Chinatown clinic

So yesterday was an interesting day at clinic. The usual suspects were mostly not present because of exams and other things going on. So it was just me and another girl who were the "veterans." It was pretty hectic with a lot of people coming in for flu shots and a ton of 3rd years, very few mandarin speakers and a lot of indonesian speakers. That's usually a good thing, but there was a majority of mandarin speakers yesterday coming in for the flu shot so we were short interpreters. I took charge of the front desk and helped coordinate where everybody should be going and what they should be doing. So I was running around half the night, juggling a dozen different things and I loved it. I may be exaggerating slightly. It was exciting and the night passed quickly. I had such a good time I sort of wish every night was like that. I guess I got a taste of a little power and am loving it. But that's the nice thing with Chinatown Clinic, it's the ONLY Drexel clinic that's entirely student run. Students get the supplies, students run the clinic every Wednesday, students see patients, students draw blood, students do EVERYTHING.

There's a change in leadership at the clinic each time a 2nd year passes on to 3rd year and they're not able to maintain a regular commitment to the clinic. At that time, responsibility falls to the incoming 1st years and new 2nd years. All I know is there's a lot to learn about the clinic and we're not exactly in an open sharing environment, meaning we have to ask for the info, otherwise they're not given.

I'm pretty excited about taking on more responsibility at the clinic. Clinic's probably pretty high up on the list of things that are fun about med school, next to friends, fun and food. The 3 F's of med school.

Sold my car and my motorcycle

I've sold my S2000 and my motorcycle. The car went to my friend and the bike went to a friend of a friend. I will miss them, my car most of all, it was my first car and the best mistake I've ever made.

It's a very sad day for me, although my friend said I can buy the car from him later on, but hey I gotta look on the bright side...now I can eat! Just kidding...sort of

Preventing smelly hands post-gross anatomy lab

two words: double glove!

What else can I say, it works! Makes the gross anatomy lab experience much more pleasant.

my brother

I really have to thank my brother for finding the boarding house and also for insisting that I not come home. I don't think I thank him enough. I owe him a lot, for taking care of dad while I went off to school and for the recent stuff. I just wanted to remind myself of this in the future, with this post. I gotta always remember that he's there too. And of course thanks to my aunt and uncle for their continuing support. I love my family, as broken up as it is.

dad's moved in

So yesterday morning at around 5AM, my dad decided to go for a walk and he got on the freeway. The cops said he was almost hit by cars and they drove him home. My brother moved him out yesterday to the boarding house. I just talked to him today and he seems to like it. At least that's what he says. It's probably the food, food always wins a Siem over.

Actually, I called him earlier and he was being bathed by the staff there. It's a small house, there's room for 5 residents downstairs and the staff sleeps upstairs. There's 3 Philipino ladies staffing it. The other residents are Philipino women too in varying stages of dementia.

Now I gotta find a place for myself. I'm out of my current place at the end of the month and I haven't been able to find a new place to live. I'm moving closer to campus for cheaper rent and closerness.

more dad issues

My brother and my dad have been having problems. One major theme is time and the difficulty of taking care of someone with dementia. Getting him to eat/finish his meals, showering, changing, etc. I think he's getting worse at his activities of daily living. He's down to 129lbs from 150 when I left him last year. That's a lot of weight to drop in 1 year. I'm worried about malnutrition. His diabetes is under control at last checkup. But no one checks his blood sugar regularly so I don't know how he is until his next checkup in december.

I was struggling over what I should do. At first I was going to go back and take over caring for him, but I couldn't defer my acceptance to Drexel and I couldn't get a refund on my tuition. The other option I am considering is for him to move into a boarding house. It's more expensive and he'll still need to go to day care a few days a week. But it's better than the other option of him moving here with me. It's more dangerous here. He will get lost and wander to a neighborhood that's not so nice. He'll lose his keys and won't know what to do. Day care is also more expensive here and once our money runs out, I don't think he can get medical from CA to help him here and I haven't looked into how PA Medicaid will work if he's not a resident.

The boarding house is nice, it's run by Phillipinos and they seem to make good food so at least he'll be fed well and they'll make sure he eats. They'll also accompany him if he decides to go out for a walk or if he wants to go to the mall or something. The rooms are simple rooms, they look a bit depressing. But the house seems nice in general. I had my friends go and take a look at it last weekend.

The problem is now to convince my dad to move. He fell down the stairs the other day and he had bruises and lacerations on his face from it. It's not healthy where he's at and my brother doesn't have the time to care for him anymore. The last resort is to move him out here. Maybe I'll defer med school after 1st year and come back later when I'm able to. It's hard right now.