I am so sorry dear blog followers!  I know that I have been a total slacker and have not written any updates in quite some time.  Well never fear – you are about to become inundated with blog posts!  But let’s start with what I have been up to.  It hasn’t been all wilderness medicine fun and games.  It was mainly a lot of working shifts in the Emergency Department and editing papers that had already been submitted (the decidedly less fun and grown-up part of the fellowship….).  I did just get back from an incredible backcountry experience but I am keep you in suspense until an upcoming dedicated post about the adventure.  

And now for something completely different.  I worked a shift at the New York State Fair at the end of August. That was quite the experience.  There is a ridiculously nice infirmary on the fair grounds and I spent an interesting 12 hours there.  The morning started off slow with a trickle of fair workers (is Carnie politically correct?!?) who were getting basic primary care medical needs met.  Then the day was off and running with a rash of folks feeling light-headed.  I guess fried dough and wine slushies are bound to eventually get the best of any of us.  I was able to take a little time to roam the fairgrounds, hence the cow selfie that you see below.  But the highlights of the day had to be the rollercoaster crash and the stabbings.  Unfortunately I can’t comment any further on either of these (as I had to tell the news reporter as well), but let’s just say that working the fair definitely met all of my expectations.

   
   
In other news, I was able to get another article published!  It was a quick blurb to the editor of the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine Journal regarding treatment of a runner at the Bhutan race.  One of the proven treatments for altitude sickness is a medicine that is a diuretic (it affects your kidneys and how your body maintains its water homeostasis).  It is tricky to balance the benefits of helping someone who feels sick at altitude with the risks of possibly pushing them to become dehydrated.  It’s a topic that could definitely use further and more detailed review in the future which I will have to tackle some day in the future when I can actually go more than 2 days without an airline flight.  But I was just super excited to get another publication.  I’ve still got 2 more articles in the review stage at other journals so continue to cross your fingers please!

One more update: Nick and I are training for a marathon.  This will be my second and his first full marathon.  It is in November in Las Vegas (of all places).  I hope to eventually complete an ultra so hopefully this commences longer distance training for me.  Here is our training schedule, it is geared towards the beginner runner:

  
So that about sums up my last 2 months.  I had also been working in the ER like crazy, trying to build up my hours given all of the travel that I do.  I know that this post was pretty brief and disjointed but stay tuned…. As I have said before, things are about to get exciting again.

Mom, Amy & Plane selfie:

  
I’ve got to give her a shout out – she is by far my most dedicated reader 🙂 And also recently discovered the awesomeness of the selfie