One down :)

Last duty ko na sa Pedia ER bukas!

I've been through 6 weeks of internship already... nakayanan ang ka-toxican sa Pedia ward (we were just four interns taking care of 45 patients), nag-enjoy/nagdusa sa Nursery at NICU (enjoy dahil sa babies, dusa dahil sa physical exhaustion kaka-run ng errands sa NICU), at nasiyahan sa ER kahit na may times na gusto ko na lang layasan ang ka-toxican (hehe).

For all that has passed so far, I thank Him for His ever-sufficient grace. =)

11 months to go.. :D

Looking Forward

The previous week has been the most eventful part of my last summer vacation as a student. It was just great seeing friends that I haven't been with for so long and going places I have never been to. :) Maybe I'll share more on this part later; probably better when I get my photos from my brother (who insisted that I give our camera back to him in Bacolod before I fly back home).

Heartbeat for Christ in Dumaguete was basically the reason (among others) I found myself heading off to Negros island. It was an annual convergence of Christian medical students from all over the country, organized by the Campus Crusade for Christ. I joined with expectations of having a fresh encounter with the Lord and getting my bearings, so to speak, for my internship that lay ahead. Indeed, the Lord met these and gave me more. Here are some of what I learned and re-learned:

• I am to seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all other things will be added unto me.
• I must not worry or be anxious. It's a waste of time and energy and unbecoming of a Christian!
• Live one day at a time; trust Him one day at a time.
• Pray CONSTANTLY.
• Thank God for everything. Gratitude keeps one from worrying.
• I must make time for God's Word. My soul needs it.
• Remain in Him and bear much fruit.
• In pressing on toward my goal to know Christ more, I must face my faults, forget what is behind, and focus on what lies ahead.

It was truly a refreshing time spent worshipping Him and hearing from His Word. The Lord gave me a resounding reminder that to be a physician is a high calling and an effective tool for ministry. It was also encouraging to find that there are actually many Christians in the country's different medical schools. If we take our calling seriously then this means making a bigger impact for His glory. Wow. :)

I really thank the Lord for this conference and I'm glad I went, even if it was so near the start of internship. I found that it was actually just what I needed before beginning that "last frontier". He recharged me, put me in the right perspective, assured me of His presence and gave me peace. I will survive internship as long as I put my trust in Him always. And so I came home saying, "By faith, I am ready."

Once more I felt His presence as we sang this hymn in church the next day:

Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty Defender is always the same.
Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;
Vict’ry is sure when you call on His name.

Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And be of good courage, for He is your guide.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.

So put on the armour the Lord has provided;
And place your defense in His unfailing care.
Trust Him, for He will be with you in battle,
Lighting your path to avoid every snare.

Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And be of good courage, for He is your guide.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.

Be strong in the Lord, and be of good courage;
Your mighty commander will vanquish the foe.
Fear not the battle, for the victory is always His;
He will protect you wherever you go.

Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And be of good courage, for He is your guide.
Be strong, be strong, be strong in the Lord;
And rejoice for the vict’ry is yours.

In just a few moments, it'll be May 1st. Pedia wards + summertime - clerks = toxic.

Okay Lord, even if there are no clerks yet, we can do this. :) Let me not let stress and toxicity steal my joy.

I'm Back

Countdown to internship: 5 DAYS.

I choose to trust God and draw from His love and grace. May my light shine so brightly each day I spend in PGH for the next year...

Time Running Out

Wow. Two of my precious three weeks have actually elapsed already.

So far my vacation has been more or less a cycle of sleeping, eating, doing house work, reading (i've finally finished Dr. Paul Brand's "The Gift of Pain" after ages; sorry can't share the current one just yet haha), surfing the internet and occasionally watching TV. I also did my customary share of organizing my desk and other stuff that get neglected here at home when I'm away 'stuck' in Manila. I'm glad I still have the opportunity to travel a bit this coming week to visit friends (and my brother attending Kawayan Camp) and attend Heartbeat for Christ (a conference)... Iloilo and Negros, here I come! =)

I feel like this week is a dream, because when I come back, I'll have to start separating myself from home again and get used to my hot dorm room, polluted Manila air, and last but definitely not the least: the more stressful life of a PGH intern.

I hope I will have a blast this week and a meaningful encounter with Him, too. I need this just before I embark on another crazy, colorful ride waiting for me in just twelve days. :)

My Last Duty as a Clerk

I had a tiring but amazing morning yesterday. For the first time, I got to witness and assist in a spine surgery. =) The patient was a 14-year old girl who had scoliosis with a 50-degree curve on her spine. Now I know exactly how scoliosis is corrected with the use of screws and rods and most importantly, bone grafts. We stood for nearly 6 hours in the OR (they say scolio cases typically last about 10 hours or more)! And while I kept silent the whole time, in my head I couldn't stop marveling at the way God created the human body, and the knowledge He gave man to be able to come up with ways to "fix" whatever is wrong (like what we did yesterday). It was just so cool. =)

I didn't like the afternoon part of my duty though. I was up for my second procedure for the day--it was supposed to be just a simple closed reduction for a dislocated elbow of an 18-year old guy who encountered a motorcycle crash. The problem was, he also had a big bleed in his brain from the head trauma and putting him under anesthesia for the closed reduction would be tricky. After some delay the neurosurgeon evaluated him and decided to do a craniectomy. We had to wait for the patient to be anesthesized before we could reduce his dislocation, and that took us hours. Argh. Five hours of doing nothing until I got tired and hungry. I was there from 3 til 8pm! Then my resident let my go down to the call room and have dinner for a while, for which I took my time. I came back after about 40 mins (I think) and behold, the patient's elbow was fixed alreay. Oookay...so much for waiting that long. I spent the rest of the night tinkering with my new laptop [wee...=) too bad the Ortho Wifi was down though], trying to drown out the ghost stories the residents were sharing. Hahaha. And then I slept from 12-6:45 am. :)

It was still a fun duty, in spite of the hassles.

Clerkship is winding down! One more week left... :)

In A Nutshell

I spent half of my birthday in the hospital and nearly the other half asleep--was on duty at the ER from tuesday to 7am of wednesday, then stayed on for some activities at the Orthopedic ward... and then i slept through the afternoon and early evening.

Now i'm awake way past midnight and i still need to study for a case discussion tomorrow.. i feel like my day has just begun. The things going on duty can do to your body clock.. tsk. ^__^

Anyway, I thank God for 23 years of his faithfulness and grace, and as I come closer to the end of the first leg of my medical training (since Medicine is a lifetime of learning) i trust that He will lead me to the field where He would want to use me.

More importanlty, I pray that by His grace I will continue to seek His face everyday until He leads me to the center of His will.. :)

Nearer to the end [of this year at least]

Obviously, blogging has become the least of my priorities. Somewhere along the way (while rotating in IM), I seem to have lost my drive to post regularly. I might have to rethink maintaining this site... ^__^;

Well, things are not as toxic now. Just about three weeks left and clerkship will be over! Three days packed with exams though (including a graded compre, yikes) will cap it all off at the end, and I haven't studied yet. Oh no.

This year has been quite a ride... It is my constant prayer that He'll fill me to overflowing with His joy. Can't go on without Him.