bike, and starting the lest leg, the run.

Adam is still all smiles starting his run.

Finish line! Under 3 hours like he had wanted.


You cannot tell in this pic, but Brian's knee was gushing blood. The knee below is not his, but it looked similar (Brian even has the same smooth shaven legs...apparently it is easier to get the wetsuit on and off when they are silky smooth, or something like that).


Brian had tripped and fallen during the last leg of the run. His left brand new white running shoe was soaked in blood. Not from his knee, though. He took his shoe off to find a chunk from the tip of his toe hanging off. Lovely. Nothing he couldn't handle, for he had lidocaine and sutures at home. Thank God he really didn't sew it up himself and it didn't need stitches.
Anyways, it was a great day and a great race. I am so proud of Brian, Chris, and Adam. They all three did very well.

So this upcoming triathlon list looks something like this:
June 6- Half IronMan Kansas in Lawrence
November 6- IronMan Panama City, Florida - that is a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike and a marathon run (26.2 miles). Insane!

*Anyone that wants to should come out for the Half IronMan in Lawrence. It is such a neat experience and there will be tons of professional's there (they are amazing to watch). It is pretty early in the morning, but so worth it. Plus, it is fun to cheer on someone you know.

Mexican Fail

Brian and I have been waiting for this Mexican restaurant down the street to reopen after 7 months of remodeling. When it finally opened, we went for a late lunch yesterday after his Triathlon (more on that later). There was a family behind us that was forced to move because of a small leak in the ceiling dripping on their table. Brian claimed that the ceiling was going to cave in. Ha! I laugh...yeah right. Next thing we know the water drip turns into a stream. A few minutes later the ceiling tile comes crashing down onto to the now empty table along with a waterfall of water. We continue to enjoy or lunch and try not to laugh too hard, as the waiters and managers run around with mops and buckets to clean up the water and ceiling tiles. They were going around asking everyone if they are ok. Brian says he likes this place even better now after that incident. The more ghetto the place, the better the Mexican food.

Neuro World

I am on my neurology rotation right now. I have to say it is pretty depressing. I am on the consult service so basically we go see patients who may have had strokes and assess whether or not patients in a coma have a chance or not. I have seen at least 5 patients who have had cardiac arrests/heart attacks, who were brought back, but there brain was without oxygen for too long. We have to tell family after family that prognosis is poor and the patient most likely will not recover. Pretty sad, especially when the patient is in their 20's or 30's.


Wow! That was depressing!
On a lighter note, my mom found my old first communion picture and brought it to my niece's first communion. This downy picture is 10 times worse than my gymnastics one. The first thing my niece said when she saw it, "Is that really you? Your arms are really hairy." Thanks Madison. Thanks for your honesty. I am the definition of a FLK or funny looking kid. Sorry in advance Brian for our future kids. I will try to scan and post it soon for a good laugh.

Maddie and I. The had to post the one of Connor looking GQ. It is funny because it looks like he has a big chew in!

f

Seriously?

While taking the elevator down from the 6th floor of the hospital to the ground floor, a cardiologist gets on. He takes the elevator DOWN ONE FLOOR! Really? You can't take the stairs DOWN one flight? Also, you are a heart doctor!
There is also an overweight surgeon who I always see outside chain smoking.
Seriously?

Celebrity Gossip!

I know most of you are into celebrity gossip as much as I am. Here are some new websights and blogs that Ashley showed me. Below is the e-mail info Ash sent me in the sights. They are basically inside info on celebs and their "secrets". These people have Blind Items where they have code names for celebrities and their acts of debauchery, but they will not say how they are. Warning! May waste a ridiculous amount of time during your day.

This is E!'s one. This guy does a lot of blind items where he makes up
nicknames for them. Always look at the comments section to get ideas of
who they could be
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/the_awful_truth/index.html

This is another random blog I found. He usually posts the blinds at
then end of the day. Also search for blind items revealed to find the
ones he revealed in the past.
http://www.crazydaysandnights.net/

This is the one written by an actor who won't reveal his identity but
he will answer peoples questions about it and sometimes gives hints.
Everyone thinks its Chase Crawford but I think that's too obvious
http://thegossipboy01.blogspot.com/

ALso one note, at the end of blind items it sometimes says "And it's
not so and so so and so and so and so" These people are usually hints
and have some kind of connection to who the person in the blind item
is.

Ok so only go to these if you have nothing else to do because you may
spend hours, it's sad.

ScHiZoPhReNiA

What a horrible disease. These people may be living normal, healthy lives, than BAM! They are crazy. It usually starts to manifest in the early 20's, when people are just getting their lives together. I have been thinking and reading about schizophrenia a lot since we have so many patient with it currently.

It is sad because it can affect anyone from any walk of life, although there is usually a genetic component (aka mom or dad had it). They can be successful business men that end up on the streets because they are so paranoid or they can't do day to day activities. It is true, a large majority of homeless people, suffer from schizophrenia. A lot of them are homeless due to their disease, not the other way around.

There is a women on the unit who has to have her arms and legs tied down to the bed because voices are telling her to hurt herself and others. These people realyl hear these voices and it is very much a reality to them. There is no cure or any thing you can say that make these voices or visual hallucinations go away for good. It has totally changed the way I look at "crazy" people.

A Little Piece of History

I started my Psychiatry rotation this week. It was really odd at first to walk into the hospital and need a special key to open the unit (it is locked so no patients can escape). Life in the Psych ward is exactly how I imagined. There are patients walking around mumbling to themselves, patients claiming they see dragons, people withdrawing from alcohol or drug addiction, patients who do not talk because they are so severely depressed, and shout outs from nurses yelling, "Med time!" It is crazy, no pun intended, but interesting.
In the afternoons, I work in the post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD clinic with Dr. Thakur. Apparently, Dr. Thakur is this well known psychiatrist who also happens to be a colonel (I think that is a big deal in the military). He treats mainly veterans for PTSD and depression and has even written a couple books, which these vets live by. He has meetings or lectures with about 50-60 vets every Thursday and Friday. Basically, he teaches them ways to deal with their anger, flashbacks, and stress.
I got to attend a meeting today and it was eye opening. It was amazing to walk into this room and see all these older men from all walks of life and backgrounds with this common bond. Nearly all of them had some sort of veteran memorabilia on such as a hat, coat, or t-shirt representing their infantry division, what war they were in (most were in vietnam, but there were a few WWII), if they were injured in battle, or what they served in (Navy, Marines, Army, Air Force, etc). They are so proud, as they should be, on what they have done for their country and the fact that they are survivors.


These men had incredible stories. Things you never read about in history class. Some things to horrible to even try to imagine. One WWII vet had some pretty unbelievable pictures of the concentration camp, Dachau, that he helped free. I had no idea how much these men still carry around with them everyday. Just hearing a car backfire, or a load noise, can bring them back into the jungle of Vietnam. Rain is especially depressing for them because it rained most of the time they were in Vietnam and they still have vivid images of their friends laying dead in the rain. It is hard to believe that human beings actually can do that stuff to each other and others have to witness it and carry it along with them forever.

During the class, Dr. Thakur picked on me a lot for examples and such, maybe because I was the only girl, which I secretely loved because these dirty old men are hilarious and my jokes were killing! (I was on a roll...seriously)
Anyways, he gave numerous example of how to control your own mood and mind set, by using certain triggers in life and modifying bad ones. Most of us do that already and don't even know it. Like, a certain song always seems to put you in a relaxed calm mood because it is tied to a certain time in your life or a particular smell will bring you back to a happy time in your childhood. You can train yourself to change your state of mind by doing things like touching your chin or rubbing your fingers together. More on this later as I learn more techniques and understand it better.

Side Note: Connor Story
Connor came home from school today a little sad. Gwen, my sister, asked what was wrong. He says, "Oh, Anna broke up with me today." What? None of us knew Connor even had a girlfriend. "So how long have you been dating?" Gwen asks. "Uhh since like 4th grade, Mom," Connor responds (he is finishing up 5th grade). Then he tells Gwen that he thinks it is because of his hair and he immediately says, "I am going to go work on it," then runs upstairs. Can't wait to see what the new do will look like...I mean he doesn't have much to work with (see pic below).