The match, that is.
We got so wrapped up in the what-ifs and then-that's of the many different situations we could end up in come match day that I think we were unprepared for the reality that where D matched might not change much at all. Pittsburgh? Harrisburg? We built match day up as an altar to change, so we weren't really ready to see that we'd be staying in Philadelphia!
D matched at a hospital here that he really likes. He rotated there for emergency medicine and in the ICU. He found the interns and residents really knew their stuff, yet still had a lot of fun together.
It's a good program for us: we can stay at our church. It's a night float system. Two of our friends matched there as well (in different speciality, but still). At least one of the residents D got to know is staying as an attending.
So now we begin the changes that we weren't preparing for as much: looking for a house in Philly. Thinking about moving expenses. Making plans for graduation without the stress of being mid-cross-state-move. With a sassy toddler. You know, normal stuff.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Since then, part 1
After we bled our savings account dry to save D a spot at the med school in WV, a month or so went by and he got an interview at a school in Erie, and then a few weeks later, at a school in Philadelphia. Both of these seemed better options than the first, so off to two more interviews we went.
For the Philly interview, we drove to D's family in Hershey, PA, and then D's mom drove us into Philly for the interview. About half way there, the tread ripped off one of the tires, and D had to change the tire in the dark, on the shoulder of the turnpike, in his boxers so that his dress clothes didn't get dirty. Still, we made it to the interview in time.
We went home and waited - and finally heard back from Erie. They were accepting D to their literally brand new campus just south of Pittsburgh. He would be part of the very first class.
And then we heard from Philadelphia. Wait listed.
And then three days later, accepted. So we had to decide. Stay close to my family, or closer to D's? Big city, or small town? New school, or old, well-known campus?
In the end, it wasn't much of a choice. We both knew the school in Philly was the better place for D, even though deciding to move across the state seemed strange.
For the Philly interview, we drove to D's family in Hershey, PA, and then D's mom drove us into Philly for the interview. About half way there, the tread ripped off one of the tires, and D had to change the tire in the dark, on the shoulder of the turnpike, in his boxers so that his dress clothes didn't get dirty. Still, we made it to the interview in time.
We went home and waited - and finally heard back from Erie. They were accepting D to their literally brand new campus just south of Pittsburgh. He would be part of the very first class.
And then we heard from Philadelphia. Wait listed.
And then three days later, accepted. So we had to decide. Stay close to my family, or closer to D's? Big city, or small town? New school, or old, well-known campus?
In the end, it wasn't much of a choice. We both knew the school in Philly was the better place for D, even though deciding to move across the state seemed strange.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Four Years Ago Last Week...
I should have started this blog four years ago.
Four years ago last week, D and I packed up an overnight bag and our good old pup, Sage, into our 1991 Ford Escort and drove the nearly 5 hours from our house in Pittsburgh to Lewisburg, WV for his first, and as far as we knew at that point, only medical school interview.
Next week is the osteopathic match. On Monday, we will log in to a website, and see the words that decide the next three years, if not more, of our life. We're are so, so fortunate that the top half of his list are hospitals and locations we like. But since I should have started recording this crazy journey four years ago, and since I won't have much to say about our current situation until next week, I think I'm going to recap some parts of the journey that brought us this far. So back to Lewisburg, WV.
We drove into this tiny town of maybe 4,000 people, that I had oddly already been to a time or two before. We stayed at a Super 8 that allowed pets, and despite the king bed, still didn't have enough room for the two of us plus Sage. Best damn dog ever.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel, and I drove (poorly - it was a stick shift car and I am not great at manual) Dave to the interview. Sage and I killed time in the tiny town. I window shopped and checked out potential apartments, so that if this ended up being our future, I would have a feel for what we'd be looking at. They were incredibly bad. So bad that even though we are barely able to afford to keep our house in Philadelphia at 55 degrees most days in winter, I still shudder when I think of those apartments: cinder block squares, with old Native American looking print couches, a burnt out lightbulb in the bathroom, and a stained mattress that the landlady offered to leave for us if we rented the place. No, thank you, I told her.
The interview went well. We went home and watched the Steelers win the SuperBowl the next weekend. Weeks later, we got a letter that accepted D into the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. With no other interviews on the horizon at all, we had two choices: fork over the $3000 deposit to ensure that Dave went to med school somewhere, or risk him getting no more interviews and going to med school nowhere. We chose the somewhere option, sent them the check, and prayed like crazy.
More of our crazy life next time.
Four years ago last week, D and I packed up an overnight bag and our good old pup, Sage, into our 1991 Ford Escort and drove the nearly 5 hours from our house in Pittsburgh to Lewisburg, WV for his first, and as far as we knew at that point, only medical school interview.
Next week is the osteopathic match. On Monday, we will log in to a website, and see the words that decide the next three years, if not more, of our life. We're are so, so fortunate that the top half of his list are hospitals and locations we like. But since I should have started recording this crazy journey four years ago, and since I won't have much to say about our current situation until next week, I think I'm going to recap some parts of the journey that brought us this far. So back to Lewisburg, WV.
We drove into this tiny town of maybe 4,000 people, that I had oddly already been to a time or two before. We stayed at a Super 8 that allowed pets, and despite the king bed, still didn't have enough room for the two of us plus Sage. Best damn dog ever.
The next morning, we checked out of the hotel, and I drove (poorly - it was a stick shift car and I am not great at manual) Dave to the interview. Sage and I killed time in the tiny town. I window shopped and checked out potential apartments, so that if this ended up being our future, I would have a feel for what we'd be looking at. They were incredibly bad. So bad that even though we are barely able to afford to keep our house in Philadelphia at 55 degrees most days in winter, I still shudder when I think of those apartments: cinder block squares, with old Native American looking print couches, a burnt out lightbulb in the bathroom, and a stained mattress that the landlady offered to leave for us if we rented the place. No, thank you, I told her.
The interview went well. We went home and watched the Steelers win the SuperBowl the next weekend. Weeks later, we got a letter that accepted D into the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. With no other interviews on the horizon at all, we had two choices: fork over the $3000 deposit to ensure that Dave went to med school somewhere, or risk him getting no more interviews and going to med school nowhere. We chose the somewhere option, sent them the check, and prayed like crazy.
More of our crazy life next time.
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