Expect the Unexpected

I can't restart blogging without first telling everyone the best story of our wedding day.

Going into the wedding I had heard many people say that despite the best planning something will go wrong on your wedding day. I believed them but wasn't worried because I would like to think that I was appropriately laid back and could roll with it.

On our wedding morning I was quite emotional and trying to just hold it together-they were good emotions but as a surgery resident I guess I'm not used to dealing with really strong emotions anymore. I got ready at my house with bridesmaids, my parents, Leslie and Sam Petersen, and then our photographer and her entourage. At the time what I didn't know was that Leslie and my dad had seen the limo driver pull up, strip down from the waist up and change into clean clothes in our cul-de-sac. They were horrified but didn't want to tell me. When he walked into the house he wasn't quite what I expected in a limo driver but I didn't care. I was just excited to go see Kerwyn (we were taking pictures beforehand).

So mom, dad, Christy (our photographer) and myself climbed into the limo. I was immediately struck by how hot the inside was since the engine was "running". The limo man also pulled my dad aside to get his credit card from him and clarify that he would take any additional tip that my dad would like to give him (he already had Kerwyn's card). As he started driving I was immediately alarmed by the fact that he went in a very circuitous route to the meeting place down a road riddled with construction in a raunchy part of town. We sputtered down the road with cars honking and restarted the engine several times. Eventually the engine wouldn't restart. I asked the driver what Plan B was. At first he wouldn't respond to me and so I spoke louder. He didn't have a plan because his "company" wasn't answering their phones. We sat in our personal sauna for a few minutes with cars honking before mom noticed the heat rash spreading across my body. At that point I knew I was getting out of the limo. So we climbed out into busy traffic (I wish you could have seen the moment people realized a bride was getting out of the limo). The tone changed as people shouted condolences about our situation. I was laughing as this seemed hilarious. I then realized that we couldn't just sit in the sun baking and the only building nearby was a porn shop.

So mom, dad, myself and the photographer wandered into the porn shop to cool off on my wedding day. We laughed a lot. The workers were very nice and even offered us water if we wanted it. I just needed to go to the bathroom so in my wedding dress mom helped me use one of the nastier bathrooms I've been in in a long time.

I used my parents phone and with the photographer's help we were able to redirect a couple of cars to come pick us up (thanks Tara!).

Had he gone the route that I expected/wanted him to take we would have likely broken down on the interstate so it all worked out wonderfully.

It was a very eventful start to the day. What it did that I am so grateful for was change the entire tone of the day from one of nerves to one of pure joy. It was a hilarious situation that helped us all to relax and just enjoy the day knowing that we had pretty much seen it all at that point (no pun intended). An extra bonus was having our photographer there to capture it all on camera. The pictures are hilarious!

I'm Back!

Sorry for the horrible delay for those of you still following this blog. Planning a wedding and being a surgical resident were pretty much all I could handle for the past few months. The wedding is over and Kerwyn and I are adjusting to life as newlyweds. I've got some funny stories to post in the coming days. I'm back. I promise.

An open letter

Dear violent people of Indianapolis,

Please just get along today. You see, I'm very tired and I'm on call. But if you must, please be nice to me. I don't like it when you swear at me as I try and stop your bleeding. It isn't nice. But maybe that's what put you in the situation you're in. Also, telling me (with a police officer over my shoulder) to let you go so you can go and "put a cap in their *&!%$" is just stupid. Thirdly, I know you weren't minding your own business so stop telling me that. I don't care how it happened. My job is just to fix you and leave the detective work for others. Either way, I'm tired so just stop fighting.

Trauma call

Just to give you a glimpse into what call is like...I was on call last night at our large county hospital with dozens and dozens of physicians on call on any given night. I had a fairly busy night but I've had much worse. This morning one of my friends called the operator to get my pager number to get in touch with me and the operator didn't even hesitate to recite my pager number from memory. Maybe she has a photographic memory but either way we got a good laugh out of the misery that is our current call schedule.

The beating

I recently performed a surgery that is the "holy grail" of general surgery. It is usually reserved for chief residents or fellows but I had the fortune of scrubbing in when no one else was available last week. Lest you think the patient pays the price for my inexperience please know the staff was in complete control of the surgery. He told me that he wouldn't accept anything other than perfection and I assure you that to the best of human abilities that is what the patient received.

Here are some of the quotes from the case directed at me:

• I don't know how I can be any more descript with what I want you to do
• Terrible
• Horrible
• Amateur move
• Are you sure you're up for this case?
• How can you not know how to do that?
• You've got to think
• Unbelievable
• STOP DOING THAT!
• What a rookie move
• I don't like that. Take it out.
• If you mess this tie up she is going to bleed 1 liter per minute so don't screw this up
• Countless expletives
• Your left hand is doing nothing to help- get it involved in the surgery

Lest you think I'm a complete hack he did comment that I have surprisingly good control of the needle for a second year resident and that overall I did a really good job. If the beating I took was with a "good job" I would hate to be there when I'm doing a bad job.

I post all this to keep a balance to all of my happy posts about my surgical training. While I have loved the majority of my residency and have had overall very positive feedback I have had moments and days that just suck. This was one of them. The good news is that starting July 1st I have a year to regroup and enjoy being a newlywed.

I knew what I was signing up for in becoming a surgeon and this is part of it. Lives are on the line and they know I have to be able to perform under pressure. I have to master my adrenaline while I have staff as a safety net before I'm on my own.

By the way the patient is doing very well.

Why I love Indianapolis...

1. It has the benefits of a big city without the traffic and hassles of a big city. For instance- Friday night I went downtown to enjoy the final four hysteria and despite the thousands of people downtown it didn't take me any longer than normal to get downtown. We just don't have traffic problems. I'm not sure how but it's amazing.

2. We host some fantastic events. We have the men's final four every 5 years, the women's every 5, big ten championships, national swimming and diving championships, our first super bowl in a couple of years, and unending conferences and other tournaments.

3. I have some phenomenal friends in Indy.

4. IU medical center is where I've become a surgeon and there's something sentimental about that.

5. It's very affordable for a larger city.

6. I met my soon-to-be husband here and that will make me forever grateful for the city.

7. Maxine's chicken and waffles. Trust me. Next time you come to Indy we should eat there. It really is chicken and waffles and so much better than the name can convey.

8. I live in a neighborhood where my neighbor has done all of my yard work and snow shoveling for two years now. That is a pretty friendly city.

9. Patachou- best breakfast food in the city. I love this place. We can go there too when you come visit.

10. Indianapolis Colts- need I say more?

Career update

In the midst of deciding to get married and planning a wedding I have had a major shift in career focus. It is not because I am getting married that my plans are changing but simply due to the timing of the rotations I have been on and several ways God has been hitting me over the head with the obvious.



For the past year and a half I have been pursuing transplant surgery and have been incredibly excited about the opportunities in that field. Due to my interest in transplant surgery I scheduled as many vascular surgery rotations this year as possible since they have a lot of similar surgical technique. As a result, for the past 18 weeks I have been immersed in as much vascular surgery as possible.



Little did I know how much I would enjoy vascular surgery and that it is actually an area I excel in. During my rotations as I got to know the staff and gained their trust I was doing larger and larger portions of surgeries to the point that prior to completing the 18 weeks I did as much or more than most chief residents do. The feedback I received from staff was unanimously complimentary but escalated to the point that they were discussing why I should become a vascular surgeon and all the many reasons I shouldn't go into transplant surgery nearly every day with me. At first I thought they were just being funny and then I realized how serious they were. It all culminated on the last day of my vascular surgery rotations when a staff gave me even more independence and when he saw how well I did with it he sighed and said, "There is room for you in vascular surgery. There isn't room for you in transplant. When you decide that you want to be a vascular surgeon you just let us know and we will make it happen."

I have received a lot of positive feedback throughout residency that I was progressing well and ahead of my expected level technically, but I've never had so many staff absolutely insist that I have an exceptional talent for their field. I love vascular surgery. It is insanely fun. One staff told me, "It's the most fun you'll ever have with your pants on."

Yesterday I met with one of the head vascular surgeons to talk about my future. It was an incredibly affirming meeting and has left no doubt that vascular surgery will not only be a great career but it is a dynamic field where I can practice anywhere in the world and have a great lifestyle (for a surgeon). I will complete my general surgery residency as planned with 1 year of transplant research beginning this July 1st. Seriously it is going to be the best year of my life up to this point. Wedding, honeymoon, complete flexibility with a job I will do from home... what more can I ask for?

After the research year I will have 3 more clinical years until I can become board certified as a general surgeon. From there I will do a 2 year vascular surgery fellowship. This could be at IU but likely will happen elsewhere. From there the sky is the limit. They have made it clear that I could likely have a job on staff at IU if I want to or I can go to any small or large city in the country or head overseas depending on where God leads Kerwyn and I.

While I won't be doing tummy tucks and face lifts like several relatives have hoped and I won't be putting new kidneys into patients on dialysis I will be involved in emergency life-or-death ruptured aneurysm repairs, restoring bloodflow to extremities that will otherwise become gangrenous, preventing debilitating strokes, providing access for patients who need dialysis and amputating limbs when a diseased limb is actually limiting the quality of one's life.


I am so excited about all that is to come with my surgical career.

In the meantime I'm off to Puerto Vallarta for a wonderful week with my fiance and parents. God is good!