Easter has come and gone. I spent the holiday in Dallas with my family and the dog. I did very little, but I did spend a good amount of time with my old high school buddies. I also spent a lot of time with the fam and playing with the dog.

Friday I watched Be Cool with Nick who was in town visiting his dad. The film was actually quite fantastic. It's the sequel to Get Shorty. I characterize it as a funny gangster movie. There were several humorous parts especially those with The Rock playing a gay bouncer and Cedric The Entertainer playing a gangster music producer. How does one address Cedric anyway? Would I call him "Cedric" or "Mr. Cedric" or "Mr. The Entertainer"? Weird huh? Anyway, go see the movie. It stars John Travolta, Uma Thurman, James Woods, The Rock, Cedric The Entertainer, Danny DeVito, Harvey Keitel, and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. And see Get Shorty if you hadn't already so you know what's going on (although it's not required).

Then I had dinner with Jon, Erin, Nick, and Tony at the Plano Macaroni Grill. I had some pasta with arrabiata sauce and chicken. I was pleased. Then we went to Cape Buffalo on Trinity Mills and the Tollway in Dallas. Cory surprisingly joined us there. We played pool, and drank some expensive Bud Light. I got a free Zippo lighter from a marketing company hired by the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes. Cigarettes are horrible killing machines. The companies that make these products are bad, bad companies. Yes, people need to police their own bodies, but why make a product that kills people? (Funny, there's a Phillip Morris commercial on TV right now at 12:11 AM on Monday morning. That's very weird.) Speaking of weird, I saw my friend Lisa Todd from Compass Bank at Macaroni Grill. She was looking great and was with her boyfriend. I forget his name, but I recall he has a child from his first marriage. I have no idea if Lisa is engaged yet, but I know it's on the horizon if she's not. It was nice to see her again. Her boyfriend seemed very nice, so I'm glad for Lisa.

Saturday was k-bob night at the Roshek house. They were good as usual. I also learned the history behind the k-bob which was discovered by my grandfather on a trip abroad (to Spain I think). When he came back, he asked his brother-in-law to make a contraption to cook the k-bobs (which are tenderloin, bell pepper, onion, and bacon on a skewer). They are slowly cooked with peripheral heat while they rotate on the skewers. You also baste them with bar-b-que sauce. We also had Caesar salad and green beans.

Then I went to Tony and Jon's huge 3,500 square foot mansion and played Texas Hold 'Em Poker. A grand time was had by all.

Easter Sunday was nice. Carolyn, Mom, and I went to 11 o'clock Mass, then we had really good casserole, apple fritter coffee cake, and strawberries. The casserole thing was incredible. I might try and make it. We also had mimosas, and I added some frozen bellini slush which made things even better. Then I flew back to Houston. I love Southwest Airlines.

Kayla made Pina Colada shrimp and rice with toasted coconut and diet coconut milk. It was ok, but we'll try something else next time. I made roasted garlic which you spread on French bread with pesto and goat cheese. It was very good.

I watched Donnie Darko over the weekend. I enjoyed the entire movie until the end, because the loose ends were tied up too quickly with little explanation. I later went to www.donniedarko.com to figure out what was going on, and it turns out everything is explained there. The movie would be perfect if they explained it like the website does, so when the whole package is taken in together it's a great film. The plot is intricately developed and the main character is fantastic. It a weird but creative film. The cut scenes really add to the movie, so I'll go find the director's cut and watch it again. At least the cut scenes were in the special features so I could see them.

>>View the PICTURES<<

I owe you an update on my lab results. These were taken on Wednesday, which was 9 days after the initial results. I will first report the new result followed by the old result for comparison. Enjoy!

Total Bilirubin 1.3 3.6
Indirect Bilirubin 0.9 2.1
Alkaline Phospahatase 486 595
AST 114 296
ALT 407 740
White Blood Cells 12.2 21.2
Platelets 479 236
Absolute Lymphocytes 5758 14416
Absolute Monocytes 1635 1272

I will be checking these tests one last time before I head out for China. Let's hope everything is back to normal by then.

I had an interesting day at the clinic today. I had the opportunity to see Tourette's Syndrome in person for the first time. I also saw several interesting cases ranging from intractable vomiting and diarrhea to Obstructive Sleep Apnea causing hypertension (high blood pressure) and fainting spells in a 25 year old man who drives an 18-wheeler.

Kayla and I had lovely pecan-crusted yellowtail snapper and porgy with asparagus, rice, and Cesar salad. We were pleased with the meal...as it was quite tasty and very healthy. I look forward to more of these cooking evenings, as it is much more fun to cook with company. It's sort of a nice way to decompress after a long day (which will become more important in the coming months as I embark on the dreaded intern year). Here are a few pictures. The girl with the dog is Kayla's sister Krista. She is holding "Kayla's" dog Bruno.

"Medical School Prom" went off very well. It seemed to me everyone had a fun time. I was very pleased with the faculty turnout. Dr. Buja showed up, along with several associate and assistant deans. Even a few basic science and clinical faculty (mostly surgery, cause we're the coolest) showed up, which was also very nice. After the banquet, Kayla and I stayed at her cousin Angela's place which is also in the Rice Lofts. It is on the 16th floor overlooking downtown Houston. I liked the concrete ceilings and hardwood floors. It was a very nice place for a young professional.

>>View the PICTURES<<

Sunday was lazy. Kayla and I had brunch at Hungry's, which is a cafe in The Village. Kayla had black beans, orzo, lettuce, and grilled chicken all mixed together. I had banana and strawberry waffle with bacon and mint tea. We had hummus for an appetizer. We were both very pleased with the meal. Then I sent my copy of John Stossel's Give Me a Break to my grandmother, as she will love that sort of thing. I also purchased a copy for Nathan and sent that to him. He'll enjoy it as well I think.

Later Kayla and I made some banana bread. However, we took liberties with the recipe (we added vanilla, walnuts, and sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top to make a crust). I only had a little bite, but it tasted good. I look forward to having that for breakfast with a hot cup of java. Then we ordered Pizza Hut and watched Monsters, Inc.

Monsters, Inc was very, very funny. It starred John Goodman, Billy Crystal, and Steve Buscemi. I think that completes my Pixar library of movies now, except for The Incredibles and Toy Story 1, of which I've only seen parts. The animation in Monsters was outstanding. The best part was when the head monster gets thrown in the snow and you can see his fur swaying in the breeze. There was plenty of Billy Crystal humor and a fun storyline. I would recommend this to all of you.

I promise I'm going to watch Donnie Darko...maybe tomorrow night. Geez, it keeps getting pushed aside for some reason.

I finished John Stossel's Give Me A Break today. He's one of the greatest people alive. I would characterize his philosophy as Objectivism and his politics are probably Libertarian. But most of all, he fights for what is right. He believes people should be free. We are free to do whatever we want with our bodies, with our speech, our money, our minds, our hearts...as long as our actions don't interfere with the freedom of someone else to do the same. He believes whole-heartedly in Capitalism and free markets. He believes in small, limited government that exists to protect its citizens and enforce laws which keep the peace. I agree with many of his views, just as I agree with the Philosophy of Ayn Rand. I highly encourage you to read the book. It's a fun, quick read, and you'll learn a lot. Especially if you like freedom, limited government, and creation.

Kayla cooked dinner tonight. She made stuffed peppers. They were incredible! I don't know what was in them, but there was ground beef, orzo (like rice), spices, cheese, garlic, red sauce, and a bunch of other stuff. I added a mixed green salad, and we had a huge feast. I was really impressed. I have included a few images for you.

Tomorrow is banquet. We have 3 hours of open bar. I get nothing. I might sneak a glass of wine so I get something, but I can't get crazy like everyone else. Oh well, I'll be ok.

Well today I matched into a general surgery position. Come July 1st, I will be in Springfield, Mass. working at Baystate Medical Center. I visited this program first way back in November and instantly loved it. They are a teaching campus for Tufts School of Medicine which makes them a perfect mix of community and academic programs. Plus they'll have 3rd year medical students there, and I'm REALLY happy about having the opportunity to teach them. Of course, some of them will probably be smarter than I am in the beginning, but that's ok I suppose. We'll all learn together. I couldn't be more pleased to be moving to New England where they have really good football and baseball it seems. It will also be nice to have four seasons, skiing in Vermont, Boston 1.5 hours away, and SNOW! It's gonna be a fantastic ride, and I look forward to every minute.

Match Day was pretty cool. The China Group met earlier than match to discuss more of the trip and have a celebratory glass of champagne. Dr. Strobel is a pretty incredible guy, and all the people on the trip are going to be a lot of fun. I really can't wait to get out there and see all China has to offer.

After the China Group picture, we had a class picture followed by the opening of our letters. It was all very exciting, and I was glad when it was over (especially with a "top tier" rank choice as I call it. My classmates (especially those going into surgery) seemed to have all matched at their first or second choice of residency. Nick matched at Washington University Hospital Program in St. Louis, which is incredible. I got to see a lot of classmates I haven't seen in a while, various faculty were there (including Dr. Farnie who interviewed me for school), and tons of friends and family were in attendance. It was a pretty cool spectacle.

Then we headed over to Baker Street Pub for festivities and St. Patrick's Day green beer. Of course my liver function tests are still elevated, so I'm on the shelf for drinking. It sort of stinks, but the tea was good right? And that's about it. Kayla came to town, I picked up Nathan's Baquero Framed "Bowl of Organs", and we had dinner at Taco Milagro. It was a pretty cool day when it was all said and done. I'm feeling great at this particular moment.

>>View the PICTURES<<

Tomorrow is Match Day. Everyone congregates in the courtyard, we have a class picture, and administration passes out little envelopes with our matches in them. I guess it's like the Academy Awards with all the anticipation. Television crews are usually there, as it's a big deal that the next class of doctors is being sent on their next assignments. It's yet another rite of passage. I had a filet from Outback Steakhouse to celebrate matching. It was quite good along with my Cesar salad and baked potato.

So we find out where our lives are now headed towards, then we go drink. I had my blood tested today at Dr. Bond's office to see how my liver is doing post-mono. I feel much better, and I have a feeling my liver will be ok. Cause if it's not, I'll be pissed that I can't drink on Match/St. Patrick's Day. I even have a green dress shirt and tie to commemorate the occasion.

Tonight we watched The Notebook. It's a little romance movie, but it's also an emotional rollercoaster. There are a bunch of young actors you've never heard of plus James Garner. I don't want to spill the beans about it, but I really thought it was incredible for a chick flick. You experience pretty much every emotion you have before it's all said and done. Very powerful.

I saw Toy Story 2 a few nights ago. This is a fantastic movie. However, I still haven't seen Toy Story 1. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are fantastic as two of the voices along with big stars like Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, the late Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, and Estelle Harris. I laughed several times during the movie, and there are plenty of intelligent moments as we would expect from a Pixar film. I look forward to eventually seeing the first one, as I know it is also greatness.

I now have Donnie Darko in my possession. I will be watching it in the coming days and will let you know what I think. In addition Nathan has sent me Shaolin Soccer, which I very much anticipate viewing. This reminds me that The Maestro still has Nathan's newly framed painting. The Maestro had to cancel on my yesterday and today for me to pick up the painting, but hopefully I will get another chance tomorrow. It seems The Maestro is very busy these days, as yesterday was Tango lessons (as he teaches every Tuesday), and today is something else. I really look forward to seeing Nathan's "Bowl of Organs" aka "A Hospital Scene" with the master's frame. It will be a nice end to Match Day tomorrow, with me hopefully ending up where I want to end up.

The road to health continues. Today was my first full day back, and it wasn't too bad. I started getting tired towards the end of the day, but it wasn't anything unbearable.

I found out at 11:00 AM that I matched, which is SWEET! Now I wait until Thursday to find out WHERE I matched.

I had a student senate meeting at 6:30, followed by our class officers deciding where we stand on banquet funds. It's going to be very close, but I think we'll be ok in the end. After that it was time for Brian O'Neal's in The Village. I was quite impressed with the turnout. It seems now that we're all finishing up, people are quite prone to going out for a few drinks. I was very pleased to see everyone. I was less pleased that I drank tea instead of beer, but I'm giving my poor liver a break, at least until Match/St. Patrick's Day and also banquet night the following Saturday. My urine is now totally normal, which leads me to believe my liver it totally healed. I'll get some blood work done on Wednesday to confirm to make sure I'm not going to screw it up on Thursday and Saturday. I'm not too worried, as all this medicine training has taught me something, and I'm confident in my abilities.

So there you have it.

Mavs beat the Wolves, Rockets beat the Kings, and now I'm watching "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" which I've heard tons about but never watched. Apparently they get like 300 workers together and build a family a new house from the ground up. They started with bulldozers and took the existing house down, then just started building away. This one looks cool, because one of the little girls in the house has cancer and likes to cheer up the other cancer patients at the hospital. SHE cheers the other cancer patients up. Pretty cool. Then Carly Patterson shows up to do a routine which will be made into a mural in one of the kid's "gymnastics room". Then they keep building, while the family thinks they're in Minneapolis (they're really in Phoenix). That reminds me of early January when I interviewed for surgery programs in Phoenix then Minneapolis. I can be just like them.

I think I'm getting over this mono thing. After I got the steroid shot on Wednesday, things really started turning around. Thursday was better but not great. I ate a little bit on Friday and continued to improve. I noticed my urine was turning from dark orange/brown back to yellow. I think the dark color was due to the unconjugated bilirubin I was peeing out. The change to normal yellow probably indicates that my liver was starting to heal.

Saturday I ran a few errands: first I deposited $8,000 into my class account for the banquet, then I got on the computer to buy U2 tickets to Houston and Dallas. The only ones I could get were behind the stage, so I said screw it. I was pissed not to get tickets, but the show is in October, and I have no idea what city I'd be living in anyway. Then I went to the Holiday Inn to see Kayla in action at one of her weight loss seminars. Basically they get a bunch of people in a room and show them if they're eligible for bariatric surgery or just medical treatment. I got to meet Drs. La Forte (general internal medicine) and Trahan (general surgery) after the event was over. They were very laid back and would be very fun attendings to have as a student or resident. If the doctors at UTMB are all like that, I probably should have applied there as well. Then we grabbed some lunch and went to the pool for a bit. Other than that, I slept.

So today has been very nice. I slept in, had leftovers, and purchased some spring clothes at Marshall’s (greatest store ever). Then I had a chocolate amaretto shake at Marble Slab. That was good. My appetite is coming back, but I still get full very quickly. My shorts don't fit anymore, because I didn't eat anything for a week. Now I'm slowly getting back in the swing of things.

I'll go back to work tomorrow. At 11:00 AM, we learn if we matched or not. The goal is not to get a phone call (which means we matched and no further action is necessary). I'm getting really nervous. However the odds are in my favor, because I ranked so many programs. I just hope I don't get a call tomorrow morning.

Oh, and it should be noted that Kayla ate all of the yummy cream cheese dip my mom sent home with me. So while I was sick all week and couldn't eat, she was here porking! Can you believe that?!

Some of you may have noticed I've not been feeling up to par these past few days. Well yesterday Dr. Bond called me (Dr. Bond is my attending this month on family practice) with the lab results from the blood he drew on Monday. It turns out that I do in fact have mono. It also seems that my liver has shut down (for the time being). So all the symptoms I listed in the last blog have now been confirmed with lab values. I'll teach you what each value means later today when I have the exact numbers.

So the plan today is to get a steroid shot. Kayla's step-dad Jerome is going to pick me up here at Kayla's place in Friendswood, drive me to Dr. Bond's office in Alief, take me to my house to get my passport (to apply for my Visa) and some new clothes, and then lug me back to Kayla's place. This is truly incredible (he'll practically be driving me the circumference of Houston). Kayla tells me that both sides of her family have been thinking about me, which I think is really special and quite heartwarming. I think I've really lucked out with this whole deal. I wish I could stop being such a pain and get over this thing.

I other news, I get to cancel my $1,000 Step 2 which I'm slated to take on Friday. Happily the nice people at the NBME are going to waive my $150 rescheduling fee due to documented illness. Thank goodness!

Lab Results (with the normal range in parentheses):

Liver Panel
Total Bilirubin 3.6 (.2-1.5)
Indirect Bilirubin 2.1 (0-1.5)
AST 296 (2-50)
ALT 740 (2-60)
Alk Phos 595 (20-125)

Blood Count
White Blood Cells 21.2 (3.8-10.8)
Absolute Lymphocytes 14416 (850-3900)
Absolute Monocytes 1272 (200-950)

Heterophile, Mono Screen Positive (negative)

Bilirubin is the leftovers after a red blood cell dies. It then gets processed in the liver and can be elevated when red blood cells start to explode too quickly or when the liver isn't working. The liver conjugates indirect bilirubin to direct bilirubin. My indirect bilirubin is high, meaning the liver isn't "conjugating" the bilirubin properly indicating dysfunction. Also, the AST, ALT, and Alk Phos are greatly elevated. These are compounds that are released from all sorts of tissues (including the liver) when there is damage. The numbers speak for themselves.

My white blood cell count is very elevated, which means my body is currently making tons of white blood cells to attack the virus causing my infection (Ebstein Barr Virus).

Now that I've had my steroid shot, hopefully some of the inflammation in my body will go down. We'll just have to wait and see. The worst part about all this is my stupid sore throat which not even Vicodin is taming. Ugh...it will all be ok.

Hey y'all, I'm tired of being sick. Kayla came to Dallas this weekend, and I'll I've done is sit around and watch TV. However, she did go shopping with Carolyn (and somehow managed to not spend any money), and we picked up a new bed frame because I broke mine.

Now I'm wishing this cold would go away. My throat is sore, I'm congested, and I'm itching all over. My eyes also turned yellow today, but they got better. I don't have a fever, chills, night sweats, body pain, diarrhea, or constipation. I'm just feel too tired to do anything. The differential includes a viral infection (anything from mono, to CMV, to all sorts of things), cholecystitis (not likely, because I'm eating fine), and bacterial infection. Feel free to comment with a diagnosis if you have one. Or you can ask other questions if you don't have enough information.

Happy trails!

Today began the greatness that is family practice. Well, it was only orientation; I go to the doctor's office tomorrow. I don't know if I can handle non-stop upper respiratory tract infections and hypertension, but it will certainly help me prepare for the Step 2 CS exam which I am taking next week. In fact, the rotation will be my only "studying" for this $1,000 test of English proficiency.

I cleaned my room and dusted this afternoon. I also did a ton of errands, many of which via the phone like spending $1,000 on my plane ticket to Beijing, getting repatriation/emergency evacuation insurance (if I die, the insurance covers the cost of shipping my body back to the US), going to the store, and lots of other stuff. Then Ryan and I had Jason's Deli. It was nice to sort of stay here and see what's up with Ryan. Nick is deathly ill with a stomach virus. Apparently he was vomiting and such all morning. I suppose I'm next which would suck as I've been under the weather for over a week now. It's weird, because I itch all over with no other symptoms. I'm not jaundiced, so hopefully it's not cholecystitis. I also have been sort of melancholy and fatigued as well. What's up with that? I desperately need to go play tennis,or run, or do something. Hopefully I can get that rolling soon.

Finally, I went to Maestro Baquero's Gallery tonight to chat and drop off Nathan's famous "Bowl of Organs" which is being professionally framed by the Maestro himself. To have the already treasured Nathan Beach original now to be encased in a David Baquero original frame makes the work even more perfect. It seriously will be a priceless combination, and I can hardly wait to see the finished product. There are few people who I value more than Nathan and The Maestro, and this one piece (with both the work and frame made especially for me) will sort of represent each artist's greatness all in one...which means the world to me. The Maestro and I had excellent conversation for about half an hour. Every time I see him there is some sort of magical connection made. I'm really beginning to think he may not be a real person, as he is too kind and too wise to be mortal. He's a pretty incredible dude that's for sure.

Finally for Kayla's parents, Kayla was at The Galleria for at least 4 hours this evening with her friend Jennifer. I guess Jennifer's husband gave them a credit card and said go nuts. This can't be good (except for the retailers).