Home Sweet Home

Pics of our new home. Nothing yet related to the white coat burning, as it hasn't happened, but I will post just as soon as it's done.

These are in order:

1) the front of the home with a small view of my car (only the front yard has much grass - like we wanted - so the upkeep will be minimal and mowing is not much more than an hour to do at most)

2) entrance view from the front door with wood-burning fireplace (will be nice in the colder months to save on electricity)

3) kitchen with Daughter's fabulous kitchen magnets all over the fridge - on the left by the wine glasses you can see Geebo our Betta - and in the sink is the larger bowl I'm preparing for him

4) hottub left by previous owners - which is very nice to soak in after some unpacking along with an ice cold beer, but I think it might get a little annoying to keep up with when the shit hits the fan later

Revelation

At a family dinner my uncle asked me a question:

“Would you do it all again?”

Simple question, hard answer. My parents, grandmother, brother, and various other family members were there – all awaiting what, I'm convinved, they were sure they’d hear. Instead I dropped a blow. After refusing to answer at first and being cajoled into answering I replied:

“It’s not that I wouldn’t, but right now I’m not sure. It’s really not been worth it and it’s a helluva lot harder than anyone understands. I don’t know…I don’t think I’d do it again. I know I wouldn't want my kids doing this.”

Almost everyone sat there, rather stunned. I’m sure they thought they’d hear me praise my training and the love that has grown inside me for medicine. Instead I was honest. Honest about the hardship, the frank disappointment, the depression that had set in many times, and just let them know I wasn't sure if I'd made a good decision. My uncle, who is by trade a lawyer, looked at me and shook his in agreement.

He then went on to expound on how he hated being a lawyer for the first 10 years following law school, which his wife agreed completely. This received incredulous replies from my grandmother and mom, to which my uncle and aunt echoed my frustrations - debt, disappointment, pressure, self-doubt, and the feeling of accepting a lie. He explained how the debt, the lack of esteem, and overall bullshit that he had to endure while fresh out of school made him almost quit several times. He expounded on how he hated people assuming he was "rich" because he was a lawyer and that he had originally believed he'd be wealthy when he entered law school. The harsh fact was, that for many years, they barely could afford to live.

He then looked at me directly and proceeded to inform me that it got better. It took time, but once you find what makes you happy it makes the job fantastic. He now loves what he does – though it wasn’t what he initially thought he’d be doing.

That was, for me, the only time that I truly felt that someone in my family understood what I felt. The sad part is that the only reason he understood it was because he had to endure something similar. You just can’t explain this to people who haven’t dealt with the process. They all look at you like you’re crazy and talk about the money, the prestige, and the myths that shroud the professions of medicine and law.

I hope that I'll find the peace and happiness that he has in law. I would really like to wake up most days and want to go to work. Right now I don't.

Boys and Girls

Parents. Gotta love ‘em.

Daughter has started T-ball and had her first practice last weekend. We had prepared for this by obtaining various tools that she’d need – like a glove, bat, bat-bag, etc. and hoped that they’d have helmets. When we received her team’s information and met for their first practice we noticed that, to our horror, she was the only girl on the team!

GAHHHHH!!!!

Naturally we were proud to watch her match the boys in many aspects and wallop the ball off the tee just as well as some of the others, but we wanted her to stick out. Like all parents do, I guess. But mostly because she was the only girl and Wife wanted to spread GIRLPOWER all over the field.

So afterwards we went to the sports store and spent a large sum of money on pink and purple gear (helmet since theirs were only blue and black, balls, cleats that have pink accents, and a mitt that was a correct size). So now, when she gets up to hit, play defense, or just hang out with the boys, she’ll be a standout. Because we’re shamelessly promoting that OUR DAUGHTER IS THE BEST!

Where’s that parenting certificate?

Caring For Loved Ones

One of the more frustrating things that come with a medical education is having people expect you to give advice or fix them right away. I’ve had Wife’s friends and coworkers call me, unexpectedly and unacknowledged, to ask me if their doc was crazy, or if they should be doing this for that, etc. I’ve told all of them a very similar message: I don’t give advice over the phone or in person, I’m a medical student, go see your doctor. I have stated and firmly believe that you shouldn’t give advice to people without being their doctor - regardless of the relationship. It can come back and bite you in the ass.

That being said, it’s harder when it’s your family. Both my kids were sick recently (10 days of hacking cough and 2 days of violent food poisoning) and I’ve been trying to take care of them as best I can. Since they’ve been sick with illnesses that would resolve on their own I’ve really just been dolling out comfort care. But it upsets you, to know that you’re looked at to fix them and that being post haste. Plus, on top of that expectation is the very real notion that you're not believed.

“What good is your medical education if you can’t take care of this?”


"I didn't really believe what you were saying, but I guess you were right."

I’ve heard those statements before and will most likely hear them again. It’s hard to tell your loved one that they just have to “suck it up” and deal with it for a while – there’s nothing that can be done beyond supportive care. Certainly you feel that you want to be proactive and heal your family, but at the same time you must realize that in order to be a good husband and father you have to distance yourself from your medical training – at least to some extent.


I've had conversations with my mom about my dad's cancer, if it's progressed, and similar topics. She recently asked me, while out for an interview, to come with them to a follow up appointment where a new growth was going to be discussed. Because this subject was well beyond my training, I went and asked only a few pertinent questions. My goal was to be a support while trying to not interfere with the relationship developed between my dad and his doctor. Mostly I was there, I think, to make my mom feel better and certainly not second guess the treatment plan. They were glad I accompanied them, but I understood the hazards that were in place at my being present and tried dutifully to avoid traversing them.

There’s a slippery slope that can develop if we get too involved in caring for our family or friends. Regardless of your experience I feel that we can get too emotionally involved and attempt too much without the guidance of other, perhaps more appropriate, physicians and nurses. I’ve had times where I felt guilty for wanting to take Daughter to her pediatrician because I felt there was something that they could do - anything - just make her happy again. I've also had times where I've felt ashamed for presenting with an illness that, in retrospect, was an easy diagnosis that did not require a sick visit.


Between all of these cases she's been OK, but it still bothers me. Stepson's dad has taken him to their doctor after I've told him there's really not much more they can do - too which I've found some degree of anger directed towards him. Regardless of whether or not I was accurate I have since realized that it's not his job to trust me (nor I him) as I'm not their physician. And because of these understandings, based on pride and shame, I realized that I was too involved in the care of a loved one and could have made mistakes shadowed by emotional attachments.


A perk of medical training is being able to take care of people around you, but it is imperative that all physicians realize there's more undertaken while caring for a family member than a regular patient. Important findings could be minimalized by a desire to avoid a tough discussion or diagnosis and bonds that were once strong can be broken forever. I personally have decided to never provide healthcare for my family that would normally be part of their doctor visits.

To Do List

The family had a terrific Christmas yesterday. The kiddies were very excited Christmas Eve and were awake by 4am Christmas morning! Coffee, needless to say, was mandatory. Stepson was with us from Monday till noon on Christmas before he went to his dad’s. Once there he called after a couple hours and asked for us to bring over some of his gifts – he was bored. All I could think was, yes!

Wife, Daughter and I went to see a movie as well. We saw The Water Horse which was an OK kids movie. Daughter really liked it, but it had some weird parts where I thought, that's a little dark for a kids movie...but whatever. It was nice though, to get out of the house in the evening. Wife feels that Christmas evening is always a bit anticlimactic, especially since we don't have anyone we spend it with, and getting out of the house shakes things up a bit.

So I wish that I could relax today, but here is a small list of the items that I realized I have to accomplish by the end of this week (or maybe next week):

1) Register my car. I would like to avoid getting a ticket for expired registration by one day - like what happened last year - on the way to my first day of a rotation. I can use $140 for better things than citations.
2) Take Daughter to her doctor’s office. She has been sick for over a week now and I can no longer convince myself that it’s simply a viral URI. Especially since she started to complain about her ear hurting and, upon inspection, I found it to be angry, bulging, and red looking. Amoxicillin, 60-80 mg/kg bid-tid for 5-7 days, if I remember correctly.
3) Order copies of my birth certificate and have it express mailed. I was looking at my driver’s license the other day and realized that after 8 years without having to obtain a new one this expires in 2 weeks. Unfortunately in this state I have to have my first renewal at the DMV (bastards!) and can’t just get a mail-it-in renewal. I also realized that I can’t dawdle on this since I have to fly to a few more interviews in January, with one being the 6th-8th, and an expired license will no longer be accepted as identification! Crap.
4) Hang out with freaks at the DMV…see above.
5) Find out if my next rotation starts next week or the week after. An e-mail sent out last week stated we were starting 5 days later than the scheduled by the school. I’ll be out of town on that date and don't want them cutting me out of the class if I don't show the first few days.
6) Plan Wife’s birthday party and get reservations for dinner.

So as you can see…a few things to do. Some more important than others, but all important.

Weekend Laziness

I have a confession: I was one of the millions who went to see the Chipmunks movie on opening day. There, I said it.

Actually I was one of those parents who, being a very loving parent, takes their kids to some crappy movie just to make them happy. Because it was crappy. Really crappy. There was such an abundance of crapitude in the movie that I began wondering who else wanted their soda to be spiked with hard liquor to ease the cerebral pain. A couple things that I just couldn’t get over, amongst the plethora of issues (would you say I have a plethora – sorry, just had to), were these items:

First: Dave got way to comfy with having talking Chipmunks in his house. Just like, eh whatever, lil’ dudes. Make me money! In fact, everyone was a little too comfy with talking rodents.

Second: I feel bad saying this, as I’m a big fan of Jason Lee’s, but he did not get the Alvin yell down – at all. It sounded completely phony and forced. Like he wasn’t actually yelling at anything (you know, like there wasn’t an actual talking chipmunk causing chaos in front of him). I guess some people are just better at pretending they're interacting with something that will be added later while others are stiff. Lee was stiff.

Another movie I saw over the weekend (yes, productive) was ‘I am Legend’. Good movie overall, lots of suspense, superb acting by Will Smith, and a post-apocalyptic/ zombie background – awesome. I do have one thing I’d like to say, though. Even though this was a movie I’d definitely want to see again, I wish movie makers would realize that not seeing every detail actually makes creatures scarier. At the end you’ve seen the zombies so much that you’re no longer jumping at them and actually laugh a couple times.

Oh yeah, I also got much needed maintenance done on my car. Like belts replaced, new tranie fluid, brakes, etc. So it wasn’t a completely wasted weekend. What did you do with your time?

Oh Dear

Stepson came up to me and asked me a rather innocent question:

"How did Dairy Queen get pregnant?"

Oh god, I thought...here it comes.

"I have no idea." I stated, waiting for the obviously adolescent punch line.

"Because Burger King couldn't keep his whopper in his pants!"

Ah, yes, middle school.

It's Christmas Time!

This year, Christmas has been very fun for our family. Daughter, being 3, has developed quite the interest in the holiday and has wanted to participate in every aspect of decorating and getting the apartment fit for Christmas. Along with Stepson who continues to try and prove to us he still believes in Santa (which he doesn't, but he wants to get presents) they are an interesting duo to observe during this time of year. Daughter can often be found looking at the tree and running around screaming with glee: "It's Christmas time! It's Christmas time!"

What’s been great is that we have a few of the traditional Christmas DVD’s that Daughter has, prior to this year, not been interested in watching. However this year she’s watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (the real one and not that crappy remake with Jim Carrey) over and over again. She loves them.

While I was out interviewing Wife took her to Build a Bear and they purchased the Rudolph and Clarice reindeers. Daughter takes them to bed with her nightly and sits with them while watching any movie about Santa. It’s been a lot of fun and I know that this will be the last year where I can take more time to appreciate her interest fully. Thankfully I took this month off for interviewing to have the holiday season to myself without worrying about some damn rotation and their stupid requirements - I'm not interested in faking it right now.

To Alcohol, the cause of, and solution to...well you know.

I’m writing this on 4 beers, so it may be a bit absurd, but what the hell!

I feel sorry for some of my peers who are alone in all of this. I’ve been able to deal with the complexities of medical training with a family who brings me strength and diligence while others have no one (relatively) for whom they’re responsible.

There’s nothing like the knowledge that someone other than yourself counts on your continuous determination, abilities to accept ridiculous situations, and the learned response of holding one’s tongue while being chastised for an unforeseen circumstance to keep you on the path towards the MD. I think without those faces I hope to see at the end of my days I might have said “fuck it” a few times. But then again, perhaps not.

What I’m trying to say, in the same alcohol-fueled way someone who’s had one too many tries to be eloquent while making a point, is that being married during these 4 years has been hard, terrible at times, but overall the most wonderful damn thing I’ve ever done.

If I’m nothing at all, besides a husband and father, then I’ve succeeded in life. I’ve felt for some time now that the greatest failure one can be is to fail as a partner and parent while the greatest accomplishment is to be a wonderful family man. It was for this reason that I left surgery and decided, once and for all, that Anesthesia would be the best fit for me.

Some people think that I’ve given up on a dream, but I think I’ve realized it already and have just made sure to always be there for it.

Donation

A few months ago my sister and cousin died. They were stark contrasts of what can happen in life if you get hooked on drugs or what happens when you persevere and do everything that’s asked of you. I find it interesting that the discussion of the two is often very different as well – where my sister’s death is often regarded as a blessing (since she was as good as anyone had seen her for years) and my cousin’s a tragedy due to the potential he had. I’d grown accustomed to these discussions. What I wasn’t prepared for, however, is the description I was told regarding my cousin’s burial arrangements months after his funeral.

You see, he was an organ donor, and being a healthy male without any diseases (despite an apparently bad heart) he was a gold-mine. My uncle and aunt had opted to dress their son for his funeral, but were unprepared for what they found. Their description of the event, the nightmares it gave them, and the complete lack of “comfort” that my uncle had felt while getting his dad ready for burial was shocking to me.

His body was nothing more than pipes, plastic coverings, and a shell of his former self. His eyes were taken, his bones, his skin, his organs…everything had been removed leaving merely a morsel of his former self. My uncle said he wished that they’d cremated him instead because it was such a horrific experience.

Being an organ donor myself I find it hard to think about this and the toll it took on their grieving minds. Wife is very against my donating for fear that I wouldn’t be whole anymore. I’d often thought of this as silly, but have since reconsidered. Could I force my wife to bear that burden my uncle and aunt faced? Is it selfish to want something like that when it can damage your loved ones?

Whatever it is I have thought a lot about donating. I’ve not changed my card, but I continue to ponder what I should and shouldn’t donate. It’s a great choice, but far less simplistic than I’d ever considered.

Counting Sheep

Having my in-laws in our small apartment these last few days has been bitter-sweet. It’s nice that they’ve been able to get to know Daughter and see that she can walk, talk, and eat on her own (yes it’s been a while since they last saw her), but I really hate having all 4 of us in the house sleeping in the same room to accommodate them.

We did have the living room, but that was lost because of sleep deprivation related to snoring. So now we’re all cramped into the kid’s bedroom with an air mattress stuffed between the two beds while Wife’s parents take up the queen sized bed and our couch.

Just a couple more days though…couple more days.

Heavenly Home

How rude of me! I forgot to mention how nice it’s been to be home these past few days. I seemed to pick right up where I’d left off with everyone. The first night was wonderful.

I came home to presents, a homemade banner that said “Welcome Home Daddy!” with my kid's pictures drawn all over it, and the comfort of knowing that Wife was busying herself with various home projects while I was away (a friend told me that, in the army, the husband always was comforted if he came home after some time away to a rearranged home – it meant that his wife wasn’t out with someone else).

Daughter didn’t know what to make of my glasses and was a bit taken aback by the new look, but soon realized what was different, asked me about them, and then proceeded to run circles around Wife and I while we hugged and kissed for several minutes. Wife called me a 40-year old man with them.

Daughter has been able to get right back into the swing of “our” routine when getting ready in the mornings. Wife and I thought she might be resistant, but it’s like I never left – except that she’s nervous when I leave her alone. She thinks I might be leaving again…so reassurance is necessary.

The weather, though, is awful. Coming from mild fall-like weather with little humidity to sweltering summer-like conditions and damp air is just nauseating. Sunday the family went for a walk in the woods which turned into a 2-mile jog. Partly because of being out of shape, but mostly from the humidity, I could not stop sweating. Wife got concerned, but I just told her that I wasn’t “conditioned” to the atmosphere here and it would take some time. But God it sucks being this hot.

Phobias and Phish

Today is Friday the 13th. The second superstitious day this year that I’m aware of - since I had to learn the psychiatric name for fear of Friday the 13th in order to avoid a very long and tedious training session on its origins during my Psych rotation in April. BTW, do you know what that name is? Major kudos to whomever guesses correctly first.

Anyway, now that we've those formalities out of the way I will let you know that Sparky died. Wife took care of him after I called to alert her to the possibility of a traumatic evening if Daughter found him, but unfortunately he succumbed. We had to purchase another fish in order to appease Daughter's sense of disbelief that her fish had died as she held fast to her notion that a simple visit to the doctor and some miraculous medicine were all that was needed to cure her fishie. Poor girl, poor fish.

Now that I've officially killed off one fish I’m going to take the many suggestions given freely on the last post (thanks) and try to keep from committing fish murder again. Personally I hate fish as pets; simply because they’re so hard to care for and many people have varying ideas on what to do to keep them healthy while the damn swimmers just inevitably die no matter what we do! I need something hearty, that won’t die, and is easy to take care of - like a lobster!*

* Name this Disney movie and you're a superstar! If you have kids you'll have a better chance.

Parenting 101

Being a single parent is hard. I can’t even imagine how some people put up with the crap that they have to in order to get anything done when I sure as hell can't handle my kids without some support. Being home with Stepson and Daughter for most of the day yesterday just about killed me. By the end I was moody, quick to anger, and had just “had it” more times than I could count. I finally took them to the pool for the 2nd time that day just to get some peace. I can sit and watch as they play, Daughter swims with her arm floaties, and they leave me in relative peace.

Now, by themselves these two are fine and I’m quite happy to with them for most of the day, but as soon as they get together it’s WWIII. They pick on each other, yell, cry, fight, argue, and flat out annoy the shit out of me. Basically they’re being brother and sister.

Dammit.

I see other people with 3 or more kids - single moms/ dads with multiple children - and have to wonder how in hell they don’t end up driving their cars into utility poles while the demons fight in the backseat over some piece of paper or similiarly trivial object.

By the time Wife came home from work yesterday I was mad, at the kids as well as at her - simply for working extra hours to earn some additional income. Mad at her for the same thing I do when I’m on hard rotations with the exception being that when I stay late I'm not making any extra money. Talk about being a hypocrite.

Not Just Shaq

There’s a new TV program that will feature Shaquille O’Neal and centers around his efforts to get some morbidly obese kids thinner. It’s got a good message, but I think these kinds of programs are missing one of the real problems when it comes to obese children.

Stepson has a weight problem. He’s not grown very well, is smaller than most boys in his class, and has packed on the pounds in the last couple years like he was planning on hibernating. When I’ve reviewed some pictures from the beginning of med school and look at the changes in him I’m amazed and saddened. Truly something needs to be done.

Exercise and eating right are about the best options for him; yet this is truly not an easy undertaking in our current state-run educational system. School ends at 3pm after which he goes to an after-school care program where Daughter has preschool where he actually does get some time outside. Stepson is there until either one of this 3 parents (mom, dad, me) can pick him up. Then he has homework. TONS of homework since he’s in advanced classes. By the time he’s finished it’s time for dinner and bathing. Bedtime is 8:30pm and he’s had almost no time after school to get some good quality time outside.

But what of recess? Don’t even get me started on this apparently antiquated notion. Schools all over the nation are removing recess and PE as they continue to cut down on "extracurriculars" in favor of cramming more and more education down kid’s throats. The kids are restless, have little to no outlet, and are being drugged up the wazoo for ADHD. WTF is wrong here?

Stepson is allowed 10-15 minutes for the entire day to be outside. THE ENTIRE DAY! His PE classes are a joke. I’ve actually seen video at his graduation ceremony where the kids were holding sticks and trying to twirl rubber plates on them. And this is not just a singular occurrence – apparently it’s part of a “friendly” PE regimen where kids aren’t made to feel inferior through competition.

Now some people state that video games are the issue along with poor nutrition - as this seems to be the main focus seen in that TV show. I agree with these issues in part, but when there’s really no time to play anything due to increasing educational loads then we’re missing the bigger picture. Education is important to our youth, but sacrificing their health in order to “make the grade” is not an option. I don’t know why it ever became acceptable for children to be locked up in classes all day without recess in the first place.

We can blame the video industry, fast food culture, and the increasingly popular idea that “fat is not ugly”, but we have to address the fact that our children are not getting enough exercise. An hour a day – is it really that hard? Our children are getting fatter, sicker, and have poorer self-images of themselves due to these problems. Hell, we, as a nation, are the fattest we’ve ever been. Perhaps more parents and teachers need to get out and play with the kids, rather than just lecture to them.

So, since I’ve rambled on and preached about what you should be doing, it’s only fair to let you know what I plan to do. My plan for this summer includes going to the pool daily and swimming laps, having a physical and labwork done by his pediatrician for a nagging belief that there’s possibly a hormonal imbalance, and eating more fruit and veggies. He’s just finished up baseball (which is really not a good sport to loose weight with) and has camp during the day which will enable me time to study for Step 2 CK. Hopefully we can shed some pounds before he starts school again. I know I need to loose a lot as well and together we might just do it.

BMI Discussion and AWOL

OK. In response to the comments about the last post related to the “patient” I must admit something: that was me. Way to go Liz...you nailed it.

That’s right. I had you guessing about what kind of shape I’m in, what I might look like, and what you, my avid and voracious readers, thought MSG's fitness level is based on numbers because I'm an incredibly vain person. Happy?

The result? Well, basically most of you had me fairly well described: slightly overweight with a muscular build, often mistaken for weighing far less than I actually do (usually 40 pounds or so). I do not, regrettably, have legs of steel or “guns of nazarone”. Yet. So thanks for playing.

I was thinking about using this as a BMI discussion since I honestly feel I'm not "close to being obese" as the BMI suggests, but I think I’ll hold off on it. Afterall, most of us understand that this particular tool is useful but is clearly subject to interpretation.

******

Yesterday Stepson had his elementary school graduation. I was given a reprieve for the morning, but was supposed to return to the Army base afterwards. Instead I just didn’t go. I was essentially AWOL.

What's interesting to me is the fact that I’ve never done this before – completely forgoing my responsibilities because I despise a rotation. But here it is…I missed a day for no real reason. I just didn’t want to drive that far to deal with that crap.

Do I feel guilty? In some ways, yes, I do feel guilty. But in an abundance of others I feel completely OK. I had a great day with my family and enjoyed a picnic with his classmates. I spent some quality time celebrating Stepson's accomplishments and this movement into a new phase of his life. Hell, in one year we might be moving several thousand miles from him and his asshole dad, so taking time to enjoy these moments is even more important.

The only issue is whether I'll receive a reprimand on Tuesday for not returning. Either way - whatever. I really don't care anymore. I've got a couple more weeks and then 3rd year's over.

Hippo Sunday

Over the weekend Son and Daughter nearly amputated the foot of Daughter’s baby hippo while playing tug-of-war. Daughter screamed bloody murder and brought it out to me, turned to Son, and sneered at him.

“Daddy, [son] needs to go to timeout!” She demanded. Her finger accusingly directed to the indifferent 11 year old standing at the door. “He broke my Hippo.”

I examined the animal, noted that it was a rather easy repair, and figured I’d work on my suturing. So, while Daughter watched, teetering between pure horror and abject giddiness, I sutured the animal’s dangling appendage back into place. There was minimal blood loss and a local anesthetic was all that was needed for pain control - smirk.

Afterwards you could hardly tell that there’d been any damage and Daughter, quite happy with the result, gave me a kiss on the cheek and said: “Thanks, Doctor!”

She then skipped merrily back into her room where she showed the animal’s newly fixed leg to Son who promptly took the animal from her and threw it on her bed. Sigh.

***I wish I had a picture of the before and after, but I didn’t think about getting out the camera before I’d completed the task. It was fun, even if it was on a stuffed animal.***

Money Matters

He’s gotten a new job. One that pays over $115,000 a year with bonuses and incentives. He could easily make close to $200,000 a year or more. He’s 28 years old. What the fuck am I doing?

My brother was recently hired on at a franchise company where he’ll make the above income. He has a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics? or something like that. I’m glad for him, but at the same time, damn.

I was the one who was moving in the right direction. I was the one who’s future was all roses while his was covered in obscurity. Not anymore. Talking to him today on the phone I wondered if there isn’t something else I’m supposed to be doing. I knew there wasn't, but it just seems like I'm in limbo while others are moving on around me.

Now, don't get me wrong here, I’m glad that he’s doing well. It's just that he’s younger than me and will have been doing quite well while I struggle with debt, loans, and a $40,000 or so a year resident salary for 4+ years. But then who becomes a doctor to get rich? No one who knows better that's for sure.