Why it is all worth it

There are days, days like today, when I take a few quiet moments in that walk between my postbox and my front door to glace up at the heavens and say a sincere 'thank you' to the powers that be.

It's not often that I take the time to reflect and truly realise how lucky I am to be doing what I am doing. In fact, much of my day is spent complaining that as a doctor next year I will be paid much less than my counterparts in the commerce and law worlds. But really, it doesn't matter to me that I will be buying one less pair of Jimmy Choo shoes (read: zero pairs) because none of these other people get to spend their time truly taking care of people, and sometimes bringing them back from the dead.

Case in point; Ms. Loveliest Old Lady (names may have been changed to protect the real identity of the patients), a 95 year old woman brought to our team for some essential surgery. Although 95, Ms. LOL is sharp as a tack and has more life than most of the emo kids I see hanging around. She makes jokes when her high heparin levels make her bleed out of her IV tubes and on more than one occassion has noted my dress sense and refers to me to the nurses as the "one who looks like she should be on a catwalk". After a successful surgery, although she did give the anaethetist one hairy moment, Ms LOL was brought into the wards. The resident and I were having a discussion on IV fluids and PIG infusions whilst slowly sipping on our lattes (his treat, "you're a poor medical student in debt, you don't have $3 to spend on coffee!") we heard the emergency buzzer go off. As we ran into Ms LOL's room we heard "she's not breathing" and the resident and I instinctively acted. Whilst he held her airway open and adminstered oxygen, I was left to start compressions. A few minutes later the ICU, anaesthetic and med reg on call appeared and we were relieved of our duties. 4 more minutes later and Ms LOL was back from the dead and is doing fine. To have even played the smallest part in that really validates the past 5 years of hard work and has even lit up a small passion in critical care.

So whilst the others may be helping to make the rich even richer, I can't help but smile on the inside, even if I am sacrificing these beauties.