Thirty!

I'm trying not to see myself as old but rather as wise or experienced! I actually had a pleasant birthday experience which included a weekend visit from a good friend and favorite Saipan resident Bev, dessert at Cold Stone (yes Guam has a Cold Stone!), golf stuff, snorkeling, discovering local Japanese cuisine, and spending time with Gemma and Maxwell. God has truly blessed this past year and I know he has so much more in store for the future.

Since I don't blog as often as I would like I wanted to share other October experiences. Last week, I went on my first medical evacuation--a.k.a. "medevac"--to Tripler Medical Center in Honolulu, HI. I had to fly with two hemorrhagic stroke patients who needed a higher level of care. As a family medicine physician, this really was out of my comfort zone, but it was cool to get into my cammies for the long military flight (sorry no pictures)! The trip went well, and the patients were safely placed in capable hands. The rest of my trip consisted of jogging, reading, NBA on TNT, Spiderman 3, and Chinese take-out. Good times.

Upon my return from HI, the next morning I ran my first PRT (physical readiness test) on Guam. For those of you unfamiliar with the PRT, it is a semi-annual test which consists of push-ups, sit-ups, and a 1.5 mile run. There are minimum requirements for passing based on age. This PRT marks the first test that I get to be placed in the 30 and over bracket! What I am most proud of is that my numbers have improved in all categories despite being placed in a new age bracket. 10:59 on the run, 71 sit ups, 75 push ups...not bad for an old guy! :)

One last story. These last few days have been a bummer. Our clinic has been pushed to the very limits trying to meet the demand for appointments. We have been shrinking our appointment times to 10 minute appointments, increasing our walk-ins, seeing patients post-call...all bad things. Also, 2 providers from our department are being sent to the Middle East for 9 months which doesn't help the situation. We are constantly being asked to do more with less. I was starting to feel a hint of burnout. But through all this the Lord seems to find ways to speak to me. Today, I saw a patient in clinic with a problem list that included chronic pain, bipolar disorder, depression (the list goes on) and a warning from my staff that the patient was "not being nice". By the way, the patient had no chart and was asking for more narcotic medication. The pain of primary care. My strategy was to listen. He gave me an earful about his horrible experiences with surgeons, his medications, his shoulder pain , his knee pain, his neck pain, his memory loss, his career. I continued to listen, nothing more. After what seemed like an eternity, he began to calm down and then said something that really touched me. He said, "Don't let this hospital get in the way of taking care of the patient." What? Did I just receive sound advice from my bipolar, chronic pain, mad-at-the-world patient?? I laughed quietly to myself. Thank you, Lord, for such timely wisdom.