same stuff, different day

So my doctors visit went alright yesterday. No luck with trying to get my surgeon to be friendly and talk. I felt like every question I asked was wasting his time. A patient shouldn't feel bad about asking questions, and a doctor should want to have their patients be fully informed and not assume they already know everything. I have had this surgery twice now so at least I know some things, so I feel bad for those people going through this for the first time with a doctor like this. Oh well, as long as he did a great job with the surgery, I'll be happy in the long run.

On a very happy note, my parents are coming to visit me tomorrow! Yay! I'm super stoked. It is such a different experience going through surgery when you are away from home and your parents (even if you drop my leg sometimes in recovery, Mom). I loved having my sister here to take care of me and hang out after surgery, but once she left, it is kind of lonely, (not that my friends haven't been great about visiting and calling and helping me out!). But it is just a very different process, added to that I am much busier this time with school and orientation and other things.

Bed Side Manners? Contd.

Working in the ER, I have seen many versions and degrees of bedside manner, some seem almost too nice, while others are blunt and almost rude. As with everything, I think a doctors bedside manner needs to be a balance of extremes. I'm sure I will eventually develop my own bed side manner with the hours and hours of interviewing patients in med school, and I'm kind of afraid I will be awkward, or too nice and come across as incompetent or a push over, but it is just something you need to practice, and hopefully I will be able to emulate the doctors that I have found memorable and provide a good patient experience.

And maybe tomorrow when I go to get my stitches out at my followup, I'll be able to get more than a 3 minute convo with my surgeon, since I didn't even see him (consciously) on the day of the surgery.

Bed Side Manners?

After my misleading ER visit I saw an orthopedist who took <2 seconds of jerking my knee around a bit to tell me my ACL was not strong, and in fact completely torn, and would require surgery. I have heard from many people how great of a surgeon this doctor is, "one of the best in the country" but almost every person I have talked to has also mentioned his impersonal bedside manner. Considering how many people warned me about it, including his assistant, I was actually impressed by how long he stayed in the room (~ 5 minutes) and he even asked a couple personal questions like where I work and what I want to do (though he didn't seem to remember these answers at my next appointment since he kind of asked them again). Now I know that doctors are busy, and have a lot going on, but I think the patient needs more reassurance, and some type of relationship with his or her doctor. At least seem like you're listening and care about your patient who is sobbing on the bed. A rushed interview about what happened and the present illness or condition can cause patients to forget important questions, and leave a patient confused and bewildered.

Blogger?

So I never really expected to get a blog, I don't really know who will want to read it. But I have been pretty bored recently while recovering from my surgery, and starting a blog seems like a good way to think about things, get things off my chest or just share stories soo, MJ convinced me to give it a shot.

My first post was pretty lame or uninteresting to some people I guess, but that is the biggest thing that is on my mind right now... I had surgery 10 days ago, and hate being on crutches and confined to my bed all of the time. I can definitely get out and do things, but it just makes me so tired! I get exhausted after a day of a few classes, and get back to my room and just want to sleep. It would be even worse if I didn't have DART. I don't know what I would do without this free taxi service to/from class, physical therapy, the grocery store, whereever (within reason/Barracks Rd). If you are a UVA student who has some type of disability that inhibits your ability to get to class, DART is a lifesaver.

I also think it would be great to invent crutches that have some type of bag attached or somewhere to hold simple things. I have to walk super slow and swing a crutch forward awkwardly whenever I'm using a hand to hold something else. Let me know if you hear about anything

ACL Woes

I tore my ACL and I'm on the road to recovery! (thanks MJ)

So this is the second time I've torn my ACL... I tore my left one about 5 years ago in high school and July 22, 2009, I was playing intramural soccer (who knew there was even intramural soccer in the summer?) and had the same popping sensation. I was just cutting to the right, my knee kind of wobbled, and went left. I knew right when it happened that I did the same thing, and I was hysterical at the field. So after my second ER visit in 1 week, (only 3rd in my entire life), and some Anterior Drawer and Lachman tests where you pull the shin away to test the strength of the ACL, I was told by two of the doctors I work with that my ACL was great, and I probably just sprained my MCL. I didn't really believe them, but I hoped they were right. Too bad they gave me false hopes!

So in case you're wondering what I'm talking about, your ACL is the anterior cruciate ligament, and it runs through the middle of your knee (the middle ligament in the picture that isn't labeled), keeping your tibia (shin) from moving too far from your femur (thigh) and to tear it is way too common of an injury, especially in girls for a lot of reasons--our hips are wider, other anatomical differences, and factors like conditioning and muscle strength. There are a bunch of different training programs that are said to reduce the chance of a tear. Maybe I should look into those...