Contact Sports

I'm getting really sick of x-raying little ( 7-10y/o) kids injured in contact sports. This little boy was playing tackle football and he was wearing all the right protective equipment. It wasn't a pick-up game in someones backyard.
His parents were surprised that he had a broken femur. "It was just a little kid. (that tackled their son and broke his femur)" the dad said.
When you go to a Mighty Midgets' (or whatever their team is called) game and there's an ambulance and paramedic crew parked on the sideline it indicates that this might be a dangerous sport.

This is the fifth femur fx on a child under 10 that I have done in the last 2 months.

Robin Hood

I'm so excited. League sign-ups for the local archery club are next week. Because of the old job, I worked on league nights, I couldn't sign up. But this year I can sign up!!!
My bow is strung, my fletchings are glued and my nocks are tight. I'm ready - and I hope the next time I post Robin Hood, it's means I've actually shot a robin hood* (like that will ever happen!).

*The term "Robin Hood" refers to splitting the shaft of an arrow already in the target with another arrow.

Shepard's Pie

I made a Shepard's Pie last week. The recipe's from the Sunday's At Moosewood cookbook. Every vegetarian should have a copy. The book is divided into regional sections - vegetarian recipes from Africa, British Isles, Italy, China, Mexico, ect. ect.
I used a prepared tofu "sausage" instead of the frozen, shredded tofu called for in the recipe and pre-packaged mashed potatoes, because they were free with a purchase at the grocery store.

Tofu Layer -

Tofu "sausage" 16 oz pkg
1 large onion chopped
2 med carrots sliced
1/2 cup celery sliced (or any root veg. of your choice, parsnips,beets,ect.)
2 Tbs veg. oil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp coriander/cumin seeds
pinch freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs soy sauce

Saute the onions, sliced vegetables, and spices in the oil until the onions are translucent. Stir in the tofu, lemon juice, soy sauce, and black pepper. When heated through, remove from heat and set aside. Place this first layer in a well greased 9x9 inch baking dish.


Potato Layer

Use pre-packaged mash potatoes (like me) OR

4 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 Tbs butter
1/2 cup milk
salt to taste

Place cubed potatoes in saucepan and cover with lightly salted water. Bring to boil, simmer until potatoes are soft. Drain - saving hot potato water to use in gravy. Mash potatoes with butter and milk. Salt to taste. Set aside.


Mushroom Gravy

2 Tbs veg. oil
1/2 lb mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbs soy sauce
pinch black pepper
1 1/2 cups hot potato water
2 Tbs corn starch dissolved in 1/2 cup water

Heat oil in a skillet, stir in mushrooms, soy sauce and black pepper. Saute until mushrooms are tender. Add 1 1/2 cups hot potato water and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture and cook at a low boil, stirring continuously, until gravy in clear and thick.

Pour mushroom gravy over veg./onion layer in baking dish.

Cover with mashed potatoes, dot the top with butter and bake at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 mins - until top becomes golden.

If I made in again I wouldn't bother with the tofu "sausage". I used portabella mushrooms and they are 'meaty' enough.

Wii Mii

I'm addicted to Wii. It's sad, but true. That's my mii hanging out with Mario and Princess Peach. I got a gold on every level in Mario Cart and they took a commemorative picture.

This is the first video game I have ever played and I can see why people become addicted.

"Just one more game. Ok. One more. Now just one more...."

Well, excuse me, now I have to get back to Rock Band.

The Wii is calling.

Down Fall

This patient fell 15 feet from a roof and broke his radius and ulna. Another tech did the x-rays (and hung this first one upside down).

The bones are so crushed that this lateral looks almost like an AP.

Vet Visit

So I took my cats to the Vet today.

Did you think this post was about Veteran's Day? :)

Catty, the 8 y/o, is doing fine, but Saveta, 15 y/o, has all the symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Ugh. They took blood and urine and now I'm waiting for the Vet to call with the results. He said he would probably prescribe pills for her and see how she reacts to them. She also has an icky tooth that needs to come out.

I hate the idea of giving her pills everyday. She is a cat. Just a pet...but still. She runs around and plays with her toys. She doesn't act sick.

I've had her since I was 10. I watched her birth and was the first person to touch her, so I guess it's hard to think about her dying, because she's a part of my childhood. And a part that hasn't really changed - cats don't get wrinkles!

Ouch Eww

Nicely dislocated finger on a 50ish woman. "Caught finger in sweater and fell over onto hand." Ouch! It looked really messed up from the outside too. I felt like telling the woman to take a pic of it with her cell phone. She could show it to her friends. The 4th digit was almost perpendicular to her other fingers! So weird.

Dr. Horrible

I Love Dr. Horrible!!

I just stumbled upon this funny, funny video on hulu.
Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

The singing is great and Neil Patrick Harris is such a cutie.

But I want more! Another episode - more, more, more!!

On Y'mark

On your mark-get set-GO!
Tomorrow is a BIG fluoro day - 24 pts and counting!
Keep your fingers crossed for me that it's better than last week!

Goodbye Finger

Hello Saw! Goodbye Finger!!
This guy partially amputated his finger on a circular saw. "I stopped paying attention for one second!" he said.

El Bow

Saturday was a dislocated elbow night. Two in one night - how often does that happen?


This pt was very, very drunk. They gave her 8 of morphine and she was still writhing around on the cart. She also threatened to murder me if I touched her elbow and it hurt her. I couldn't really do a lateral (or an AP or anything that looked right), but I tried and she didn't kill me, so fairly successful.
This next pt dislocated and fractured his radius. He also wanted to kill me. The student I was working with said he looked like he was going to punch me when I was positioning his arm. Hey- if you come to the ER, you're in a lot of pain and you want x-rays done, it might hurt. Boo hoo. Would you rather not know what is wrong with you?
He wouldn't let me move his arm for the AP, so the x-ray below was done with tube/film angle magic. I was pretty close to AP all things considered.
Then I spent an hour in surgery workin' the C-arm.
And ta da- post op films. Looks a lot better, right? (ignore the yellow arrow-it's not pointing at anything)

Post Mortem

AP skull: 39 y/o male suicide - shotgun

*This post will be updated periodically*

Tripped Up

I had a really awful day today. It was a fluoro day, my first in over a month, and it really sucked. We didn't have a ton of patients, but I kept making mistakes, embarrassing myself and saying things I shouldn't say out loud.
I did one gigantically stupid thing (erase part of a pt's digitally archived exam) and tried to make up for it the whole day. Everyone was really nice to me and supportive, which makes me think that they are probably ripping me down behind my back (that is what they usually do).
And to finish off the day, on my way out, I tripped over a box in the hallway and looked like a retard.
Bad. Day.