A Marathon of Paranoia

2:43 AM

Author | Andrew Adan

Last week we wrapped up our longest and most intense sequence to date: Infectious Diseases.  Five weeks, nearly one hundred lectures, dozens of drugs, and daily small group sessions have left me feeling tired, incredibly knowledgeable, but most of all…paranoid.  Never again will I look at a mosquito bite and not consider the (incredibly tiny) possibility of Western Equine Encephalitis Virus.  I constantly think I may have worms and/or tuberculosis.  And of course, I will always question how long the potato salad has been sitting out in the sun.  Okay, so maybe some of those examples are exaggerations, but there's some pretty scary stuff out there in this world.  It was the first sequence that made me feel like we were actually studying to become doctors, though.  Looking through cases, finding key signs and symptoms, and then blurting out, "ENETEROHEMORRHAGIC E. COLI!" without people thinking you're completely insane is simply a great feeling.

On a lighter note, we have just a couple weeks until summer arrives in full.  I'll be starting my research program in the anatomy department working with cadavers to study osteoarthritic changes of the knee.  I'm sure I'll also be hanging out plenty with friends who are also doing research and enjoying all there is to do in Ann Arbor over the summer.  People are already outside doing things, the weather is sunny and hot, and my air conditioner is broken.  Ah, the joys of the modern conveniences…

I've attached some photos I took around town this spring.  Enjoy.

An azalea growing in my front yard.

An azalea growing in my front yard.

An azalea growing in my front yard.
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