Sooo sleepy!

I haven't updated in a while because we've been in an absolute rat race! Q4 call isn't for sissies!! I don't think I've ever been quite as tired as I am at the end of this month. Cardiology has been extraordinarily hectic and general wards have been overflowing. I have admitted over 10 patients on average on my call nights (read: no sleep, frantic activity for 30hrs straight without a break). There are bright spots. I still absolutely adore my little patients...they're the only thing that makes it see worthwhile after the 28th hour of work :-) We also had a really good time at Resident Retreat in Hilton Head. I LOVE MY FELLOW INTERNS! They are all amazing and we had such a fun time :-) I'll post some of the fantastic pics we have from the weekend when I can get them from Alan.
Jonathan has had a very hectic month as well. He has finished his first month of surgery and is officially 1/4 done with 3rd year!!! Hard to believe! It seems like it just started. He has many interesting stories and has done an amazing job :-) I'm so proud!!!
The shih tzus all have dirty hair. They haven't been washed in at least 2 weeks and they are all getting pretty self-conscious about how they smell. I don't blame them. They need a bath ASAP. Otherwise they are fine and enjoying the cooler weather. Later this fall I am planning to take them to have glamour shots done by a local photographer, so keep your eyes peeled!
We love you all SO SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry we're being such recluses these last few months, but hopefully it will be better and we'll see you all soon.
TTFN!

Sample from the Shih Tzu Photo shoot

Hectic times at the Lawson's!

So sorry everyone..it's been a little while since my last post! Jonathan and I have been extraordinarily busy with work. Last month I came in with a work hour average of 79 hours per week....and those were only 6 day weeks. I guess the bright side is that I'm finding out how tough I really am :-) Working as hard as you can for 30 hours straight without a break is not fun, but the little patients make it worth it!!! For example, our peds nephrologist went out of the country at the end of last month, leaving...shall we say a GIGANTIC void? I was the nephrology resident and this was not very much fun let's just say. I got through it and learned a lot (like how to write dialysis orders), but the most rewarding thing was seeing my sweet little patients get better! I had two little boys in particular during this time. They are both 7 years old and one has very severe nephrotic syndrome. It was really really scary to manage him without our attending, but seeing our little puffy guy improve was so much fun, and so worth it :-) The other was a little boy on peritoneal dialysis whose PD cath quit working. Surgery kind of fixed it...but again, we had to manage him without the boss, so that was quite the learning process (although at least I didn't have to write hemodialysis orders :-)) It was a lot of work, but he was a precious little boy and it was such a thrilling experience to see him get better too. The beginning of this month was insanity as we all changed services! I'm now on Cardiology as well as general inpatient. We have had SO MANY cards patients! Yesterday I was post call and had to round on 10 patients (2 of whom were really sick) which nearly killed me! Anyway, even though as I read back through the above it seems kind of unpleasant, I'm still enjoying it immensely and feel SO lucky to be doing what I'm doing :-)
Jonathan has been working just as hard over the last month. He finished internal medicine (YAY!) with flying colors (top grade and really excellent comments from his attendings) and is now on surgery. Today is his last day on ENT (a two week rotation), tomorrow he starts Urology which is for 2 weeks, and then he will be on general surgery at the VA for a month. He's really enjoying ENT! He's also become know as quite the smarty pants on surgery too since he studies all the time :-) He is still thinking that he wants to do Oncology, so he has really loved learning about all the head and neck cancers on ENT. He's also been really sweet to me! We get to see each other at the hospital now and he always makes time to have mini-dates with me at our favorite little spots around MCG :-)
Last, but not least...the Shih tzus. They have had a busy month too...they have stayed outside guarding the yard for longer hours during the day since we don't get home until later. They understand though and are ok with this. On one particularly bad call night last week, Jonathan did a photo shoot with them, printed out the picture, and then designed a frame for it. He brought it to work as a surprise for me along with encouragement cards from all the dogs :-))) (What an amazing husband he is :-)))
We love you! Call us!!