Rest, Renovations, and Renewed Joy

How great is it to have another doctor at the practice? Really, really great! I want to let you know that I almost entitled this post "The Happy Song." If you know, you know. Dr. Nayak arrived at Green Spring Internal Medicine just in the nick of time for me to be able to travel to Central Coastal California last week for my cousin's wedding. It's a good thing, too, since my cellphone broke down in the middle of my trip. Dr. Nayak has jumped right in, seeing patients and willing to take call for me so that I could have my first real break in years.  Since 2008, I have either been on call myself or been back-up on call for nurse practitioners or physician assistants.  Perhaps my Samsung S21 broke down because it had also been on 24x7 since I got it a couple of years ago. 

What did rest look like for me? First of all, it was so great to get on an airplane and travel again. Where we stayed was close to the shorefront where we were treated to sightings of sea otters, harbor seals, sea lions. cormorants, brown pelicans, and a host of seagulls. The ocean is beautiful along the Monterey coastline with clear water, seaside cliffs, and flowery landscapes.  

All of the Aspen Ryersons gathered for the wedding along with my aunt's very large family and the family of the bride.

 Friends also came. It was great to be able to feast and celebrate and just relax. Because of the holiday weekend, we extended our stay a few more days with my brother taking us on driving trips as far south as Big Sur and as far north as the redwood forest near Santa Cruz.  I didn't have to plan anything or be in charge of anyone.

My winding down process will still take awhile from here. I have a rolling list of responsibilities and am working my way down a boxed checklist. I am sleeping more soundly and enjoying books again with a shorter work day on Tuesdays and a shorter work week. 

This coming week, we have a nurse coming to join the practice in the role of care manager. Nurse Annette has years of experience, and we really look forward to filling that role at the practice. We have been shaping this role for a number of years and are always better with a nurse on our team. Hopefully soon we will also be hiring a full-time certified medical assistant as well, which will allow us to expand our services further.