And it all starts again....
So yesterday, I went to bed an intern, and woke up a second year!!
I don't really feel any different. Last night, several of us got together for a celebratory dinner and prayer time - we ate shrimp and grits and ice cream cake and laughed and shared about our year. God really has blessed us with amazing friends and co-workers. I'm very excited about what this next year has to offer.
I've enjoyed my first day as an upper level - this morning I went to genetics clinic, which was fun. I've always had an interest in genetics - I remember writing a paper back in the seventh grade (during a detention, I'm afraid to admit) on some different recessive genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and sickle cell anemia. I was amazed how the little lower case letters separated themselves out only to combine in just the right way to get these diseases. One little protein error and the whole system falls apart. (Yes, I really did choose to write a paper during detention on genetic diseases. See - I've been this way for a long time.)
Fast forward 10 years to medical school where I learned about even more interesting problems that can arise. Now it's not just about where the lower case letters go, but what happens when genes get moved around or deleted. We also learn that if the bad gene comes from mom you can get one disease, but if it comes from dad, a completely different syndrome develops. I was continually amazed at the incredible inner workings of our bodies and how we have such a complicated design.
Today, I sat in a room with a young woman who has one of these diseases and was amazed to learn not just about the pieces of her genes that were missing or duplicated, but about how she loves to put together puzzles. And shop. And that she just graduated from high school. And the loving way her older sister takes care of her.
It was a great morning.
I don't really feel any different. Last night, several of us got together for a celebratory dinner and prayer time - we ate shrimp and grits and ice cream cake and laughed and shared about our year. God really has blessed us with amazing friends and co-workers. I'm very excited about what this next year has to offer.
I've enjoyed my first day as an upper level - this morning I went to genetics clinic, which was fun. I've always had an interest in genetics - I remember writing a paper back in the seventh grade (during a detention, I'm afraid to admit) on some different recessive genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis, hemophilia, and sickle cell anemia. I was amazed how the little lower case letters separated themselves out only to combine in just the right way to get these diseases. One little protein error and the whole system falls apart. (Yes, I really did choose to write a paper during detention on genetic diseases. See - I've been this way for a long time.)
Fast forward 10 years to medical school where I learned about even more interesting problems that can arise. Now it's not just about where the lower case letters go, but what happens when genes get moved around or deleted. We also learn that if the bad gene comes from mom you can get one disease, but if it comes from dad, a completely different syndrome develops. I was continually amazed at the incredible inner workings of our bodies and how we have such a complicated design.
Today, I sat in a room with a young woman who has one of these diseases and was amazed to learn not just about the pieces of her genes that were missing or duplicated, but about how she loves to put together puzzles. And shop. And that she just graduated from high school. And the loving way her older sister takes care of her.
It was a great morning.
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