Burning wrists

Well, I just got out of my histology exam. It was an open book exam, but never have I felt less prepared for an exam! There was so much writing that you didn't have time to open a book otherwise you wouldn't finish. I wrote my little butt off and now my wrist feels likes its on fire! Oh well, I feel better about the lab portion thats occurs tomorrow, hopefully it will go bettter.
On the other hand I got the mark back from my last anatomy exam and......
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I GOT THE TOP MARK IN THE CLASS! WHOOT! 88% baby!

The little parts of life

HISTOLOGY!!!
How can things so small be so complicated? Love the lab part of this class. Looking at the cells and using skills of visual interpretation is SO much fun, but the lecture material is ARGH! Too many little cells with too many individul differences. Spent all day at school studying for this exam monday and tuesday.

Can you tell I don't get out much... I have never once mentioned the weather! Well it is -30 with a severe wind chill warning overnight. AKA COLD so yours truly will be hiding out at home tomorrow studying and catching up on laundry.

It is so hard being a student around christmas as we are so busy with exams that we don't get to partake in the christmas festivities. Bought a poinsetta this week and its our one christmas decoration in our apartment. I thought it was bad in undergrad, but at least then we didn't have classes, but vet school has full classes, labs, and exams right till christmas. Bought a Reba McIntyre christmas CD o try to get me in the mood while studying. Maybe I'll start seeing christmas trees and reindeer in the mass of cells to interpret... wonder how that would go over if I wrote it on the exam for an answer....

Got a genetics exam back too on firday 85%! YAY! Maybe starting to hit my stride with this whole vet school thing. Though as you can probably tell I am still mark obsessed, need somewhere to brag as its definetly not kosher to do so in school ;)

Want to check out what I am doing then head to http://education.vetmed.vt.edu/Curriculum/VM8054/Labs/labtoc.htm for a taster.

5 days, 3 exams, and 12 classes till I get to go home!

Into the deep freeze

Winter has seemed to come out of no where these past few days. It is really windy here in Saskatoon and with -20 +snow + wind = miserable. Makes studying a little more bearable though. I got 95% on my last embryology quiz, just the pre-exam boost I needed! I write anatomy tomorrow, histology Monday and Tuesday, and cardiac/pulmonary physiology next Friday so I am digging in deep with the studying. I love anatomy, has to be my favorite course. I am a super visual learner, all my notes a are drawings, and the current anatomy professor is really big on you being able to recreate the relevant anatomy on paper so I am really looking forward to this exam. Histology Lab I really like for the same reasons, its super visual but the class part is so hard to pay attention in as it is really not interesting at all.
I head to Cuba on the 21st, and have been going to tanning in preparation. Its my little me time every second day and I feel so good when I am done. Nothing like a little vitamin D to brighten up your day!
Louie is doing really well too. He gets his flight feathers trimmed this weekend to make training a little easier. Right now when I do something he doesn't like he just flys away. He is becoming more habituated to handling though. He was always happy to sit on your finger, shoulder, or head, but you had to put him there and heaven forbid you try to tough him. He also never liked landing on your hand, he had to land on his treat stick. now he happily lands on your finger, loves to sit on my shoulder for hours and play with my hair, and is letting my rub his keel. We have also learned NO when it comes to biting. He gets so excited when I come home, I walk in my room and re starts chirping away at me and if I don't move to let him out he hangs form the cage above the door begging to be let out. He is also getting more adult feathers and is starting to get a nice blue rump!

An awe-inspiring experience

Well, as you can see the busier I get the less I post! Last week I had quite the experience that I feel I should share. As many of you know most veterinary colleges utilize terminal labs as a way of demonstrating principles to students that otherwise would not be seen first hand till it occur ed when in the clinics and the animal had to be saved. This week we had a 12 hr hemorrhage and transfusion lab to see the effects that schock and severe hemorrhage have on the body and its normal responses. To do this lab we used retired sled dogs from up north that are not re-home able due to behaviour. We worked in groups of 5 or 6 with many vets and lab TA's floating around helping everyone. This was all of us students first time "operating" and working with live animals. Each group had an anesthetized dog and it was our responsibility to monitor and maintain the anesthesia throughout the lab. I was in charge of anesthesia for my group. Our dog had breathing problems throughout the lab due to the chemical agent used to induce the dog and the poor health status of our dog. We had to surgically access the femoral artery and vein along with the carotid artery and cannulate all with catheters. I got to do the femoral artery and felt so proud of myself for accomplishing that small task. Wonder what it will feel like the first time I do a spay? We also had to expose a loop of gut. Through out the day we monitored, pulse, resp rate, blood pressure, ecg, as well as anesthetic monitoring signs. We gave doses of nor epinephrine to see the bodies res pone to a stimulus. We induced severe hemorrhage by draining blood through the cannula's to ~ 44 mmmHG, while normal is 120. While draining the artery catheter popped out spraying blood everywhere, though we clamped the artery off so quickly and managed to recannulate fast enough to barely even note a change in blood pressure even though it seemed to loose a lot of blood. We then recovered our animals using first ringers solution then whole blood and noted changed in nor-epi responses. I know this doesn't seem like it would take a long time but it took over 5 hours to just get to the blood draining part and another 5 to recover the animal. at this point we opened accessed the chest cavity. The thoracic cavity once pierced required us to manually ventilate the lungs. I got to hold beating heart in my hands, which is possibly the most awe inspiring experience I have ever had. We then simulated hardware disease by filling the membranous sac around the heart with fluid. WE then shocked the heart into fibrillation and the then schock it back into rhythm. At this point we euthanized the dogs with KCl.
There was a lot of debate going into this lab about the ethics of using animals in terminal labs. I for one found the experience very rewarding, not only for the greater understanding of the principles being demonstrated but it was also a great confidence booster to work with live animals and under the same conditions that recovery surgeries will later be held. It was the sacrifice of one for the good of the many.

Back to the grind

After two lovely weeks of no exams we are back at them in full force! Wrote 2 this week: genetics and an embryology and I think both went well. 4 more to go till christmas!
It was my birthday on Sunday. Went out friday night to the WCVM christmas formal and happy hour. Was a lot of fun to party in a nice dress! Spent the entire weekend studying. Got some nice western clothes for my birthday along with some nice jewelery, a mug, and other assorted things. Best gift of all though was the video my mom and aunty Sherry made of my horses. I miss them so much and It was awesome to get such a great video of them. 3 long weeks till i get to see them and my family again..........
video


The horses arent really that short backed and fat..... issue i hear with the new video camera