We've Gone From Innie to Outie

It's like the timer that comes in the supermarket turkey. Does that mean Paige is done and it's time for her to come out of the oven? Well, tell me what you think. For those of you who remember my Halloween picture, here's a picture of Megan in a similar pose.

Betting Pool

Alright, I'm doing this basically because Hue is holding me to it. It's time to start the "When-Is-Paige-Coming Betting Pool." We'll make it a small bet... about $1.00 if that is ok with everyone. Winner is whoever has the actual birthday or the person who gets closest without going under. For example, if she's born on May 2nd, and May 1st and May 4th are two guesses, the May 4th guesser wins.

Some clues... her due date according to the last-menstrual-period method is May 11th. According to our Level 2 Ultrasound in December it's May 14th. Oh, and the baby just dropped on Sunday March 26th.

Put your bets in the comments section. Winner takes all.

In honor of the dropped baby, let's listen to Snoop Dog and Pharrell

What A Beautiful Face

Readers of this blog are probably aware of Samuel's Story. The Wangster's blog has certainly become a loving tribute to their son. They have remarkable strength, and I admire their ability to be open with all of us.

There was so much I wanted to write at first... something about how we're never meant to understand why things happen, but that the things that do happen make us better and stronger... but then it came to me while driving home:

Hue, Sioux, Samuel... I love you.


Song of the week:
"In An Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel

Nazareth Baby Shower

Megan and I wanted to thank everyone for coming to the baby shower today. It was great seeing people we haven't seen since either the wedding or when we worked in Bethlehem. The crowd included Megan's relatives, friends from x-ray school, friends from St. Luke's, and her childhood next door neighbors. They sure were generous. We filled two cars full of gifts (and one of those cars is an SUV!)

Games were fun. Megan's mom sure had a surprise when four people tied for one of them. She squirmed a little trying to come up with enough prizes.

Special thanks to Barb for using her home and coming up with a chocolate fountain (how she did that I don't know.) And another special thanks to Krissy who kinda played hostess and even did dishes.

Pictures here.

Doctors Dodging Tickets

E.R. overcrowding is a serious problem, especially in the winter. Hospital beds fill up and admitted patients end up being held in the emergency department. Additionally, more people get sick in the winter, so our waiting rooms are full. It's normal for me to examine patients in the hallways, because of the lack of available rooms. Sometimes, there's no space to see patients at all. In times like these, our hospital goes on "divert" meaning we have to turn away all but the most critical ambulance patients.

My physican group staffs two hosptials, Kent and Milford. Late Friday Night (into the AM Saturday morning) I was working at Kent when we were on divert. My partner in Milford called us at Kent, begging us to go off divert, because he was getting flooded with patients from both his area and ours. We couldn't. There was no space and no nursing staff to allow us to see patients, and our waiting room patients had been there for six hours. I told him that when my shift ended at Kent, I would go to Milford to provide more pateint-seeing manpower.

So my shift ended and I jumped into my car all pumped up to go to the next hospital. Five minutes on the road and the lights of a police car flash behind me. Of course, I was speeding (60 mph in a 40 mph zone). I bagan to regret volunteering for the extra shift.

The state trooper asked me "Is there a reason why you're driving so fast tonight, sir?"

I answered "Because I'm an ER doctor and I was called from one hospital to work at another."

So, I got off with a warning. When I arrived at Milford, my first patient (someone who was soooo happy to see me because they had been waiting six hours) was...guess what....?

A state trooper.

So, as it turned out, one police officer did me a favor, so I could help out another. Karma, man. I was also told the next day by a collegue, that with the ER doctor excuse, I should never get a speeding ticket in this town again.

This job ain't so bad after all.