The Longest Day

Somehow, it is Thursday.

Tuesday was the longest day in the world. Ever. It went from 5am until noon the next day. What's that? 32 hours? Something like that. But, oh, wow, was my bed comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that once I laid down at 1:30 to 'nap' for a couple of hours, I didn't wake up until 9:30. (At which point I panicked, thinking I was over four hours late for work. It took me a full 2 minutes to realize that it was dark outside, and, therefore, still night) I got up in time to watch the Boardroom part of The Apprentice, finish reading book the thirteenth in A Series of Unfortunate Events, and brush my teeth. Then, I went back to bed, and got up this morning, refreshed, and awake.

Some things I discovered, after a full 31+ hours of straight working (except for rounds, I only got to sit for about two hours total during that time):
1. It is, indeed, possible to stay up for 30 hours and still make sense.

2. Around 20 hours, you get dizzy.

3. Somewhere around 23 hours, it is really hard to not burst into tears.

4. The hardest part of constant motion: feet and knees. My feet have never hurt so bad. Definitely contributed to the almost bursting into tears. I left the CT scanning room to sit for a minute, and the resident told me to go back in there to make sure the patient was okay. I wanted to slug him. After a good cry, of course.

5. The combination of sleep deprivation and caffeine overload can make you think you're in love. In other news: I've met the man I'm going to marry (not really, but I've always wanted to say that. And wouldn't it be cool if I do end up marrying this guy, and I can say "I said that I was going to marry you the day I met you," and we can put it in our wedding vows and people will cry, cause it's so romantic, and our children will make us tell them the story every night before they go to sleep, and we'll all live happily ever after. In Venice.)

6. It's at about 24 hours that you simply stop caring.


Completely outside the realm of call: On my last day on Vascular Surgery, my attending tried to convince me to go into surgery. He said I have "good hands." Today, one of the interns I worked with on surgery tried to convince me to go into surgery, saying that I have the "character" for it. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE??? I am not a surgeon. Well, okay. I could really picture myself working with these people, and doing this kind of stuff. But I'm too lazy! Actually, I'm not lazy, but I value my free time way too much to give it all away. Surgeons, as a group, are the hardest working people that I have ever met. But as a result, they have no life. I have heard many of the males (from intern to fellow) say that they haven't seen their children awake for days. That is not cool. Which is why there are so few females in surgery, I think. If there wasn't that issue, I definitely would consider it. Scary, huh?