Dear everyone,
It’s the last day of March.
It’s sunny out, but still cold - - in the low forties. We are supposed to get more moderate
temperatures this coming week. I am on
call this weekend, but it hasn’t been bad.
It’s been a bit light at work over the last week; we think because of
Spring Break. I only had about 50-60 cases
on Saturday (usually it runs in the 80s), so that was a nice break - - although
I did get a couple of scares Friday night - - the first was a surprise frozen
section while I was on my way home, about 20 minutes from the hospital (why
they couldn’t have told us there was a case pending when we called the OR a
half hour earlier…). Luckily, one of my
colleagues was still at work, and she was able to handle the case - - the diagnosis
of which would not have changed the surgical management (i.e. the surgeons didn’t
really need to have a frozen section; they just wanted a diagnosis so they
could go out and talk to the family).
Cindy asked me if it would be best if we told some random surgeon not to
get frozen sections if one of our children was on the table, to which I replied
“Absolutely, frozens only if required for intraoperative guidance, not to
satisfy curiosity (if the surgeon’s don’t know what is there already they
should have gotten a needle diagnosis first…)”.
Then, my nemesis, Gift of Hope, had a possible transplant late Friday night,
but they ended up not calling. I will so glad not to take call anymore in a few
years.
Last night we went out with my partner Aimee Kwak and her
husband Bryant (he is a foot surgeon in Hinsdale). We went to Vie and had the usual excellent meal
(parsnip flan, charcuterie, gnocchi, apple salad, scallops, sturgeon, pork
combo, turkey, hamburger, whitefish, buttercake and lemon sorbet), but I think
we all enjoyed the appetizers more than our main courses. I told the restaurant we were celebrating
Cindy’s birthday, so we did get some nice unasked for treats for dessert. And Cindy and I did go out on her actual birthday
(March 27) to a newish restaurant in town, Harry and Eddie’s, where we had a
pretty good meal also (fried tomatoes, Thai salad, arugula salad with shrimp,
key lime pie). I am stuffed just
thinking about it. We are looking
forward to taking Roger out to a Korean BBQ restaurant next Sunday in the Niles
/ Morton Grove area, but we haven’t yet settled on a particular place.
I had two vaccines given to me this week. The first was my second (and final) dose of
Hepatitis A. I had the first injection
before our Japan trip. Now I can eat all
the Hepatitis contaminated oysters I want (although I still need to keep an eye
out for typhoid and cholera…). For my second shot I had my first dose of the
Shingrix vaccine for chicken pox / shingles.
I get my next dose in June. I can’t
say I’m looking forward to this - - the shot made my right arm sore for a
couple of days, and I felt a bit ill afterwards, although that could be my
imagination. Still, I don’t want to get
shingles.
The dogs are sleeping now, but Robbie has pretty well
integrated himself into our routines. We
still have to lift him up onto couches, but he is getting better at leaping off
of them onto the floor. He has even gone
down half a flight of stairs a few times now (when food has been on the
line). He has currently lost over 2.5
lbs since coming to live with us. If he loses another pound or so we can ease
him off his North Korean diet. Meeko seems to be recovered from the
pancreatitis that struck her after her wanderings Super Bowl weekend.
Last big thing is the big election on Tuesday - - No, not
Preckwinkle vs. Lightfoot for Mayor of Chicago - - the D86 School district
referendum to raise taxes for Hinsdale Central and South High Schools. This has turned into a terrible fight over a
relatively small tax increase (over 20 years).
Central desperately needs the money for the physical plant and other
stuff. Without the money there will be
no sports teams, clubs, etc. The opposition has been feeding fixed income empty nesters lines on how they will be
kicked out onto the street because they won’t be able to pay their increased
tax bills. People (or at least NO
voters) have been ripping out YES signs from other people’s lawns…it’s all over
Facebook. Looking forward to the end of this idiotic distraction.
Love, H.
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