Latest posts from across the network

Login and visit your dashboard to get started

admin — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:28:04 +0000

This is the first post on your new blog! Visit your dashboard to set up your profile and customise your blog, then get writing!

Day 17: “Two-Appointment-Tuesday”

theodorepezas — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 17:00:14 +0000

Today was literally over before it began. At 9am, I met Dr L at his office at Hygeia Hospital for two consults. One was for the little girl with the distractors (it basically required a small adjustment) and the other was to help change the gauzes on the re-do nose skin graft Dr L had been called into assist on (he basically saved his colleague from a lawsuit).

The rest of the day I spent at my grandparents home which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Day 16: Another Greek Monday

theodorepezas — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:29:37 +0000

The day started at 4pm. Not unusual for a Monday. There were a number a cases I saw at Dr L’s private practice, most of which were follow-up appointments. The new cases that I saw of interest included one girl with a fractured nose, a male patient with gynaecomastia, and an elderly lady who had been sent in by her dermatologist for the removal of a mole on her face.

Meanwhile, I am trying to get involved in research with Dr L as I am slowly realising that with publications, specialty training in plastics will become next to impossible.

Day 15: Burns, Baby, Burns

theodorepezas — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 15:58:24 +0000

Today I saw my first proper skin grafts taken from the left leg of the previously mentioned Albanian burns patient which were used to cover his upper arms. The day started at 8am for me, even though I did notice that things did not actually get going until 9am. The whole experience was rather gruesome, with 8 units of blood on standby and a limited amount of donor skin to graft. Upon completion of the grafting, the patient was appropriately bandaged but what was most memorable from the whole experience was the incredibly unprofessional lack of interprofessionalism between the doctors and the male nursing assistants in preparing to move the patient (who could not be grabbed above his forearms).

The other brief case I encountered involved a female patient in her early forties who had had an aneurysmal event which had made her bedbound. This had resulted in pressure sores on both her ears and the back of her head.

That was Friday in a nutshell.

Golden Buddha

Amit Thakrar — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:00:58 +0000

The Golden Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand.

One Fond Farewell: Turtle Recall

onebyjuan — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 19:03:29 +0000

Ate oil-down & lambie with friends, bid farewell to said friends, read their Facebook status regarding their delay in Trinidad & all expenses paid bored in beach-front hotel, got very jealous.

Caught the ferry to Carriacou, got sun burnt (finally), met Captain Brian, chartered a yacht christened Cinderella, sailed to palm island, swam in crystal clear shallow waters, met a charming Canadian couple who booked a last minute random getaway, thought their agent could not have picked a better destination to relieve their stress.

Ate more lambie, sailed on to Mayreau, hiked to Salt Whistle Bay, watched the sun set (but no green flash), hiked back to the Cinderella, ate fried red snapper, entertained the chef’s son with the detachable thumb trick, took a doggy bag back for Captain Brian, slept on the Cinderella under a full moon, hope I didn’t keep everyone up snoring like a bull.

Woke up at day-break, sailed to Tobago Cays, ate a breakfast of mango, papaya & home-made citrus juice with Captain Brian, snorkelled with turtles & manta-rays for four hours, got deservedly pinched by a ghost crab after stepping on one, it let me go.

Sailed back to Carriacou, got the ferry back to the Caranage, fended off a dozen eager taxi drivers, boarded a bus to Mont Tout, went straight to bed, passed out with Adam Sandler’s Wedding Singer on the box.

Woke up to a commercial for pressure washer, ate breakfast, went to the beach one last time, didn’t get sunburnt. Bought food for a farewell feast (made paella & crispy wanton), received friends & landlady’s family (they brought a feast too), ate until top button was undone, drank Old Grog rum & Carrib, exchanged embarrassing drink related stories, laughed at photos of abdominal x-rays showing foreign bodies in odd places – that’s the obligatory medical bit.

Bid everyone a fond farewell, slept soundly recalling a month’s worth of fun, woke up early, ate muesli for breakfast, ate ham & eggs for second breakfast, hired taxi to the airport, queued, checked-in, queued some more, went through security, queued some more, went through immigration, queued some more, bought some duty-free fags & rum, queued some more, boarded our plane home.

Thank you so long Grenada. It’s been emotional.

Batu Caves

Amit Thakrar — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 16:28:30 +0000

Posted from Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

One Does Carnival

onebyjuan — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:15:54 +0000

There are very few superlatives that adequately sum up Carnival. OH MY GOOD LORD comes pretty close but is still a few furlongs short of doing it justice. Let’s just say that Notting Hill has plenty to learn from Grenada.

It all kicks off at 4am with a mahoosive parade known as J’ouvert / Jab Jab. Sound systems crawl up the coast with thousands of goat-horned revellers covered in engine oil & body paint. All dancing as one without the slightest hint of trouble, looting, or rioting. Shame the same could not be said for my north London ‘neighbours’, who left me worried sick through the night as I tried to get hold of my folks to no avail. Thankfully, my family are fine though I missed out on a hell of a party.

The festivities continue into the night with ‘Pretty Mas’ – a parade of sound systems and revellers in fancy dress and lights coordinated by MCs fir the benefit of judges & spectators alike. No audience participation here but still one hell of a show.

The party concludes the following day with an all-day street party. Revellers sign up to ‘play’ (dance) in troupes behind mobile sound systems, mobile bars & steel bands in matching outfits parading up a 2 mile stretch of coastal road. The troupes compete for awards such as best music, best costumes, most numbers & best of parade – though the main focus seems to be getting as drunk & dancing with as many scantily clad girls as possible. The party goes on for 9 hours or until your feet can’t take anymore. The streets are a sea of colour (save for the winner of Whitest Foreigner at Carnival, yours truly). ‘Tsunami Waves’ (winner of Best Song) of bass-heavy rhythms pushing you relentlessly into the wine n grind of girls all around you who are btw absolutely STUNNING – every single one of them.

As we made our way back home after we could dance no more, we were adopted by an Irish yacht engineer and his neighbours. Consuming rum & pâte on multi-million pound vessel is possibly not the most authentic Carnival experience but it certainly was the most civilised & welcome end we could have possibly hoped for. Thank you Captain Mal & Captain Heff.

Oh, and I did something vaguely resembling work in theatres this week too.

Tune in next week for, ‘One Swims With Turtles in Tobago’.

One Near Miss

onebyjuan — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:42:04 +0000

Hurrican Emily is missing us by 500 miles. What’s interesting me is, so large a contribution is made to the economy by students, that they are evacuated off the island first should hurricane Emily change direction and head straight for us. Such was the devastation caused by the previous hurricane to hit Grenada (hurricane Ivan) that the university boasts a shelter large enough to accommodate the island’s entire population! What’s more impressive is that the threat of a hurricane has not made a single dent to the preparations for Carnival. More on that to follow …

Chinese temple

Amit Thakrar — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 01:59:11 +0000

Posted from Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia.
A newly renovated temple in Bintulu, sitting opposite the old-town’s famous market. They were kind enough to let us take some photographs and showed us how the locals pray. It was an amazingly colourful and grand building and we were glad to have stumbled upon it.