Home Sweet Home

So, I made it! This is where I will live for the next 6 weeks. It's teeny, but sorta cute. And, I must say that finding this place in the dark was quite the feat. When I pulled up, like 5 cats and 4 dogs came trotting up to me. So, I have friends. I tried to take some pictures so you guys can get an idea of what the place is like, but I'm not sure how well you will be able to tell from the pictures.

I woke up Sunday morning, and went to church with my preceptor's family (they are a very nice Mormon family, and their kids are hillarious). As we drove to church, I decided I just might survive these 6 weeks. It is gorgeous out here!!! All the trees are golden yellows and reds. There are rolling hills. And all the houses out here are these totally adorable country farm houses set on lots of land with huge long driveways. This is the entrance to the ranch I live on. It's so much prettier in real life.
This is my next door neighbor whom I realized was just outside my cabin all night, but I didn't notice when I pulled up because it was totally dark.
This cabin is actually on the same property as my precepting doctor. This is a picture of his house just up the hill from my cabin. As you can see, I live in shackles compared to thier set up.
Here are the pictures from inside the cabin. It is just one little room with a kitchen, dining area, and living room area that all kind of run together. Over the kitchen is a little loft with our beds. There is also a little bathroom. First, is the view from the front door. Note little tv in the corner. I turned it on to see what sort of channels you get in a teeny tiny cabin. And low and behold, he has direct tv with hundreds of channels (my husband would be in heaven).
Turn to the left, and this is what you see.
And, climb up a pretty steep ladder to get to the loft above the kitchen which is home to two twin size (and very uncomfortable) air matresses (I haven't had one good night of sleep yet). The loft has a very low ceiling. You definately can't stand up in it. I have two fears. One, that I wake up startled from the alarm and bump my head on the ceiling (if I sat up in bed this would happen--that's how low the ceiling is). And two, that I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and fall down the ladder (luckily, if this happens we know all to well where the ER is). Off to the right is the bathroom which is very small, and the hot water in the shower runs out very quickly. I tried to shave my legs for church on Sunday...I don't think I'll attempt that again for the rest of this rotation.
In other news, I found an awesome park with miles and miles of trails to run on. The whole thing has rolling hills and gorgeous trees lining the paths with yellow leaves just starting to cover the trails as they fall. I wanted to take a picture, but I haven't yet, so you'll just have to imagine it. I will be sad to leave these running trails. All in all, this town is a place I probably could live in forever, but I am so thrilled to get to live here for 6 weeks!

I'm sure you are all getting tired of reading my babble. However, I have to tell you about my first NIGHT (that's right I'm working the 7pm- 6am shift how...I am not sure) in the ER. I have been dreading working night shifts; however, I was surprised how easy it was. It totally brought back memories from freshman year of college-- I think that was the last time I pulled an all nighter.

Anyways, last night (first night there) I got to stitch two open wounds closed which was exciting. And, I'm not sure if this next thing was exciting, but it was definately a new experience. (Those of you with weak stomachs may just want to pass over this part). A lady came in with SEVERE constipation. She had impacted stool all through her whole colon. She had taken a bunch of laxatives and stool softeners with no result, and she was in pain! So, me being the PA student (and thus, lower on the totem pole than the ER doc I was working for that night)...I got to dig out this impacted stool with my finger. Nothing like digging out someone's impacted stool at 3 o'clock in the morning. It definately woke me up a bit. But, it could have definately been worse. I never thought that when I was going to work that night I would be grateful for this aweful cold and stuffy nose I currently have, but I certainly was. I dug out more poo than you thought could come out of one person and didn't smell a thing! There's always something to be thankful for!