What a difference a week makes....

Last week, I was posting about the lighthearted mood in the office with Dr G on vacation. Dr L and I joked our way through a very busy, stressful 2 weeks. The office staff was lighthearted and giggling was often heard.

This week, Dr L is on vacation and it is just Dr G and me. Dr G seems to have left his sense of humor in Martha's Vineyard. There is no joking going on. Instead, I am hearing rumbles of mutiny- Can't you hear them (mutiny, mutiny, mutiny). Seriously, this man did not even crack a smile when he handed me his company credit card to but Dr K her new office furniture and I asked if he would mind a detour to Tiffany & Co. Nothing. It fell flat. Dr L would have made suggestions. Part of my mood change is the end of an insane month with only one MD, rather than 3. I am feeling the effects of the extra workload and long hours. It is almost friday, it is almost friday, it is almost friday, it is almost friday damnit!


The day was not helped by the fact that I spent all night talking to the nursing staff about one of our patients. He came from the group home with a severe pneumonia, he has not been able to eat without aspirating food into his lungs for a year, his mental status has progressed to nonverbal - BUT he is one of our Down's Syndrome patients... Those of you who have ever come in contact with these individuals know that they are the most loving, innocent of individuals. It breaks everyone's heart that Danny will not get better. Trust me, we all cried this morning when I talked to his power of attorney and she made him a Do Not Rescusitate and asked that we make him comfortable with morphine. "I cannot bear the thought of him suffering", she said. Neither can I. And so, my blogger friends, I am on my way to check on him and to make sure that he is not alone. I may be spending the night here- all his family is in California and will likely not make it here before he dies. He shouldn't be alone...