Di George

Suddenly it is nearly mid-March. Been back in Melb for about 5 weeks now, and time has flown. Had a few days off before going back to uni, currently based at the Royal Children's Hospital and it pretty nice place. They say paediatricians tend to be the nicest doctors and it seems to be true, and it is very enjoyable seeing smiling kids and cute babies every day, even though some of them are quite sick. Was holding this 3-4 month old baby the other day, and even though he drooled all over the shoulder bit of my shirt, I was so tempted to take him home! He was so cute! A friend suggested the library should lend out babies, just like books, so we can play with them and have fun, but hand them back when they need a nappy change or start crying...hahah.

Anyway, had some great experiences overall, the most memorable so far was sitting in with two cardiologists as they counselled the family of this 6 year old girl with incomplete Di George's sydrome. Even though she has been sick her whole life and had numerous open-heart operations (for those who care, she was born with pulmonary atresia and MAPCAs [major aorto-pulmonary collateral arteries]), from the half an hour I spent with her, it was obvious she was a beautifully vibrant and sweet child, the kind any parent would hope for. But while she seems fairly healthy at the moment, she isn't expected to live for more than a few more years. Very tragic...I think it is one of the hardest things, for a parent to see their child die before them. But the consultant cardiologist handled it with empathy, compassion, and wonderful kindness, and it was obvious the family appreciated it and walked away confident that everything possible would be done to ensure the best quality of life for their little girl in whatever time she had remaining. I just felt privileged to witness and experience what I did, and if as a doctor I can exhibit half of the qualities that that cardiologist did, then I would be very happy.

But while the experiences have been fulfilling, the study has been stressful. Still kind of in holiday mode, but this semester is about ten times busier than last semester, with twenty times the stuff to study. Trying hard not to get too stressed, and to maintain some semblance of balance between study, exercise, and time with my gf...