Seems I keep writing these types of posts. My assistant from my last job, the woman I spent 60-70 hours a week with for 4 years, was just found dead in her apartment. We are assuming it was a heart attack since she had undergone a quadruple by-pass a few years ago, but we don't know yet. She was a good friend. She will be missed.

2 hours ago I find out the patient we removed a liver tumor from last week dropped dead Sunday from an unrelated condition.
1 hour ago while in the sugical ICU, I see a friend in one of the beds. She was fine on Friday. Tomorrow she is having a brain tumor removed.

I just found out that my dear friend Robert Jeffries (Dr. Bob!) has died. Dr. Bob is the world's greatest Arctic botanist. He even has plants that he discovered named after him. I spent 6 summers working in the far North with Bob (I studied critters, he studied their food). We dodged many a Polar Bear together, and darn near didn't get away once. He was brilliant, gentle, and as funny as they come. I will miss him terribly.
I think a Marmite butty is in order.
Paws up Bob, paws up.

The one thing that makes my 90 minute commute to my job worth it (no it's not the draw-string waistband on my scrubs, although that helps)may be leaving. I love that man. I spend 85% of my working hours with him although I am the research geek for the whole department, he does the most research. If he goes, I will be spending 85% of my time with OTHER doctors. Oh HELL NO!!!!
Don't leave me!!!!! He has offered to take me with him if he goes, but it's in another state and there is no way my GF will move, even though our two closest friends moved to the exact same town last year, and it would be only an hour from my folks (rather than 4) and two hours from my brothers.
If he goes, I might start looking for another job.

50 people at my hospital lost their jobs yesterday. Some had been here 40+ years. There were folks crying all over the place. My GF lost 8% of her salary at her job yesterday, but is still employed and happy to exchange the 8% for keeping all her staff employed.
I work for a private practice so I am fairly safe. My co-worker will be leaving for med-school at some point, so if they cut one of us, I am thinking it will be her.

If you have been reading my page for any length of time you have heard me talk about my friend Lisa fighting MDS/leukemia for the last 16 months. It was an awful battle. Yesterday afternoon she lost her battle, in the company of her lover and family in an icu unit in CT. She was only 51.
Lisa must have had the Leukimia for over a year before they found it. They kept blaming her fatigue and high white count on the lap band surgery she had. She kept telling them it was something else. They didn't listen, until it was too late.
Don't let doctors poo-poo your knowlage of your own body. If you don't think they got it right, go to someone else, please.


Party on Lisa, party on.

You are all well aware that people in my life have been dropping like flies (all from cancer). Well here's a little dilema I need help with. Two of my friends are nearing the ends of their battles, one with MDS/Leukemia, and the other with stage 4 breast cancer. These two have never met, but know of each other and are both aware of what the other is going through. Every time I talk to one, she asks how the other one is. I had always figured that when the first of the two goes, I would not tell the other, but continue to say that "she's hanging in there". Since I was always accused of lying as a kid, I try very hard to never have that accusation be true as an adult, but I felt that there was no reason to upset the remaining pal, and they would never know because they do not know each other or each other's friends. However... as the time grows shorter for one friend, it has come to my attention that I will be unable to hide her death from the other because I now cry everytime she asks me about her, and I am sure I will go into meltdown when she dies. (If you have never seen me have a meltdown, there's no hiding it, it's ugly.)
So what to do? The reality is, people die from this shit, they both know it, I just don't want to be the one making that even more clear.

I just got the call that my friend Nancy died at 11 this morning in hospice. She had metistatic breast cancer.
Get those girls checked.

I don't think Emily Post covered this one (maybe she did). A friend of mine from college had breast cancer 20 years ago. Now it's come back in her lungs, liver, brain and spine. She's going into hospice today and is not expected to last long. She can't talk, but she can e-mail. What the hell do you say? Ya can't say "hope you get well soon" cuz even she knows she won't. "feel Better", not possible. Crap. I basically sent an e-mail saying that the situation sucks donkey dick, and she's in my thoughts, but it just doesn't seem like enough.
I have lost quite a few friends over the last two years, and I have another one probably going into hospice in a few weeks. Oh yeah, and a co-worker with stage 4 breast cancer (in her brain and spine too). Enough already.

I just read the most disturbing thing, go to http://thechaistory.blogspot.com/2008/08/chai-story.html and read what happened to her dog. Her later posts tell about the toy company's response, or lack of. I found out about this through another dog lover http://tysgirl.wordpress.com/

My GF's grandmother died last night. It's been expected for quite a while now.
I feel terrible that I can't do anything to make my GF's pain any less.

I learned a few things last night not to do when my GF has pms;
DO NOT..
10. Tell her she's cute when she has pms.
9. Pop out from behind a door and say "boo!"
8. Follow her into the kitchen and try to kiss her.
7. Put the bags of stuff you bought at the pet store on the counter, and leave them there.
6. Breathe.
5. Let the dog back in the house with wet feet.
4. Put the damp dog towel.. anywhere.
3. Leave your shoes in the middle of the floor.
2. Stare at 'the twins'.
1. Try to touch 'the twins'


Other not fun stuff from last night is that yet another couple we are close with, told us they are leaving NY, NEXT MONTH! They put their house on the market last week, and it sold yesterday for above the asking price. We have lost at least 5 couples we are friends with, to states with better standards of living. The really sucky part is that this couple would like us to move to NH with them, but I'll never get my GF away from her family in the Bronx. I would LOVE to get the hell out of NY (although I would really miss the coffee-cart coffee).