Rotation #3 & 4 Kearny, AZ

Just knocked out another 2 rotations at the Kearny Clinic.  Family Medicine was the focus this time around.  I couldn't have picked a better place to spend the last 12 weeks.  For one, it's super close to home.  Secondly, my preceptor was excellent - a great teacher who let me do quite a few procedures (laceration repair, incision & drainage, toenail removal, joint injections, etc.).  Lastly, because it was a rural area, they see a lot of urgent care as well.  There is an x-ray machine on site so I got lots of "exposure" (nice pun?) to reading films.

My preceptor and I got along fabulously.  I remember back to the first week when we were getting ready to go in and see a patient when we realized each other played volleyball.  We stood outside the door and talked volleyball for like 10 minutes....oops.  Then that Friday we played "name that tune" pretty much like all day, after I told him I loved 80's music.  We have continued to do so since, with all genres of music.  Don't worry, he actually taught me a thing or two as well :)

As I stated before, I am definitely warming up to family practice.  Hours are great, there is plenty of variety, you see your patients more than just once, and you can always refer to a specialist if it is outside your area of expertise.  Sounds like a great combination, except...... I want something more procedural based.  I definitely built up my experience level on this rotation and feel more confident as a provider, but I still have a long way to go.

When I first found out that I would be spending my longest rotation in Kearny, of all places, I was really bummed because it's so small (population about 2,000) and in the middle of nowhere.  We used to play against Kearny in sports when I was in high school and we'd also kill them in basketball, 90 something to 20 something.  And now I would get to live there.  I have actually come to really love it! Kearny is a copper mining town and is up in the mountains.  There is beautiful scenery and cactus everywhere!  I love the cactus!  Everyone has been very friendly too.  I even found a beautiful lake to go running around!

There's not many options for living in Kearny, but I stayed with a very nice 85 year old lady and her 3 cats.  The cats were obnoxious, always jumping up on the table and counters while I was eating (GAH), but it has worked out nicely.  She is a very nice lady and is pretty active for her age, always volunteering for one thing or another.  The day before I left, she was actually hospitalized (I won't go into specifics, but I played a large role in diagnosis).  I certainly couldn't leave before saying goodbye, so the next day I drove to Globe and surprised her with some flowers.  Such a sweet lady; funny too.  Take this note she left me for example the night she went into the hospital, which was also Halloween...

On the weekends, I would either come home to Thatcher or head to the valley (Phoenix) to spend with friends.  I also wanted to attend a YSA ward for church to meet and be around more people my age.  Unfortunately the ward I went to seemed to have quite a few young'uns in it.  I mostly hung out with my friend Sariah (we were in the same ward up at BYU a few years ago) and her friends.  We were always doing something fun - 
Floating the Salt River, Building sand castles at the only beach pool in AZ, Cheering on the Diamondbacks, Eating delicious food, Jazzing it up at the Dueling Piano Bar on Mill Ave., Supporting BYU football with our fellow cougar fans, Shopping the sales racks, Living it up at the State Fair, Exploring Papago Park, and much much more!

Side Note: I told Sariah that I have always wanted to win one of those giant stuffed animals.  So she dared me to just ask someone to take a picture with theirs, and for once I chickened out on a dare.  AN EASY DARE.  What is happening to me?!  So Sariah set the stage and asked someone.  After that we decided to see how many pictures we could get with people's giant stuffed animals.  End result: 12

My friend Troy came into town from New Orleans while I was there so we spent a day at Saguaro Lake on the jet skis.  So much fun!  I became quite the daring driver doing all kinds of spins, but for some reason I kept flying off the back whenever Troy was doing his crazy driving.  Such a beautiful lake too!

My little sister also came into town one weekend from Oklahoma, so my Mom and I met up with her for a day of fun.  We had lunch at Red Lobster, cupcakes for desert, and wandered around Old Town Scottsdale.  Everything was just dandy until I actually sat on a cactus.....and there are STILL spines that I cannot seem to remove.  Haha!

I ended up going home to Thatcher about 5 or 6 times over the course of the last 3 months.  I even surprised my Mom and showed up that first Thursday I was in AZ, only to find she wasn't home.  So I sat in the pool parking lot across the street like a creeper until she got home.  Surprise!  She loved it.  I LOVE coming home to Thatcher.  And I LOVE the desert.  I caught the cotton picking season just in time too!

My Mom and I had a fun fall day at Apple Annie's picking apples & pumpkins, eating apple smoked hamburgers & fresh apple pie, with cider donuts & kettle corn for the road.  I also LOVE fall and feel a little cheated that I was in AZ (where fall does not exist) for the better part of the season...

I had the good fortune of being in the area for my 10 year high school reunion.  I was actually glad when I knew that I'd be on rotations and mostly likely somewhere across the country so I wouldn't have to attend.  ANY excuse not to go would be good... I don't know what I was thinking though, because it was so much fun!  I'm actually super glad I got to go and see everyone again!  We had a really great turnout; prob a little more than half our class showed up.  I thought it might be weird to see and talk to people I hadn't done such with for 10 years, but turns out everyone is pretty much exactly the same :)  Festivities including attending the Homecoming assembly, riding atop a fire engine in the parade, going to the high school football game, ice cream social that night, and a BBQ for lunch the next day.  And I went to all of it!  Alisa decided she would tell the Luke Rain story and everyone LOVED it.  Let's just say I was a practical jokester in high school and my friends got me back REAL good.... I only wish I had taken more pictures with friends.

Basically, I miss Arizona already and am already planning when I can come back next.  Here's what I will miss the most - clear blue skies.