week 8 recap

I have gotten behind in a lot of things, this blog is one of them. So this is what we did the week of Oct 18-24th.

We all celebrated our friend Miles' birthday on Sunday with a CRAZY animal party! Tilly was a lady bug, I was a frog, and Richard was our crazy vet! The rest of the week Tilly and I went about our normal schedule, some nice walks, story time at the library, and gorgeous views from our tram rides. We did get out and pick up a few things for her party. We have also started a new sleep routine that is throwing everything else off (in a good way). On Sat. Tilly and I went to an ORFN halloween party that was so much fun, we came home so tired!

Richard had his 3rd exam on Monday, he got honors again. Tuesday was a slow day for him, for some reason he missed his am class, went to lab, then had to come home and miss his preceptorship.... hmmm wonder why!!! Wednesday he jumped back into everything and had PCM, Thursday was regular with the sleep apnea support group added on and Friday he left for a PNHP conference in Boston, MA after class. There he met many doctors and medical students who support a single payer healthcare system (like a Medicare for everyone) and was able to convince a doctor in Utah to sponsor the uninsured video project he is working on with his classmates. He got back late Sunday night to an awake excited little T, who yelled DADA as soon as she saw him!

week 7 recap

With the end of PFW last Sunday Tilly and I have been trying to get back in to our routine, trying to clean the house, trying to get back on our sleep schedule. All are work in progress as of now but we did go to story time today, something we are going to do on a weekly basis. She loves it! She was with 2 younger boys today and showed off her skills of climbing up some stairs and throwing the toys out of the bin, while they did their tummy time. It was a lot of fun, and gets us out of the house while Richard is studying or off on one of his many adventures.

On Monday Richard had a Student Council/Patient Memorial meeting (talking about how they will honor the people who donated their bodies for their anatomy lab). As the president of his class, he was invited to meet with US Representative Blumenauer, along with a few other executives of OHSU. Richard asked him if he would vote for a single-payer amendment if it came up in Congress, and he said he would! Richard spread this news to his fellow Physicians for a National Health Plan members, who were very excited. Afterwards, Richard went to meet with Dr Al Lewy about the study they did of Tilly's circadian rhythms when she was 6-9 weeks old. Richard had dug up some data and created an animated .gif of her rhythms as they changed during that time. Dr Lewy was excited about the new visualization, and said he was going to present it to some of his biorhythm colleagues at a conference next week. Later that night, he was trained on a diagnostic neuropsychological exam for ADHD, as part of his MRI research study.

Thursday was an exhilarating day, as Richard and one of his classmates joined a sit-in at the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building downtown. They had planned to sit in the offices until BCBS agreed to cover all the people they had denied coverage for due to a pre-existing condition. They were willing to risk arrest for the cause, but there were some complications as a few employees tried to muscle their way through the protest and claimed they were hurt and would push charges of assault. Once it became too risky, Richard and his friend backed down, but were overwhelmed with emotion watching their fellow protesters (11 of them) be carried off to jail. That night Richard and I went to our first doctors visit at the Family Medicine department.

Friday was a busy day for Richard as he went down to Salem with four classmates for the Archimedes Movement conference, put on by former Governor John Kitzhaber. Kitzhaber understands the intricacies of the healthcare system like only 20 or so people do in this country. He is one of the visionaries, and well-formulated plans for getting healthcare coverage for all Oregonians in the next 5 years.

Next Monday will be exam 3, so Richard is studying hard as usual.

week 6 recap

I am a little late writing about week 6; it's been a busy week for me. Tilly and I got back from the east coast on Monday and I jumped right in to fashion week. Tilly stayed with Richard every night, with the exception of wed. the 7th when she stayed with Maura so Richard's band could play at fashion week. Every other day was filled with running around getting things ready, trying to remember to have food ready for everyone and not falling asleep.

Luckily Richard has had a slow week, probably the last slow week for a long while. He has been studying the gluteus maximus and the legs. The day I got in to town (Monday) he was in his 2nd exam which he again made honors on. Our friend Chris was in town and Tuesday we hung out with him at the OHSU farmers market. Richard went to his preceptorship right after and got to make house calls with the doctor. He had to leave a few things early during the week so that he could come home and play with Tilly. The week went by fast, and I am happy we are settling in to our regular routine. I am also pretty happy the weather is changing and it is time to start cooking all the warm yummy fall food!!

week 5 recap

I am still on vacation which I believe has proven to be beneficial to Richard for studying reasons. Tilly and I have had TONS of fun out east with my family. We went to the beach, to the navy/air force game, and lots of other things. We get back on Monday and although I will miss the family, I can not wait to get back to Portland, my community, my doggy, everything!!

Richard has been very busy, last friday he had his first meeting at PNHP - a club that he started for single payer health plan. Saturday he went camping in crater lake and came home Sunday in time for AFP. Monday he helped Raj move in next door to us!! Tuesday his preceptor was sick so he spent the afternoon studying, and he found out he is class president, so I guess that makes me a first lady heyoo! Wednesday he submitted the grant proprosal for the h1n1 vaccine educational material to be distributed thoughout multnohma county. All other time has been spent studying for the 2nd exam this Monday.

week 4 recap

I am not even sure what happened this week, its all a blur. Tilly and I left Tuesday morning for our east coast trip. We haven't been able to talk to Richard much with the time difference and study schedules but I do send him a good morning smile from Tilly every day =)

That being said, I am not sure what Richard has been up to at school. He has attended a family practice dinner, and another lecture after school. He has been studying a lot, and he is currently on his way to go camping with some college friends. I am hoping he can give us a month in review on Sunday or Monday when he comes back. I can not believe it has only been a month, and I definitely can not believe it has almost been 1 year since our sweet little girl was born!

Week 3 recap

We went out quite a bit this week--Monday night Richard went to the some celebratory parties with classmates after their first exam, while Tilly and I caught some beauty rest. Tuesday night we caught up with some friends we hadn't seen in a while and had dinner while the babies played. Wednesday we went to the circus with some friends who are moving to Australia. Thursday we all stayed home relaxing, and the same goes for today!

Richard made honors on his first exam, we are really excited and proud of him! They dove right in to the next assignment: heart and lungs. He came home and told me his cadaver (mildred) had had a coronary bypass surgery, I am not exactly sure what that means but she had some heart work done and he got to see where they had reworked stuff... and the stitches in her sternum (holding the bone together). He also held her heart in his double gloved hand (he don't know where that girl been). The doctor teaching came around and said mildred had the nicest lungs he had ever seen, this took my breath away. ;)

He has also been hard at work on the Health care reform and took part in conference calls with the white house and dc advocacy gurus in efforts to push a single payer plan.

Week 2 recap

This week has been packed with all sorts of things. We started off the week with a nice labor day. I went with Krisanna to her family's bbq while our husbands studied. We came back and prepared a nice meal to enjoy with David, Richard, Allen, and Brian who make up the AFP (Attorneys For the Poor) study group. They studied well into the night past the time Krisanna, Tilly and I went to sleep.

The rest of the week was similar. I don't think a day went by that I didn't spend some time with Krisanna while the boys studied. I can't express how great it is to have someone so close who is going through the same thing. She feels like family and it's so fun to be neighbors!

Richard has been busy! Tuesday he had his first of a weekly preceptorship at OHSU's CHH (Center for Health & Healing) where he shadows a doctor in family medicine. He enjoyed himself and got to work with Dr Daisuke Yamashita who is one of the residents in family medicine, who had also been volunteering with him at the SW clinic the previous week, and had gone to the AAFP National Conference of Residents and Students in Kansas City last month. On Wednesday he has PCM (principles of clinical medicine) and this week he also set up a booth at lunch to get other students involved with the student chapter of PNHP (Physician for a National Health Program) that he is starting--something he is very passionate about. Thursday he went to the work on the ADHD MRI study that he had been working on prior to school--now he gets to continue his research and get credit for it though school. Friday was the regular 8-12 school day as well as a few prossection and cadaver videos and a lot of studying, and a little Tilly time so I could run an errand.

He has his first exam this Monday, and an 8 hour study session set up in the library tomorrow with AFP. I am currently working out a healthy menu for the boys to keep their belly's full and minds focused.