and a lot has changed

The last time I posted I was somewhere in the middle of my training.

Now it is almost coming to an end.

Almost being a few months and counting. It used to be years.

A lot has changed since then.

I am now actually chief resident.

Ha! A lot good that has been.

I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly side of training.

If the old saying is true, the more things change, the more they stay the same, then what has stayed the same?

Change is inevitable. From single celled organisms life has developed into the complexities that now move past the level of multicellular.

But how to prevent unraveling from a personal point of view while change is at hand is I think at this moment a goal, if not a priority.

Principles have been challenged, ideals have been broken, the impossible has been met and won.

Then what happens now?

I'm rambling again.

Geez.

humpty dumpty

"humpty dumpty sat on a wall,

humpty dumpty had a great fall,

and all the kings horses and all the kings men,

couldn't put humpty dumpty together again...."

But we're gonna try to do that anyway...

2 months ago, a 15 year old kid climbed up a tree.

Why? Don't ask me. I don't do privy on people's biz. But the point is, he went up, which is all good and such... until he came crashing down.

And broke a bone on his spine ( The L1 vertebrae, if you really wanna know) that compressed his spinal cord.

Since then he hasn't been able to walk. His back hurts and he has lost the ability to control his bowel and bladder movement. He's been bedridden ever since that fateful day 2 months ago.

If this happened a year ago, chances are, he'd be operated on if he had money to buy the necessary implants and instrumentation needed to undergo the surgery. With a price tag that would be worth 6 times the monthly salary of any medical resident in a government hospital (which isn't much, mind you) patients like him would have waited months on end for aid to arrive, if not go home with out surgical management done.

A price that this particular 15 year old orphan couldn't afford to pay.

But like all things... change is inevitable.

A few months ago, a non-profit institution known as Orthopaedic Link arrived in our area. Formed by a group of American Orthopaedic Surgeons who recognized the disparity and inequality of 1st world and 3rd world care, they established a system that delivered much needed supplies to "orthopaedic patients in developing countries... (from) orthopaedic device manufacturers who are burdened with a surplus of implant devices."

In just a few months, with the help of Orthopaedic Links, our institution has helped people with Spine Injuries with the provision of free implants and instrumentations for people who can barely afford the expenses of daily living.

Help that would be otherwise unattainable by our patients. By this patient in particular

In a few hours, with a highly trained team of spine surgeons, we are going to operate on him. With the skills we possess and the tools we have under our disposal, we will try to make a difference in this boy's life.

will keep you posted... till then...

-g

lift off

testing...

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

all systems go.

Lift Off...