Yes, I'm still alive! It's been a very long, arduous 17 months since my last post, and here's what has happened, in a nutshell:
It's quite simple, really... While working fulltime, I went back to school at night and on weekends to become a PA (physician assistant). What a crazy thing for me to do. It nearly killed me! M-Th 8-4 at work, then class 4-9. F 9-5 work, study at night, study ALL DAY Saturday (seriously, usually I did not have time to even get out of my PJ's!), then go to class Sunday 9-5. I go to a Jewish College (I'm their token Goy!) so the Sabbath was observed every week, along with the multitude of Jewish holidays. Man, I really love September, it seems like there are more holidays than regular days! But it was grueling to say the least, and took a huge toll on my social life, among other things...
Anyway, that craziness ended on December 20th, when I finished the classroom part of my degree, so I only had my job to keep me busy through the end of the year. Then I got to quit my job on December 31st!!! Actually it was pretty hard to do, since I had been there for 8 years and now I have no source of income for the next year... I can't work until I finish my clinical rotations, which started January 2nd and end next December.
So just when I thought I would have at least SOME free time to finally really clean my house, sort through old clothes, do those millions of little things that I couldn't do for a whole year, I became very sick. On Christmas day I came down with a horrible virus causing acute pharyngitis, adenitis and pyrexia. (That's PA-talk for sore throat, swollen glands and fever!) Seriously, I basically did not move from my couch for days, suffering through so much throat pain that I could not even swallow my own spit (ew!), going in and out of the fog of high fever w/ chills then sweats. It was by far the worst illness I have ever had, and I have had German measles, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, and a few serious kidney infections (glomerulonephritis)... After about 10 days I was somewhat better, at least my throat cleared up and the fever dropped, but I was left w/ a debilitating arthritis that makes me feel like I am 80 years old. It totally sucks! I have been working through the pain, taking megadoses of NSAIDS (which have caused scores of little sores in my mouth-- ouch, I just can't win here!) and just hoping that it will resolve soon. Reactive arthritis can linger for months, but sometimes only weeks, so I am hoping for the latter.
So ANYWAY... My first clinical rotation is at a psychiatric hospital. It is a lock-down facility and I have been working with the adolescents and I LOVE it!!!
So that's it. For now. I've missed SG!
--l*P
It's quite simple, really... While working fulltime, I went back to school at night and on weekends to become a PA (physician assistant). What a crazy thing for me to do. It nearly killed me! M-Th 8-4 at work, then class 4-9. F 9-5 work, study at night, study ALL DAY Saturday (seriously, usually I did not have time to even get out of my PJ's!), then go to class Sunday 9-5. I go to a Jewish College (I'm their token Goy!) so the Sabbath was observed every week, along with the multitude of Jewish holidays. Man, I really love September, it seems like there are more holidays than regular days! But it was grueling to say the least, and took a huge toll on my social life, among other things...
Anyway, that craziness ended on December 20th, when I finished the classroom part of my degree, so I only had my job to keep me busy through the end of the year. Then I got to quit my job on December 31st!!! Actually it was pretty hard to do, since I had been there for 8 years and now I have no source of income for the next year... I can't work until I finish my clinical rotations, which started January 2nd and end next December.
So just when I thought I would have at least SOME free time to finally really clean my house, sort through old clothes, do those millions of little things that I couldn't do for a whole year, I became very sick. On Christmas day I came down with a horrible virus causing acute pharyngitis, adenitis and pyrexia. (That's PA-talk for sore throat, swollen glands and fever!) Seriously, I basically did not move from my couch for days, suffering through so much throat pain that I could not even swallow my own spit (ew!), going in and out of the fog of high fever w/ chills then sweats. It was by far the worst illness I have ever had, and I have had German measles, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, and a few serious kidney infections (glomerulonephritis)... After about 10 days I was somewhat better, at least my throat cleared up and the fever dropped, but I was left w/ a debilitating arthritis that makes me feel like I am 80 years old. It totally sucks! I have been working through the pain, taking megadoses of NSAIDS (which have caused scores of little sores in my mouth-- ouch, I just can't win here!) and just hoping that it will resolve soon. Reactive arthritis can linger for months, but sometimes only weeks, so I am hoping for the latter.
So ANYWAY... My first clinical rotation is at a psychiatric hospital. It is a lock-down facility and I have been working with the adolescents and I LOVE it!!!
So that's it. For now. I've missed SG!
--l*P
VIEW 7 of 7 COMMENTS
geekgurl:
Sounds great! Congrats. 
hellomrworld:
good luck with the studies! ..and the psych ward ...