Adventures from the Outback!

Hey Everyone! We are soooo sorry for not posting earlier. We have been really struggling with the Internet here in Australia. The Internet that we were suppose to have is not working so the alternative that we have found is going to the library once a week... not ideal, but it works!

We had an amazing time in Hawaii. Lots of beach time and lots of sun...and of coarse lots of shopping! Our last day there was quite interesting....we got up early for our snorkeling tour. Got picked up and are on our way to the boat only to find out that the boat got damaged in a storm so the tour was cancelled. We ended up finding another similar tour to go on, had a great day! At night we went to an expensive restaurant for dinner... it is a revolving restaurant that looks out over Waikiki. All is good, explained my allergy, etc. Dinner Came out, it definitely looked like something that was NOT Soy free. Sent it back to the chef to double check...I was assured that it was fine....it wasn't. Half hour later the reaction starts, so we call and ambulance, while waiting for the ambulance I took my epi pen. We were sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for the ambulance to come when the ceiling above us falls in on us. YEP, there was cement falling all around us. We were fine, just some cuts and scraps on out legs and feet. Luckily it did not hit either of our heads. So after the hospital, I of coarse immediately went to sleep. Sylvie was checking her email, and her mom had sent her an email saying that there was a water leak in our building and the roof fell in the closet and there was water all over. Apparently just a few of Sylvie's coats got ruined. SO anyways, that was by far the most interesting/worst day thus far and I hope nothing else comes close!

Everything is going well here in Australia. We have done lots of sight seeing things. The doctor we are working with took us out on his boat for the day and we say lots of dolphins. It was pretty amazing! The weather has been pretty good, the last couple of days have been a little cooler, but still bearable! We are heading to Fraser Island this weekend, for a "party weekend" so I am sure we will have lots of stories for you guys then!

Love you all!
Melissa & Sylvie

Hey everyone!

Me and Adam are in the airport in Lisbon waiting to board our flight to Madrid. Portugal is amazing, I honestly don't have enough good things to say about it here. The weather is ideal, the beaches are beautiful and there are soooo many things to do. The only thing I would say is that Portugal is not known for the food and there is a reason, they don't really know how to cook here, but everything else is so awesome that it didn't really matter. My favorite part was this day trip to Sintra. It was like walking into a fairy tale, even Hans Christian Anderson used to go there to write. The place is filled with castles and palaces working their way up this winding mountain. One palace, which was apparently just a summer home had the most amazing grounds. They had this huge well you could walk down into that led to underground caves. They also had a lake attached to a underground labyrinth. On top of the mountain were a moorish castles and then another palace which was absolutely enormous and had the most amazing architecture. Anyways, the trip is starting off well and I can't wait for the next adventure. I admire you 5010ers, I remember all of that from my emerg rotation Fatima. It was absolutely exhausting! Anyways can't wait to see everyone in September!

Methadone, Marriage & Momentum

Ahhhh, I too finished my 5010 today. Well, officially it ended today, but technically I ended yesterday. I decided to skip today to keep preparing for Tanzania and to watch movies with my girlfriends. Heheh.

And what did I learn from my 5010? Opiate drug addictions suck. Really. If you enroll in the methadone program, you come in twice a week for a urine tox screen and doctor's visit, and take daily liquid meth, and you see a counsellor. These docs go through about 30-45 patients in three hours. And there are aaaaall types of personalities. It makes me sad to see young parents come in with their unsuspecting kids -- or maybe they know. Its a scary place. But you can totally tell which people are really trying to turn their lives around; others, not so much. Often its a chicken and egg situation, with pain and opiates. So when you decide that your patient really needs morphine for their pain, and you say, "you can get addicted," you might wanna add what "addicted" means... It's selling your body, or stealing from your friends to sell their stuff for money... its waking up and craving it, and thinking about how you'll get your next hit... and it just consumes your life, so you lose your job, lose your good friends, and its hard to get out of. But possible!! Anyways, that was my experience at the methodone clinic - very interesting, and also kinda sad. Kept seeing more and more interesting characters at the homeless clinic too - again, intriguing and sad.

On a happier note, Lauratt wedding was lovely!! Lauren was stunning, and Matt was welcome. Hahah... Lauren's dad presented Matt with a "Welcome Mat." Hah, get it?! Matt also gave a beautiful speech; the kind of speech that makes all the girls in the room cry. It was a wonderful afternoon and evening, and again I wish the newlyweds a wonderful life together - to both Lauratt and Starmin. Unfortunately Kim didn't catch the bouquet, in case you were wondering.

Finally, I went on my second skydive this past Sunday... with my mom and brother!! I was pretty impressed with how calm my mother was. And, even though it was my second time, I was a bit more scared scurrred. The responsibility of counting down your own jump, making turns and dives, and pulling your own parachute (and that of your tandem instructor), really got to me and freaked me out, especially right at the door. But I survived, and it was awesome! If you haven't done it, you should go!!!

So, that's my little update. Getting ready for one of my best friend's wedding, and Tanzania in three days. THREE. It kinda freaks me out.

Can't wait to hear more stories from the rest of you!!!

Claude that is so sad :( I hope you're ok!!!!


I finished the emerg portion of my 5010. Things I learned:

The moods of the nurses makes the mood of the entire floor. When they are mean, they are MEAN. I mentally called this one nurse a c word in my head on a daily basis. But I found out on my last shift w her that she had major beef w this one doc, and I witnessed first hand how miserable she was making his life, and the pleasure she was getting from that. So never cross a nurse is my lesson learned.

Unless you tell docs you're not a clerk, they will assume you are. And then they will think you are one of the stupidest clerks they've seen. OR they make you stay until beyond your shift until every patient is followed up on. Eg. I started a shift at met at like 3 pm, wasn't in bed until 4:30 ish am.

You starve. Pack food in the pockets of your greens. Cuz no one thinks about eating. Pack chapstick too. And get ready to hold your pee for a looonggg time.

WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT DRUGS AT ALL! ESP ABX!

Yesterday I started the nephro/ctu portion of my 5010. We rounded at FIVE AM. WTF?!?! I had to wake up at four! BLAHHHH. I felt so nauseated and wanted to just curl up and die. Yuck.

That is all I have to say for now! Hope everyone is having a kick ass summer! Love you all!

oh no Claude! That happened to me once in downtown Toronto and I ended up crying so good on you for keeping your cool! I can imagine how beautiful Quebec City is in the Summer! Me and Adam are leaving tomorrow so we'll start posting asap! I also want to hear from the Aussie's! hmmm?

la belle vie!

hello! i finally have real internet (temporarily)!! this blog is looking a little dead! i dont have much news, ive spent the week in a cottage in Levis, QC, right on the water with an incredible view of Quebec city - living the good life. the real deal - jogs and biking along the river, wine with every meal, boutique shopping, canoeing, i even went birdwatching! i learned lots more about ducks. anyways, thought i would share a little anecdote.
so today i went to visit some distant Gorman relatives in the suburbs of Quebec city. Took the bridge there and decided to drive through the heart of downtown Quebec city (in rush hour no less) and take the ferry back to Levis. It`s all going well until I attempt to get off the ferry, when I realize that my car has decided to cut the power steering and I can barely turn the steering wheel. Awesome. Angry french cars cursing and honking behind me, angry french ferry traffic man waving madly at me and thinking i`m an absolute Ontarian idiot. I finally realized what was going on and used my huge arm muscles and managed to get the hell off that boat. Probably the worst location to lose power steering. Does this kind of random twisted shiz only happen to meÉ damn this french keyboard!!
anyways, start posting everyone! i start at the french clinic on monday, wish me luck!! have wonderful summers!!!
claude

day 1 ortho

so day 1 ortho:

17 hours...it was awesome

I discovered the benefits of advocating for patient physical activity as we had to place a rod in 400 pounder. The analogy would be like putting a copper wire through a toothpick that it is in the center of a cheetoh and u are accessing through the top of the cheetoh...and you are blind to entry point. It was brutal.

But today I got to inject a knee joint so it was sweet.

Such a great idea! I love this!

Let the summer begin!

SCHOOL IS DONE! 1/2 done medical school people. (...or as Adam would say ~1/4 done - clerkship is half). Hoping to hear from you guys soon.
xoxo