Happy Birthday Elizabeth!!

Last night I flew on this little plane to Springfield around to procure a liver and kidney for one of my patients. The patient is someone whom I have been following over the past few years in clinic. Over the past several months he has appointments once a week and has been eagerly awaiting a liver transplantation. He was actually in my office yesterday when I got the phone call that he was the recipient of this donation. It was surreal to hand the phone to him for our transplant coordinator to tell him the news. There is always the fear that upon arrival the donor liver will not be an acceptable organ. Sometimes there is too much fat in the liver or other medical problems making the donor liver inadequate. Of course the patient and his mother understood this but one of the hardest things is seeing someone get anxious and excited for a organ transplant, being admitted to the hospital and then being told 4 hours later that they can go home.

So this procurement had an extra level of anxiety for me. I couldnt help thinking, "please let this be a good organ" over and over. We flew to Springfield via a private plan from a back entrance at Midway around 7pm. A transportation service brings us to the hospital. There was a cardiothoracic team also present from Pittsburg who were planning on procuring the donor lungs. Unfortunatley, they had to reject the lungs for a few reasons. The procurement was intense for many reasons but I was releaved when we boarded the plane again to come home with a cooler (seen above) filled around 11:30pm. That was until we got close to midway and entered a giant thunderstorm. It's a different experience in our small plane.

We went back to the hospital where my patient had already been taken to the operating room. I stayed to observe the liver transplantation, but left around 5am to go to my clinic before the kidney transplant was complete. The operation wrapped up around 10 am.

Now the difficult part begins. I am anxious to see how he recovers from this major surgery. It is a slow and teniuos process, but a potentially life saving one. As you can tell the last month has been intense and difficult, but I am really enjoying my final fellowship and feel like I am excited every day and learning so much.

So- happy first bday to my little niece. I will be spending the weekend celebrating with her and will blog about that next week!

Lake Michigan

Wed night I went on a sailboat with some of the cardiologists I work with. It was a wonderful night with great views of the city. Just choppy and one girl actually threw up over the side!!

But it was so beautiful. I hope I always live near the lake!

Then this weekend I drove to Door County. We stayed on Sturgeon Bay in Egg Harbor. Equally stunning.

One parting thought....reapply your sunscreen.

Door County 70.3

I signed up for the Door County Half Ironman about 10 months ago, but then quickly lost interest. It seems like training for a triathlon was the least of my priorities this year. About six weeks ago, I realized I had not swam or been on the bike since last summer, so I dusted off the bike. I was able to fit in 5 solid long rides (the longest being 35 miles) and 3 swims.

Needless to say, I was under prepared for the race. I debated getting a "doctor's note" so I could postpone my $200 entry to next year, but I'd already made plans to rent a house on Lake Michigan with some friends and was really looking forward to the grilling and bonfire we'd have after the race. So I figured, what the hell. I'll give it a shot.

Then the weather report came in. Heat advisory. 100-110 degrees with the heat index (85-90 without). Am I crazy? A little bit. But it was really fun. I finished 20 minutes faster than Vineman 70.3 last year. At Vineman I cried because I was so disappointed in myself and my time. Yesterday I was all smiles. I was just happy I could cross the finish line!

The course is beautiful along Sturgeon Bay and with better training I think I could really rock it next year :)

Here is a dramatic video from the race site:

June at a glance

I've been the worst about blogging lately. Tonight I uploaded some photos from my phone, so here is a tour of my favorite moments over the past month.

New Music Monday's at Millenium

Fancy party at Peninsula Hotel w/ Jamie

Residency graduation at Italian Sports Hall of Fame (Karin graduated, I was nominated for an award....but didnt win)

My Fellowship Graduation (with graduating fellows at the tasting room)

I went to Josie's baptism and also on her first boat ride w Amanda and Aaron.

Whitney Cummings at the VIC for Chicago Laughs week.

I'm always nominated but never win- see above. THIS MONTH I did win twice!!!
One below from UIC Medical School (yes, I'm aware I am not an MD) and another one for a liver research competition where I beat out all the smarties at Northwestern, U of C, Rush and Loyola. Yeah, I'm bragging, but I never win!!