What Bryndon is up to now...

Since Bryndon is not posting anything on our blog, I'll have to report on what he's doing. (Clarification: this is not written in frustration as if I wished he would. I simply acknowledge the fact that most blogs are written and managed by the wife in a couple, but named for both. Am I right?) About a week ago (Monday, August 16th) he officially started his 3rd year of Medical School at the U of U. Just a couple of weeks before that he took his Board Exams, which he's been studying for the last 2 years. It was intense, to say the least. He thinks it was like taking the MCAT times 3. These students have to study and remember material from their entire first 2 years of medical school. Bryndon chose to take his exams at the end of the summer, using up his break for more study and preparation. Others in his class took the exam at the beginning of the summer. There are pluses and minuses to both. It was very tedious for him to have to only study all day long every day, and got stressful at times.

In the end, Bryndon felt pretty good about the test. When he was getting to the last sections, his brain felt sluggish and hazy... but that is to be expected.  We will probably get back his scores very soon. Cross your fingers for us! The score you get on the Board Exams weigh heavily on your chances of getting into the kind of residency you want--especially if you're interested in one of the more competitive specialties. 

After taking his exam, Bryndon and I moved about 1/3 of our things to our new home with the help of my parents and sister Grace. The next morning we left on a little get-away to Wendover (yes, it was my first time, and no, we didn't gamble). Even though there's hardly anything to do there, just relaxing and being together was really great. We came home the next day so I could get back to work. That Saturday we finished moving to our little duplex about 5 minutes away. Then on Monday of the next week Bryndon's sister Beth got married. The next morning we left to drive up to Hebgen Lake, Montana--"Hebgen on Earth" as we call it. That was one of the best parts of our summer, even though we only got to stay for about 2 1/2 days. We were there for most of that time with my entire family (besides Emily who is in Italy on a mission)! Little niece Abigail and little nephew Luke were adorable! It was very weird to not have any cousins around, but was also very peaceful. That area is a sanctuary. Gorgeous. 

The last 24 hours of that week and of Bryndon's summer (besides Sunday) was spent at the Madsen Family Reunion that my mom put together up at Heber Valley Camp. We were exhausted from all that had happened in the last couple of weeks. Sunday was nice and quiet. We love our new ward, even as we miss our old one. The next day (getting back to what I originally started this post about), Bryndon started his first rotation at Primary Children's Hospital! He is in the Pediatric rotation and he has loved it so far. Besides thoroughly enjoying the much-reduced amount of studying he has to do each day, he gets to do some hands-on work with darling little babies! He started in the Well Baby unit, and was doing physicals on newborns only an hour or two old! Sadly, he probably saw them more after the birth than the actual mothers did. But he was doing Apgar tests and making sure that they were healthy. 

His second day he observed a Caesarean-section and was on the newborn resuscitation team to stimulate the baby to breathe, etc. It all sounds very exciting to me! He has enjoyed it, even though he has 10-12/hour days and this is one of the "low-key" rotations, and it'll only get more intense from here. He's grateful to not have to drag himself through endless hours of studying day and night anymore. He's applying some of what he has learned! We'll see how demanding future rotations are and I'm sure I'll write again then. :) Way to go Bryndon!