Gotta get down on Friday!

This a beautiful city. To say that is a major understatement, but I don't know how else to phrase it. Everything is landscaped here. All the parks and gardens look perfect and even the concrete has precious statues and monuments that add to the asthetics. I wanted to reinforce that detail because I noticed today that it still surprises me every day. I walk the same route to the metro at least four times a day and I still find myself gazing around in complete awe. I wish the pictures captured my surroundings even half as well as my eyes do.

Today was our day in the Cardiac cath lab. The patient was an emergency admit who was actively having a heart attack and needed a few stints. Now, in the US, this procedure usually involves threading a catheter through the femoral artery. In this hospital, the doctors preferred the radial artery. (Femoral = thigh, radial = wrist). The preference stems from a lower risk of bleeding ad other complications, BUT it's a smaller artery, so it can be a bit tricky. The doctor started to thread the catheter when we realized that this particular patient has an abnormality that only a small percentage of the population shares. The way I understand it, her radial artery actually branches off into two segments. One is straight, but narrows significantly and does not lead directly to the heart. The other spins in a corkscrew around itself, making it exceedingly difficult to work with. He ended up switching to one femoral artery, and upon figuring out that the right was stenosed, tried the left femoral. Success! Arterial sticks are always weird anyway because there's blood everywhere publishing out, but when he punctured the femoral artery, there was a TON of blood. The procedure itself went very well, and the doctor resolved her extensive heart block through the placement of three or four stints. (We got pulled out for lunch before the procedure was finished).

After clinicals, we made our way to our favorite coffee shop for some coffee and tiramisu to snack on while we did homework. The barista is so sweet that he invited us to his birthday party where he's giving us FREE tiramisu. I love this place a little more every day. No, I love it a ton more. It was so relaxing to hang out in the upstairs and drink coffee for a few hours outside of the hostel.

After the cafe, upon Laura's request, we went to a craft/homemade goods market. Bye bye Hungarian money. It was nice to have you for that short time. I'm pretty sure I bought enough Hungarian made gifts to last a lifetime (and break the bank). But I still believe it's justifiable because when am I ever gonna come back here? Exactly. So, by that logic, I need to buy it all now.
Walking around with the group was just so refreshing. It's nice that our little quintet has become so close in such a short time. We can goof off and joke around with each other without wanting to tear each others throats out (most of the time). I think that once we're in the US, it'll be nice to have some personal space again, but for now, I like that we haven't fractured. We're a tiny little family and we watch each others backs. Michaela saved me from getting hit by a tram yesterday and Morgan kept Laura for getting hit by a biker. Even though we're together 24/7, we're still somewhat glued at the hip. I like it.
Sidenote: the drivers here are INSANE. Picture the Jersey turnpike on drugs. I have learned to tune out the sound of squealing tires or ambulances racing down the road with the sirens blasting. Those are two fairly constant sounds here in Pest. Sunday, Mo and I are wandering over to Buda, so it should be a bit more peaceful.
Now, however,it is time to SLEEP. It's been a long week, so I'm going to unwind and curl up in my bed until I'm no longer falling asleep standing up.
Goodnight!
Dreadfully weary








"This thing is gonna be like step brothers." "I'd be pissed if I died in a bunk bed!"
- Michaela

"In the first few minutes (of class) I thought I was going to sleep again!"
Dr. Hollòs

"I am a cow and I'm hungry. IN HUNGARY!"
Laura

"I don't understand! If the biker hits you, they're going to the hospital too! It's an inconvenience for everyone!"
Michaela