Pterygopalatine ganglion, vestibulococchlear, and other imaginative words

I can't believe it's already been almost 2 weeks since I've posted. My apologies.

We've already finished block 3--the perineum and lower limb, so I won't really say much about that. But I have been having fun with friends: on Saturday we had another ultimate game of ultimate frisbee, which turned out to be quite intense. I think guys feed off each other's testosterone. But it was defintely a good workout, and FUN. A few of us afterward ended up (after showering...) for dinner at Brian and Julie's and then played BALDERDASH, which partially explains the title for my blog entry. Balderdash is a game where you make up definitions to OUTLANDISH words and try to fool other people into thinking that your definition is correct while picking the correct definition yourself. The funny thing is that our vocabulary for med school is actually wierd enough to end up on the cards--for example, "gubernaculum" which is part of the lining of the abdominal cavity that descends with the testis or ovary during embryogenesis. Of course, the game card didn't say that in so many words because that also wouldn't be very interpretable. Anyhow there were lots of laughs and you get the point.

Which brings me to the other half of the title. We just started working on the head and neck, including learning all about the "crainial nerves" which control a lot of your senses and major organs along with your facial muscles. VERY complicated winding things with long names. In lab, this meant the great "reveal": On Tuesday we took off the head shroud and revealed the faces of our cadavers with whom we have formed intimate relationships. It was strange, and in many ways I was NOT looking forward to it because I didn't know how I would react or feel. It turns out that I reacted very differently than I expected--I wasn't emotional in a sad way, as some were, or felt like there was a moral delimma, as some other students felt. I actually felt more of a rush of compassion. I felt like they were a person, and that I was caring for them, even though I was doing totally the opposite by taking everything apart. They felt more human. It still is strange, odd, and surreal because they cannot talk, they have no breath or pain, and the rest of their body is totally dismantled. They have no soul there. But at one time they did. And now we are receipients of the gift of what their soul did not take with it.

On Sunday I enjoyed church a lot. I went back to a place called Mosaic--a community church in the Hollywood district with a real heart "to follow Jesus in authentic community for the world." The pastor told the story of family who has a vegitative son who is given no hope for ever communicating to the world. But through technology they find he can type by moving his head to one side. Eventually the son wants to race to raise money for a paralyzed classmate. The father says that it is impossible, and yet the father trains himself and pushes his son in the race. The son says "when you do that, I feel like I'm not disabled anymore." And so begins a life of racing, triatholons, marathons, etc. all with the dad pushing, pulling, biking his son along. They showed scenes of this while the song "I can only imagine" played. It was an amazing story which brought tears to our eyes. And then he related it to how Christ, like this father, has lavished his love on us, and done everything for us and our redemption.

I am excited--today I received my copy of Voice of the Martyrs publication--a free newsletter that will help me keep abreast of the status of Christians under persercution in various parts of the world. They included a prayer map in there of countries where Christians are under severe persecution and I put it up on my wall. I first read this newsletter when I was in China of all places, and I was astonished at what is going on, especially in Muslim countries. I had heard about China's difficulties, but little about South America or Muslim countries like Indonesia, and I want to be a part of praying for my brothers and sisters who undergo such hardship. Today at our weekly CMDA meeting (Christian Medical and Dental Assoc) a few of us went on a prayer walk around our school campus, and I was really refreshed by it. We prayed for our classmates, ourselves, faculty, doctors, and patients. I am so glad there is a community on campus who have a heart for our school, as God's presence is greatly needed here.

Well, it is time to shut this random monologue off. There is much more I could say, conversations I could relay, but alas, med school requires studying, and I have done little today (1. because class went until 5pm 2. after class I went to a lecture/dinner) and this week is quite busy. Last night was fun--a couple t-bones and I spent an hr playing together and actually making music. We're hoping to get good enough to play for the students or something at Christmas, though one of the t-bones mentioned the possible complication of that not being PC. Pook on being PC. Well, of to the rest of the week which includes flu shot, basic live saving training, and STUDYING!