This was my first full week back at both the vet and school, after OPI. I had, and still have, some catching up to do in school, which is putting a bit of a damper on my mood. I expected second semester of senior year to be a breeze, but it is turning out to be a lot harder than I thought. Not only that, but my parents don't want me to have any C's, and even though I tell them my grades this semester don't matter at all, they say that my grades matter to them and should matter to me. Also lacrosse season just started, so between that, make up work, and my third space, I am spread pretty thin. Tuesday nothing much happened and I mostly just sat there and cut shapes out of this bandage tape stuff the vets put on the animal's casts (Picture of an octopus I made below). At around 3:30, an orange cat came in for just a check up I think. This cat wasn't exceptionally cute or anything, but I took an instant liking to him, probably because his name is Morris and so is my dads. They put him in one of the cages and he starting meowing and meowing and meowing. I went over and starting petting him and scratching his chin through the wires of the cage, and he stopped meowing. I spent a good 15/20 minutes just petting this cat, up until I left haha. Friday, however, was much more exciting. The veterinarians had told me on Tuesday that I would be able to see a surgery, which was cool because they usually don't do surgeries after 2 o'clock on Fridays. Friday ended up being a very busy day. The veterinarians had done other small surgeries and had a lot of other things going on. A dog named Louis was brought in to be euthanized. He was 16 years old in human years, and the veterinarians had known him for a very long time. I'm not even sure why it made me sad, but I was holding back tears, and wasn't too successful. Kim, one of the veterinarians, sniffled and I looked over at her and she was crying. She looked at me and said "I know he's old, and I know it's the right thing to do, but it makes me so sad". Louis was a little wiener dog (I think). After he was euthanized, Lei (another veterinarian) made a paw print clay thing for his owners and then tied him up in a plastic bag. Finally the surgeon arrived and apologized for being late. He and Kim then sterilized the room and I had to put on a mask and hair net type thing before being able to enter the room. The surgeon worked so fast, For an ACL surgery for a dog, the bone must be broken and then the LCL is wrapped around and used as the ACL, at least that's what I remember him saying, I could be wrong. After that part of the surgery is complete, a metal plate is screwed in over the bone and then the different layers of skin are stitched up. The whole surgery took about 45 minutes. I asked the surgeon if he liked his job and he said he liked the surgeries. For his job he has to travel a lot and is always on the road. He said the only time he can think and is calm is during surgery, which I thought was very cool. Before moving to America he lived in Queensland, Australia and worked on lions and tigers and kangaroos and all sorts of big animals. Once I told him I was from Australia too, he warmed up to me a lot. I hope this surgeon comes back because he's very good at what he does, and what he does interests me a lot. Someone at the vet that I really really like is Kim. It's not because she's really nice, or super cool, but she just seems very real to me. She doesn't sugar coat things, and she isn't showy. I can tell she has worked really hard to get where she is, and still works hard everyday. Something I have in common with Kim is that she continues to want to learn. She takes hebrew classes, and practices hebrew outside of her classes, and goes to different veterinary classes at different places, the next one she's going to is at UC Davis. Kim is probably the person I talk to the most at the vet. She asks me questions and I ask her questions. Last week I asked her about the tattoo she has on her finger and her face seemed to light up when I asked. She told me she got it when she was twelve with her mom. She's from Missouri I believe, and the tattoo is of a violet. Kim seems to be interested with what I have to say, and she really cares about the animals. When I dyed part of my hair blue Kim asked me why I did it and said that no one ever realizes that what they have is pretty and that they don't need to mess with it. I like Kim's honesty and franks towards situations. I think she is a humble person, and I respect her for that. She treats the other veterinarians respectfully and always helps out those that are less experienced than her (which is almost everyone else). Kim has a way with the animals and so much knowledge, if one of the other veterinarians can't get a needle into a cat properly, Kim tries and gets in done in one go. She stands out to me because she is different. Some of the veterinarians are cocky or uninterested, but Kim makes me feel like part of the Vet. This is Kim. I think from the picture you can tell a lot about her. This is the octopus I made. Believe it or not, the material is harder to work with than it may seem. Aannndddd this is me right before going into the room to watch the surgery.
2 Comments
Mr. P
3/6/2015 05:01:45 am
Glad you found both Kim and the traveling surgeon interesting and personable. Keep them alive in your experiences and your journaling. On another note, where is your required entry on the journal sharing we did as a WISE class?
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3/28/2015 07:41:41 am
Emily-- It's been a month since your last entry! What has been going on at the animal hospital throughout March? Where are your required entries on the journal sharing and your second research book or set of articles? Send me an email when you've caught up with your journaling!
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AuthorMy name is Emily Burch. I am a student in the WISE program at Miramonte. This is my WISE journey (I think that's a good word for it). Archives
May 2015
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