Darius Rucker Concert

This past Saturday was the grand opening of the marina at Christophe Harbour and so Darius Rucker came to perform for free!  With a backdrop of amazing million dollar yachts (yes one of them was Darius'), we did not feel like we were St Kitts anymore.  I was also able to sneak us into the VIP section (it pays to know people) so we had front row access to Darius and we might have even gotten serenaded (he made eye contact with us while singing) and touched his hand.  Such an exciting way to start off our weeks!

Another fun filled busy busy week started off with my Special Species exam, grand rounds presentation, and the start of equine SOAPing on Monday.  The St Kitts political election ended, so finally no more late night protests or fireworks.  Click on this link to follow the fun: SKNTimes

My exhausting week continued with our sheep skin incision surgery on Tuesday.  Unfortunately, this surgery did not go as smoothly as our last ones have. Our sheep's sedative didn't work, so it took us and the technicians five tries to place an IV catheter, I got light headed during the surgery (luckily was still able to continue), our sheep took an hour to wake up from anesthesia, and then his breathing was funny so we had to place nasal tubes to help him.  We were on campus until 6:30pm and I was in bed before 8pm.

Wednesday was a full morning of classes and my spay dog's physical exam.  My spay dog is an excited 8-10 month old island dog, who is very cute and sweet.  She only had a very minor things that needed to be looked at, so hopefully her surgery in three weeks will go effortlessly.

I'm so excited that Susie came down on Thursday and will be staying until Monday!  Best birthday present!

Happy 29th Birthday to me on Friday!  I will celebrate with bovine palpation, the beach, dinner, and drinks later.  This weekend is midsemester weekend!  So, more beach time with Susie, delicious dinners, and a cat trip on Sunday, all while still having to SOAP twice a day.

There is in all women, a wild and ancient gypsy who cries in anguish when we starch her flat.  There is a part of us that can never ever be happy until the gypsy can dance,

Computer And J's 24th

One of the things that has been through this entire journey of vet school with me and what I have become dependable on,  is on it's 9th life.  My current computer has lasted me nearly 7 years, survived many drops, several blue screens, new batteries, new chargers, several drops, scratches, power outages, and even a new hard drive, and then on Monday tried to commit suicide by jumping off a very high table.  In true fashion, it's still functioning.  Sure the monitor works only works every once in a while, so I can't close it without the risk of it not turning back on until placed at the exact right angle, but my dear friend just won't quit on me.  Now normally you would say that's a great thing, however, being in a third world country with no place to buy a new one, this has become a stressful annoyance.  Yes, everything is backed up, but it has become a comfort.  Don't get me wrong, I normally welcome change, but not when it comes to technology that I rely on for a regular basis.  As my "technology consult" will tell you, I'm extremely picky and want to make sure I get the right replacement.  So Miss Computer (it's pink so definitely a girl), I can't risk you playing any more tricks on me, especially this semester, so therefore I had to give in and get myself an updated you. (Of course now as I'm threatening her, she's been working great)

My set-up when the monitor is not working

Long day on Monday, starting with my LAM II exam (65 questions in 60 minutes), class all morning, and then my bovine rotation where we did physical exams, restrained them as well as calves, and talked about general maintenance.  I quickly met up with my SOAP partner afterwards and unfortunately our sheep was running an extremely high fever, breathing strangely, and had tachycardia (high heart rate).  After speaking with the on-call clinician, we gave him an anti-inflammatory and hopefully his vitals were only increased due to the stress of running around.

My fourth surgery (nerve ID) and second anesthesia, was on Tuesday.  It was a little stressful and overwhelming, because my donkey decided to have the expected problems while under anesthesia. However, the procedure and recovery went very smoothly.  We also received our third SOAP animal, another sheep that we will do our incision surgery on next week.  Our first sheep was still running a fever, so we manually opened and cleaned his incision site so hopefully it will drain better and bring his fever down.  Our donkey is now needing extra medications, so we now have three open problems out of our three animals.  That means earlier mornings and more support to my recent coffee consumption/not quite an addiction. (I have not been a coffee drinker until this semester)

In increasing anticipation, the group of students going to LSU SVM met with our clinical adviser Wednesday evening although he didn't really tell us anything different from what we already knew.
I actually had the afternoon off, aside from SOAPing on Thursday. I was finally able to catch up on some studying.
Per usual, I had bovine palpation on Friday and I still don't feel like I'm improving.
I anticipate I will be studying for my special species exam, grand rounds preparation, and my incision surgery this weekend.  Darius Rucker is performing a free concert out on the peninsula Saturday night, so you can most likely find me there!

Lots of friends needed prayers this week.  Know that I'm thinking of you and you will get through this.

Happy birthday gorgeous!  You are an angel who lifts me to my feet when my wings have trouble remembering how to fly.