It has been a long time

I can't remember the last time that I vomited....... really, honestly, it had to have been years, maybe even high school after soccer practice and spaghetti. Well, friday after lunch I returned to the ER to finish my first shift which would be ending at 7 PM. Around 3 I started feeling a little bit squirmish. The hours dragged on. I dashed to the bathroom a few times, but thankfully nothing happened.

The hours were exacerbated by the 3rd year medical student, who in true fashion to the show ER, resembled a walking textbook. After questioning me on various things that I obviously didn't know I finally said, "you know, I haven't really done any of those physiology calculations since med school."

The last hour rolled around..... feeling worse, starting to get chills and aches and I wanted to go home so bad that I almost walked out without saying bye to anyone. I stuck out the last hour and then the student finds me, 'that patient over there wants to see you." Patient was a 30 yr old guy who took drugs and then said he wanted to kill himself, brought himself to the emergency department and now wanted to go home because he felt better. I was afraid that things were going to be ugly. When patients say they want to hurt themselves or others they have to stay to be evaluated by a Psychiatrist, which in the valley is a very slow process. Needless to say, nothing I could say would help him, so I did the only self-respecting thing that I could do.... I avoided him until my shift was over and then went home and started puking my guts out.