Dylan's Brain Cancer JOurney

Chapter 46: Starting Oxford                In Junior year of college, I realized I was ahead on finishing science courses for medicine, and so I joined a study-away program to Oxford, England. Some of my favorite people in the school also joined, including Micah and Laura, as well as several others who would become amazing and life-long friends: Marc, Mollie, Audrey, and Molly. Unfortunately, Kyle would make the wrong decision and did not apply, which we have never let him forget—much to his pleasure. The trip would be about a year long and led mostly by someone we’ll just call Greg. Already we were worried about Greg. His demeanor was exceedingly eccentric and we soon learned that he previously wasn’t allowed to lead study away trips after impregnating a student on a previous trip (although they eventually paired up).               We would arrive at Oxford in the beginning of Janua...

  Chapter 44: The first of new scans:               We get to the airport; I get to my flight without problem. In a couple of days, I would have my scan. My parents would be visiting to come to the appointment. They would pick me up from the airport. I was glad to have had several days of wholesome celebratory fun to keep my mind off the scan for a bit beforehand. And while the anxiety eventually returned, it was abated for a nice while.               I did not sleep well that night. The next day was my scan, and the day after was the day to go over the scan. Repeatedly I imagined situations where I am getting the MRI and then the Tech asks if I can do one more round because the radiologist wants to focus on something in particular. This is what happened when I first presented the ED in Boulder with my initial visual loss. I took extra sleeping medic...

  Chapter 43:   Chicago All that being said, the music festival was rather difficult because of the radiation fatigue. The first day we arrived late morning. The sun was bright and scathing. Music-wise the first day was the least interesting (I don’t exactly recall the artists). I spent most of the day trying to find cool or shady spots to rest in while feeling very tired. Spencer and Tyler had more energy and made sure that everyone had a beer and water if they needed any. Eventually it was time to eat, and we had a great selection of greasy midwestern food, as well as some sort of Mexican corn place (which I opted for) that was relatively mediocre. By early evening we noticed the sky getting much darker in the distance. In the rare moments we had service we were able to check the weather and radar to notice a thunderstorm approaching. Then we saw lightening in the distance and decided that it was probably best to leave early—both to avoid crowds and for safety given the la...

Chapter 41: New Crew Sometime early in intern year it was one of the Ophthalmology intern’s birthday’s. Some way or another I ended up going out with him and the rest of the ophthalmology interns for beers since the pandemic restrictions for restaurants had been lightened. It was a bit of a wild night, and we became quick friends. I gave the birthday boy the secret rainier beer I had in my pocket on the way to a different bar. Afterwards we had several future hangouts, including hikes and camping, board games, movies, dinners, etc. and of course when it was airing, Bachelor or Bachelorette nights. The core of the group was Tony, BK, Lydia, and me. In the winter we skied countless days together, sharing the same joy for sketchy off-piste terrain and chairlift beers. When one of us was on nights we would plan to ski as soon as we were off shift. These three were some of the first to visit after my first brain surgery, not counting the friends from out of town who were already there, of...

Chapter 39: Music: the reason I applied only to PLU               At the time of college applications, PLU had a fantastic music reputation, mainly in the choir and piano departments, and a fairly good acceptance rate into medical school. They also had accessible opportunities for undergraduate scientific research. At the time it made sense to apply no where else. I couldn’t conceive of not getting in (neither could my parents), and we all agreed that it would be a better fit than a larger school, and there wasn’t a smaller school we preferred.               I joined Orchestra and continued violin lessons as soon as I came to PLU. Violin lessons were fantastic—more in depth and requiring much more practice than my previous lessons. I worked with a professor we’ll call SR, who is a wonderful Scandinavian man who had a delightful way of leading me to the co...

Chapter 37: College               College was a great formative experience in my life where I went from pretentious academic asshole to quality Human Being, and certainly not without the help of some very good friends. When I first got to college at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU), I made up my mind that I didn’t need to make friends because "what was the point if I would just go off to Grad school with a whole different community in 4 years?" I don’t feel the need to explain that this was an incredibly dumb decision. I met my roommate, Kyle, who somehow was graceful enough to never be annoyed by my antics. Early in college I discovered my propensity to seek isolation and to become depressed and not to seek help. Shortly after college started it was November, which meant it was National Novel Writing Month. During this time I talked to almost no one and spent all of my free time trying to write a novel. Somehow the oth...

  Chapter 36: interview season Interview season for residency intermingled with the 4 th year rotations. I had several before the neurology rotation, and even one or two during that rotation.               My first interview was at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. It was November. I flew in on a Sunday and had a nearby hotel to stay at. Quickly the trip became disastrous as I realized that I forgot most of my suit, including a shirt and tie. There was nothing nearby open because of it being Sunday, and the pre-interview dinner with residents was in a couple hours. This was usually when you could talk with the residents without administrative staff in order to get a better idea of how the residents liked or disliked the program. Uber and Lyft weren’t running at the time. I found a Target about a two mile walk away. It was hot but I started walking. Eventually I get to Target. There’s an accident right out...