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!

Curling

Last night (thanks to my moms recommendation) I took Kerwyn curling. It was a blast. Neither of us fell but we are both a little tired from the constant effort to stay vertical. We went from minimal understanding of the game to throwing out phrases like, "hog line" and "hurry hard" within 2 hours. I would highly recommend it as a "sport" to try. Even if I never play again I now understand how it really works. I see visions of curling with my house church, other surgery residents and anyone else crazy enough to join us in the future. Sorry for the last picture Kerwyn, but it was too hilarious to not post.

Upgrade

My parents are taking Kerwyn and I to Puerto Vallarta for a week in March. We've had an amazing villa picked out with our own pool and hot tub that we've all been really excited about. It was a splurge but not exorbitant. I just found out tonight that the villa we've all been anticipating is closed for major renovations unexpectedly.

As a result we are getting the most massive upgrade in accomodations that I've ever experienced. We are going from a villa that cost a few hundred a night to one that costs $2200 per night at no extra cost to us. It is obscene. We went from having a cook and a housekeeper (which we were amazed to have) to having a chef and 4other employees working for just us. We have a cliffside villa (yes it's the entire property on the cliff in the pictures below) with an infinity pool overlooking the ocean (with a swim-up bar), a gym, 5 bedrooms with full ensuite bathrooms and individual sun terraces....

It should be an amazing week! And no, you can't come. Part of the deal is that we keep with our original party size. We'll be thinking of you while we gaze out into the ocean from our heated infinity pool.

The making of a surgeon

I saw an episode of Grey's Anatomy (yes, I'm a fan and at times it is suprisingly accurate) a few weeks ago that has reminded me of a couple of the most monumental moments in my training. One of the actors was saying something to the effect of "every doctor can tell you the moment when they really became a physician".

Several weeks into my intern year I had that moment (well actually it was about a 2 hour period) that I walked away from knowing that I had become a physician. It was an experience that I'll never forget and think of often. If it wasn't for HIPAA (health information portability and accountability act) I would tell you all about it. It was crazy!


I've done a few small "solo surgeries" where staff are around and available but allow me to operate on my own. A couple of weeks ago due to extenuating circumstances I did my first larger solo surgery. The experience was incredible. (If you watch Grey's Anatomy my recent experiences have been like Cristina Yang's although on a much more realistic scale.) I walked out of the OR with a huge smile knowing that I had just become a surgeon. The experience has helped staff gain even more confidence in me and has opened up doors for greater responsibility and opportunities for me to grow as a surgeon. God is good!

Dress Shopping

After feeling fairly disheartened from my David's Bridal experience a couple of weeks ago I swung to the opposite end of the spectrum and made an appointment at Kleinfeld's in New York. I was introduced to the "Say 'Yes' to the Dress" show by my mom who had been commenting on us maybe shopping there someday for a dress. Well the someday was this past Sunday. I had my eye on the designer Lazaro since I really liked some of his styles. He just happened to be having a trunk show the weekend that Kerwyn had planned a great weekend getaway and so he encouraged me to try and get an appointment and invite the girls to NYC.

It all worked out and this past Sunday I had a fantastic time shopping for a wedding dress. The end result is a dress more beautiful than I would have ever imagined, approved by Randy their fashion designer guy and Lazaro (in the picture above) himself who helped perfect parts of the dress for me (and gave me some great deals!). I said "Yes" to the dress, and even shed a few tears.

I cannot wait for July 17th!

Trauma

This guy was the half-time entertainment at the game. While it was incredible to watch him I'm pretty sure I'll be taking care of him sometime when he falls off this death-trap.