Ch4:Pg15: Moo.

Good afternoon, Readers. It's Friday and that means I officially have 5 more days of Staff Relief / Clinical. Yes, I am so close to the end of this rotation and looking back, I really have come a long ways. I've been completely independent for quite some time but when I look back on the first week I feel like I've grown and changed immensely as a student and soon to be dietitian. Next week will be full of extra tid-bits of fun starting with a Bariatric pre-surgery class, class half way through the week with fellow interns about social media (very much looking forward to this one) and then I'll be going home and celebrating the end of a long rotation. This morning I covered three different floors and it wasn't terribly busy (thankfully). Though, it's been a rather somber day in some ways for me. Many patients I've seen today have cancer with mets to multiple places on their body. It makes me think of The Fault in our Stars when one of the character says, "I had my PET scan, I lit up like a Christmas tree." Many of these patients are so sincere when I talk with them and try to encourage them to eat or try things etc. We're pretty slow now in terms of work load (i.e. I'm still at the hospital writing this post lol) and a lullaby was just played over our intercom. It's a first time for me hearing that and we're pretty sure that meant a baby was just delivered. A happy tune played to lift spirits and think of life, not just illnesses and deaths. JCAHO has been here. I was warned I could be asked questions about hospital codes and my status and watched as I visited patients but thank goodness the mob of people in suits with clipboards did not find me. I saw them once and turned around to find a different route down stairs. My mouth sores haven't changed that much but the Triflex I believe it's called (GROSS) is helping with the pain. In fact it makes all pain in my mouth disappear which I appreciate. I've never had such hunger pains like I had this afternoon, most likely related to the fact that I ran 3 miles at 5:15am this morning. YUP that's right. Then I jumped into a hot shower which I really needed seeing as half of my skin was red and blotchy from the cold, made a big pot of coffee, packed my car and made a big egg (yes I'm still eating eggs now for extra protein needs) sandwich. I needed extra food than what I brought for lunch and organic chocolate milk won (clearly). Just got the clear to leave, I wish you all a good weekend! Im headed to Ohio with my girl Aby to see her homefront. Your traveler with a numb drooling mouth, J.