leavin' on a jet plane...

so apparently i've used this title before, and it's a joy and privilege to use it again... this time as i am hours away from departing to Galmi, Niger.
i fly from Chicago at 9:50pm September 30th to London to Casablanca (and only have 50 minutes there, unfortunately) to Niamey (capital of Niger). i'll arrive at 02:00am on October 2nd. Please pray for all those flights and connections and airports and handlers of my baggage. i'm thrilled to report that people have given such that i packed 2 LARGE suitcases of gifts to take to Galmi.... including a lot! of medical supplies (medicines, vitamins, IV supplies) which need to make it all the way across the world. Praise the LORD in advance for His faithfulness.
Please stay tuned - i hope to have the chance to update frequently.
and i'll check email as well. write often.

5 reasons why i like ID

this is in honor of brook talsma.
"ID" in medical lingo means"Infectious Disease", which is the sub-specialty i'm working in this month. i like ID because....
1. it sounds cool.
2. we get consulted when the 'general' doctors can't figure out the infection or what to do about it [bear in mind, most of the time i am that general doctor... haha! not this month!]
3. it's like being a detective
4. chances are i'll see some crazy, weird, uncommon infections this month
5. people with infections requiring ID consult are properly sick... and i think as i progress through residency i realize that i find the most joy in medicine when i'm taking care of people who are really sick. this is in stark contrast to the ones who 'think' they are sick, are 'sick' because their hearts and lives are so painful that their bodies become full of pain as well, or who don't/can't take care of themselves and let things go and go and go...

so there you go, brook. thanks for asking :)