Ups and Downs in Pediatrics

From my own picture collection, taken in Collosseum, Italy.
Siblings playing with their parents' video camera.

It has just been two weeks since my first day in Pediatrics rotation, and I can't help being in this kind of love-hate relationship with my daily job. Our daily schedule is tight, we have to be present in the hospital around 6 am and start making daily subjective and objective examination to all the patients in the ward. There are 29 co-assistant in total so we will have several patients we will examine daily. Then we have to write it all down in the patient status, including the diagnostic and therapy planning. It is a very effective way to learn about clinical medicine, thou. Then, most of our days will be spent helping the residents observing the patients ( every 3 or one hour, depends on the diagnosis), assisting in some clinical procedure, or participating in group discussion. Everything will be ended around 3 in the afternoon and on some days we have night shifts, mean doing almost the same job we do during daytime, only during the whole night.

One Day in the Clinic

The doctor carefully explained about the medication prescribed. Haloperidol, Folic Acid, Clobazam.  None of them were familiar to the mother. She stared to a space that did not exist. Her ears were listening to the doctor's words, every single word. But her mind was spread into several thoughts at the same time.
She might need to stay for a month, or maybe more, in this city, 4 hours away from her home. She didn't have any place to stay, yet. Her husband might have to work harder than before. She would look for all the therapies, anything that could fix the problems. She might will have to leave her younger daughter at home. Her son might will never able to enter regular school, be a regular child.
Who will afford all the medication and medication fee, anyway?

And just moments ago, she discovered that her son was diagnosed with mental retardation.

Change Your Location, Change Your Life

It is less than two days left before I leave Groningen. I have been staying here for almost two months now. I would surely say this is a lifetime experience I will never regret. I used to think that two months is going to be a long time, but it is not. Two months is absolutely not enough to learn new languages, blend in with the locals, see their cultures and lifestyle, taste the different vibes. There are so many things I have obtained, much more than reading a pile of books. Being in a country, half the world away, 6 hours of time difference, has brought me a broader scope of view.

Fiets in The Netherlands

the bike racks

Bicycles are not uncommon in every region of the world. But there is something special about bicycles in The Netherlands. They are not a one-moment trend. Neither a stylish accessories about what's in and what's not. Bike is a need. It is cheap, healthy, and fast. People ride bikes anytime, to any destination. Even you can find some men in neat suit going to workplace daily on bike. Students, the older ones, professors, professionals, anyone. People can choose an expensive multi-geared bike with fancy model or they can basically opt for an old--but fast one.

It is common for little children to start with 3-wheels bike, then usually children in school age will learn to ride bikes with foot-brake, the ones without hand-brake and you need to turn the pedal backwards to brake. I have tried them once, and it was not easy, as I did not usually ride bike in Indonesia, where I came from. There are also special bikes designed for people with disability. Usually they are three-wheeled, with different models and size depends on their disabled limbs. Some children with special needs also use custom made bikes to stimulate their movement, strength, and coordination. Another extra benefits of bikes. 

The Art of Letting Go

03.00 am, almost dawn. It was my first time facing death. Many stories about doctors who resuscitate their near-dead patients and managed to bring them back to life. But I didn't. It was my first time performing resuscitation on real patient but I didn't succeed.

Previously, a senior of mine calmly informed the family about the patient's worsening condition. That we had given all our best, all the medication and medical procedures we had known to save the patient's life. And after she had gone, it was my senior who calmly explain about the possible cause of death, about his deep condolences to the family, and that he will be there if any of the family need help on anything regarding the late patient. I was near speechless. Maybe it was my emotion, I was overwhelmed by disappointment and grief. It was more than a death to me.

Where Do We Find God?

on the big cross hung inside those churches?
...in every bead of your brand new shiny rosary?
among the words preachers say,
...or explicitly said by lines and lines in the bible?


Where do we find God?

Idealistically Realist

the north coast of Java island, taken during my last week trip to Central Java

"Do you know what's the secret of being a popular doctor?" my father asked, just recently.

"What is it?" I shrugged.

"Give your patient the most potent medicine. Once they know the drugs work well, they'll know that you're doing your job."

Munchies in Bali

After my short trip (3d2n) to Bali last January, here are some food indulge I tried:

1. Bubba Gump Shrimp & co. - Bali

Terletak di kompleks pertokoan Kuta Center. Setelah melewati Musro dan Discovery Mall di sebelah kiri jalan, lanjut jalan lagi kira-kira 5 menit berjalan kaki. Pertama masuk yang terlihat memenuhi meja hanya turis asing yang makan di situ, setelah masuk di dalam ruangan ternyata ada juga beberapa turis Indonesia.