Stephen is a fourth year!

This past Friday Stephen completed his last day of clinicals as a third year medical student. He finished up with neurosurgery and neuro ICU. He will get two weeks off and then he begins his fourth year with a cardiology consults rotation. I am so proud of him for all the hard work he has put in. He has done so well this year. We have both really enjoyed this time and are really looking forward to his final year in school.

Silly Marcus

My little Marky loves diet coke just like his momma : )

Trivia Night

Stephen and I have always been fond of trivia night. We both used to play when we attended Clemson. Recently, we found out that the Applebee's next to our house has trivia every Wednesday night. We have been trying to get a group going but it hasn't worked out yet. So... last Wednesday we decided just to go the two us and just have fun. We had a great date night, lots of fun, and we won! We couldn't believe it. We were down by 7 points going into the final round so we decided to just go for it. The question was:

Put these movies in order by release date from oldest to most recent: Maverick, Mall Rats, Major League, Married to the Mob.

We had never heard of the last one so we just guessed that it had to be old. The correct answer is: Married to the Mob, Major League, Maverick, Mall Rats. We got it right and won a $50 gift card, yay. We got a free meal (and some) thanks to our neighborhood grill. Thanks Applebees : )

Memorial Day Fun

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we headed to my parents house for a cookout. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time having fun with family. My parents put up a baby pool in the backyard for the kids (Layna and Bella). Bella wasn't sure she was allowed in at first. However, once we told her it was OK we couldn't get her out. They had so much fun playing together. They swam, played ball, and chased bubbles all day.

 Layna and Bella in the pool

 Bella chasing Layna's bubbles

 Stephen getting in on the fun

Enjoying some yummy food

Visit to Beckley

Last week I made a solo trip to Beckley, WV to visit my school, Mountain State University. So far in my schooling, I have taken all of my classes online. On June 14th, I start full time doing clinical rotations at Roper St. Francis. Before I could start my clinicals, I had to do a 3 day orientation on campus.

I was a little nervous because this was my first trip away from home by myself. (When I studied abroad in Italy I had roommates that I did stuff with, so I don't count that). Overall it wasn't as scary as I though it would be. The only dumb thing I did was getting into someone else's car. I had a rental car, so I wasn't used to it yet. I went to where I thought I had parked. There was a silver car so I pressed the unlock button. It was open, so I got in. I put my seat belt on, adjusted the mirrors and was about to stick the key in when I noticed the car didn't look right. It said Ford on the steering wheel and that is when I realized I was in the wrong car! Opps. I got out really fast hoping the owners weren't around. In my defense though, who leaves their car unlocked at a Quality Inn hotel?! It is 2010 people, you can't do that.

I had a blast on campus. It was so great to finally meet all of the faculty I had been working with online and get some hands on experience. Everyone was really nice and helpful.  I basically spent the entire three days scanning. The staff all took turns in the lab letting me scan them. I did full abdominal protocols (aorta, liver, gallbladder, kidneys, and spleen), thyroid, and female pelvis. One of the instructors was even 19 weeks pregnant so I got to do an OB exam. It was amazing to see that little life moving around inside her. I felt like I had met him and knew him and he wasn't even born yet!

The time I spent there was really helpful. There is such a big difference in looking at pictures in a book and seeing the images on the screen in real time. I also got familiar with the machine and how to use the controls to get the best possible images. I learned lots of little tips like it is ok to press hard during an abdominal exam, asking them to take a deep breath can make all the difference, when in doubt put color flow on it, the cine loop is your friend, and small movements can make big differences. I feel so much more confident and excited about starting clinicals now!

This is the lab we used to scan in. It is right inside the DMS department next to the faculty offices.

This is the machine I learned on.

This is Bre, my clinical coordinator. She taught me almost the entire time.

Me and Bre

A few of the staff. From left to right:  Tammy (clinical lab and small parts instructor), Nashella (abdominal instructor), Bre (clinical coordinator), and Ashley (DMS administrative assistant)

MSU campus, you can see the
MSU sign to the very right of the pic.

Driving to the airport. WV is so beautiful. The entire drive was just winding around these gorgeous mountains.

 My rental car, a Nissan Versa. It was really nice.