Moving

I got home at 9 pm with a patient who is staying in the house with us tonight because he has an appointment for a urinary endoscopy at 7 am tomorrow. He is 25 years old and was run over by a tractor 4 years ago. He has been peeing out of a catheter ever since. Interestingly, he's the second patient who has moved in with us today. The first is a 33-year old from the other side of the country who Douglas met this past weekend. He has congenital hypothyroidism, and being an endocrinologist, Douglas is pretty excited to figure out the root of his thyroid deficiency. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the mother who accompanied him understands how little he can do for them at this point. He will never be of normal height or have normal mental capacity. But at the very least I guess this isn't a bad all-expenses paid vacation for them, living in a big house with cable TV with all their meals provided. To make room for our guests, I hurriedly moved all my scattered belongings to a new bedroom.

My replacement also arrived this morning. He's the youngest son of Susan and Mark, the American couple who helped found the clinic in Palacios. He just graduated from college and seems to have a lot of Spanish to learn, but so far seems motivated to get the job done. Driving around town with him and telling him about the responsibilities I'm passing down makes me realize everything I've learned in the past couple of months. It's makes this summer feel worth all the cold days.