in clinic....

The following interactions are from the same 3 yo boy patient and his 5 yo brother

Me in clinic: what is your favorite color?

3 yo boy: Luigi

Me: (looks to the mom in confusion)

Mom: let's see... Luigi is green.  He means green.

Me: do you hurt anywhere?

3yo: no

Brother: when he sits on my back it hurts

Attending to boy: What's your name?

Boy: John

Mom: he means Johan

Brother raised his right hand, and when I ignored that he alternatively raised his left hand, then switched to right hand again while looking at me eagerly, like he was in the classroom

Me: Yes?

Brother: I like Mario. 

Brother: (eagerly showing me his Mario Go Kart video game) do you have any video games?

Me: no

Brother: Does your son have video games?

Me: I don't have kids.

Brother: Does your baby have games?

Me: I don't have a baby.

Brother: You should get video games.

Me: Good idea.  Thank you for the suggestion.

(I feel depressed that I am old enough to have kids.)

Me: [touching the 3 yo's neck to feel for lymph nodes]
3 yo: [scrunches up his shoulders because he feels tickled]
Me: Aha are you ticklish?!
5 yo brother: Are we all tickling each other?? [Jumped up, pounced toward me, extended both arms, and tickled my trunk with all his fingers while my hands are still feeling his brother's neck.  I was so tickled and wanted to jump back sooo badly, but outwardly remained immobile. (I have to keep up appearances in front of the mom y'know).  I think the brother was a bit dismayed that I didn't respond, because he somewhat disappointedly said, "You aren't ticklish?"]

At the end, per the brother's request, I let them both use my stethoscope and listen to each other and me.  They listened to the sounds curiously and intently.  The stethoscope looked humongous on them.  Ah I love these kids.

Like: Older siblings who help me examine the young patients.  I had another 1.5-year-old boy in clinic today being held by his mom, who was about to cry as I moved closer to examine him, until his ?6-year-old sister blew raspberries against his leg and distracted him (she was only tall enough to reach his leg)

Like: 9 yo boy came to the Emergency Room with laceration from biking accident, so we had to clean and repair the wound.  He was such a trooper!  Just watched the entire process quietly and bravely and curiously even though it must have hurt a lot as we were irrigating the wound and injecting lidocaine.

Lines of the week:
1. MS4 sub-I presenting to resident: "As I put my stethoscope on her [4-year-old] back, I heard diffuse and copious amounts of.... crying."

2. "Estas un ninja?"
--clinic NP, holding down a Hispanic 3yo with Downs Syndrome as he thrashed around wildly while the attending examined his ears.  Earlier, he had grabbed the attending's glasses off her face and flung them toward the corner of the room.  Otherwise he was very cute.

fourth day of residency

I had such an emotionally draining and long day.  BUT at the end of my shift, while I was waiting for the elevator, there was this (7-year-old?) handsome kid who was also waiting with his dad, and wondering aloud where the stairs were.  I showed him way to the the stairs (but they ended up taking the elevator anyway).  When the elevator got to his floor, the kid turned around and waved and said good-bye to me.  It cheered me up.

the separator post between med school and residency

I have now graduated from med school.  I am now a Pediatrics intern physician!

staples

Like: Yesterday, during my adult ED shift, I repaired a laceration on the back of the head by stapling it.  The patient was a prisoner and was accompanied by two prison guards.  When I started stapling, the guards could not stand the sound of the staples punching through the skin--both squirmed and stepped out of the room.  These are gun-toting, black-uniformed, toughened-looking security guards.  Haha!

Mom: Elaine, would you like me to fly to Virginia on Match Day?
Elaine: Why?
Mom: So I can catch you if you faint.  Or if you cry, who will give you a tissue?