Sigh

Reason #1: President Bush has won a second term. No comment.

Reason #2: My first ENT call is turning into quite the fiasco, because (1) I'm in my 4th day of the rotation, (2) I have NEVER removed a fish bone from anyone's throat on my own before ( and therefore need pratice in order to become successful in the future ), (3) I had, as a nice "induction experience", for my very first A&E FB throat referral, a lady who had a 2.5cm metal wire lodged at the base of her tongue, thanks to a meal at a reputable 5-star hotel. She had minimal gag reflexes, but unfortunately enlarged lingual tonsils, which partially obscured the view, hence requiring the summoning of my registrar, who later used a bronchoscope and stylet to fish it out.

Wait, there're more.

(4) 5 "??FB throats" followed in quick succession thereafter, but these had normal Xrays and negative scopes. Still, the whole group kept me occupied for a good amount of time.

Now, the whammy.

(5)At around 10pm, a man in his 60s was referred to me for -- you guessed it -- ?swallowed fishbone. Lateral neck Xray was positive for an FB base of tongue, confirmed on flexiscope. Problem is, he's got a major gag reflex, precipitated even by nasoendoscopy ( which seldom causes such problems ). So I couldn't attempt removing the bone -- because I couldn't even keep him relaxed enough to stick anything down the back of his throat to grab the **** thing. 45 minutes of coaxing and manoeuvring passed, and I contemplated calling my poor registrar yet again.
Luckily, a visiting consultant rang at that very moment to tell me he was coming down to the A&E to personally attend to a friend with an ENT problem. We spent about 30-45 minutes settling everything, then I asked if he would help with this particularly difficult patient.
The VC, who is unbelievably obliging, immediately agreed. But alas, the Insurmountable Gag held strong, and he too failed, recommending removal under GA.
So right now, at 1:30am, during my very first ENT call, I'm waiting for my registrar to come over ( again ) to give it ONE LAST SHOT, before conceding defeat and resorting to wheeling the guy into OT. I can't believe a 1cm piece of fish bone can be such a pain in the ***. And the patient just told me he's never going to eat fish EVER again for the rest of his life. You and me both, pal. :/

Reason #3: Grand ward round 7:30am. Aargh.

Reason #4: Urgh's persistent whining. Hello, stop reading if you can't handle your emotions lah.

However, there's a silver lining to this dark cloud. I go post-call tomorrow at lunchtime, then it's 2 full days off, HAH! :) Will be spending it... doing a powerpoint presentation for the A&E basic trainee tutorial next Friday. But I don't have to show up at work the whole weekend, which is GREAT. :D

Another silver lining: the A&E's ENT room has Internet access. Broadband some more. :D

And last but not least, I've got tickets to Sting's January concert at the Indoor Stadium. Woohoo!

Can't think straight anymore. Wish me luck for the rest of tonight. Or should I say, this morning.