Wow. The first two weeks of classes have already flown by and I haven't posted a thing about them. I've actually gotten do to a couple cool things, too, so before I let too much time slip by, I want to update you all on just what kinds of things are occupying my time.
- First off, I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE my classes this quarter. It's stressing me out on many levels. Mainly because the classes are completely dry and boring and do not fall within my range of interests so it makes it difficult to focus or retain much of the information. Secondly, it's just a massive course load. This quarter is the most units I'll take (18) during the course of the program and that, combined with my internship hour quota, leaves me with little spare time. And lastly, because many of my fellow students are psyched that, as seniors, we've reached the point in our curriculum that's most applicable to our everyday lives in the clinic. So even though they agree that the chemistry of hematology (yuck) and the physics of radiography (double yuck!) are dry, they're excited that they're learning things they can apply to their time spent at their internship sites. I don't really have that 'glass half full' kind of outlook on life so not only am I annoyed at the boring class lectures and reading assignments, I'm down on myself for not being more interested or excited about things like other people. I really don't think there's a more neurotic or tightly-wound person out there.
- This last week brought some sadness to the program, as one of our two sheep had to be euthanized on Thursday. Theodore had been acting a little off the past couple of weeks - eating less, separating himself from the rest of the guys in the pasture - so Dr. Mac had Dr. Bellamy come and take a look. They decided he was most likely suffering from pneumonia and put him on antibiotics. Things did not improve, however, and eventually Theo just stopped eating altogether. I had a Clin Path lab on Thursday afternoon so some of Theo's blood was drawn and Ms. D and Ms. Terry performed a bunch of different analyses, showing us what they were doing along the way. Sadly, the results indicated that Theo was in end-stage renal failure and the decision was made to euthanize him right away. Dr. Mac allowed any interested students to stay and watch, which I did. I know that seems like an odd decision but one of my weaknesses is (surprise) keeping my composure during euthanasia procedures at the clinic. I don't want to fall apart in front of clients so I viewed as an opportunity to try and work on keeping it together when I want to fall to pieces. I was a complete failure, of course, but at least Theo had some friendly faces around when he left us. The poor guy was just miserable and it showed; he was just skin and bones under his woolly coat and his eyes were almost completely dilated. And though I'm sure it sounds very strange, once he was gone, we were able to look more closely at his feet and the inside of his mouth, which was really quite interesting. (Sheep have large papillae on the insides of their cheek, which are absolutely fascinating. I couldn't find a good photo or I would have included one. Also, and this may creep you out, but apparently renal failure gives an animal a very distinct odor within their mouth and we were all able to smell that, too.) Alvin seems lost without his shier friend and the pasture seems so empty now with no Bonnie and no Theodore. :o( It was very sad to say goodbye but I'm happy he's no longer suffering and even in death he helped us learn something new, so thank you, Theo. You will be missed.
- On a lighter note, I have switched clinics and am now interning just 2.3 short miles from my house. Which is NICE. And the people at the clinic seem very nice, too - the head tech has been there 10 years and is very comfortable with interns from the greenest of the green to those with a little more experience. The remaining three techs have also been welcoming, making sure to include me in interesting procedures or asking me what kinds of things I'd like to learn. Even one of the DVMs made a point of pulling me aside and asking me to check out some specimens under the microscope. That never happened at my old clinic so I am cautiously excited. This clinic is just a standard day practice, though, (as opposed to an urgent care hospital, which is what my old clinic was) so things definitely go at a much slower pace. And there are less out-of-the-ordinary cases, which means I'm a little worried that will pose a problem insofar as getting certain things checked off my skills list. But I'm trying not to stress about it too much. Trying.
- Unfortunately, my first week at the clinic tested my 'keep it together' face even before Theo's death. A call came in just before closing one day from a woman whose dog was seizing in the car. Since we were the closest clinic, she wanted to bring him in. Everything was set up and everyone was ready when she arrived but, sadly, her dog had already died - he'd suffered major cardiac arrest and there was nothing to be done. He was a four-year-old Boxer and, unfortunately, that breed is fraught with health issues, heart abnormalities and cancer chief among them. As sad as I am to see the animal and its devastated family, I have to say that the hardest part of the whole thing for me is when the animal is put in a plastic bag and placed in the freezer. I know it's what has to be done and I know that's what happens in human medicine, too, but it just seems so terribly impersonal that it's hard for me to watch. I made myself participate, though, because it's the reality and the more I immerse myself, the better tech I'll be.
- The second week of clinic brought much more interesting things.
See there? I got past the complaining and all the steam apparently ran out. :o/ And do I remember what else I wanted to say? Not so much. Now how will Future Lauren know what interesting things happened to 2011 Lauren?! Way to go, Current Lauren. You're screwing it up for everyone.
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