Responsibilities

So far this has been an exhausting rotation with not a lot of free time, especially on top of trying to study for the NAVLE. We had group presentations on Wednesday where we present an entire case from clinical signs to necropsy. We will be having two more following this one as well as an exam at the end of this rotation.....so much to do!

This week: Sudden death in a few birds, a goat, dog with sudden death at the groomer's, older dogs with heartworm disease, older dog with hepatocellular carcinoma, dog with DIC, sudden death in a puppy, dog with neoplasia, and respiratory issues in a cow with a potential zoo notice threat.

I need a vacation soon.....

Pathology Rotation

I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Carolina Leaf speak at church this past weekend.  She's a neuroscientist and communication pathologist who has published books on how we process information and the power of the non-conscious mind.  She has developed the tools and processes that help people develop and change their thinking and subsequent behavior. Being in the medical field, I can appreciate her research especially since I have been living a similar approach with my life.
She spoke on Sunday about toxic thoughts and how we cannot grow beautifully when we dwell on these toxic thoughts.  It is the quality of our thoughts, choices, and reactions that determine our brain's growth and our quality of heath. We cannot control our circumstances, but we can control our reactions to those circumstances. Our reactions can be measured by C-reactive proteins which are released by our liver in response to inflammation. Researchers have found that dwelling on a past stressful event causes these C-reactive proteins to increase in our body.  If we react the wrong way, we are damaging our brain and body.  Dr. Leaf emphasized about releasing our burdens, prayers, and thanksgivings to God. By doing this, we are letting Him take our burden and clean our mind, therefore cleaning our bodies.
As I skimmed through her blog, I read articles about being a social media addict, 21-day brain detox that teaches you how to control your thoughts and build healthier replacement thoughts, how to make time for God, understanding male female relationships, and how your mind can change your brain.  I'm interested in reading more of her books and hopefully making a healthy mind change.  Check out the link for more information: Dr Caroline Leaf

New rotation of pathology for the next four weeks.  We have lectures in the morning, and then unfortunately we will be doing necropsies and exploring why these animals died in the afternoons.  We have already seen several birds, dog with heartworms, alligators, cat in disseminated intravascular coagulation, pig with esophageal ulcers, puppy that died suddenly, a neurologic horse, goat with ruptured urethral, cat with renal failure, dog with Addison's, a neurologic dog, and a horse with gastric ulcers.  I will not be treating live animals for an entire month so this will be interesting.

Vet School school on National Geographic has been depicting vet students' every day life, so tune in if you are interested.

Forever

How To Save Your Dogs Life
Ways Pet Owners Make Vet Medicine Hard
Vet School Facts

This week was an emotional one.  I had some tough cases of young sick dogs that unfortunately weren't treatable. It is difficult not only on the owner, but on the veterinarians, students, and staff.  We are all praying and routing for each of these animals. All of this of course it reminds me of mine own little one that passed away one year ago last month. God lends us a small miracle for sometimes 2 months, sometimes 14 years. Our pets teach us more than we could have expected and love us more than we could have hoped.  We are given this beautiful friendship and unconditional love for such a short period of time.  After all, someone needs to be waiting for us at rainbow bridge.  If loved could have saved them, they would have lived forever.

This weekend I am working the emergency shift on Saturday and preparing for my next rotation of pathology!

LSU Football

Tips To Help Vets Lose Their Minds

I attended my first LSU football game against Auburn this past weekend!  I enjoyed the hype of the crowd and the "rituals" of the students, but it just wasn't the same.  When the announcer would exclaim "first down!" my instinct was to reply back "Hokies!"  My heart was still in Blacksburg.  Luckily, they are in different conferences so I'm allowed to have two loves.

The learning: recheck hepatocellular carnicoma, chronic bronchitis, lymphoma, and something I don't remember at all learning about - heterobilharzia

It's been an exhausting week, so I'm going to keep this week's post short and sweet.

Wild Heart

Dear Miss Independent

"You have held your sh*t together through the strongest storms and the darkest of nights. No one doubts what you’re capable of, but sometimes you have to just lay it down and admit that you need more."

OK so I may have been excused of being too independent a time or two, but blame it on my wild heart.  I dance in my strength because I bathe in my freedom.  I'm a fiercely independent soul, believing strongly in the important of being whole on your own.  But still, I am a hopeless romantic, infatuated with mad, passionate love, and the ideal of two souls merging as one.  I love hard. These sides often battle, and they fight hard.  And they both refuse to back down.  I have no fear of commitment only confinement; I run my world and I choose to dance.

VT and LSU both won their football games this past weekend!

Several transfers on Sunday.  I'm not thrilled about working on Sunday.  I almost always end up missing the church services which is frustrating.  However, I did find a cute little coffee shop where I am currently sitting next to a water fountain with frozen lemonade in this beautiful 70s degree weather.

NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Exam) date is set!  November 19th is the day!  Luckily I will be taking it at home so I can enjoy my vacation afterwards.

My patients this week:  2 chronic renal failures, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, diabetes mellitus, and a few rechecks.

If you ever hear a medical professional say he/she presented ADR....It simply means "Ain't Doin' Right"

Internal Medicine Rotation

Struggles Of Free Spirit Woman
I consider myself an independent free spirit, but I never really had the words to describe how I felt. I recently read a powerful article that found those words:
"I want freedom.  I want depth.  I want to live a intensely and authentically as I can.  Happiness won't cut it for me.  I want the whirling gusts of wind to whip around my hair, tasting my cheap cherry-lemon shampoo in my mouth as I run wild through sea-like fields of tall, blonde grass.  I want to feel the warm sun embrace me, growing hotter and hotter until I pour its sweaty kisses from my forehead.  I want to lay alone in the dirt, feeling the earth beneath me, leaves in my hair, crunchy pieces of mushy ground in my hands, getting under my nails.  I want to dance under the winking, twinkling stars, my body moving at dangerous speeds.  I want to drive fast as a falcon, blasting Lana del Rey and screaming to Dark Paradise.  I want to shriek, sob, and shout when I'm angry, sad, jealous, vulnerable, in pain.  I want to live fiercely, wildly, passionately, and as freely as possible.  I want to feverishly question everything, never satisfying my desperate thirst for knowledge.  I want to to be unapologetically me, cursing real filthy sometimes, but never, ever, editing myself to please you.  I want to listen to my feminine wisdom, my intuition, my gut; never taking lightly my opinion, needs or desires.  Happiness is not enough.  I want to smile and I want to taste that joy but it won't define me. Or drive me.  It's not enough.  I want freedom.  I want to feel everything.  I want the pain, the joy, the disappointment, the jealously, the hatred, the euphoria, the sadness, the grief and everything in between.  I want it all.  Oh, sweet freedom, link your arm in mine and let's frolic forever under magical moonlight in mysterious open fields.  Let's not settle for happiness.  It's not enough.  Happiness doesn't make my soul soar, my spirit ignite, my insides buzz with electricity.  I will scream and live and die for freedom.  I will never settle for happiness.  I want and need and desire and thirst for freedom.  Feel that delicious word on your tongue and taste it. Its soars.  Now, I soar - into the fiercest, fastest wings, feeling more alive than ever."

This past weekend I experienced some LSU tailgating, which of course just made me miss VT tailgating, and just made me feel like I was in undergrad again.  Luckily I didn't end up going to the game; it got rained out.

I actually had Labor day off!  I haven't had a US holiday off in 3 years; I almost didn't know what to do with myself....oh wait yes I did....study and watch VT football (although we did lose Ohio State).
In honor of the start of football season, you are currently hearing the best college football entrance song with a pretty fantastic background to this blog as well!

Shout out to my Rossies' still on the island since the started their next semester this week.

This week I started my internal medicine rotation.  I'm enjoying the wide variety of cases I've seen so far such as pancytopenia, IMHA, vestibular disease, intervertbral disc disease, and a ranula.  It's long hours and demanding, but the interns, residents, and clinicians have been helpful so far which makes it easy to feel comfortable around them.

Wildest Dreams

*Blog update!* Make sure your volume is on

Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
"Say you'll remember me, Standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset, babe...say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams"
I adore the lyrics in this song because I believe everyone can relate and will have a different reason for singing this.  Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind, heals the heart and makes it whole. It's an escape that no matter who you are can relate to.  Music is such an explosive expression of humanity; it slips you into an intimacy which you cannot recover. That's exactly how I feel when listening to these poetic words.  

I didn't have any patients in the hospital this past weekend, so I was able to have a relaxing weekend and catch up on little things I've been wanting to do.
We had our cat neuters on Monday and presentations on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I've had several patients this week, but none of them went to surgery which in some cases was great for the animal, but for some it was a more poor prognosis.

Surgeries this week: Lateral suture stifle stabilization (video) and femoral fracture repair

Next week I will be onto Internal Medicine which is one of the most demanding rotations, so lots of sleep and preparation will be done this weekend!