Bronchoscopies are cool because you can visualize the insides of people's airways and go "Oh crap, no wonder you can't breathe, your bronchi are completely filled with mucus." Very interesting for the doctor, not so great for the patient. What did I learn during my peds pulmonary rotation? Please, everyone, be tested to see if you carry the Cystic Fibrosis gene. Although treatments are improving they are still only supportive, not curative. It only takes one encounter with a 17 year old girl slowly dying after her third lung transplant to convince you that this is not a disease you want to mess with. 1 in 29 caucasians carry the recessive trait which is pretty high in the scheme of things. And if both parents are carriers...do you really want to have a 1 in 4 chance that your child's life expectancy is around 30? If you're informed you can explore all options...if you don't know until you find out you have a salty baby, I hope you like regularly spending 2 weeks in the hospital for IV antibiotics.
I also saw a lot of kids with asthma which is not at all surprising since I'm in the prime neighborhood for it. It's gotta be incredibly scary not to be able to breathe, but at least doctors should be able to control asthma...it's not Ondine's Curse. I've gotta remember to breathe over the next couple weeks too. So far I've had two pediatric residency interviews (CHOP and Columbia) and loved both places. Next up, 10 interviews, 3 weeks, 7 states (and 2 coasts)...craziness. Hope for the best! So thankful for my wonderful family and friends...and we can all be thankful for oxygen.
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