Heroes goes to medical school

From 101 Dalmatians (the 1996 movie which even has a Hugh Laurie appearance)

Nanny: It's unmistakable dear. Its the look every women gets when she knows she is going to be a mother. Notice how tranquil she is. Her eyes are soft and warm. though you might not see it, you can certainly feel she is smiling. Its the smile we wear when were guarding a precious secret. and that shes living for others as well as herself, shes eating. and every now and again for no reason other than that she is so happy with herself, she sighs.

Recently I have "picked" 5 friends and acquaintances of mine as pregnant (when they were in their first trimester and not telling everyone. Those that are still under 12 weeks are mostly keeping it secret from everyone (except for those who tend to clasp their hands on their very flat lower abdomens constantly).

Responses I have received to "So, thinking of having a baby any time soon?"

• (From one of my oldest friends who I haven't seen for 6 years, but whom I Skype, text and Facebook several times a week) "Maybe in a few years". (Followed by, the next day: "Erm, sorry to have told you a white lie yesterday, but actually I am 4 weeks gone".
• "How did you know?"
• "Did "x" or "y" tell you?"
• "But I only took the test this morning...."
• "Oooh yes, and here is the first sonogram picture from yesterday!! How did you know though? Only my husband, our doctor and I know..."
• And then from someone who this happened with 2 years ago (and is now pregnant again - I must be slipping though, last time I guessed when she was 6 weeks, it took until she was 9 months preggers this time): "Are you in league with my OBGYN or something?"
  

I have a feeling that the most rational answer for this is that many people my age or round abouts are partnering up and having babies. Those that didn't decide that they absolutely had to be a doctor that is. (Medical school - making already nerdy people have even less of a life since 1807 (anyone a member of that Facebook group???)
Maybe it is a medical observation thing (see quotations from 101 Dalmations), maybe it is knowing your friends well (though only 1 of them is a particularly close friend). Anyways, it was lovely to be able to share in such happy news, (though I can understand that expectant couples like to have a bit of time to keep the news to themselves, for lots of reasons).

So in a slightly grandiose state of mind (I am doing psych now) I have decided that my special "superpower" is first trimester pregnancy detection. Not quite in the way that a certain friend (you know who you are) thought was hilarious (comparing me to Elliot Reid with her glowing uterus).
(I did get a sort of feeling that I should ask them all, which was particularly cool when it was someone whom I haven't seen for 6 years. Our mothers are close friends as well, so they are also both over the moon - sorry Mum, I promise to give you grandkittens in a year or so!)

And since I want to procrastinate, as exams are drawing closer, I passed some time dreaming up some medically useful (and not so useful) applications of the Heroes for season 3 and 4.

(Feel free to comment on any additional/better/funny medically inclined abilities that you think should be written into Heroes).

Accepted into Heroes Medical School:
If Tracy Strauss got a handle on her powers maybe she could be "Cryotherapy woman" - warts and some skin cancers are a thing of the past, and no need for liquid nitrogen storage and occupational health rules. Freezing of cells would also be another possibility...

Elle Bishop could be a one woman ECT provider (although if anyone needs a touch of their own medicine.....) Other applications include fixing the electrical signals in the brains of epileptics, and in people with cardiac arrhythmias.

Mohinder Suresh seems to be rather talented with antiviral substances, so either infectious diseases or immunology. As a backup he could always fall back on his genetics work.

Nathan Petrelli would do much more good as a flight paramedic than a politician. A few years at school (he could even do on the job training) and he would be making a huge difference. Westpac might even want to sponsor him (should he move to Australia).

Micah would be a fantastic support person. Given that a lot of donated medical equipment in developing countries is unable to be fixed due to lack of local support, a few trips with him (aided by Hiro Nakamura to save time) could make a huge difference. As for inventing new medical technology, the possibilities are endless. EMR issues would also be a thing of the past. (This would be good for the productivity and stress levels of endless health professionals, not to mention making for better communication between health care providers about patient care)

Jesse Murphy (had he not been killed by Sylar) could perform lithotripsy, thus saving many men from a very painful problem.

Maya Herrera apparently emits some sort of poison or something that kills people in close proximity. I am sure that oncology could find a use for this....

Eden McCain could be great both in drug and addiction medicine. It could be debated that she would be useful in mental health (to convince people that they want to change).

Ted Sprague could be fantastic in oncology (after he learned to control his power), if it weren't for the fact that he was killed by Sylar.

Knox - orthopaedics, nuff said.

Matt Parkman - medical interpretation. He would also be good (working together with Peter Petrelli, a retired palliative care nurse) at working with patients to formulate end of life decisions.

Meredith Gordon - disposal of biological waste (such as the Shanti virus)

Monica Dawson (if it was found how to replicate her ability) would revolutionise the field of rehabilitation medicine.

Claire Bennet - by donating blood an immortal cell line could possibly be set up, with huge possibilities for transplant medicine, dementia....... While her initials don't lend themselves to a cool abbreviation like HeLa, at least this cell line would be set up with informed consent. Plus the stem cell debate would be over, forever.

Rejected from Heroes Medical School.
Daniel Linderman would be a very good all rounder with his general "healing" power (nice and non specific), if it weren't for the fact that he is ethically, erm, dubious.

Sylar - talented but also unlikely to want to "first do no harm".

Currently reading: Jacobson's Psychiatric Secrets (2nd ed). Am finding this a good complement to my previous textbook reading, the question/answer format is surprisingly good and I am hopefully filling in gaps in my knowledge.
Listening to: Fernando Otero - Pagina de Buenos Aires.

[Disclaimer - some or all of this content may be tongue in cheek. No copyright infringement is meant. All characters remain the intellectual property of Tim Kring and NBC].