Category Archives: General

Hello from chilly Fenway!

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I’m in Boston now for my rheumatology conference and I had a little free time this morning, so I walked over to Fenway Park (you know, the baseball stadium… Home of the world champion Red Sox…).
It was fun, and I got to walk along Newbery St, which I guess is pretty popular. But it is quite cold here, and very windy… So I spent the rest of my morning inside, winding my way back to my hotel through the network of inter-connected malls and hotels. You can go for blocks without ever stepping outside!

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My Weekend in San Francisco

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I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday afternoon, and got all checked in at my hotel (The Cartwirght, A Larkspur Hotel) and then attended the Invited Residents Welcome Reception in the evening. I met up with a couple of attendings from Children’s there, and also got to meet a few pediatric residents from around the country (and Canada) who are also interested in nephrology. It turned out to be a fun evening, and the “appetizer” food was very good and quite filling.   🙂

On Friday my schedule of events included:

10:00am to 11:30am: Practical Genetics of Renal Cystic Diseases
ARPKD (Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease)
ADPKD 1 and 2 (Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease)
Tuberous Sclerosis and Von Hippel Lindau

11:30am-Noon: Primary Care Issues in Nephrology
Rheumatology for Nephrologists

Noon-1:30pm: Lunch at the Firewood Cafe in The Metreon (a mall of sorts) and then walking around to look at the posters of new research and exploring the exhibition hall (and collecting freebies from the companies)

1:30pm-3:30pm: One Renal Biopsy is a Picture, the Second Biopsy is More a Movie: The Importance of Repeat Biopsy in the Management of Patients
FSGS (Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis)
IgA Nephropathy
ANCA-Associated Vasculitis
Lupus Nephritis

After all that, I really needed a break, so I walked back to my hotel, had a nice rest with some TV watching, then ate Thai take-out for dinner. The next morning I set out for another day full of lectures:

10:00am-Noon: Nephrology Quiz and Questionnaire
Transplantation
Fluids & Electrolytes
ESRD/CKD (End Stage Renal Disease/Chronic Kidney Disease)
Glomerular Disorders

Noon-1:30pm: Lunch over at the Metreon again, this time at Luna Azul. Then more time in the exhibition hall.

1:30pm-3:00pm: Measures of Kidney Function Beyond Creatinine
Cystatin C in the US Population: What Do We Know?
Use of Iohexol in Measuring GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) in Chronic Kidney Disease of
Childhood
Estimating Equations and Direct Measurements of GFR: Assessing CKD Progression

4:00pm-6:00pm: The Genetics of FSGS
FSGS as a Prototype Podocyte Disease
Genetic Screening in Steroid-Resistant FSGS
Mutations and FSGS: Alpha-Actinin-4, TRPC6, and NPHS2 (including Obesity Related
Glomerulopathy)
Treatment of FSGS and its Recurrance

What a packed day… I had a nice take-out meal from Sanraku for dinner (a Japanese retaurant) and a fresh baked cookie from the hotel lobby for dessert. And that brings me to today… I’m taking the morning to catch up on some e-mails and do a little work on some things I need to get done by next week (and I’m going to be travelling all this week) and then at noon I’ll have the Residents Program Closing Lunch, after which I’ll hang out probably at a coffee shop somewhere for a little while and then make my way back to the Oakland airport to fly home this evening. Then on Tuesday I get to fly to Boston for another fully packed week of conference goodness!

Off on another adventure!

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I’m at the airport again… After just arriving home from London a few days ago. Now I’m off to San Francisco to attend the American Society of Nephrology annual meeting. It’s a big conference for nephrologists, and they sponsor residents to attend to woo them into the specialty. I’m a fair bit interested in maybe becoming a pediatric nephrologist, and the trip and conference are free, so I’m off.
I hope it’s fun, I’m betting it will be and I’m ready to make the most of my time there.

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Flagship Lounge

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I just took a shower in this nifty personal bathroom at the Flagship Lounge in the JFK airport. How cool is that… You get off your long (albeit first-class) international flight, and you get to hang out in a nice quiet lounge with food and drinks, computers, and personal shower rooms if you want to freshen up. I love it!

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P.S. Our vacation was great!

Sunflower

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Look at our beautiful sunflower from our little front garden! It just started blooming about a week ago and it keeps getting bigger!

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Tomatoes all year long!

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We stopped by the Ballard farmer’s market yesterday, kind of on a whim. We were in the neighborhood to get some iced tea, and the gorgeous flowers jumped out and got our attention. We walked around to all re booths of flowers, fruits, veggies… Then there were also cheeses, beef, seafood, bakery items, ice cream… And of course, our brand new tomato plant that will live in our kitchen and give tomatoes all year round.

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Another NICU Night

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So here I sit in the NICU at the University of Washington again… I remember sitting here about a year ago as an intern – taking care of babies, getting ready for my intern retreat, hoping to be able to try out my procedure skills…

 And now I’m back. I’m a senior resident now, helping my interns to take care of their babies, getting ready for their intern retreat… and still hoping to be able to try out my procedure skills – which I got to do the other day!

I intubated a 27-week gestational age baby on my second try.  I knew I wasn’t in on the first, but everyone said “Oh, I think you’re there. Let’s try it.”  I told them, no, I wasn’t in the trachea, but we tried anyway and, sure enough, I wasn’t.  So I tried again, and saw the tube go perfectly through the cords… and guess what happens?  “Are you sure you’re in? I don’t think you’re there.”  But I made them try it anyway, and – lo and behold – I was in (just like I knew I was).  :)  That was a completely rewarding moment.

And tonight has been quite an eventful night as well… I’ve had to transfer 2 kiddos over to Children’s because of deteriorating status. That sentence makes it sound so easy – but there’s so much work that goes into it, not to mention all of the work trying to stabilize the kids before making the decision to transfer.  It has been quite a busy afternoon, but it seems that the night might be a bit quieter.

Here’s to hoping for some sleep!