Bryan Explores an Externship in DC; Mom Visits Me in Spain

It's been a while since we've updated the blog, so here it goes!

February 12-14

Immediately after our trip to Paris for Bryan's CBSE test, Bryan had the opportunity to return to the States for two weeks for an oral surgery continuing education course and an externship in Bethesda, Maryland. With him leaving for two weeks, Mom took this opportunity to fly out and spend some quality time with me and the pups! Lucky for us, Mom arrived a few days before Bryan left for the States, so we enjoyed catching up together with long beach walks!

February 14-25: Mom & Katie Enjoy Spain

With Bryan gone, Mom and I spent our two weeks together drinking fresh OJ from Mercadona, enjoying sunrises & sunsets on the rooftop, and afternoons working on our tan at the beach. We also binged seven seasons of Game of Thrones in preparation for our future trip together to Croatia this May!

This may be the first trip where Mom didn't photograph every minute of our time together, but sitting with my mom and reading on the rooftop created some great memories and made for great time together!

February 14-March 2: Bryan in DC

While we enjoyed two weeks in the sun with great weather, Bryan was back in the snowy DC area exploring one possible (and hopeful) residency location for our future. After flying into New York and getting his final flight canceled, the man booked a 4 am train down to DC to make it to his week-long externship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Bryan here:

During that week, I met several current residents, department staff, as well as the residency program and assistant program directors. Katie hyped me up so I was prepared to talk shop with two of the people sitting on the acceptance board for OMFS...hopefully meeting me in person and seeing my willingness to travel from Spain earns me some brownie points. At a minimum, I hope they will recognize my name!

I had the chance to see an extremely cool 11-hour surgery, where the surgeons took a part of a man's fibula and used it to reconstruct his jaw. It doesn't get much cooler than that! Standing in the room where it happens was an adrenaline rush I've missed with general dental procedures.

The rest of the week I spent assisting the residents with their outpatient procedures and consults! It was a great networking opportunity and I do think I learned quite a bit during my time there.

When I told my parents I would be in DC, they booked a train and met me for a long weekend! While I stayed on call with the OMFS residents, I enjoyed exploring some of DC with my parents, Sabrina and Caleb. We enjoyed walking around the Mall, eating good ole' American food, and sipping Guiness in an Irish pub (hint at this summer's trip with Mom and Dad!)

My second week in Bethesda was spent in the Navy OMFS CE Course! On that Friday, I got a chance to meet the Navy OMFS Specialty Leader, who, along with the residency program directors, will be selecting candidates for training. Not only a great CE, but another great opportunity for networking with important people in the OMFS community! You know what they say, it's not what you know-but who you know. Let's hope I know the right people!

After Mom's departure from Sevilla, I went back to substitute teaching and enjoyed one day seeing some familiar dental faces! Dr. Yun and a few other dental staff came out to DGF Elementary to talk with classes about dental health. It was a nice surprise to see them in "my world!"

Following the CE in Bethesda, it was time to go home! That Saturday, I had a six-hour layover in Charlotte, so of course I had to let my friends Robbie, Landon, and Daniel know! These guys have been my friends since early in our dental school journey and all three live in the Charlotte area!

When I landed in Charlotte at 10 am, the boys were there to pick me up! It was the first time I had seen any of them since the summer of 2020, before Katie and I moved to California. We have obviously kept up via text and played many hours of video games together, but it was so amazing getting to see them again! After lunch at Taco Bell, and a quick pit stop at Chick-fil-A to grab to-go sandwiches, it was time to say goodbye! A few hours together wasn't quite enough and I'm hoping we see each other again soon!

After a long day of traveling, I made it back home to Rota on Sunday, March 1, to a car packed full of puppy love! What a great way to be welcomed back to Spain!

With Bryan's return to Rota, we got a short visit from Chubes too! You may remember this guy from all our amazing adventures around Japan, and he joined the reserves after returning to the States. As part of his part-time gig, Chubes lucked out with a last-minute flight to Rota to deliver some plane parts and spent two nights with us! After seeing Stego a few months back and now Chubes, it's pretty crazy how small the Navy world really is! Hopefully it's not the last time we experience Navy friends' visits!

Bryan also enjoyed some time on the golf course with Dean, the fellow dentist here in Rota who shares his office space! Dean and Beth have grown to be good friends of ours and we love hosting their family for dinner. Bryan admits, his favorite visitor at the hospital isn't me; it's Dean's youngest son, Caleb (2), who bursts into their office with a huge grin and giggles every time!

This first quarter of 2025 has been filled with dreams and future planning. Bryan and I have decided he will apply for OMFS residency this spring, with a hopeful program start in summer 2026 back in the States. For our friends and family reading this: please join us in prayer for peace throughout the process. We know our future is in His hands!

While we wait for the application window to open, Bryan continues to shadow our friend, Dr. Bhavin Trivedi, the oral surgeon here in Rota. Bryan actually got to first assist on an open-joint TMJ surgery that had him reading all kinds of prep material! It's been a while since I've seen Bryan so excited for schooling and I'm curious to see what our future holds.

As with life, things keep moving and plans constantly change, but we are blessed to have family that supports our Navy-life journey and meets us (literally) wherever we are! Thank you to the Johnson crew for training up to DC to spend some time with Bryan, and thank you to my mom for making the journey overseas by herself to keep me company! We really are beyond blessed!

xoxo,

Katie & Bryan