Saturday, March 13, 2010

Busy....Busy....and very Busy!!

I think I broke a record for not blogging.....I give up, I am really bad at this :)

So, I finished week #4 for Psych, and starting next week I will move to consultation for the final 2 weeks of the rotation. Bye Bye 6th floor, it was an experience at best. Here is a brief recap:

- 28 year old man admitted over 2 weeks ago who is extremely paranoid and violent one minute (will jump up and scream at people saying "what are you looking at", and also punched a nurse) and the next minute he throws himself to the floor and starts bawling, real tears!!! They have tried several medications with really no effect. I hope for his sake they eventually get the cocktail right because this guy spends a majority of his time in restraints.

- 31 year old woman who is normally quite functional on the outside; she has a job, and a life. But, something happened, her manic side set in and now she has extreme religious preoccupation and delusions. The good thing about this woman is if she takes her medication, she will resume her outside life without much problem at all. Of course, with all patients, they have to be compliant with the meds.

- Had the pleasure of going to court. Not for anything I did :) One of our patients requested the hearing because he wanted to leave the hospital. Of course the hospital also wanted the hearing because he is not taking his meds. There was another case that went before our patient and it was very entertaining. The judge allowed the woman to speak and the things that came out of her mouth (I actually felt bad for the court reporter who had to type all of this out). At one point the woman tried to convince the judge his real name was "Sam" and that he used to sell her root beer floats at the Five and Dime when she was little. She insisted on calling him Sam for the rest of the hearing. Our patient actually looked normal compared to her, until the judge started to ask him questions, and then his delusions started to slowly trickle out.

I have so many other psych stories but I would rather focus on my adventure that occurred today. So, today was a nasty day in NYC with lots of rain and wind. I decided to head to the West Village to meet up with a friend for coffee and food. Around 4pm I left and headed to Union Square, did a little window shopping, picked up some food and decided to head back home. Just before the subway entrance my poor umbrella gave up; the weather was just too much for him. So, I hustled into the Union Sq. station at around 6:30pm and that is where my adventure began. I waited almost 40 minutes for a Q train. Usually when you wait that long it means something is wrong with the line. The train pulled in and it was packed with people (looked like a rush hour train). I squeezed on and thought "well, I will be home in about 20 minutes". NOPE, think again. The train makes it to Dekalb and then an announcement comes on telling us that because of debris on the tracks near Kings Highway, this train would continue running on the "N" line, which is nowhere near my apt. But, the announcement continues to say that another Q train would be coming to take passengers to Prospect Park, which is about 4 blocks from my apartment. So, I get off and wait....and wait....and wait. About 45 minutes later another announcement comes on and says no Q trains will be running at all. Now I am irritated!! So, I get on R train and take that to Atlantic deciding to get off there and take the bus. Now it is pouring outside, like extreme downpouring plus harsh winds, and remember I have no umbrella. So, I walk to the bus stop and wait. One bus passes me...packed. 10 minutes later, another bus passes me....packed. I get frustrated and decide to start walking. I walk about 8 blocks and come to an overhang near another bus stop with about 15 people waiting. I wait again. Finally a bus comes and stops and we pile onto an already packed bus. Then the fun begins because everytime the bus makes a stop for people to get off, those at the bus stop who are stranded because the subway is not running come rushing the bus. And by people, I mean 40-50!! The driver at one point gets up out of the driver seat and stands up and starts yelling at people trying to board the bus saying "we are too full", actually screaming it. It is mass chaos and the bus is not moving. So, I decide to get out and walk since I am about 6 blocks from my apartment. Now, it begins to rain harder and heavier (if that is possible). I keep walking. Eventually, at 9:20pm I reach my apartment....almost 3 hours after I left Union Square (usually only a 20-25 minute trip).

So, I stripped down....dried off....put my pj's on....took my wet books out of my bag and placed them near the heater.....threw my bag out (not salvagable)....ate my dinner....and decided to blog about my amazing trip!! I guess overall this is the best part of NYC because when you walk out of your apartment, you never quite know what the day will bring. Unfortunately, this wet and wild journey ate into my study time. I am scheduled to take Step II in 3 weeks....AHHHH!! I definitely do not feel as prepared as I should be and need to kick my studying up another notch. So what am I doing blogging now???

I hope everyone has a great night!!! :)