Wager

Better get your bets in soon – the good spots are going quickly.

No, this isn’t some kind of Final Four office pool, or even a ‘When Will The Baby Be Born’ pool. (Even though there *are* a few of those on the renal ward right now. Something like four of the nurses are pregnant! I have decided to drink filtered water, and to not sit on the seat in the ‘loo. Yes, I know the odds of me getting pregnant are rather slim, but better safe than sorry. But I digress.) Nope, this particular betting pool hits a little closer to home:

When will Bryan knock off another patient.

OK, I know it sounds mean. It was originally for when I would send another patient to ICU – which was yesterday, but as not everyone had sign up, they changed it so everyone could join in the fun. We had four patients pass away last week; three were expected and one took us quite by surprise. The common thread in all of this – aside from being patients on the renal ward – was that I had drawn blood from all of them.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

But one patient in particular shows that, while I may be 8 months away from graduating, I am a looooong way from being a doctor. It was Monday, and it was busier than usual. About mid-morning the doctors asked me to see her; as there is not much to do, they new I could handle it I wander in and stand at the side of the bed. She was sleeping quietly; not wanting to wake her, I called her name softly. She didn’t move and was not in obvious pain, so I figured she was comfortable. She looked really peaceful, so I thought it best not to bother her. I left to get to number ‘4’ of my list of 73 things that needed to be done.

Now, don’t get ahead of me.

A few minutes later, as I was getting ready to draw blood from another patient, the head nurse found me and pulled me aside. She asked if I had seen the patient and how I was doing. I told her that I was fine, thanks, no hangover from the weekend or anything. And the patient was sleeping. She cocked her head at me and asked when I saw her. My flippant reply was something along the lines of 5 minutes ago and she looked very peaceful. To which the nurse replied that of course she would look peaceful:

She had passed away 30 minutes earlier.

And with that, it’s the weekend. With only two weeks left in Adelaide, I have lots to do: packing, shipping, selling, organizing, and meeting up with friends to say goodbye. Not to mention getting my bets on the board…

As always, Love to All and keep working on your 101 List!
Bryan