Thursday, November 16, 2017

What happened??

Hello.  I am sure that some people believe that I have fallen off the face of the earth.  I just want to let you know that I have not.  The last eight months have been fascinating.

After getting back from the cruise, I continued "studying."  I say it like that because now, I don't think I was studying to the best of my ability.  I retook the NBME on May 25, 2017.  And you guessed it.  I failed again.  I was so angry with myself that I said I wasn't going to study for a while.  Now, why would I do that?  Waste of money to be in Chicago, right?  Shouldn't I just go home?

Well, I could have gone back to Georgia with my parents or North Carolina where the rest of my family is but I don't want to look like a failure.  But I have skipped over a little bit of information.  Let's rewind to Easter Sunday.  My boyfriend and I went to church as usual at the sunrise service.  After service, we had breakfast at church and spoke to a few members socially.  We came back to the apartment and worked on our computers for a while before getting the idea to go to Walmart.  He finally got on one knee and asked me to marry him.  <----- equals="" excitement.="" p="" that="">
So fast-forward to June after getting my NBME results, I decided just to plan a wedding since I was so angry at my progress which amounted to nothing.  I was so upset, I called the school asking for reassurance, and I did not get the response I wanted to hear.  So I made my path.  I QUIT studying.  A lot of people would say this is stupid and I agree.  Looking back, I was stupid.  I wasted a lot of time just looking online at wedding stuff I couldn't afford.

By now, you have realized that I like to defy the norm and if there is a cheapskate method for accomplishing a task, I take the risk.  Well, I order the wedding dress on eBay from China.  Yep.  Pretty stupid idea but the dress came out very nice.  The best part was it was less than $200.  So in June, I flew to Atlanta, GA to try on my dress and get it altered because I did not want my fiance to see it.  I also saw the wedding venue I booked the internet for the first time.  I know this sounds like a disaster, but I promise this is on a medical student budget. 

By now, I am teaching very regularly with Chicago Heart Training.  July comes, and James gives me an alternate location where I teach weekly.  I paid for the entire wedding with this extra money.  And maybe a little bit on a credit card.  Overall, it was a hot August wedding in Georgia.  It wasn't over 60 people, and it was a great day.  Here's a video of the big day.  Unfortunately, YouTube caught some songs for copyright infringement, and one of the songs is missing, but the video is still great, however.


After the wedding, we went on our honeymoon.  Our honeymoon was a 5-day cruise in the Caribbean.  We had a blast.  We visited Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, and Nassau.  We overate, laughed, enjoyed each other's company and beat one another at Connect 4.  

Back to reality, my husband went back to work, and it was time for me to get back to work.  We moved apartments just before going to Georgia to get hitched, so there was a little unpacking left to do.  Then it was study time.  I still was trying to work at Chicago Heart, but it wasn't working out.  It was a big distraction with all the phone calls daily about classes and such.  Plus it was heartbreaking to hear about the devastation of Hurricane Irma to Anguilla.  So represent Anguilla well, it is time to study hard and get that MD!

So lately, I have been confined to my computer answering questions on UWorld and watching YouTube videos while reading through First Aid.  It has been a challenge, but life is supposed to throw curveballs.  No road is straight and narrow; they are all filled with hills and valleys.  My family has been blessed.  Although my brother has not recovered from his accident, I am still hopeful that God will heal him in the manner that He wants to heal my brother.  My father will get a kidney if it is God's will.  With the obstacles in my way, I still smile.  And can only be happy and shout Hallelujah!

So, I will try to make this blog more of an accountability partner and write about the latest things I have studied.  I am currently working on Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Behavioral Science.  Next week, I plan to start on dreadful Pathology.  My source for Pathology is the gold standard, Pathoma.  I am excited to get going very hard and heavy.  I have signed up to take the NBME during the testing period of December 25 through January 7, 2018 (I missed the deadline for the end of the year period).  If anyone wants to be an additional accountability partner, don't hesitate to email me periodically and ask me questions.

Thanks for stopping by and have a BLESSED day!!

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9, NIV