Day Before Denmark

As many of you already know, I am leaving for Denmark tomorrow morning to study abroad at the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS). How did I spend my last day in the States? LIKE A BOSS.

A few weeks ago, my Dad told me about a doctor that had recently joined his Christian book club. Unable to tell me the doctor's specific specialty, my Dad said "He does something with neurology like you. He said he's like a plumber for the body." I was like "Uhh...Ok, Dad. Hey, you should ask him if I should shadow him." I was totally joking, but my Dad, being the earnest loving father he is, took it upon himself to make it happen. Now three weeks later, I found myself sitting in Dr. Lin's office, examining CT and PET scans with him. He gives me brief explanations about the grey and white blobs I am seeing on the screen, oftentimes picking up his recorder and making some oral reports about the images. It's one thing to learn about these imaging techniques in class and another to actually witness the interpretation of seemingly haphazard blobs. "This is a minor herniation in the lumbar region. This is scar tissue from a previous ablation of a focal tumor...." All the while, I hummed in agreement with his diagnosis and asked thoughtful, insightful questions.

A little bit of explanation. When I walked into his office and saw Dr. Lin reading CT scans of what appeared to be an abdomen, there was a little niggling at the back of my mind: "Hmm...that is not a brain." I had made a rookie mistake, not googling the doctor beforehand. Luckily, he had to take a 5 minute phone call from the OR during which I hastily googled his name and the procedure he was talking to the nurse about over the phone. Neurologist my ass. This man was a radiologist! An interventional radiologist, and a very good one at that! Before today, I thought that radiologists were boring people who sat all day in front of the computer poring over images. After my Google search, I had pretty much resigned myself to spending the morning learning how to analyze medical images. About an hour in, Dr. Lin gets up, puts on his jacket, and says "Let's go." I barely managed to keep in a very intelligent "Whuh?" I find myself following him outside the Imaging Center, across the street, and into the main hospital. I am ushered into the X-Ray Room, marked with a very official "Medical Personnel Only Beyond This Point" sign. At one point, a technician nods in my direction and asks, "And this is...?" Dr. Lin played it cool, "A student from Hopkins." I may have said "Nice to meet you." and shamelessly let him think I was a med student. In another blink of an eye, I find myself clad in a lead vest and witnessing the insertion of a PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter, thank you Google) line. At one point, I remember thinking "Oh my God, that's blood." Despite the fangirl squeeing I was doing in my head at being able to stand in on this procedure, I think I managed to keep it calm and professional. Big pat on the back for not exclaiming "THIS IS SO TOTALLY AWESOME" when the X-ray turned on and I could see the catheter making it's way through the veins into the patient's chest cavity.

As it turns out, the patient's veins were obstructed so the catheter could not pass through and the procedure could not be completed. An OR would not open up for an hour or so. As Dr. Lin and I walked back to his office, he explained that interventional radiologists combine both radiology and surgery. Directed by the images, they can then plan and perform minimally invasive procedures (such as the insertion of the PICC) for treatment. We ran into my parents in the hallway. They had just come back from visiting a family friend's elderly mother in the ICU. Rather than have them wait for me, I told Dr. Lin that perhaps we should cut today's visit short and continue at a later date. He was such a nice guy, he seemed genuinely disappointed that we weren't able to discuss my pre-med plans and my experiences at the Mennonite Christian Hospital several summers ago. He apologized that the day was so chaotic, told me to keep in touch while I was in Copenhagen, and assured me that we would definitely be seeing each other this summer.

As my parents and I walked away, my Mom whispered "How was it?" I muttered back, "I'll tell you when we get outside." Not a moment after the automatic doors closed behind us, all the geek excitement I'd been holding in burst forth in a thirty minute tirade of "AND THEN I GOT TO WEAR A VEST. AND THEN THERE WAS BLOOD. AND THEN..." My parents got the message. I was thrilled. My Dad wants me to become BFFs with Dr. Lin and hopes that he will become a mentor for me as I continue on the medical track. I can sincerely say I hope so too.

Anyways, I have to wake up tomorrow at 5 AM to catch my flight out of SFO. I've made a blog specifically for my study abroad experience: fortheloveofdanish.blogspot.com

All the excitement!!