Adventures in Albany - Day 07

I just got back from the airport, after sending a patient with an aneurysm causing left 3rd nerve palsy. I really wanted to be on that plane, which was heading to Perth. I wanted to fly with the flying doctor services, maybe it be just to transport patients or to go out to the bush to treat patients. Perhaps it was a wrong choice to have Albany as my posting, as I would not get that much chance to fly out there. I guess it is something I ask too much of, since I am already not doing well in normal medicine.

But I had lots to do today. I started at about 0845 with ward rounds. The GP had a lot of patients in the hospital, being on call over the weekend. We saw a whole heap of patients, ranging from a newborn to a fractured hip. I tried my best to sound interested and tried asking questions, but I was dread tired, and I really don’t know what to ask.

After rounds, we headed to various age care facilities around Albany. I found a quote on one of the doors, which reminded me again about why I do not want to get dementia. “Disinhibition lifts and the ego diminishes, allowing the spirit and soul to grow.” I am still afraid of what remains when I am free from any disinhibition. I want to know whether I am a fiend or a friend, whether I am mindful or mindless, but yet, I am worried about the truth. It also got me thinking about what will happen to me when I am at that age, being in a nursing home, or will I be living independently alone in my own place. I hope that I will not get dementia. I would rather die.