The fog settled in yesterday, blanketing the city; I got a glimpse of the speckles of the city lights, as I made by my way home late at night after a day of filling every crevice of my brain with details relating to the microorganisms that invade our world and our bodies, everything from bacteria to viruses to fungi to protozoa.
Friday marked the last day of I3 (the microbiology block). In lab, we got to see real life Schistosomes, organisms that are transmitted by snails and can penetrate through the skin of hosts and reek havoc in the veins of the bladder, colon or liver. (Another reason why you should be careful in fresh water). So, needless to say- we kept our fingers to ourselves while observing the cercaria (worm-like creatures) that were swarming in the water.
With our final tomorrow, I am amazed at how six weeks of infectious diseases has impacted my differential diagnosis for fever, chills, diarrhea and rash. I went from thinking about a handful of things to now making an endless list of possibilities. Such an expansion will invariably contract, so I've been warned by my seasoned resident friends.
For now, I bask in the joy of knowing that I have learned about so many rare diseases and organisms (some pretty crazy bugs), which I may or may not encounter in the years to come. They do exist out there. And I am little more obsessive about washing my hands and properly preparing my food.
Aside from extending my intellectual bounds as far as they can, like a rubber band that has been stretched to capacity, I am really exhausted and looking forward to the end of infectious diseases. We'll finally get a much-needed interblock break from all the bug madness.
Cheers to the end (it's almost here!)
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