Thanks all for the encouraging words.
If nothing happens for 2005, then I'll reapply to more schools for 2006. The problem is the following:
Due to a registration mistake I had to take two 8-week classes for the fall semester over at my grad school. My wife is a pharmacy tech. We can't afford a babysitter. I had just gotten on with a contract where I used to work doing software testing.
It averaged about 20 hrs. a week, and with my wife working and sharing babysitting duties we could handle it. Well, she had two ovarian cysts, which burst. She developed a fever, which was brought under control with antibiotics.
The strange thing was that she's had burst cysts before. This time the pain did not go away. Her obgyn suggested it was endometrioses. She suggested she have surgery. Since she works part-time she has really funky insurance. The docs wanted 1000 bucks up front before they did the surgery.
At the same time I got into a dispute where I worked, and they broke my contract. So I had no money coming in, and she hadn't worked since the cysts. So.... no money there.
She couldn't work, and was in constant need of painkillers. So all our money went for those. Our local church thankfully gave us the money for the surgery, and she went in for it today.
The bad part is that it wasn't endometrioses. The doc thinks that the pain is somewhere in her bowels. So, when she gets home today she'll be on more painkillers. Where do we go from here? I have no clue.
My point is that when going through circumstances such as these it's very tough to find or justify 50 dollars on a supplemental app. What I should have done is filed paperwork for financial hardship for the application cycle. But when the cycle started I was doing fairly well.
I like S. Fl because I was born and raised there. All my family lives there. I went to the Tampa/Clearwater area (where I live now) for college. I like it up here, but we have no support structure. My wife's family is around here, but they aren't real close. So today, for instance, I didn't have anyone to watch my daughter. So I've been running back and forth to the hospital with her. In S. Fl I could just leave her with my mom, grandma, or sis, and be all set.
What these circumstances have made me want to do is practice medicine in very underrepresented areas. It's stinks to have little access to good medical care. Sometimes no matter what you do, or how well you plan, disaster strikes. You need help, and can't find it. Money talks. That's the bottom line. But what if you have no money? Then you really have no voice. Or very little of one.
I went from wanting an expensive car, and a big home to wanting a car that works, and any home. My priorities have really changed. I've been looked down upon because I've had to ask for help, or because I was in a position wherein I had no choice but to receive help. I want succeed as a doc, but then use that to inspire others to keep going forward.
****LEGAL DISCLAIMER******
The above post was not spell checked or grammatically scrutinized. It contains various errors in it and is not a correct representation of the intellect of the poster.
