Sew what?

For the past couple of weeks I've been working in the university hospital's ED. Although the cases are often medically complex and interesting -- liver and lung transplants, patients with multiple diseases, etc. -- we don't always see the same sort of banged-up trauma that we see on every shift at the county hospital.

But the other night at the end of a shift, a guy came in who had bashed his forehead. No multiple co-morbidities, no metabolic diseases I'd never heard of before, just a moderately complicated laceration that had to be repaired carefully given the cosmetic issues of facial injuries. And I have to confess -- I love sewing up lacerations. It was strangely peaceful to just settle into a room for a little while with my last patient of the night and stitch up his wound.

Such are the simple pleasures of my life these days....