Sunday morning shift in the resus area, and already there've been quite a number of admissions, both to medical and surgical. All old fogies, with multiple comorbidities, and a variety of problems requiring further evaluation.

We've also got an old lady who speaks Cantonese, with the predominating complaint of "mushrooms in her butt" ( loosely translated :) ). Right now, she's just saying "dong gu" over and over again, which we find quite amusing. Only thing is, she also says her daughter has been ill-treating her, but it's anyone guess how accurate that account is, since she seems to be severely confused.

Speaking of mistreated patients, my night shift on Friday yielded 2 men who suddenly broke down and sobbed in front of me. One had been punched by his wife's friend after an argument, but told me he had a recent operation for a fractured leg, and has been getting bullied by his wife ever since. The other lives by himself despite having siblings, and was suffering from diabetes and peripheral neuropathy, which inevitably led to a pressure ulcer on the foot. So while he was in the toilet, he slipped and fell, hit the ulcerated area and bled profusely. By the time he arrived here, the bleeding had stopped, but a few hours of observation and analgesia later, he still wanted admission, for the main reason of not being able to care for himself. I tried persuading him otherwise, but he too started crying, so in view of his poor social support, my consultant advised admission. ( He was transferred to another hospital, where he was originally warded a week ago, so I managed to spare the upstairs people here an additional admission. :))

Things have slowed down a bit after lunch. ( Thank goodness! ) Just trying to figure out how I can study during my shifts, since it's been confirmed that the Part 2 will proceed locally end-September -- good news for me, but also additional stress because that leaves me with 3 months to prepare. Fortunately, the department I'm posted to is very enthusiastic about helping me, so that's been a welcome source of support ( and motivation to work hard ). I've been told a few times that they have a running tradition, where A&E trainees passing through during the Part 2 period have had 100% pass rates in the past. Errr, I shall try my best not to break that tradition, but please don't hate me if I do. :P

Here's my chance to thank Robin from Raleigh, North Carolina, once again for mailing me Clay Aiken's CD. She even wrote me some birthday greetings! It's an extremely nice gesture, and I appreciate it a lot. The songs sound great in my car, and although there're only 2 pieces -- Bridge Over Troubled Water and This Is The Night -- I've been playing them over and over and they still sound good. :)

Anyone getting just a little annoyed by a recent court case receiving way too much media coverage recently? Yes, I'm talking about the Slim 10 debacle, now being fought out in the legal arena between the victim and the distributors. Andrea de Cruz has been giving her testimonies for the past few days, crying and saying how her life was destroyed, etc. She also "collapsed" earlier this week during cross-examination by the defense lawyers ( a case of impeccable timing? ), and had her tortured face plastered on the front page of The Straits Times.

First of all, I don't know why that episode warranted a picture on Page 1 ( well, actually, if you're talking about The Straits Times, maybe I do :) ). But am I the only person trying to understand how Andrea, who appears at public events regularly and is also seen on television being perky and in the pink of health, can suddenly "turn bad" in court? I couldn't help drawing parallels with the character Winona Ryder played in "Autumn In New York" -- she was supposedly stricken with neuroblastoma that had infiltrated her heart, but was still able to sport rosy cheeks, and engage in marathon sex with Richard Gere ( I mean, he's probably good, but not that good! ). Thought that little bit of total crap existed only the movies, but here it is in real life. If anyone from Hollywood is watching, you've got your potential Best Actress Oscar contender right here in Singapore.

Just admitted another slew of patients. I don't think I've been able to discharge any today, so I apologize to those on call. SARS central may have opened its ER doors, but they're only taking walk-in cases at the moment, and the ambulances have been showing up at our doorstep non-stop. Hope the situation changes soon, so we can have a rest.