Sirens

The sirens wailed and we gathered up the children and went into the bomb shelter. The kids are a bit scared but in good spirits. We called my in laws in the city, they heard two explosions. No casualties thank God. Looks like we'll spend the night in the shelter.

Update:

The nursery school in Be'er Sheva that was hit by a missile was the one my eldest daughter attended. It is very close to the apartment we lived in. My in-laws still live in the same neighborhood. Thank God it was at night when the school was empty.

War

I'm on call here in Tel Aviv in the delivery room. And my family is down south, where war is being waged against the evil that is Hamas. Thankfully, my village is out of range of the rockets. What I feel is mostly frustration, and also outrage.

Frustration. That I'm not with my family.

Frustration. That the world still doesn't see our enemies for what they are: Bloodthirsty barbarians who sanctify death.

Outrage. The world criticizes us for defending our country against the constant barrage of rockets and mortars that have been directed towards Southern Israel for the last 8 (!) years. And FYI, the rockets were fired usually around 8 AM and 4 PM, the time when children go to school and come home.

Frustration. Because the Arabs are too infantile and primitive to accept peace.

Outrage. At the thinly veiled anti-semitism of the world community. Their criticism is directed to the wrong party. It's Hamas who should be condemned.

Yes, yes, I'm not politically correct. Screw PC. The European left, the Israeli left and the hypocritical Arab "intelligenstia" are simply wrong. And immoral.

No Israeli Jew has ever rejoiced at the death of an enemy or at the death of civilians. No Jew has ever murdered a mother and her daughters in the own beds. No Jew has ever smashed the head of a 4 year old child against a rock. No Jew has ever knowingly or purposefully sought out women and children for massacre. (Sabra and Shatila you say? That was payback by Lebanese Christians for years of atrocities commited against them by Muslims. And the bitter irony is that the Jews were blamed.) This is the Arab way and I despise them for it.

There may be moderates in the Arab world but their voice is not heard. And that is too bad.

SurgeXperiences Blog Carnival #212

Welcome to the the 12 edition of SurgeXperiences Blog Carnival season 2! This is my second time hosting. Enjoy!

Since there is no theme, for better or for worse I've sort of catagorized the posts. This time I'll be starting with posts from patients (after all, we do all we do for them, right?)

Patient Blogs

Raymond, a personal finance expert, posts about his experience with laser eye surgery. It is a concise and comprehensive review of the pros and cons.

A doc at M.D.O.D tells us what it is like to be in a medical emergency from the patient's point of view in: Tamponade, or if it weren't for bad luck...

Every one of us should read this woman's account of emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. Her pre op anxiety was not addressed, and her post op pain relief came too late, for shame!

Kyle Shewfelt shows us some of the hardware that was removed from his leg.

These parents share the frustration of canceled surgery.

Student Blogs

Ben Bryner describes the process of applying to a residency program in: Surgery, Interviews and Rock'n'Roll. He writes: "Actually, nobody's really asked me what I would to if I couldn't be a surgeon. But my predetermined answer is: A sushi chef (like surgery, but more delicious) or a reporter."

Unprotected Text, relates the difference of teaching styles in anatomy class in this post .

Sharps Container wants to scream as she recalls the suffering of a child with burns after child abuse. I urge her to remain a sensitive soul, as she writes: "But now--with nearly a semester of medical school behind me--I think my reaction to the case would be changed...But I would still want to scream. I hope I never lose that impulse."


Resident Blogs

Dr. Alice worries about her upcoming pediatric rotation, but is relieved to find that it's not as bad as she expected. And she even finds time to go to the Library!


Surgeon Blogs

The Prairie Pooch gives us a glimpse of the future of robotic surgery in A Surgeon You Can Swallow.

On the other hand, Paul Levy opines that perhaps there is no added benefit to robotic laparoscopic surgery, but was forced to buy such technology in order to be competitive.

Becky and DrWes both found this interesting story that gives new meaning to surgery at a distance.

Aggravated Doc Surg details the art of "The Bump" (bumping another surgeon's cases for an urgent one.) He also gives thanks that he didn't suffer this nasty fracture.

RL Bates posts an informative post about skin cancer.

Self Mutilation was never so bizarre as Your ER Doc posts in this weird case.

The ever witty Bongi tells us that Out of Benoni he emerged, despite the negative prognostication of an evil headmaster. In words, even the ever cool Bongi loses his composure (justifiably I might add).

In Transplant Gone Wild, Buckeye Surgeon reports the story of an immoral doctor who ran amok, completely unchecked. Shocking.

Medical Imagery

For those who like pretty pictures, KevinMD sent us this gem. Warning to those with a weak stomach: Not for viewing before a meal.

Ron Miguel RN sends this hi res photograph of a surgeon's hand.

Oystein sends two posts: Lego Eye - can you spot the mistakes?, and Inner Sights - illustrates what a little bit of annotating can do to a picture. He also found this delightful music-video celebrating the heart.

Other Stuff (for lack of a better name)

Archeology and Surgery fans will enjoy this find brought to us by Dolce Vita.

Erica Collins posts this site listing 50 awsome video games for Physical Therapy and Rehab.

Anesthesiologist Blogs

Guess what? No posts from anesthesiologists were submitted. Hey wake up people!!

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SurgeXperiences is a blog carnival about surgical blogs, wherein surgical experiences are shared. It is open to all (surgeon, nurse, anesthesia, patient, radiologist, pathologist, etc) who have a surgical blog or article to submit. The next edition of SurgeXperiences (213) will be hosted by surgical first assistant Make Mine Trauma at "IntraopOrate" on 21 Dec, 2 weeks from now. Be sure to submit your post via this form.

Memes, aren't they annoying?

Darn, I've been tagged.
Gila, the only reason I'm doing this is because you're such a sweetheart. I usually ignore memes. So let's get this over with. To those whom I am about to tag, please forgive me.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:
1) Began my residency.
2) Amazed everytime a patient woke up at the end of anesthesia.
3) Oldest child in the planning stages.
4) Did my first reserve duty as a military doctor.
5) Had the cat castrated. (No, I didn't do it myself.)

5 Things on my to-do list today:
1) Make sure the patient wakes up at the end of anesthesia.
2) Be more patient with the children, even after being on call.
3) Be more patient with my wife, even after being on call.
4) Enjoy a really good cup of coffee.
5) Study some Gemarra.

5 snacks I love:
1) Poptarts.
2) Chocolate.
3) Olives (yep, I pop down those suckers like extasy pills).
4) Pizza (the kind they make in South Philly).
5) Beer (snacks can be liquid too ya know!)

5 Things I'd do if I were a millionaire:
1) Take the family on a trip around the world.
2) Attain a PhD in Philosophy.
3) Attend 50 Jazz festivals in one year.
4) Establish a college fund for disadvanted youth.
5) Bribe a prominent politician.

5 places I have lived:
1) Jerusalem, Israel.
2) Bloomington, Indiana.
3) Cheltenham, Pennsylvania.
4) Ithaca, New York.
5) Be'er Sheva, Israel.

5 jobs I have had:
1) Truck driver.
2) Short order cook.
3) Dairy Farm worker (cows are some of the nicest

people I know).
4) English teacher.
5) Cashier.

I tag: Baila, Zahava (aka Mrs. Bogner), Jameel, T, Bongi.