What a week/weekend, ladies and gents. What a weekend. As the woman working at Stillwater's Valley Booksellers told me, "You don't see fifty states by sitting at home." I now believe I am up to 18. So, a long way to go, but lots of life (hopefully, God willing) yet to live.
So, where to begin?
How about the clinic?
It was a shortened week, but probably the most exciting one so far. My CI has upped my independent case load to about 55% of what a new graduate would be seeing- so, about 4-5 patients a day. I have found that my engagement, interest, effort, and energy have all improved when I am the one in almost complete control of a patient. I'm starting to feel like I really, really like what I'm doing. Probably the most significant moment where this played in was seeing my first patient through an entire course of treatment. I evaluated her, developed a plan, and discharged her this past week. She is a very friendly lady, an EMT in a nearby county who was referred to us with carpal tunnel syndrome. During the evaluation, I realized that her symptoms didn't match. I put her through a series of tests to determine whether or not she may be suffering from a condition called thoracic outlet syndrome, in which the nerves, artery, or vein (and often a combination thereof) leaving the neck gets trapped somewhere in the shoulder, thus causing numbness in the hands. When her radial pulse disappeared upon turning her head, I confirmed my own suspicions. We informed the referring physician, who said he would order a nerve conduction study, but, in the meantime, asked that we treat her as though our working diagnosis were correct. After some nerve milking, nerve flossing, postural and scapular strengthening exercises, she reported no symptoms and feeling better than she had in months or years. The two of us could scarcely have been more excited when I discharged her. She felt better. I had done something right. It was a good tradeoff.
As exciting as the week was (and believe me when I say it really was), Saturday alone was an adventure.
My day started at 5:00 AM with a red grapefruit (shockingly, sweet and not at all bitter), some almonds, and some English Breakfast tea, as well as a difficult decision. I grabbed a Wichita State t-shirt and my Royals cap, then started questioning whether it was a good idea. I thought that wearing my Kansas apparel would make me an obvious tourist and a target for... well, I'm not sure what, but I questioned whether it was a good idea. And kept questioning for about ten minutes before deciding to go with it. I left home a little after 5:20.
My first destination was a little town of about the same size as Marshall, and, ironically, the third option on my clinical request list that was submitted for this summer- Hudson, Wisconsin. So, realistically, I could have ended up there almost as easily as I ended up in Marshall, but God had a plan, and here I am.
Getting there didn't seem like a bit deal. I took two lane highways almost all the way into The Cities (you don't call them the Twin Cities up here. Just "The Cities"), but when I merged onto I-494... I started to get a little stressed. Never in my life had I seen a highway with three directional options- East, West, and North. Did I want to go North or East? I knew I didn't want West... what to do? While the traffic wasn't much worse than I-135 on a busy day in Wichita, I took a deep breath and went East. Good choice. I got where I was going. I crossed the St. Croix River (quite a sight, honestly) into Hudson a little before 8:30 in the morning. I made a beeline for Target with one thing on my mind: I wanted a Wisconsin Badgers polo. And I found one. Along with a sale on trail mix. My favorite kind, too, the Chocolate Cranberry Crunch. So I got a bag of that, as well, and continued along my merry way, north through Wisconsin for a few miles. And it was beautiful. I doubt the entire state looks like that, but it was absolutely gorgeous. After fifteen minutes driving north, I re-crossed the St. Croix across a cool old bridge into the peaceful little tourist town of Stillwater, Minnesota.
I parked the car and took a few pictures, then turned around to see how to approach the little riverside shopping district. I was a little hungry and the first thing to catch my eye was my favorite sort of place- a coffee shop and book store under the same roof. So, I made a beeline for The Daily Grind Espresso Cafe (not to be confused with the one in Marshall), where I ordered a coffee and walnut scone, both of which were just about the best of each I had ever had. The woman working the counter in the bookstore, seeing my WSU shirt and KC Royals hat, called me over to the counter and informed me that she was from Wyandotte, KS and had attended K-State. We chatted briefly before I started exploring.
Now, let me tell you all that if a runner lived in Stillwater, they could expect to have prolific thighs and glutes. There were some seriously steep hills in town, but they allowed for views like this.
Probably the greatest highlight of Stillwater was the Stillwater Farm Store. I would have spent quite a bit of money on gifts (and myself) if I had money to spend. There were a great deal of items ranging from candles to food to birdfeed and feeders to pet goods. However, the best part was feeling a soft, damp feeling against the back of my life, and turning around to find a British Labrador named Cash pressing up against the back of my leg, freshly bathed, holding his ducky in his mouth, and wanting very badly to play. I knelt to oblige him, when his friend, Cooper, came to play, too. I spent longer than I care to admit on the floor of this store with the two dogs, playing with them and their ducky. I'm in quite a few other tourists' photos, I think, playing with them, but I don't mind. I like dogs.
I think the sign was what Cash was thinking at that moment. Dogs love anybody that will play with them, right? That wasn't the only cool sign they had, though.
Not that any of you fall into that category. Anyway. I stopped into another coffee shop to use their restroom shortly thereafter, and was wowed by the atmosphere.
Inside of an old industrial building on the river, Tin Bins was a pretty happening spot. Should I ever return to Stillwater, I will be going here. The temptation exists to return next weekend, too, though I doubt I will, as it is the annual Lumberjack Days. There will probably be too many people for the little town, and besides, I don't know that I want to make a three hour drive in consecutive weeks.
Anyhow, to continue the story, I again heard someone calling to me, and met a lady from Garden Plain. She had lived in Stillwater some thirty years now, but was a WSU alum whose brother was a survivor of the infamous plane crash over Colorado in the seventies. We chatted for a while before I continued my day. There were some cool bookstores and kitchen stores and boutiques and such in Stillwater, and some neat old historical buildings. Had I not made other plans for lunch, I would have tried any one of the several tempting options along Main Street. However, Como Zoo and Conservatory called my name.
I made it there completely stress-free. The struggle, though, was finding parking. I circled the park for longer than I will openly admit on this blog before finding a parking space, but I made it into the zoo. It is a very small zoo with no set admission price- just donation-based. But boy, was it crowded. I made the joke to a father with three small children that I didn't have any kids- I was just an agoraphobic facing my fear. He corrected me promptly, reminding me that agoraphobes are afraid of open spaces; enochlophobes are afraid of crowds. Well-played. Anyhow, after another KC family complemented my choice of hat, I continued on into the zoo. The first thing I saw was something I don't believe I have ever seen before- harbor seals.
They were awesome. My favorite animals at the Sedgwick County Zoo (which I miss dearly) are the river otters. Seals are like otters on steroids. I watched them for quite some time, but moved on eventually because of the crowd. The next thing, again, was something I had never seen- sea lions! Of course I thought of this:
I also laughed pretty hard at a guy wearing a shirt that said, "Guns don't kill people. George R.R. Martin kills people."
I also learned that zebras are, in fact, black, with white stripes.
Other animals included polar bears, tigers, lions, caribou, Dall's Sheep, giraffes, ostriches, lemurs, arctic foxes, wolves, and an anaconda.
I met a family from Newton, KS in the rainforest, where I also saw a Bill Maher lookalike.
Worth noting is that the spider monkeys seemed every bit as interested in watching people as the people were interested in watching them.
In the conservatory, I learned that in Japanese gardens, every stone takes upwards of an hour to place, as every attribute must be considered and the most beautiful location and angle must be selected. Although, after walking around the seemingly nonsensical layout for a while, I realized why some of the game maps for the Pokemon series look the way they did.
Anyway, my visit to the garden and zoo showed me that my selection of Kansas apparel wasn't a bad thing. To those that cared nothing about the Royals or Shockers, my clothes weren't even noticeable. I was just a guy in a gold shirt. To those who cared, it was an invitation for connection. So, that was kind of cool.
After the zoo, I went to a little location I saw on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives- Kramarczuk's. I was blown away. The service was remarkable friendly. I ordered a six-varenyky mean (Ukrainian pierogis) along with a Ukrainian kale and sunflower side salad. The cashier told me that two of my varenyky appeared to have been "rough-housed" and only charged me for four of them, plus the side salad. And it was all good. I would have taken pictures, but I was too hungry to, and besides, I think it is silly when people do that. I also think pictures in mirrors are silly, otherwise I would show you all my new Wisconsin Badgers polo, which I look pretty sharp in, if I do say so myself. I plan on wearing it to work tomorrow (under threat of being fired by the clinic manager and having rotten eggs thrown at me by patients).
After lunch, I decided to check out the University. It wasn't far. It was also the worst decision of my life. Free parking doesn't exist in Dinkytown or on campus, and I could find nowhere to park in order to explore campus or to find out where the visitor center was or compose myself after an ill-advised turn the wrong way on a one-way street. I eventually parked illegally at the post office just to breathe for a little bit, then decided to leave. Already under stress, the road I needed was under construction, so my directions were worthless. I took an alternate route, I-94. Ten or twelve lanes of traffic. And a traffic jam- though the locals would probably hardly call it that. It looked like Kellogg at rush hour- and it was about 5:00 on a SATURDAY. Once traffic started moving though, it really wasn't particularly intimidating. The speed limit on the highways in the cities was only 55, so it wasn't really too nutso. Eventually, I made it to Eden Prairie, where I stopped for dinner and some much-needed relaxation at Barnes and Noble.
However, I noticed people staring at me in the mall. I wasn't sure why until I stopped into a restroom. Apparently, somewhere along the way, as a result of the stress I was experiencing during my drive in The Cities, I had ruptured blood vessels in my eyes. I looked like some kind of an addict with my bloodshot eyes. No wonder.
Anyhow, after some time in the mall, especially the bookstore, I felt much better, and continued uneventfully the rest of the way home.
So, with about three weekends left here in Marshall, I intend to take one more excursion, and I think it will be north for a more outdoorsy experience. Not sure which lake I'm headed to, but I plan on some hiking and fishing. No more big city experiences for this guy until I have to drive through Omaha (possibly at lunch hour, if the current plan holds) on my way home.
Until next time, ladies and gents.
