On Call

Just finished another week of being "on call" for my urology practice while trying to keep up with my training schedule. When I take call for the ER and my 7 partners,  the coverage includes the entire Panhandle North of Plainview and parts of New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma.  You never know what to expect while being on call, and honestly it is an unnerving experience because I have no control what I encounter.  This weekend I treated a lot of kidney stones; which is always better than the non-typical trauma case, like a lacerated kidney from a horse kick or gunshot wound to the bladder that I have treated on previous calls.
Philippians 4:6, " Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with Thanksgiving, present your requests to God." I pray this verse before I start my "call" week and it is amazing how my worry and anxiety level disappears. Thankfully the good Lord answers my prayer by never giving me anything that I can't handle and He gives me the ability to treat patients the best that I possibly can.

It also surprises me when He still provides time for me to train. For example, on Saturday I was able to get a 2000 yd swim in early, round on my patients in the hospital, perform a few surgeries, and still had time for an 80 minute/9 mile run in the afternoon. Sunday morning started out busy with three surgeries, but I finished by 2pm.  Due to the snowfall, my 3 hour scheduled bike ride had to be done on my stationary trainer indoors. Below is a picture of my setup.  (yes, Susan was gracious enough to let me plant myself in our living room as long as I promised to put tons of towels down to catch the sweat!) I watched a movie "The Social Network" and the first half of the Super Bowl and even with the TV it was not as satisfying as a great ride outdoors.  Regardless, it kept my training on schedule and I am still having fun.

Have a great week and thanks for the visit.