Stuck in a moment (in my coat)

I bought a new winter jacket at the beginning of January. I decided that I'm tired of freezing my rear end off and I further rationalized that I hadn't purchased a new coat in many years, I'm outside a lot, etc etc.. so clearly it was time for a new (expensive) jacket. This jacket has (thankfully) proven to be quite warm, but has also caused me much frustration in the form of the bottom zipper getting stuck (there are two so that it can open varying amounts from the top or bottom). I learned quickly how to gently pry away the material that gets caught in the zipper so that I free myself from my coat.
Today, I went to zip up my jacket (it is still freezing outside despite the calendar arrival of spring), and the pulltab attached to the top zipper snapped right off. "No problem" I thought, as I pulled the actually zipper piece up to my neck. When I got home I discovered that I could not unzip the top zipper. I tried a variety of different manoeuvres, but escaping from the coat by removing my glasses and then pulling it over my head seemed to be the only way out. Fortunately, I was heading out again shortly thereafter to a destination down the street from where I had purchased my coat. I went back into the store and demanded that they figure out a solution so that I need not be trapped inside my coat. The saleslady said "no problem" and promptly produced a new zipper pulltab, attached it to my zipper and my problem was solved. I was tempted to ask for a spare but figured that I'll just try to be careful.. after all, winter can't last THAT much longer.

Anecdotes from the OR

I am pleased to report that my surgery rotation has been full of unusual moments amidst the intensive hand washing and sterile techniques...

---Mr X was brought down to the OR from one of the hospital wards for surgery. Prior to very recent illness he had been bilingual, but in the last few days he had lost his ability to understand English despite his comprehension of his mother tongue being intact. I don't know if his English returned once he recovered, but I can only imagine how odd the experience must have been for him if he was still self-aware.---

---When patients wake up from the general anesthetic at the end of an operation, everyone reacts in a slightly different way. Patients are usually instructed to take some deep breaths and later place their arms across their chest (when being transferred from operating table to the stretcher). Mr Z surprised us all as while he was too sedated to cooperate with the instructions, he was lucid enough to be aware of this and began apologizing profusely. Maybe one's true character is revealed in those moments... though I highly doubt it!---

--- Knee replacement surgery is often done under spinal anesthetic (i.e. not general anesthetic). The surgeon instructed me to stand in the narrow space between him and the patient's arm. Shortly into the surgery I became aware that the patient's hand was moving around and had managed to find itself resting against my rear. Somewhat uncomfortable, I wasn't sure what to say or do and I wasn't sure whether or not the patient had any awareness that his hand was on my rear! After some deliberation, I mentioned to the anesthetist that I was "concerned" that I was bumping into the patient's arm. The arm was moved slightly and I was freed from further gratuitious groppage. ---

--- Some of the surgeons play music during their procedures, but it is always a sensitive issue if the patient is not completely unconscious. Yesterday, during a knee replacement, the surgeone opted for some internet radio. The patient had been talkative at the beginning of the procedure but was know soundly sleeping. The next thing we knew, alongside the background cacphony of the drill, the bone saw and assorted banging, we realized the patient was singing along with the kd lang song playing on the radio! She complimented the choice of stations and shortly thereafter fell back asleep. Nothing quite like free entertainment during a surgery! ---

Dirty Girl

On a post-call day recently, I decided that I needed to run some errands despite the rainy weather. I biked around to a few different places, checking off the tasks on my to-do list. At my last destination, I noticed that I had mud splashed on my coat and I commented on it to 2 different adults who were assisting me. When I got home some time later I happened to glance in the mirror and was surprised to discover that I had mud splashed on my neck and face. I am positively bewildered as to why no one felt a need to mention to me that I had mud on my face, ESPECIALLY since I had drawn attention to the mud on my jacket (and clearly had no clue that there was mud anywhere else!). I think it is simply common courtesy to alert people to such matters. That being said, I do find the whole thing rather humorous.

Eat Dirt

While on my general surgery rotation, I have seen several cholecystectomies (surgery to remove the gallbladder). Acknowledging that I wasn't all too sure what a gallbladder was before medschool, I am not surprised when patients who come in with abdominal pain are themselves surprised that it is due to an organ who's very existence was unknown to them. One such man came into the emergency department recently, and it was determined that he needed his gallbladder removed. The next morning the patient asked what had caused his pain that had resulted in a need for surgery. "Stones," one resident said. "You mean like dirt?" the patient replied incredulously. "Yes", said the resident. In the hallway, another student and I quickly discussed the absurdity of someone being told that they had dirt in an organ they had never heard of before, but "don't worry, it's been removed". My classmate later went back to clarify to the patient that gallstones are in fact NOT made of dirt but rather of cholesterol and bile. I'm going to attribute the resident's inaccurate response to a misunderstanding of the patient, but can only imagine the patient having been left to wonder just how exactly he had gotten all of that dirt inside of him.