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| Celia Bavolek, the first patient who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass in the world, is a spokesperson for her cause. |
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| This is the consent by her parents, letting their nine-year old daughter undergo this lifesaving surgery. |
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| This is C. Walton Lilihei, M.D., father of modern open heart surgery, in his office in Minnesota. |
All is well.
I have to keep telling myself that. Today is my day off. I am supposed to work. It is a short day. In my line of work, there is a fine balance between having enough people to have work every day, and having a little too much to have coverage available. On a 'slow day', people who have saved the day for work, are kept home. That is what happened to me today.
There are all kinds of fear-based thoughts going round my head. They don't need me. The new guy is working today instead of me. Where is my job security? My income? It can be an endless loop.
All is well. I have to break it. And look back and see what I manifested: my housekeeping has gone by the wayside for three weeks. There are lots of things to tidy up. My existence is that of 'just staying in the flow' and having to pack for my son and myself for all these overnights I do on OB call. Yesterday at the hospital, I realized that stamps went up to 45 cents, and all my stamps in my overnight bag were 44. At home, I tried to find the stamps. They were not in their right place. And that is how it has been ever since medical school, things have to be in their right place, or I cannot keep track of them. I looked twice in the afternoon. It wasn't until after dinner, the stamps caught my eye, and this morning I can send out my bills.
I needed a day off. Psychologically. Financially. I have to get ready for taxes. Emotionally. I had looked at my schedule for the month of February. Guess how many days I have where I can wake up when I want and do what I would like to do? Two. Add today and that is a fifty-percent improvement in my quality of life.
Here is where Reiki and positive thinking in general can be used most effectively: the work-life balance. A med school buddy also is in anesthesia. Start time is seven a.m. for a seven thirty cut time. End of most days is at four p.m. OB is broken into two twelve-hour shifts. First call, OB call, both of them, have the post-call day off. There are nine weeks of vacation built in to the system. There are over forty anesthesiologists in the group. The money is less, but the quality of life is better.
Why can't my group learn? We have fourteen anesthetizing sites, and eleven workers. Number one and number two in the group never take weekend call, and number one doesn't take night call, either. Number two gets assigned it and sells it to someone else. We never know if we can make an appointment ('schedule it for the end of the day'), or even go home after twenty-four hours work.
My rational mind, the impartial observer, says, 'you are going to work when everyone else is not available, all the part-timers'. This week, Friday is my assigned higher day.
But today, in the big picture of things, is a blessing! It is what I wanted in my heart. Time to rest, regroup, and help with the house. It is supposed to rain. I would like to make soup and bake brownies for my son. For the last two weeks I have been calling with my soul, 'I need a day off!'. And here it is. Thank you Universe!
Trust the Universe. I don't get paid for today. I have bills. But I trust everything is going to work out fine.
The pictures at the top of this post show the success of the first cardiac surgery using the heart-lung machine (cardiopulmonary bypass). The letter in the middle shows the consent from the parents and order for nine-year-old Celia Bavolek to undergo the surgery. Before, Lilihei used cross-circulation--the parent, who was asleep, was the heart and lung for the patient. It was like being pregnant again--the parent's bloodstream supported the child. Celia was the first to go on bypass. I am sure many dogs and pigs in Lilihei's lab had successfully undergone the procedure. But together, patient, parents, surgeon and staff, made medical history that is still saving lives today. The amount of TRUST those people had in themselves and each other humbles me.
Let's think about Trust in All is Well ourselves today.
Namaste,
Reiki Doc
