A day in Madrid

Holidays. I took my holidays...
And every day I wake up really early, and with my best smile travel around Madrid (Parla, Móstoles, Getafe, Fuenlabrada, Arganda...) taking my curriculum to every hospital!

Now my knowledge of the Metro lines is so much bigger...

Let cross the fingers!

Farewell dinner!

Now it´s officially the end...

Residency program has come to the end!

For the farewell dinner we gathered 40 persons!, colleagues, nurses, but most important, our friends.
I was really sad, and happy, and proud, and...

Pilar had prepared a wonderful video with photos, messages from everybody at the Department, jokes, and I´ve got to say some tears ran down my cheek...
It was like I remembered all that I went trough these past years..., and we finally made it!

For farewell present we received an Ipad and a beatiful bracelet.

I´m so glad and thankful for everybody that have helped me to get to the end of this stage...!
And for my friends and colleagues!

Thanks to everybody!
I´m already missing you all!

Farewell outfit

My friends

Last day on call!

Last day on call in La Paz..., as a Registrar!
Oh my God!, Am I that old?

And it´s kind of confusing, because I´m gonna miss everything!, patients, nurses, friends, the hospital, the creepy room, even A&E!!!
But on the other hand, I´m so happy to lose all these sleepless nights, all these worries, A&E!!!, and finish this phase of my life.

The nurses prepare a little farewell afternoon, with a delicious triple chocolate cake for the 3 of us (thanks Laura!). Thanks a lot!

(I´m so going to miss everything!!!!!!!!!!!)

Pre-weekend in Barcelona

Last week I was on holidays. I´ve been all over Madrid scattering my curriculums in different hospitals. And then on Thursday I went to Barcelona to the  Baxter Coagulopathies Workshop. The course is really good, besides that, I went with friends, which makes it even better. And it was near Barcelona in the Sant Llorent National Park. A very modern and eco-friendly hotel ind a great landscape.

On Friday afternoon we went to a mountain bike ride. I´ve only biked for 5 minutes, it was really uphill, so I decided to back off for my own health (I know, I´m not very fit, I´m not proud of it).

The view from my hotel room

With Karem preparing for the ride

Before dinner

EBMT

I just came back from London, and  I´m again going away!

This time to Switzerland, exactly to Geneva for the EBMT Meeting.  I´m really proud of myself, I brought a poster about ABO incompatibility and transfusion requirements in Allogeneic transplant.  People asked some questions about my work, but everything went fine.

I spent the whole 2 first days in the meeting. I was  amazed to listen to all those people that write the articules and papers I read! Cordormmier, Bacigalupo, Locatelli, Carreras, Rovira, Veys, among others…

By the third day, everybody had gone to the city centre, so I decided to sightsee for a few hours in the afternoon (read the next post!).

The meeting  ended today at noon, so I could visit again the city for a while.

I was a great Congress, to be perfect, Karem would have come too! But everybody in the group was so kind, I had a great time and knew some nice people. They were from San Sebastian, Bilbao and Barcelona mainly.

With my poster

Best coffee at the congress

Time to rest at the hotel

DAY 81: Tooting Blood Centre

Today was my last entire day here in London, as I´m leaving tomorrow (time has gone so fast!).

I went to Tooting Blood Centre to the Red Cell Immunology Lab. I was so impressed! I know it sounds as I´m a freaky, but, sorry, in this subject I am. I was very lucky to be with the scientists all morning. It´s so impressive how they can identify 4-5 diferent antibodies in the same panel. And they have a lot of samples to investigate antibodies against low incidence antigens.
I thank every people in the Lab for being so kind at me and answer to all my questions!

DAY 75: Colindale Blood Centre

Today I went to Colindale Blood Centre as part of my training. I´m really glad, because it was a very useful and interesting visit.

DAY 67: I love my microscope!

Another day that just went by. I was all day reporting some blood smears (more than 30 of them), so by the time I left the hospital, my brain just felt as if it had the consistency of a yogurt.

Did my laundry.

Took some cereals.

And now, I have to study and write some paper I´m working on. I don´t really feel like working on it today, but my time here (very sadly), in London, has become limited. So I MUST work on it.

This weekend I shall have some visits!

Marta and Isa are coming!!!

I´m so happy!

(that´s why I have to work today, so I have my weekend off!)

See you tomorrow, if my brain resists this evening. Bye!