Ice and First Patient

So the ice skating was fun. My first lap consisted of very tiny steps, and many of my classmates stopped to make sure I was allright, held my hand, and gave advice. There was no rail or wall, and most of these people have grown up skating. I was of course the Southern Spaniard from Oregon who hadn't been on a rink before. But at the end of the night, I was "skilled" enough to compete in dives, which is when you go as fast as you can and then dive on the ice, and whoever goes further with their body wins. I had a blast, obviously.

But to more serious things. Today I saw my first real patient, at a hospital. We were briefly briefed in what to do and there we went. My partner and I were given 90 minutes to obtain a history and perform an exam. I thought at first that 90 minutes was gonna be a looooooong time, given that the doctor I shadowed spent an average of...I don't know, 30 minutes, with each hospital patient.
But time went by superfast. She had many things to tell, she was very interesting, and she had many many medical problems. I only felt frustrated when she sought reassurance from us and we couldn't provide it. First, we don't know anything. And second, even if we did, the news might or might not be good. That's gonna be hard, ain't it?
But anyways. It was an awesome experience. In the midst of all the textbook stuff, it is so wonderful to be able to actually get a feel for medicine.

I'm gonna stay out of her story for many reasons, but I can tell you this: when I introduced myself, she said, "Oh, Esther, biblical!!," not knowing that everyone in Spain had to name their kids with names out of the Bible or fear being boiled in oil by their in-laws/parents/neighbors... So she later asked me what church do I go to. I was able to hide my chuckle. I wanna say it's been a couple of years since the last wedding (and thus the last time I went to church). Then she lectured me a little, that we have to care for our spiritual self. I got out by saying that I didn't need to care for my spiritual self at church, that I could do it elsewhere (I did not tell her that I did it in my once-a-week 15 minute yoga routine...).
But yeah. Good thing that I am going to go by Dr. CM. Otherwise this might get tricky...

Time for some Genetics...
~e