December Baby

I always look forward to December here. Definitely not because it is my birthday, but rather the events that happen. We only have one block of material we cover from Thanksgiving to Christmas break so there isn't as much pressure and people are slightly less deranged after just having had a break. It is definitely one of the happier months around here as far as student morale goes. And we always celebrate the first Friday back with med school prom (okay it wasn't technically December yet but close enough). There are guaranteed to be some crazy shenanigans and stories that emerge but mostly it is just nice to be able to hang out with friends and not be studying. This was oddly my 4th and final one.

Leading up to my birthday was a little stressful. Over break, I went with my mom to an appointment with a new oncologist (a DO this time) and he wanted to get some scans done as my mom has been having ongoing pain in her right upper quadrant for over a year now. Her last oncologist tried to convince her it was in her head. He also felt the risk of doing scans outweighed the benefit of them..... Believe me, it took everything in me not to punch this man in the face for so many reasons. He is actually one of the reasons I am considering going in to oncology: because I never want anyone to receive the type of care he gave my mom. It was embarrassing to the profession. But back to the amazing DO oncologist, he sat there and listened as my mom talked about everything and then he set out on a mission to figure out the problem. You know, like a doctor is supposed to do. The scary part was that it had been over two years since my mom had had a scan and with her stage of cancer being on the verge of metastatic she was fearful of the results. Well I got the best birthday gift with the news that she was all clear. It felt like the healing could finally start since we had been in the unknown since her treatment.

One of the things I look forward to the most is doing Adopt-A-Child and the Angel Tree every year. I seriously wait the whole year for this and am sad I won't be around next year for this annual event. And I have to say I had the best time this year (I think I say that every year), but seriously I had so much fun. For Adopt-A-Child, my kiddo was a sixth grader who I got to spend the morning going through the $5 movie and CD bins at Walmart. She only called me old once and it was when we came across the bubble gum pink CD case bearing a pre-crazy Britney Spears and realized when that CD came out she hadn't even been born. We had a blast going through all the different movies and I tried to convince her to watch Princess Bride though I don't think I convinced her it wasn't a super girly movie.

Knowing when to stop and following a money limit is extremely hard for me when it comes to these things. My little Angel (a five year old that only wanted snow boots) came with a $30 limit. Yeah, I definitely spent at least $50. Obviously she needed a hat and some gloves to go with the boots and it said she liked arts and crafts so a bracelet making kit, and that adorable blue snowflake outfit that would keep her warm couldn't be passed up. And to continue that trend, I am currently stalking multiple shipments making their way from the East coast to Mt. Vernon for a one of the kids in the families my big ole' family adopted for Christmas. It is a sickness but one I am proud to have.

And now with this block test out of the way (only 5 block tests and 2 finals left till it's rotations time!!!) and a short week of classes in my way, I'm looking forward to the rest of December and spoiling my favorite niece and adorable cousins. Hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday season.