I need to eat more chocolate

I've had a pretty rough day today. For 2 days I've been having a ridiculous amount of heart palpitations. For some quick background I have had issues with my heart rate, rhythm... for a few years- well all of my life I just didn't know it. It hasn't been a big deal just something I take a pill to control and have regular checkups for. I've had horrible tests that stop my heart from beating (an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone) in addition to other tests. So today when my heart was going crazy I began to get pretty concerned and decided to call my cardiac electrophysiologist (ie. someone with crazy amounts of training and knowledge). He told me that I needed to go to the emergency department. Bummer... I hate being a patient in the ED.

I grudgingly went in and quickly made it clear that I am not an ideal patient. I resisted being placed in a regular room (I wanted to be in the fast track), wearing a gown and all that entailed, having blood drawn.... After 3 hours of sitting with cords all over my body and being stabbed by the best phlebotomist ever they found a potential source of my irregular heartbeat. Apparently my magnesium level is low. Other electrolytes were a little low likely due to too much exercise with water as my replacement fluid. The doctor (whom I know very well and see often at the gym) was questioning if I take performance enhancing drugs- seriously, for spinning class??? If I was I would want my money back.

So for now I am taking some magnesium pills to see if that resolves things. If not, it's back for more tests with my cardiologist and a change in heart medicine that I don't want to make. In the meantime I have to ease up with my workouts. That's a big bummer. The good news is that magnesium is found in chocolate, so tonight I began my new diet of eating more chocolate. It's a hard life but someone has to do it.

Convincting quote

If we believe that terrorists are beyond redemption we can rip out half of our New Testament because it was written by a converted terrorist who became an extremist for grace.
Shane Claiborne


I heard this quote during a message by Shane Claiborne and it really challenged my thinking. Sure we are fighting a war on terrorism (and I believe rightfully so) and it is easy to just view terrorists as enemies, but they are people Jesus loves and died for. It should have occurred to me years ago to pray for them and not just our safety from them, but it didn't so I'll begin that now.

It's Over!!!

16 cities, 69 formal interviews and I AM DONE!! I am exhausted from traveling, appearing enthusiastic, coming up with questions for interviewers, answering the question, "so why do you want to be a surgeon?", touring hospitals that all look the same, living out of a suitcase, renting cars, sleeping in hotel beds, spending too much money, being lost, wearing the same 2 suits (don't worry I had them cleaned along the way).... My rank list is nearly complete- with some expected modifications as I meet with surgeons in Indy.

I ended with a bang in Grand Rapids. I spent last night at Amber and Ryan Cox's home which was great (thanks again for your hospitality)! They are such a fun couple who just happen to be experiencing much of what is coming my way in a few months so it was extra encouraging to talk with them. Amber gave me a copy of the book "Cold Tangerines" and so I began reading it to unwind last night. As I pondered enduring another interview day I read a line that was just what I needed to hear, " The life you've been waiting for is happening all around you."

For the past few months I have truly been living a dream to be interviewing at some of the best surgical residencies in the country- meeting with surgeons who are true leaders in their fields. And they wanted to meet me and consider investing their life into training me to do what they do. Towards the end of these interviews I needed to be reminded that this is what I have been dreaming about for YEARS. I can truly say I have never been more excited about becoming a surgeon. God is good. I can't wait to see where I end up. Thursday March 20th is the big day.

Life Goals/Dreams

This is a work in progress, but here are some of my life goals. What do you think? Some of the section headings and a few ideas are thanks to Mark Batterson. Some goals I have already accomplished and some are in process. I'm dreaming big!

Family Goals

ü Marry a man committed to being obedient to wherever God calls us

ü Immerse our children in different cultures

ü Raise children to be bilingual

ü Have regular family devotions

ü Celebrate an anniversary on the Palace on Wheels

ü Ride a gondola in Venice with my husband

ü Ride camels to the pyramids and Sphinx as a family

ü Take an elephant ride as a family

ü Coach a sports team for any daughters I have

ü Celebrate an anniversary in an over-the-water bungalow in Tahiti

ü Disciple my daughters (if I have any)

ü Take my parents on a cruise in Norway

ü Kiss my husband at the top of the Eiffel Tower

ü Facilitate opportunities for my children to serve the underserved regularly

ü Help my children know their grandparents well

Travel and Experience Goals

ü Visit each of the seven continents

ü Trek the Himalayas with a sherpa

ü See the aurora borealis

ü Attend the Elephant Polo Tournament in Nepal

ü Snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef

ü Hike rim to rim at the Grand Canyon (with a gun)

ü Stay at The Caves Resort in Jamaica

ü Go whitewater rafting

ü Visit the Holy Land

ü Attend the Olympics

ü Become fluent in a foreign language

ü Read the Qur’an

ü Meet a current President of the United States

ü See the Taj Mahal

ü Meet the leader of another country

ü Attend Wimbledon

ü Read the Bhagavad Gita

ü Learn to surf

ü Attempt to snowboard

ü Ski in the Alps

ü Cheer at a Colts game with a blue colt head

ü Go hunting

ü Cycle over the Golden Gate Bridge

ü Do a cycling tour in Europe

ü Sit in the Dead Sea

ü Stand on the Equator

ü Participate in a polar bear plunge

ü Attend a Broadway show

ü Golf at Pebble Beach

ü Ride horses on the beach

ü Visit Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul

ü Go on a safari in Masai Mara

ü Summit Mt. Kilimanjaro

ü Attempt fly fishing

Physical Goals

ü Complete a century ride

ü Complete a century ride after age 60

ü Compete in a half-ironman

ü Swim the Escape from Alcatraz

ü Compete in a triathlon after age 50

ü Swim 250 miles in one year

Influence Goals

ü Become a board-certified general surgeon

ü Complete a fellowship

ü Do research that leads to better treatment for patients

ü Get published in a high-impact journal

ü Present at a major national meeting

ü Train surgeons in my specialty

ü Build a hospital in a developing country

ü Treat patients on every continent

ü Speak to a congregation

ü Lead a team overseas on a medical relief trip

ü Be deployed with a disaster-relief team

ü Be a mentor

ü Spend time with high school and college students interested in medicine

ü Speak at the Global Missions Health Conference

Indexed

Thanks to Amber Cox I found this hilarious website called "Indexed". Jessica Hagy has a book coming out in February. These are some of my recent favorites.

Mautak in Mizoram

I was reading in Vanity Fair last month about this plague that happens every 48 years in Mizoram (a state in India). It got my attention both because I love India but also because I worked with some physicians from this state.

Every 48 years a certain species of bamboo blooms which causes the rat population to flourish to the extent that these rats eat all the crops. Last time this happened thousands died of starvation and a 20 year war was sparked due to the government's failure to respond. The bamboos are being to bloom now. Who knew this happened? What do they do with all the rats once they die? Hopefully the government is getting people ready with rat traps and incentives for killing the rats.

When the Game is Over it All Goes Back in the Box

I'm reading this book now by John Ortberg and came across an interesting story today. I think I've heard it before, but it is worth repeating.

A man is being tailgated by a woman who is in a hurry. He comes to an intersection, and when the light turns yellow, he hits the brakes. The woman behind him goes ballistic. She honks her horn at him; she yells her frustration in no uncertain terms; she rants and gestures.

While she is in mid-rant, someone taps on her window. She looks up and sees a policeman. He invites her out of her car and takes her to the station where she is searched and fingerpirnted and put in a cell. After a couple of hours, she is released, and the arresting officer gives her her personal effects, saying, "I'm very sorry for the mistake, ma'am. I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, using bad gestures and bad language. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do?' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' window sign, the Christian fish emblem on your trunk, and I naturally assumed you had stolen the car.

Inexplicable Thread

In Sedona we visited an art shop (trust me it was Tara's idea) that featured the works of Launa. I normally am not known for my appreciation for art, but this art was incredible. Each piece is a mosaic of words. My favorite (the one I would buy if money grew on trees) is called "Inexplicable Thread". It is about the AIDS crisis and how we are bound to these individuals with an inexplicable thread and it is our duty and privilege to help. Check out her works at poetryart.net

Phoebe /Tara

If you've never seen Tara run, you should watch the episode of Friends called "The One Where Phoebe Runs" in season 6. I guess Tara doesn't run this way all the time, but occasionally she does. While we were hiking in Sedona she got going a little quickly down a little hill and truly ran like Phoebe. This wasn't the first time I've seen the phenomenon and it won't be the last.

Rental Cars and Crime

Prior to the last couple of months I had never rented a car of my own. It seemed like such a fun and simple process.

My first experience was in Phoenix, Arizona at what my mom and dad believe to be the worst airport for renting a car. I had been warned but I was determined to keep a positive attitude. After gathering my luggage I headed to the shuttle for a long ride to the rental car building. After a long line (well only 1 person was ahead of me but it took over 20 minutes to finish their transaction) I was so annoyed and tired (it was after 3 am by Indiana time) I just signed wherever they told me to speed the process up. There was never any indication that I was signing for extra services or fees. After waiting in a different very slow line to get the car I pulled away thankful that the experience was over. 3 days later when I attempted to return the car I learned that I had agreed to pay an extra $75 for insurance on the junk car. So $200+ later I leave Phoenix pretty annoyed with the rental car situation.

Fast forward a month when Tara and I rented a car in Phoenix. I made a reservation with a different rental car company and warned Tara that it could be a frustrating experience. Upon arrival at the rental car building we waited for 20-30 minutes for our chance to rent a car despite the fact that they had 4 workers "working". We quickly learned that Tara would have to be the primary driver, a role she did not wish to play simply because my credit card had been canceled due to fraud . After waiting in a different line to get our car we were given a yellow 2-door banana car. It was ridiculously small- especially since we had reserved a 4 door and had all of our luggage for camping, interviewing,etc.... At this point I had surrendered- I was ready to fit our junk in the little car and just leave, but Tara was ready for a "discussion". So we walked up to the agent (whom I feel very sorry for- really, his job would be awful!) and began to complain about the many problems we had encountered. End result- free upgrade to 4 door Hyundai and a discount on adding me as a second driver(I later learned that this was unnecessary, but they threatened that it would be considered a stolen car if I was caught driving it). While we were working this out a family arrived with a father angrier than just about anyone I had ever seen. He was enjoying the process even less than us! As we try and leave with our larger car, the man at the gate (supposedly an employee of the rental car company) tells us that we have the wrong car and that we need to go get new paperwork at the counter. I ask him if he could call the counter since after all, he is the employee and he works for us, the customers (and there was no way I was going to the end of another line). He didn't have a phone or any way of communicating with him. At this point Tara, being the bigger person, went and got the paperwork and they allowed us to leave.

Because of this debacle we missed watching the sunset on the grand canyon on New Year's Eve.

I'm over it now, but seriously, there is something wrong with the rental car system in Phoenix. When I rented a car in Orlando last week I never had to wait in a line and I got to pick my own car. Why is Phoenix's system so horrible? I have seriously never seen one customer in Phoenix who didn't get angry while trying to rent a car. It must be rough to work for one of those companies in Phoenix.

Beautiful Arizona

Here are some more pictures from my recent trip to Arizona with Tara. After 2 days at the Grand Canyon we spent a couple of days in Sedona and then traveled to Tucson where I interviewed at the University of Arizona.

Tough quote

“I am sometimes struck by thoughts of the hundreds of lepers Jesus did not heal, the thousands of people who died of ridiculous little infections during his lifetime, the blind or lame beggars who missed his passing by a few hundred yards or a few minutes. He healed so few! And I, who can heal no one, am reminded that being his presence does not mean fixing everything. Being among people means being in their midst, not outside. It means being with them, not being over them. It means not looking away from their agony or humiliation, but beholding it, and having the courage to be also wounded by their pain.” -Greg Paul

Rams, Javelinas, and deer...oh my!

Tara and I have managed to hobble home from our Arizona adventure (this wasn't a vacation). The swagger was partly due to our ridiculous amounts of luggage and extra purchases and also due to the fatigue and bruises acquired from our adventures. The highlight of our trip was our encounters with animals. I seriously felt like Dr. Doolittle.

The most memorable event was while hiking down into the Grand Canyon. While hiking I stopped for a moment to peer over a cliff and saw this pleasant appearing ram which quickly seemed enamored by our company. I thought it was great and was taking pictures unaware of the danger ahead for us (who knew a ram could climb a cliff???). So we continued walking (to Tara's credit she was quite hesitant to continue) and the ram was running parallel to us, but still separated by a cliff.

The drama all began when we lost sight of the ram and turned a corner to find the ram on the trail right in front of us. At this moment I was filled with horror but level-headed Tara remembered to stand still. I threw that out the window when it started running towards us (still with a large cliff on one side of us). I said something to the effect of "oh no, run!". So we took off running while I was freaking out in my head. This bighorn sheep isn't called a "Ram" for nothing. I occasionally turned back to see the ram still coming closer to us so we continued running. At some point I stumbled hard on both knees and truly thought I was dead. I thought the ram would simply throw me over the cliff, but we managed to continue to run. Eventually the ram went down the cliff and back onto the trail in front of us. It just turned around and faced us and stood there. So Tara and I stood there- she was crying and I began to wet my pants. We stood there in horror- I was calling for help and Tara was trying to call 911 and the park rangers. The "Blue Nation" known as Centennial Wireless failed us, but who knows if any cellphone would have worked in the canyon.

At this point I began gathering larger rocks for ammunition in case the ram came back for round 2. We just stood there against the wall until some other hikers came by and just stuck with them to get out of the canyon. I had to report our experience to the ranger who showed me a list of recent encounters with mountain lions, javelinas and other not-so-friendly animals. I would love to hike down to the bottom of the canyon someday, but after this experience it will require a man and a gun.

Later on our trip we saw multiple javelinas and tons of deer who weren't afraid to wander within feet of us. I seriously felt like Dr. Doolittle or Brian Fellows from SNL. The good news is we are home safely and have many wild memories!