Well, tonight, thank G*d it's them, instead of you...

Does anyone else think that "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is the most uncharitable "charity" song around? It's downright laughable! So much so that I can't help but wonder if there isn't meant to be some sort of sardonic undercurrent beneath the song's earnestness. I mean, there's the most awful line, the line mentioned above, then, later on, we raise a glass to everyone, including "them, underneath that burning sun." ACK! Mix in some "clanging chimes of doom" and "bitter sting of tears" and, well, I admit it, I laugh my *ss off every time I hear this song. Probably not what "Band Aid" was going for, but I digress...

The true meaning for my title really pertains to how I feel when one of my partners is on call and it isn't me. I thank G*d it is them instead of me; because we have been insanely busy. Last call I delivered 8 babies in a 24 hour shift and admitted 9, 10, and 11 in labor. All of the rooms were full and our overflow was spilling into other rooms in the hospital. I have no idea what was going on nine months ago, people, but holy geez, the babies can stop coming any old time! We are T-minus 10 days from Christmas, and I didn't have enough to do, so I thought I'd sit down and let you know that I am still alive...and mostly well...and still wishing to win the lottery so I can become independently wealthy and play internet games and get buff and be the envy of the botox set (without using botox) and never, ever be on call again. I don't think Santa can deliver that kind of present, unfortunately.

This is going to be a magical Christmas for the Whoo family. Bean is 4 and CindyLou is 7 and both are steeped in the wonder and magic of the season. Their joy and wonder is palpable. I love it. It brings a tear to my eye. We only have so many magical Christmases with them, and I happen to be on call on Christmas-flipping-Eve this year. So my Christmas wish is that none of my patients get a special Christmas delivery in the wee hours of Christmas Day morning, so I don't have to miss out on the magic this year...hopefully Santa can manage that. Merry Christmas to all 2 of you still reading out there, may your holidays be Merry, Bright, and Doom Free! :)

Holiday Haze

It's almost Christmas, a season that can turn the most placid of households upside down; so it follows that the chaos that exists on a daily basis in our house is multiplied three-fold during this time of the year. Shopping, cards, wrapping (or not wrapping as is our case), prepping the house, and controlling the building Christmas fervor from young CindyLou and keeping the Bean from upending the tree makes day to day life that much more, um, full. Ha.

Labor and Delivery is not immune to Christmas Chaos, either. Every induction slot is filled with patients hoping to check "have a baby" off of their pre-Christmas to-do list, much like the shopping for and wrapping of gifts. To be honest, I'm not really certain how I feel about that. Let's face it, no one, doctor or patient, wants to be in the hospital on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Doctors hope to spend those rare days away from the office with the people that they love, not in the nurse's station on L&D. Pregnant women with children want to be certain to secure the holiday for their children that have already been born. There are enormous familial pressures for these women to have their babies "home for Christmas." It makes for a lot of soft, elective induction calls, and sometimes, when a patient truly needs to have a baby for medical reasons, it throws everyone's nice, neat plans into a tailspin. I've seen a few of these holiday plans get ruined by a true medical emergency, and while it is unfortunate, sometimes I wonder if it doesn't serve us right for trying to control as much about labor as we do.

Personally, I have 2 patients due right around Christmas Day, one of whom has a potentially macrosomic baby, and, since they are both healthy and doing well in all other aspects of their pregnancies, we are not scheduling them for induction this week. I hope they will go into labor without medical assistance. It makes it difficult to make definitive holiday plans, given the unpredictability of my profession. OtherDoc and I try to split up Christmas Eve/Day, and New Year's Eve/Day, in order to get some of that time off with our families. I approached him about doing that this week, and he has not decided which days he wants to take call. I already worked the long Thanksgiving holiday, and I hope he takes that into consideration. I am almost giddy that I won't have to deal with this BS next year, and if I do work Christmas, I certainly won't be working Thanksgiving or New Year's. I. Can't. Wait.

So, I will end this rambling, no point post here. What ever your holiday plans may be, I wish you and yours a peaceful season. I enjoy sharing glimpses of life with you, and hope that you will continue to read here in 2009. Merry Christmas from all the Whoos down in Whoo-ville! :)

Done, done, on to the next one...

Oh, my poor little neglected blog, how I have missed you. I am finally done with the oral boards...at least for this year. All I can think about is of what I should have said that I didn't (and what I did say that I shouldn't!) The exam was over quickly, mercifully, but the more I think, the more morose I become. No matter now, if I fail or if I pass, I shall not speak of it again on the blog. Suffice it to say that I am done and trying to get over it, and now must focus my attention to the holiday that is a mere 14 days (FOURTEEN DAYS!!!) away. I have cards, cookies, and call on tap for the weekend, along with a Christmas and a birthday party. Oh, and online shopping, the working woman's savior.

Our house is properly Christmas-ed, thanks to Mr. Whoo. We have made the the obligatory mall Santa visit, complete with non-screaming children in the picture, a coup! CindyLou is *beside* herself with excitement. It is so wonderful. To see her joy and wonder about Santa and the season does my poor, 3-sizes-too-small, grinchy heart so much good. Bean is fascinated by the tree and the lights, and while he doesn't quite "get" it all, he is loving the experience. Of course, my favorite moment of the season thus far comes from Mr. Whoo, explaining our nativity to CindyLou.

Mr. Whoo: "...and this is Mary."
CindyLou: "Oh! Like 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'?"
Mr. Whoo: "No, more like Mary had a little Jesus."

It was priceless...maybe you had to be there. Anyway, I'm back, and, if the pregnant ladies cooperate (ha), I will try to get back to more reliable posting. Promises, promises. :)