2008. As with many us this year, a lot has happened in our family. But if we had to use one word to describe the year it would be "change".
At the start of the year, Brett left for a hurricane round of interviews. He visited ten internal medicine programs in 20 days. Most of the programs were in the Northeast United States (e.g. Brown, UMass, U of Albany) and the Midwest (e.g. U of Minnesota, U of Wisconsin). It was an exhaustive schedule with almost one interview each working day for two weeks straight. Brett missed his wife very much during this time, however he did get to visit some areas that he had never seen like Palmyra,
New York. After his return from interviews he left, again, to Atlanta, Georgia to visit his brother Paul Ray and to take and pass the clinic skills portion of his licensing exam (USMLE CS). He almost didn't make it to the test, as he took a bump in Denver to get free airline tickets. Through a round of cancellations he was stranded in the middle of "nowhere" Lincoln Nebraska. Out of desperation he drove a rental car, to Omaha, and barely made a flight to Texas to connect with a flight that would finally get him to Atlanta. After his return to Portland, we carefully crafted our ranked match list of programs and submitted it to the mysteriously infamous "Residency Match Computer".
In the meantime Bryn-Erinn kept very busy, almost to the point of not even noticing Brett’s absence. She was engaged fully in her studies at Portland State University (PSU) to finish up her degree in English literature. Like most of us who have been through a University education, she experienced some very frustrating classes, but she also had classes that exposed her to all kinds of literature that she would never have found otherwise. Among her favorites was Native American literature. Her French classes were her least favorite. As if she wasn't busy enough, during the evenings and nights she continued her full teaching schedule at Pacific Northwest Pilates. She single-handedly kept the family finances afloat during this time.
In March, it was time for the "Match". Brett had just finished a rigorous rotation in the Portland VA ICU (little did he know how easy he had it at that time), and was in the throws of Anesthesiology at OHSU. On March 20th there was a table of letters with the names of the fourth year medical students. With in the letter was the assignment by the "Match Computer" of where Brett's residency assignment would be. Bryn-Erinn accompanied him and we found that we were going to the University of Minnesota, a competitive program that we had ranked below Brown University and University of Wisconsin. After this time our focus changed to the move.
Time passed quickly after the "Match". There were many friends who wanted to meet, go out, hike, and we did our best to spend time with all of you. Brett's studies took him to Emergency medicine where he completed his last rotation of medical school. Bryn continued her studies and tried to visit the ocean as often as her schedule would permit with or without Brett.
Brett alone packed the entire house during the month of May. In the middle of May
he flew to Washington D.C. for an all-expense-paid trip, after he was selected to present a poster case presentation at the national American College of Physicians meeting, regarding a patient that he performed an autopsy on during his pathology student fellowship year. On his return he stopped in Salt Lake to visit family, and then continued on to the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) to nervously execute a house hunt for our new home. Not long after Brett returned to Portland, our parents also came to visit for a few days of fun (e.g. visiting the ocean, Portland temple, etc...) and for Brett's medical school graduation. At graduation, he received an award for being an educator through his multiple
presentations at meetings, redesigning the pathology curriculum for the first year medical students, and teaching medical students though his years at the medical school. It was a fun-filled day, and everyone (especially Bryn-Erinn) was proud of Brett and his accomplishments.
The following day, Brett, with some help of our friends, packed the moving truck and Brett drove across the country to settle in to our new home.
Bryn-Erinn, on the other hand, stayed in Portland for another month, sleeping on a pad, keeping a few clothes in a suitcase and doing her school work on her laptop computer, so she could finish out her last semester at PSU for her B.A. After completed her schooling, she cleaned our apartment, packed up her belongings and drove to Spokane, Washington to visit her mother. After her mother finished the school year they drove to Minnesota to join Brett, who was very nervous about how Bryn-Erinn would like the home he had selected for them, and that she had never seen.
By the time Bryn-Erinn and her mother arrived in Minnesota, Brett was already in orientation for his program, and the following Tuesday he was thrown headfirst into being a doctor at Regions hospital on the medicine ward service. Bryn-Erinn and her mom, on the other hand, plunged headfirst into getting the yard into good shape. They spent hours upon hours pulling dandelions, creeping charlie, planting flowers and putting down bark. They made great improvements on the appearance of the yard. Bryn-Erinn's mom returned to Spokane, and Bryn-Erinn started putting together the inside of the house, looking for Pilates studios to teach at and finishing three on-line courses to complete her degree. To the shock of Brett and those who know her, Bryn-Erinn decided to change her last name to Gourley, which to this day makes Brett smile on the inside.
Brett went from Region's to the University of Minnesota medicine service, and then to the VA cardiology service. Bryn-Erinn, feeling slightly abandoned and frustrated with her job prospects/situation, (she had found employment at Align Pilates) stated that a camping vacation was needed. It was decided that during Brett's next rotation, infectious disease consults, we would take a week off (
Brett only gets 3 weeks off total and he doesn't decide when they will happen) and go see the Grand Canyon using the tickets that Brett had earned form being bumped. Surprisingly enough, even though we had both lived very close to the Grand Canyon we had never visited it. Bryn-Erinn planned a great trip where we visited Brett's parents in Alpine, and then drove south to the Grand Canyon. We spent six days hiking around and seeing all kinds of great wilderness. Brett even got to use his doctoring skills at the bottom of the canyon when a stranger collapsed with heat syncope. Brett treated him for several hours (mostly standing there looking concerned), and as a sign of appreciation the ranger allowed us to stay in the bottom of the canyon without a permit. The next day Brett's "patient" bought us a fancy dinner at the lodge on the rim. After this great rest and vacation, Brett returned to his duties at the hospital and Bryn-Erinn visited her mom in Spokane for a few days.
As time always does, another couple of months have passed by. Brett went from infectious disease to solid tumor oncology at the university. Bryn-Erinn found another studio, Core, to augment her hours. We gave candy to the neighborhood children on Halloween. Brett went to Region's to work
in the MICU (medical intensive care unit) and had a very busy day while he worked all through Thanksgiving. Now we find ourselves at the end of another year in the contemplation of the Birth and Life of our Savior Jesus Christ. Currently it is cold in the Twin Cities where it rarely gets above 20 on a given day and the temperature continues to head south. Brett is itching for the lakes to be ready to skate on (just this week people have started to do so). Bryn is wearing long underwear trying to keep her feet and hands at a human temperature (they can get quite cold).
We hope and pray that this letter finds you in good circumstances. We know that it has been a rough year for many in our county and world. Please remember, as we try to do, the wonderful blessing in each of our lives. And try to do good to and for those around you.
Our fondest wishes,
Brett and Bryn-Erinn Gourley
