October 15, 2004


My husband recently started his 4th year post-training. I remember thinking that residency would never end. Then fellowship stretched out ahead of us extending the years of 80-100 hour work weeks for another two years. When it was all said and done, we did almost 8 years of residency training!

Thomas was born and raised in Germany. We met in Giessen, when I was an exchange student. He was finishing medical school and I was working on my undergraduate degree in German and Psychology. It wasn't love at first sight, but our friendship grew into a passionate love affair that has sustained us through more than ten years of marriage. We also have four children, ages 9 1/2, 8 1/2, 5 1/2 and 11 months.

The medical training journey took us from Germany to Northern Ireland and eventually we found our way to the US. After completing 2.5 years of residency in Europe, my husband started over again. He completed 3 years of Internal Med training in Pennsylvania and then finished with a 2 year Infectious Disease Fellowship in Florida.

Those years were among the most stressful and challenging in our marriage. I often felt lonely and I struggled with Thomas's absence. I enrolled part-time at the local college and began taking some courses in Biology. I worked to complete my master's degree while he was a fellow. Going back to school gave me an outlet for myself that I desperately needed at that time.

As Thomas's fellowship wound to a close we threw ourselves into the search for post-training positions. After visiting several large metropolitan areas though it became clear to us that we wanted to live in a smaller community. We were tired of the 24/7 lifestyle of residency and were eager to have time as a family. Looking back on that decision now, I realize that it probably saved our marriage. The final two years of fellowship had been hard on all of us and over the last 3 1/2 years we have been able to rebuild our family and regain the solid relationship that we had before residency.

We are also finally getting on more solid financial footing. Though we aren't out of debt, we have been able to reduce our consumer debt by half. In the last few months we have finally been able to afford the extras. We no longer argue about how much things will cost at the grocery store or how we will pay for school lunches.

Currently, I'm working two mornings at our StateU teaching Biology labs. The biggest issues in my life right now are whether or not to have another baby, whether I want to further my education (I've been looking at a PhD program in Computing Technology in Undergraduate Science Education that I could do via distance learning with a few weekend blocks on campus), and losing 30 more pounds.