Oh, my word, the PAIN!
It seems that of late, all I've been doing on this little blog of mine is updating you on my life and putting up loads of pretty pictures.. Sighh.. I feel that I'm beginning to lose the purpose of this blog - which was, initially, to put up my thoughts and views on the things that were happening around me (who else did you think it'll be about? The world, after all, revolves around me! haha..). Anyway, as I was saying, I'm not a big fan of the whole "This morning I did this, and this afternoon, I did that, and after that, I did that blah blah" kind of writing... (Honestly, who really cares about what time you took a crap today?) Unfortunately, I really think that my blog is beginning to turn into one of these.. All I have to say for myself is that this is completely due to circumstance and not by any means, due to choice: I've been too darn busy with stuff to pen deep thoughts and core-shaking articles..
I wish I had something insightful to write right now, but again, I don't. I think today's lack of inspiration is purely due to my incredibly painful stomach cramps (that I have yet to find out the reason for) and of course, my supreme fatigue due to my ridiculously-hectic week.
I've just started my Obstetrics and Gynaecology attachment last week and seeing that I'm one of the most lucky people in the world, this week was my allocated Labour week. This means that for the whole week, all I do, is stay on the labour suite to not only witness, but participate in delivering babies. To some of you this might sound fun, but I've never been so exhausted from just going to hospital. For instance, I was on for a whopping 14 hours yesterday.. I was so tired when I got back, I just plunged into a deep sleep the moment my head touched the pillow. Unfortunately, I woke up with really bad stomach cramps and therefore, I'm sitting here, typing away on the computer instead of being in hospital for another 12 hours, delivering babies. I really feel quite guilty now but I don't think I'm going to be productive in any way with the pain and spasms I'm feeling right now. Ooh, here's one now!
I digress. This week has certainly been an exhausting one, but I must admit, it certainly has its rewards. Everyone I've spoken to (medical students) about this has been totally excited about this, and people who have already done it had a great experience - you know, the miracle of life blah blah.. Initially, I started the week with apprehension - I mean, I had to actually touch those slimy things as they were coming out of a woman's vagina!! Yuck! But I told myself that I would not benefit in being disgusted and keeping this frame of thought, so I decided to keep an open mind.
Ok, so what have I learnt? That it isn't really a yucky thing, to be honest.. It's not the most pleasant thing to watch, but as future doctors, it's necessary and quite frankly, not very different from all the other highly-invasive procedures we've seen/done. Unfortunately, I did not feel incredibly swollen with emotion or see incredible happiness as you see in the movies when these babies were born, for that matter. I just saw lots of screaming, lots and lots and lots of pain and pure exhaustion. So no, I was not at all impressed by the whole process of labour this week. (I've declared that if I were to have babies, I'm going to have an epidural otherwise, it's a C-section for me! There is no way I'm going through what these ladies go through.. No way hose!)
The one thing I found really good about this whole thing was really, the gratitude and appreciation from the new mothers. Among the few deliveries that I did, (well, helped do, really) was a beautiful baby girl for this lady TH and her husband. When I later visited her on the ward, the midwife I was with overheard her husband saying to his in-laws and his older son, (whilst pointing at me) "This was the lady who delivered little Lucy". I was very touched and to me, to be part of someone's special experience was the most rewarding part of this week. I'll probably forget this in a few years time, but for the rest of their lives, TH and her husband will be telling Lucy that Jean, a Malaysian-chinese medical student helped bring her into this world.
I guess being a doctor isn't all too bad. I think at this point, as a 4th year medical student, I really have to try, if not, force myself to like it. As most of you who know me would already know, I never really wanted to become a doctor at all. It was more my parents' idea, really.. I still have no passion for this, but I am trying to develop some love for my future job. Guess it really starts here...
I wish I had something insightful to write right now, but again, I don't. I think today's lack of inspiration is purely due to my incredibly painful stomach cramps (that I have yet to find out the reason for) and of course, my supreme fatigue due to my ridiculously-hectic week.
I've just started my Obstetrics and Gynaecology attachment last week and seeing that I'm one of the most lucky people in the world, this week was my allocated Labour week. This means that for the whole week, all I do, is stay on the labour suite to not only witness, but participate in delivering babies. To some of you this might sound fun, but I've never been so exhausted from just going to hospital. For instance, I was on for a whopping 14 hours yesterday.. I was so tired when I got back, I just plunged into a deep sleep the moment my head touched the pillow. Unfortunately, I woke up with really bad stomach cramps and therefore, I'm sitting here, typing away on the computer instead of being in hospital for another 12 hours, delivering babies. I really feel quite guilty now but I don't think I'm going to be productive in any way with the pain and spasms I'm feeling right now. Ooh, here's one now!
I digress. This week has certainly been an exhausting one, but I must admit, it certainly has its rewards. Everyone I've spoken to (medical students) about this has been totally excited about this, and people who have already done it had a great experience - you know, the miracle of life blah blah.. Initially, I started the week with apprehension - I mean, I had to actually touch those slimy things as they were coming out of a woman's vagina!! Yuck! But I told myself that I would not benefit in being disgusted and keeping this frame of thought, so I decided to keep an open mind.
Ok, so what have I learnt? That it isn't really a yucky thing, to be honest.. It's not the most pleasant thing to watch, but as future doctors, it's necessary and quite frankly, not very different from all the other highly-invasive procedures we've seen/done. Unfortunately, I did not feel incredibly swollen with emotion or see incredible happiness as you see in the movies when these babies were born, for that matter. I just saw lots of screaming, lots and lots and lots of pain and pure exhaustion. So no, I was not at all impressed by the whole process of labour this week. (I've declared that if I were to have babies, I'm going to have an epidural otherwise, it's a C-section for me! There is no way I'm going through what these ladies go through.. No way hose!)
The one thing I found really good about this whole thing was really, the gratitude and appreciation from the new mothers. Among the few deliveries that I did, (well, helped do, really) was a beautiful baby girl for this lady TH and her husband. When I later visited her on the ward, the midwife I was with overheard her husband saying to his in-laws and his older son, (whilst pointing at me) "This was the lady who delivered little Lucy". I was very touched and to me, to be part of someone's special experience was the most rewarding part of this week. I'll probably forget this in a few years time, but for the rest of their lives, TH and her husband will be telling Lucy that Jean, a Malaysian-chinese medical student helped bring her into this world.
I guess being a doctor isn't all too bad. I think at this point, as a 4th year medical student, I really have to try, if not, force myself to like it. As most of you who know me would already know, I never really wanted to become a doctor at all. It was more my parents' idea, really.. I still have no passion for this, but I am trying to develop some love for my future job. Guess it really starts here...
posted by Jean at 11:09 AM
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