MARATHON MAN

Wow – have I been busy. The wards are the wards, after all. And this rotation (my final wards rotation as a resident I might add), has certainly lived up to its billing. Every call this rotation has had a story, and this last Friday was no different. And here's the story:

Last Wednesday or so my boy George and I found ourselves at work staring at a computer screen and contemplating purchasing tickets to the Seattle NFL playoff game. The game hadn’t then sold out. The tickets weren’t cheap, but both of us were huge football fans and neither of us had been to a playoff game before. We went ahead and clicked the button. For 110$ apiece, we took the plunge – getting some solid seats (great, even) about 25 rows up from the 25-yard line behind the Seattle bench.

The only wild card in attending the wild-card game (OH!) was that I was on call overnight the Friday night before the game, which was on Saturday. (George was on call Thursday, and had to work Saturday, but only for a few hours in the morning). No problem, I thought. On even the worst call nights, I usually still manage to get an hour or two of sleep and make it possible to function the next day at least until I hit my bed.

Well, that was my mistake, I suppose. The “day” part of the Friday call actually went quite well. It was busy, but the hospital was sort of full so bed availability was a bit of a problem. We had a few admissions trickle slowly in, but nothing too crazy. Around dinner time, however, a different nursing supervisor hit the floor, more nurses became available to work, and all of a sudden there was a vacuum of space in the hospital with beds a plenty. Around 8 pm or so, things became insanely busy and didn’t cease until about 4 am. So I spent nearly the entire night in the ER, admitting patients, writing orders, laying hands, and all that. At about 3:30 am, I had finished my 9 full consults that had come in after 8 pm, and I finally settled in to catch up on the incredible battery of paper work (which makes the job a sheer pain in the ass at times).

I pulled out my CD case (we have a stereo in our resident area), busted out some Chemical Brothers, pounded some caffeine, and started hacking away at the keyboard until the notes were completed. When I had finally finished the maddening tedium, it was about 6:30 am, or just about time to start pre-rounding for the new day. Shit – absolutely no sleep. And man I was getting tired. (On top of that, I was getting sick – I was coughing all over the place and feeling quite congested. I had feared I was getting a cold the night before and had taken some Nyquil (ah, sweet Nyquil). And yup, staying up all night being stressed is not a good thing when you are trying to stave off illness. And hence – I got sick. First time in two years, I might add, which shocks me given the number of times people have coughed nastily in my face while I listened to their hearts and lungs at the bedside…)

Well that sucked. The morning officially arrived when my staff doc strutted in (this month my “staff doc” has been my chief resident, which is awesome – such low stress) and we started talking about the new patients. I busied myself with work until about 10 am and then finally left at about 10:30 am. Kickoff was at 1:30 pm that day. Damn.

So I drove home the 45 miles, trying to stay awake. (I know, I know, VERY safe indeed). I did fine, of course, given all my practice. And the coughing helped, too. (On a side note, however, it is incredible to think of how similar the states of “intoxicated” and “severely fatigued” are. You lose fine motor tone in both. Your perception ability goes down. You can’t think as clearly. Coordination slows. There really are a lot of similarities – so for those of you who don’t drink but always wanted to know what it’s like, force yourself to stay up for 30 straight hours and then start trying to do stuff.)

When I got home, I hit the shower and then packed for the game. The temperature was about 40 degrees that day so we had to essentially pack a ton of layers (standing outside for 4 hours in that). After that I laid down for a grand total of 5 minutes (but never got fully asleep), but got up once more when George arrived. We got our stuff together, and headed out. He was pumped, I was trying to get there amidst recurring waves of fatigue.

We hit a quick convenience store and I bought and slammed a Starbucks Frapaccino. Then we hailed a cab and went to the stadium. When we got there, we decided food would be good. George likes this Philly Cheese steak place in Pioneer Square, down near the stadium. Their steaks really are quite good, though to get one you have to brave the Philly-themed restaurant (always difficult) and all the Eagles shit on the wall. Come to think of it, I suspect that was part of the reason George wanted to go there.

So we went, bought some cheese steaks (which really were good), and the clerks and I and George talked a bunch of shit about the Giants and the Eagles. Which brings up another point – George and I had decided to put away our differences in football allegiances that day. We agreed to come together and collectively root for the Seahawks. (Hey, if he and I can do it – I really don’t see the problem that Israelis and Arabs have…)

So we rolled to the stadium, stood in a huge line to get in (they were searching everybody), and ate our steaks. Good stuff. With the energy of the massive crowd, I felt myself starting to wake up again.


This part of the stadium is called the HAWK'S NEST

We finally got into the stadium and were amazed at how good our seats were. Qwest Field (formerly Seahawks Stadium) is a really nice field, and I’ve been there a few times now. The crowd was large and fired up, which made the air in the place quite charged. It was a blast. We opted not to get any sushi or espresso pregame (yes, you can get those things in a Seattle stadium) and went instead to our seats. I must say the energy of that crowd, combined with the cold air, really helped me stay pretty fresh and awake.


This play was the first Seattle TD pass to Bobby Engram

Kickoff was shortly thereafter and George and I found ourselves getting swept up in the passion of the crowd – at many points in the game both of us were cheering vehemently for the Seahawks. They had given us small dark blue towels upon entering, and we waved those things all over the place to boot.

George had a couple of beers, while I had none. (I was sick, the beers were 6.50 a pop, and it was 40 degrees out at best). We yelled “De-fense” on third downs, we cheered for the Hawks on offense.

I love going to NFL games in person. Every time I go, I’m reminded of the vast difference in the perspective of the game. The field seems smaller, the play much tighter, than on television. It’s fun to watch the things away from the ball that they don’t show often on TV. I enjoyed watching Torry Holt blast off the line (man he’s fast). He got open all over the place.


Angry Bird Flags run wild after the first Seattle TD

Qwest field had some nice things going for it. Every time the Seahawks got a first down, the digital scoreboard would go nuts – they had this animated “death hawk” come out of nowhere, pick up a digital football, and drop it off down field all the while looking menacing as hell and loosing this incredible raptor shriek. It was simply, awesome. “NNYYYEEAA!” George and I seriously couldn’t wait for first downs. Furthermore, when on defense, any big third down was accompanied by the Under Armour signature. Namely, a lot of clapping followed by an explosive “WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!!!” right before the snap, aired out in full volume across the entire stadium. Again, awesome. (Hell, George and I found ourselves rooting for Rams third downs!). It was also cool to check out the ESPN gang in the booth above us, and Suzy Colbert on the sideline looking about 3 feet tall compared to the players.

The game itself was pretty good. It was a close game, which made it intense. It came down to the very last play, and in perfect Seahawk fashion, it was ended with a Seattle dropped pass that would have forced overtime. That play really took the air out of the stadium, but since George and I weren’t “real” Seahawk fans, it didn’t really get us down.


Preparing for Kickoff


In the Red Zone



After the game, we trudged home. Traffic in the city was a mess, so George and I took the 25-minute walk up the hill back to my house instead of hailing a cab. It was at that point when the fatigue really hit me. When I got back to my apartment, where it was warm, I was pretty much done. I had a bit to eat, and then by about 6 pm, I was laying in bed struggling to say good bye to Gwen as sleep loomed seemingly eternal over me.

After 36 straight hours of being awake (My longest streak ever, I believe), I fell asleep. And didn’t wake up until 6:30 am the next day. But it was worth it – the game had been a blast.

In other news:

-It snowed the Sunday morning after game. I should have taken a picture, but didn't, sadly. It was beautiful, if short lived. About 2 or 3 inches topped all the buildings and cars in Seattle. A few hours later, it turned to rain, and went away. But it was sweet while it lasted.

-That Sunday night after the game, Gwen and I went to a play with her brother and his boyfriend. It was called “Noises off” and it was pretty solid, if not spectacular. I hadn’t been to a play in a long time, and I just enjoyed watching “ACTING!” right there in front of me. Definitely worth going – the second act was the best.

-This week has been more business as usual. More ward work. I have one last call as the MOD ever – this Friday night. It’s kind of cool to think I’ll be done with ward months next week. I still have a CCU month and 2 ICU months left, so call itself is certainly not completely done. But getting the dreaded MOD out of the way will certainly be nice.


And that is that. For now.