Meanwhile…Back in the country…

Dearest City Girl,

I am sooooo sorry that is has taken me FOREVER to write on here!  I’ve been trying to pick up the slack on my other blog, but can’t forget ours!  The thing is…for awhile, living in the country wasn’t that exciting.  Don’t get me wrong, I like it that way!!  However, during the month of December that all changed.

Crazy Ruffin Happening #1

It all started with a freak storm that had LOTS of damaging winds.  My room mate’s dad has a shed about a 1/6 of a mile from our house.  I was at school when she texted me, “Road blocked. Power out. Best to stay away.”  Oh…okay…what happened?!  Turns out the wind had knocked down the shed and put a lot of the debris into the road.  I went to my friend’s house and waited out the crazy storm.  (Side story: I had taken a couple of my students to Wal-Mart to shop for our Christmas Angel and the weather, though ominous, was fine when we left.  However, as soon as I pulled into the school all hell broke loose!  Sheets of rain and gusts of wind left me looking like a wet rat trying to enter a wet t-shirt contest gone wrong!)  Back to Ruffin…I waited until 10 to go back to the house and the power was still out!  Now, I usually don’t scare easy (who am I kidding, I slept with the lamp on last night!), but I was slightly freaked out when I got back.  Thank goodness my uncle gave me a bright little flashlight for Christmas the other year!  I lit some candles and willed the power to come back on.  It came back around 3am and you’ve never seen such a happy girl!!  

Crazy Ruffin Happenings 2 and 3:

I really can’t elaborate nor know a lot about situation number two.  All I know is that 2 bodies were found burned in a car about 10 minutes from my house.  Really, do I need to say more?  What the crap?

Third happening…I’m copying an e-mail that I sent my friends after happening #3.  Here you go:

I got home late last night because I had dinner and went to see tacky Christmas Lights with my friend, Kim.  My room mate was still up and we were chatting and all the sudden we heard a HUGE boom.  It sounded like someone had slammed a storm door...except we don't have one.  Our den is in the back of the house, so we look at each other freaked and try to decide what to do.  My room mate had been working on a couple walking sticks (she was putting designs in them for a Christmas present) and I had a jar of homemade salsa.  She grabs the stick...I grab the salsa and head to the front of the house to see what had happened.

My room mate walked outside and came back in and said, "Coley, someone has hit a tree in the front yard."  I grabbed my mace and flashlight and headed out.  We go out and sure enough a Ford Truck and smashed into the tree right in front of our house.  It was the scariest/craziest thing I've ever seen.  We called 911 and she went to help the woman.

Long story short, the ambulance, 3 cop cars, 1 highway patrol car all showed up and it looked like we had robbed a bank.  I was praying none of my students were out driving at 11 at night.  They took her away in the ambulance.  

I did get to meet a couple cute cops!  I was going to invite them in for cookies and milk...but it was midnight and I had to give an exam the next morning.

So…there you go.  December in Ruffin.  Pretty exciting, right?!  Haha, it’s not NJ, but we do occasionally get some action J  I wish you all the best in your travels.  PLEASE be careful!!

Another City...

Hey girl!

   So much has happened since my return to the big city! I will admit- I spent the first few days moping around the city, missing home, and the endless supply of Little Debbie cakes in my mother’s cabinet (I don’t allow myself those little pieces of heaven up here), but last Wednesday, I got over myself and started another semester of grad school.  Don’t get me wrong, I was not looking forward to another semester of stress, work, long nights, and super early mornings; but, I was ready to get started and whittle down my remaining year. What I didn’t tell you over the break, is that by starting another semester I am actually getting to explore another city…. Camden, New Jersey. 

   Now, let me start at the beginning….. right before Christmas break, I received my first clinical assignment: Fast track ED in Camden, New Jersey.  I was immediately excited!  First of all, I think working in a fast track (the part of the Emergency Department where they send all those people with minor complaints….the things they should probably go to a primary care office for) would be a great learning experience.  Secondly, Camden is literally right across the river from Philly which meant I was going to be able to take public transportation instead of driving (my nonexistent car). 

   The excitement wore off a little when I would announce my site to others, and their faces would drop.  I heard, “Courtney, you know when they talk about Camden in rap songs, well that’s the Camden they are taking about”. When I told a guy at church where I was going, he asked, “Did you get a choice?” (insert look of disgust). Yes, little did I know, I was being sent to what us southerners call- the ghetto. If you google “Camden NJ” you will find all kinds of scary information, my personal favorite “Camden has been named the nation's most-dangerous city, snatching the top spot from Detroit”- oh yeah! But this was the hand I was dealt, so I was going to play it. 

   After tutorials from Susie like- keep your hair tucked in your coat, carry an umbrella as a weapon, don’t carry cash, look at peoples’ faces so they know you see them (and could recognize them in a line up), I figured I was ready… God bless me.  I did a couple of practice runs, taking the train, getting a train pass so I don’t have to carry cash, finding the hospital in day light so I am not wandering around in the dark…. and then it was my first day. Here’s the story.

   I was all excited for my first clinical day, that is, until I realized (while sitting on the train from Philly to Jersey) I had forgotten to apply deodorant.  You know, I am a sweater, not to mention crazy nervous for my first day. Let me put it this way- it was 26 degrees outside, and from underneath my white coat, I already had moist pits (haha, sorry if this is TMI).  Well, my predicament was made worse by the fact that I only had $2 on me (mugging prevention) and no clue where to find cheap deodorant in Jersey.  All I can say, is thank you God, and city planners, for placing a Rite Aid adjacent to the train station (because in the words of Jeff, "white girls like you better not wander around out there"), and for selling mini deodorants for $1.35! So now, clean and smelling fresh…. well, actually smelling like chicken- the Rite Aid is beside The Chicken Casino, which evidently starts frying up the good stuff at 9am (I cannot make this stuff up), I stroll into the hospital, through metal detectors, for my first day.

   {For privacy reasons I cannot share the details of my day, but I wanted to share a couple of clinical pearls I learned while working in Jersey- 1) it is easier to assess the patient if the cops are willing to take the cuffs off, 2) no matter what diagnosis I make, if I give a note to get out of work, then I am loved, 3) if you are treating someone with a bite, which they may or may not admit is a human bite,  just leave the wound open, no stitches, 4) if you order a spine xray for back pain, you may find a random bullet in someone’s back… he has no idea where that came from, and 5) I have a sexy voice and I am the best doctor in the entire world.}

   Fast forward 12 hrs of hard work… I head back to the train station to get home to Philly. Side note: my preceptor drove me to the train station, which is only 0.2 miles from the hospital, but the nurses took a vote and decided that I was absolutely not walking there alone at night (even if I took the needles and scalpel they wanted me to carry for protection). Now, the train station is divided by card access into the two parts- the upstairs area where anyone can stand and the downstairs where the trains come (you must pay to get downstairs). I had heard to wait upstairs, but there was around 40 homeless people up there (its warm) and downstairs didn’t look bad… so I went downstairs…. for about 5 minutes before I realized, I better head back upstairs. This was confirmed, when I got back up the stairs, a police officer walked by and said, “You stay right up here pretty girl”.  He then turned and walked away…. could he not here my inner voice saying “stay with me, stay with me, stay with me”….. guess not!  Well, 25 minutes of pacing later, with my finger on the mace in my pocket, the train arrived, and I rode safely back home. And that was my first day in Camden!  I only have about 16 more to go haha. 

   I truly do like it there, but the safety part is rough. I am not telling you this to scare you or make you worry- so don’t.  Madelyn and Tommy are worrying enough.  When I told my mom she actually said, out loud, “Oh my baby girl”. But through everything, I definitely feel like this is going to be a great place for me!

   Briefly back to Philly (to finish the book-of-a-post off).  It is COLD up here!  I know it has been cold down there too, but girl………. when it is 15 degrees, the two mile walk to school feels like 15 miles!  My face is getting a little tougher, after nearly freezing off one day.  But, I refuse to complain. I love cold weather, and will take it over the summer heat any day, so bring on the snow! (haha, now I am just pushing it).

Anyway, that’s all for now, my other clinical site may be in Delaware, so I will update you on another city soon.  I cannot wait to hear about your semester, those kids better be treating you nice!

Love and miss you!

Courtney

Are we there yet?

   I am flying back to Philly on Wednesday (way too soon in my humble opinion). When I left Philly for my vacation, there was a sense of sadness, that I would miss my new city, and all that I could do there while I wasn’t laboring in class. However, after a great vacation with my family and friends, I have grown to regret my return to the big city.  I have yet to allow myself the indulgence of making a list of things I miss about NC, so I will not go there now (it’s too hard and honestly puts me into a depression), make no mistake- my heart remains in the south. Now, don’t get me wrong- I have realized a couple of things I do not miss about the south, that I will allow myself to list:

1) Traffic. Actually, I should be more specific by saying- driving behind tractors, logging trucks, hay trailers, or just Morgantonians who just refuse to drive the speed limit.  Dear drivers- if the speed limit is 45, there is no reason you should ever be driving 25! The traffic I sat in, on Enola Rd, rivaled that of a big city. I also realized that when you don’t drive for 4 months, your road rage does not dissipate… in fact, it may have exponentially increased.

2) Pounds. I do not miss those extra pounds that somehow just appear on my body after spending time at home.  Ok, I have an idea on how those pounds materialize - it probably had something to do with home cooking, Shoney’s buffet, the new Cook Out (yes, Morganton got a Cook Out during my stay), and the endless supply of Little Debbie Cakes that my mom keeps in the house (bless her). I am looking forward to getting back to my healthy eating, and walking at least 4 miles a day….. although laying on the couch does feel oh so right.

3) Questions. When I am in Philly, in the world of academia, people ask, “What are you going to do once you graduate?” They may expect an answer, but they don’t expect for you to come out with a perfected plan.  In the south, when you come home from living in Philly, or was it Pittsburgh, wait where are your after all-  you are expected to know what you are doing, when you are doing it, and where that will lead you (and that better be- back to NC). Not to mention, the concept of a Nurse Practitioner is still one that escapes most people (but that is NOT just a southern thing).  I guess, coming home just reminds me that I should be getting my life together, and making a plan….. but in grad school, I live week to week, and my final destination is still a year away (at the very earliest).  

    It’s kind of funny how I can think of three main things that I do not like about the south, but if I allowed myself to list the things I miss- it would be pages and pages. No matter what, like my mom said, I am right where I am supposed to be (in Philly). There is a lot of sadness and anxiety about returning to the city, but it is something I have to do. I am sure once I am up there and back into my routine, I will be fine. I feel like I have worked so hard to get here and yet I still have an entire year left…. which makes me ask, in true holiday spirit- are we there yet? Am I there yet? Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding- No. Actually, since I’m back in NC, the answer is- heck No!

    Nevertheless, my goal for 2012 (which is the year I graduate, oh yeah) is to enjoy where I am- in geography and my life in general. I want to enjoy my life for what it is, without stressing over what it is not. You know, I compare my graduate school journey to a hike on the Appalachian Trail. I got to hike a small section of the AT, in Virginia, during my vacation and definitely fell more in love with the trail and hiking in general. Anyway, I see my vacation as a month of zero days (days when you take a break from the trail to not hike at all, relax, refuel, and restore yourself). So now, it is time to get back on the trail. On the AT, I pushed myself physically and mentally to do things I wasn’t sure I could accomplish, but I did it, and the view from the summit was incredible. So, it is time for me to start walking again, move forward, climb higher, and enjoy the journey.

Can’t wait to see you, and the south again.  Until then…..

Love,

Courtney