This next entry will be much shorter than the last you will be pleased to know! So I have been in Wellington for 5 days and just about got over my jet lag! I started my placements in the ED this week and it has been really cool so far. There aren't many differences between the hospitals here and back home, Wellington is very hi tech. The ED is quite large and the staff are all really nice although I do spend a lot of time just standing there as everyone hurries past looking very busy, but as you fellow medics know....nothing new there! Yesterday was quite a challenging day though as I witnessed my first death in the hospital. A chap came in with a huge spontaneous bleed throughout most of his right side of his brain. With surgery his outlook looked bleak with no independence likely again and without surgery, a similar story, this was all dependent upon him survivng this in teh first place. It was decided jointly by the family and the doctors that surgery wasn't appropriate, he died several hours later. This was a very emotionally charged environment to be in with the arrival of family from far amd wide to say their goodbyes in what had been a sudden tragic incident, however, although very sad it also felt very humbling to be part of this gentlemen's care during his final hours and to be there for the family through such a horrible time. Most of you will probably know that I have struggled with such concepts for some time now but finally being in this situation made me realise that there was nothing to be frightened of after all. I think I have personally come a long way since I first embarked into understanding why I had these initial fears, but now each challenge I face that I don't think i'll be able to cope with, I somehow do. WOW bit deep! Sorry folks! I also went to look around the city a bit more today, I snuck out of the ED early as it was manic and everyone was even busier than normal and because all they let me do is observe and do the odd procedure, I went exploring! There's always next week to explain to them that I am capable of clerking! ;) We went up the cable car that is in the centre of the city to the botanical gardens that look out onto Wellington, giving spectacular views of the city, harbour and cook strait. The gardens were very nice but to be honest gardens are not really my thing, they are just there to look pretty! We then walked down to the harbour where it was so windy you could actually lean into it without falling over! Told you it would be shorter! I took a few photos today which I will post at some point! Thank you all for your messages, I really enjoy reading them! Lots of kisses x x x x