Mar
31
i finally have an ally!
Filed Under emily, family, hannah, life, medicine, my little man, saba, thoughts | 2 Comments
There was actually a time a little over a year ago I jokingly threatened Emily to take her blog off the internet because she wasn’t using it very often. I’m totally pathetic. I’ve obviously been less than consistent with mine, but seriously . . . I’m going to do better. Just the other day, Emily flicked my little statement back in my face . . . “Do you want me to take down your blog? You don’t seem to be using it very much.” I guess I deserved that.
We visited St. Maarten this past weekend. The primary reason for our visit was to visit the doctor to get an ultrasound on Emily’s pregnant belly. Emily had been looking forward to this little “get away” for quite sometime. I could tell she was excited by the way she kept describing how cute Hannah would be swimming in the ocean on a beach that didn’t have an 80 foot, rock-dropping, cliff overshadowing your every move like the Saba beach. Granted, the sand was quite a bit softer than the sand found on Saba, but I love our little here-it-is now-it’s-not beach. I think the coastline of Saba is one of the reasons it can truthfully be called the “Unspoiled Queen” of the Caribbean. Who plans a vacation to an island that may or may not have a beach? Not many!
We visited the doctor and he asked what we thought we were having. When Emily was pregnant with Hannah, she started calling her a girl well before we found out. I told her I didn’t want our little kid to get a complex if it turned out to be a boy, so I called it a boy. I was wrong. Once again, Emily demonstrated how connected she is with our child and started calling this kid a boy well before we found out . . . and once again, I wanted to add a little balance to our relationship. I called it a girl. I was wrong. Maybe I’ll listen to her next time . . . then again . . .
As Dr. Tjon moved the ultrasound probe to the other side of Emily’s belly he said, “Let’s see which one of you is right.” It was the most clear ultrasound picture I think I have ever seen. We could have grabbed the guy that was stumbling in front of the hospital to read the ultrasound . . . it was unmistakable!
Just like with Hannah, I’m excited to meet this kid, and just like Emily, I don’t think I know what to do with a little boy. You see, I’ve been swimming in a sea of estrogen my entire life. Let me explain. In my family growing up, there were two boys, three girls, then me at the end. My closest brother was 12 years older than me, so you can see there was a lot of estrogen surrounding me. Then, I got married and there was balance between the hormones. The balance was short lived as we added a dog to our family . . . a female dog. A short while later we added another female dog. I was losing this battle, and quickly. We then moved to Texas to open a wedding gown store. Um, can anyone say estrogen? Loads and loads of estrogen!!! If that wasn’t enough, Emily’s sister moved in with us. Then, her friend also moved in. Let’s pause and recap. On Team Testosterone . . . me. On Team Estrogen . . . Emily, Kyaha the dog, Paris the dog, Charmain the sister-in-law, Stephanie the sister-in-law’s friend, and ALL THOSE BRIDES (oh, and their mothers, grandmothers, bridesmaids, and other girlfriends). Yeah, I was truly losing the battle. Well, Stephanie moved out, then Charmain, then we got out of our wedding gown shop. The tide was starting to shift in my favor. Of course, that couldn’t last too long. After nine years of marriage we finally got a bun in the oven . . . it turned out to be a girl! I was certainly not disappointed in the least. Hannah has been and is the greatest blessing in my life next to my sweet, darling, sassy wife. I’m amazed at how much she has added to my life. However, in terms of my lifelong battle to even out the hormones in my life, it was just another nail in the coffin.
By the way, if you’ve ever wondered what specialty I’m going to pursue in medicine . . . it will NOT (can I make that any bigger?) be OB/GYN!
I finally have some help on the way to balance the hormones in the Lesher house!
Jun
30
definitely a tool
Filed Under gadgets, medicine, school | Leave a Comment
While at school yesterday, one of my classmates showed me a new piece of technology . . . yes, it was a gadget. However, this gadget is different than many gadgets as it can actually be justified for me in my future profession. Call it a tool, if you will. Let’s start with a handy little program that I’ve been told over and over is absolutely essential when practicing medicine. It is a program called Epocrates. This little program fits on a PDA and provides drug information, drug interaction information, and if you get the subscription it has a clinical consult section. From what I understand, it is an incredibly powerful program which aids the physician in covering all the bases. Next, there is the fact that physicians carry all kinds of “tools” with them as they are going about their workday. Stethoscope, reflex hammer, cell phone, and of course (to carry Epocrates) a PDA in addition to many other items.
To cut down on the weight and clutter of all these items . . . it would be ideal to combine as many of them as possible. The phone and PDA have been combined for a while . . . first with the palm and the add-on phone adapter . . . then, more effectively by the Palm Treo. Now, I believe the best combination yet . . . the HTC Touch. On their website they tout, “The world’s first touch phone.” The press release on HTC’s website stated, “The HTC Touchâ„¢ is now available [June 5, 2007] in the United Kingdom and will be released later this month in Asia [June 12, 2007] and throughout Europe. The North and Latin American version of the HTC Touchâ„¢ will be available in the second half of 2007.” Since yesterday was the widely anticipated Iphone release . . . I guess they beat them. I’d have to say that the Iphone is a watered-down version of the Touch. Plus it has Windows Mobile® 6 Professional . . . so you can add products like Epocrates and anything else your heart desires. The features are rich and the interface is the most usable I’ve ever seen. I’m not an expert on gadgets . . . but I do love them, and this one impresses the socks off me! It’s certainly on my “must get before I start clinical rotations” wish list.
My friend got his on St. Maarten for ~$600. I found one online at 1ShopMobile.com for $489. That’ll save you a little chunk of change.