Lost On the Day of the Race

It's up! It's up! I passed!

I was about to go downstairs and head to the dining facility to appease my growling stomach, which felt abandoned and neglected after I decided last night that dinner will only include a bottle of Jack Daniels. When I heard the news, instead of exiting Delta bay, I went back to my locker and hurriedly hooked up my computer to the internet. I visited the site where the results were posted and got depressed when I saw the six-letter word sitting at the bottom of my name -- failed.

This is already the second time I took this exam, and again, flunked it. I am beginning to believe that the medical field isn't where I belong. First of all, I am more of the techie type, and a graduate of a liberal arts course. Needles scare me so bad that I always cover my eyes whenever I see, whether in real life or in movies, people holding syringes and poking other people with it. Then what am I doing here? Why do I have to go through this, when in the first place, signs are everywhere that I should be heading another direction?

Did you pass? It was my battle buddy Edens asking me if I pass the damn test. I looked at her with a smile on my face and said, "I failed"

"Are you serious?"

Without even trying to shut down the Acer laptop I bought on the last day of my basic training at Fort Jackson, I closed my locker and took off my ACU top. I lost my appetite. At that moment, I was thinking, maybe getting drunk again like I did last week will make it less painful. Fool myself into believing that the third time will finally bring the charm. Honestly, I haven't given up yet, but looking up and researching for another MOS will be a good idea.

Many countries in the New World and elsewhere celebrate the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, which occurred on October 12, 1492 in the Julian calendar and October 21, 1492 in the modern Gregorian calendar, as an official holiday. The day is celebrated as Columbus Day in the United States, as Día de la Raza (Day of the Race) in many countries in Latin America, as Día de las Culturas (Day of the Cultures) in Costa Rica, as Discovery Day in The Bahamas, as Día de la Hispanidad (Hispanic Day) and National Day in Spain, and as Día de la Resistencia Indígena (Day of Indigenous Resistance) in Venezuela.

from Wikipedia.Org

Medical Terms

Medical terms of the Week
(Oct 24 - 31 2009)

cluster headache, Horton syndrome
klus'ter hed'ak, horton sindrom
Possibly due to a hypersensitivity to histamine; usually characterized by recurrent, severe, unilateral orbitotemporal headaches associated with ipsilateral photophobia, lacrimation, and nasal congestion. SYN histaminic headache, Horton headache.

tension headache, tension-type headache
ten'shun hed'ak, ten'shun-tip
That associated with nervous tension, and anxiety, often related to chronic scalp muscle contraction. SYN muscle contraction headache.

migraine
mi'gran
A symptom complex occurring periodically and characterized by pain in the head (usually unilateral), vertigo, nausea and vomiting, photophobia, and scintillating appearances of light. SYN hemicrania (1), sick headache.
[through O. Fr., fr. G. hemi- krania, pain on one side of the head, fr. hemi-, half, + kranion, skull]

vertigo
ver'ti-go
1. A sensation of spinning or whirling motion. 2. Imprecisely used as a general term to describe dizziness.
[L. vertigo (vertigin-), dizziness, fr. verto, to turn]

photophobia
fo'to-fo'be-a
Morbid dread and avoidance of light.
[photo- + G. phobos, fear]

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Medical terms of the Week

(Oct 4 - 10 2009)

epilepsy, epilepsia, grand mal

ep'i-lep'se, -lepse-a, grawn[h] mahl

A chronic disorder characterized by paroxysmal brain dysfunction due to excessive neuronal discharge; usually associated with some alteration of consciousness; clinical manifestations of the attack may vary from complex abnormalities of behavior including generalized or focal convulsions to momentary spells of impaired consciousness. SYN fit (3), seizure disorder.

 [G. epilepsia, seizure]

paroxysm

par'ok-sizm

1. A sharp spasm or convulsion. 2. A sudden onset of a symptom or disease, especially one with recurrent manifestations such as the chills and rigor of malaria.

[G. paroxysmos, fr. paroxyno, to sharpen, irritate, fr. oxys, sharp]

tinea imbricata

tin'e-a im'bri-ka'ta

Fungal eruption consisting with concentric rings of overlapping scales forming papulosquamous patches scattered over the body; seen in tropical climates; caused by Trichophyton concentricum.

papulosquamous

pap'yu-lo-skwa'mus

Denoting an eruption composed of both papules and scales.

[papulo- + L. squamosus, scaly (squamous)]

Trichophyton

tri-kof'i-ton 

A genus of pathogenic fungi causing dermatophytosis in humans and animals; species attacks the hair, skin, and nails.

[tricho- + G. phyton, plant]

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Medical terms of the Week
(Sept 21-27 2009)

Korsakoff syndrome, Korsakoff psychosis
kor'se-kawf sin'drom, si-ko'sis
An alcohol-related amnestic syndrome characterized by confusion and severe impairment of memory, especially for recent events, for which the patient compensates by confabulation; delirium tremens may precede the syndrome, and Wernicke syndrome often coexists.

Wernicke syndrome
ver'ni-ke sin' drom
A condition frequently encountered in patients with long-term alcoholism, largely due to thiamin deficiency; characterized by disturbances in ocular motility, pupillary alterations, nystagmus, and ataxia with tremors. Also referred to as Wernicke disease and Wernicke encephalopathy.

nystagmus (nyst)
 nis-tag'mus
 Involuntary rhythmic oscillation of the eyeballs, either pendular or with a slow and fast component.
 [G. nystagmos, a nodding, fr. nystazo, to be sleepy, nod]

ataxia, ataxy, autosomal recessive, with deafness and optic atrophy
 a-takse-a, a-takse, awto-somal re-sesiv, defnes optik atro-fe
 An inability to coordinate muscle activity, causing jerkiness, incoordination, and inefficiency of voluntary movement. SYN incoordination.
 [G. a- prov. + taxis, order]

thiamin
thi'a-min
A heat-labile and water-soluble vitamin contained in milk, yeast, and the germ and husk of grains; also artificially synthesized; essential for growth; a deficiency of thiamin is associated with beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. SYN vitamin B1.