In the last month I have finished a PhD protocol and submitted it to an assessors committee; counselled too many parents about the imminent deaths of their children; waited not-so-patiently for the results of an ethics committee review; watched as people took a lot of strain, not able to help them; reviewed an article; put up IV lines, taken blood, performed biopsies and done bone marrow aspirations; gossiped on the stairs; had a birthday; served on a masters protocol committee; met new patients and bonded with them; waited anxiously to find out if a post would be filled to see if we could get some relief; served on various committees with varying levels of success; tried to find donors for stem cell transplants; seen a beautiful child relapse; been on call for a week; taught and examined students; mentored junior members of staff; held countless consultations and done ward rounds; been shouted at by colleagues and parents; reported twenty new cases to the cancer registry; tried to write up the cancer plan for children, adolescents and young adults; missed one child’s away cricket match (they won) and another’s Dance Mouse practice, but managed to get him to the dentist only a year late…
Got a kitten! She came to live with us a few days ago and it’s been a tonic. If anyone has ideas for a name, PLEASE send them! We have Percy (she’s a girl but I like it), Fluffy (major eye rolls from Mom) and Stinky (don’t ask).
And it’s been a relatively quiet month.
And then we are asked to justify why we should get paid overtime or be allowed a tiny private practice. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that we have to justify our state salaries as they come from taxpayers’ purses, and that being allowed to do some private practice on the side is not a given. And there are people who abuse that system, which is inexcusable. But I sometimes feel that we are all tarred with the same brush, and when state hospitals suspect that we are playing the system when the reality is that we are giving our all – all our time, a lot of our family time, all our hearts, often our health – I feel that we should be acknowledged at least, not punished. Enough of that, I’m going to get myself into trouble.
I’ve tried and failed to get some assistance with the research, but give me a couple of days and I’ll regroup. The whole point of this exercise (CARE, cycling, raising money) was to support research into childhood cancer in South Africa, and so far all I’ve managed is to make more work for myself, skate close to burnout (again!) and pull myself out again. My next task is to find a part time research assistant: watch this space!
So it’s been a very busy month and that is why I have neglected you, my faithful readers (all three of you – hi mom, hi Bean, hi Linda!). I can’t promise I’ll be back too soon but I’ll try.
