Tuesday, October 28, 2003
When a squirrel breaks a leg. . .
I walking into the Wildlife Medical Clinic Saturday morning to find this:
The squirrel is anesthetised while her bandage is changed.
Here's the broken leg, shaved naked. It has a pin in it to hold the broken bones in place while they heal
Now the wounds around the pin must be cleaned very carefully. . .
and a clean bandage is applied.
What a way to spend Saturday morning!
A Cute Butt!
Isn't it, though?
Those sidewalk cracks can be quite an obstacle
. . .but not for Pyxie!
p.s. I have to take picture of Pyxie from behind or far away so she doesn't see me and hide in her shell.
You know you're a hopeless nerd when. . .
You're excited about getting your picture taken with a cow stomach.
Friday, October 24, 2003
Blood Donor Dogs
The university runs a canine blood donor program, so if your dog ever needs a blood transfusion, give them a call. The donor dogs are residents of the hospital, giving blood once a month or so, and they get to take daily walks with student volunteer "walkers."
Rosie
Rosie and Alix
Mike is Rosie's walker and best bud
Rosie loves to give kisses. . .
. . . and get kisses
Gunner
Gunner gets some love
Jill finds a reason to take a study break
What a face!
Blue Bayou
Happy dog!
Geeky Vet Student Humor
They warned us that we would start making stupid jokes that only other veterinary students would find funny. . .
Earlier this week I was discussing the whole "Ben Affleck versus Matt Damon" debate with my classmate, Kara, and we agreed that Ben is a weenie while Matt is far smarter, boyishly handsome, more talented, well-built, and has a smile that glows for miles.
Yesterday morning I found this envelope in my school mailbox:
"What the. . .?" I thought. I was gullible enough to start asking other students if they had recieved a similar envelope.
Then I opened it:
I thought
I was a geek, but apparently Kara is the Queen.
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Image of the Week
Weiner Dog!
Monday, October 20, 2003
When I'm not being a nerd. . .
No, I don't have time to do all the things I used to, but there are acceptable substitutes. Instead of camping, I can go to
Allerton for a day hike.
Gregg loves to walk about 30 feet ahead of me.
My legs are too short to keep up!
One of my favorite pastimes is bug-watching. (I guess that
is kinda nerdy, huh?)
Closer to home, dowtown Champaign has a good variety of bars and shops. Not that I have the money to enjoy them, but on lazy Sunday afternoons, I like to loiter and browse.
And one of my favorite bookstores has a furry, friendly fixture:
And once in a while, I actually travel two and a half hours to see this charming face:
And
yes, he's getting a nose hair trimmer for Christmas.
Sunday, October 19, 2003
The Speed Of Life
I lie in bed at night sometimes and wonder what the hell I'm doing here. It gets boring after a while: lectures, books, studying, more lectures, more studying. . . not to mention that I see the same people seven or more hours a day, five days a week (nothing personal--I love you guys) without much more than the
Daily Illini to remind me that there is a world outside vet school.
Life runs at two speeds here:
1) Warp Speed
My life
outside of vet school speeds past me as I realize it's been months since I've spoke to many of my friends. I think about babies I worked with last year (at a day care center) realizing by now they are walking and talking. I look at my guitar in the corner of my room, collecting dust, realizing that it's been three weeks since I've touched it. I haven't gone camping all of Septmeber or October, the prime camping months out here. I feel like the outside world is passing me by at a million miles an hour, as my parents plan for retirement, as normal people are going to work, enjoying their weekends, living normal lives, as conflicts are coming and going around the country and around the world, as kids are growing up. . . and here I am spending hours on end with my nose in a book.
2) Ultra-Concentrated
But time here
within the vet school world passes slowly, in a weird way: a day feels like a week, a week feels like a month, and as I lie in bed, I realize how much I've done in the few short months I've been here. I guess it's the result of an "ultra-concentrated" education. While life since late August may have been just a few more months of Great Paper Chase for some, I look at my life since then and realize how much I have to tell. I recieved my last paycheck from my former boss in early September with a little post-it note asking "how's it going?" and I couldn't believe how much that little question brought to my mind. I couldn't believe it had only been two weeks since I saw her. It felt like I had so much to tell her, with all I had learned, all the people I had met, all the goals I had set.
Now I realize that the sacrifice of a few short years spent in this microcosm of vet school is not much of a sacrifice at all; these one-hundred classmates I see every day of my life are going to be my professional contemporaries I call for consultation, advice and friendship for the rest of my career; the things I'm learning now are the basis for what I'll love doing for the remainder of my healthy life. And I realize I
LOVE learning about brains and cell function and hormonal messengers and biochemical cascades. I love listening to Dr. O talk about surgical techniques ("you scoop out the pulp"). I
love drawing my little charts and coloring them and closing my eyes and visualizing the three-dimensional structure of the inside of a dog abdomen.
Yes, I'm a nerd, I know.
But for now, I
love being a nerd.
Turtle Physical Therapy
Our wildlife medical volunteer team has been taking care of "Pyxis," the Red-Eared Slider, for a couple months now. She's been getting daily antibiotic injections in her leg muscles and antiseptic baths to ward off infection from the opening in her shell that exposes her coelomic cavity (her insides). After weeks and weeks of this, Pixie has gone from timid and hiding in her shell to sticking her head out and hissing and biting while we giver her injections. When we put her in her bath, she used to hold herself in her shell, but now she wiggles her stong, thick legs in a futile attempt to swim away. She's definitely developed some spunk.
Being cooped up in a small 1'x2' aquarium, Pixie doesn't get much fresh air. In addition, the intramuscular injections cause muscle soreness, and likely muscle bruising. Taking all this into account, along with her increased spunkiess, a few of my teammates figured that Pixie could benefit from some daily physical therapy.
At lunch time, she gets the freedom to walk around the vet school yard. She traveled 35 feet over Wednesday's lunch hour, and over 40 feet on Friday.
When she's out for her walks, Pyxie draws lots of attention. People out walking "ooh" and "ahh" at the adorable turtle. The blood donor dogs on
their lunchtime walks try to run toward the walking frisbee (fortunately the dogs are leashed).
When Pyxie knows I'm nearby, she withdraws into her shell:
"Is the coast clear?"
When I leave her alone and she thinks I'm nowhere around, she runs for her life:
She also like to explore:
But sadly, at the end of the hour, I have to go back to class, and Pyxie has to go back into her little aquarium.
Hopefully she'll be better in a few more months and we'll be able to release her come spring, but there is no way to tell yet whether her damaged shell is healing. If it's not, it's becoming necrotic (dead), and we may as well euthanize her.
In another month or so, Dr. Whittington will drill a little into the suspect area of the shell to see if it bleeds. If it does, that means the shell is growing and healing. If it doesn't bleed. . . we'll have to say goodbye to our little buddy.
Hang in there, Pyxie buddy.
Vet Med Lecture Hall,
After Hours
I joined a few of the girls for a Histology study session Monday night (we had the exam Thursday) and on my way in I saw Jason, one of my lab parters, on his way out. I was running late, so I asked him if he saw anyone studying in the Histology Lab (which is really just a large lecture hall with lotsa microscopes). He said "Yes--but you're not missing anything. They're all giggling and rolling each other down the thing."
Rolling each other down the thing?
As in most lecture halls, there is a consistent incline from the front of the room to the back. Well, the video microscopes used for group study are at the back of the lecture hall, which also happens to be the highest point in the room. And there also happens to be many comfy office chairs with
wheels in this part of the room.
In this rear area of the room around the video scopes, the floor is flat for several feet. The girls discovered that if they roll their office chairs a bit too close to the inclined portion of the floor, they are taken on a fast ride downhill, toward the front.
Wheeeeee! No hands!
Kara found out that there is no way to steer these chairs
The huge rebel and risk taker that I try to be, I thought I'd try. . .
"Oh crap, I can't stop!"
I'm so glad my education is paying off.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Exotic Feline Rescue Center
Since we had Friday off, a small group of vet students visited the
Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana.
Joe, the guy who runs the place gave us rule #1: NO TOUCHING.
Of course,
he can touch most of the cats he wants, but there are some cats that none of the staff go near.
"No touching. There is a penalty for missing fingers."
Joe and his buddy
Most of the bigger cat pens have climbers and water tanks
In mid-afternoon, most of the cats were feeling lazy. . .
. . . and sleepy
Pretty Kitty! I found out that mountain lions meow just like house cats.
A tiger taking a midday bath
Southern Belles sun-bathing. . .
. . .and we thought we'd follow their example and enjoy the sun, too
We got to go in the house and meet some kittens:
This one liked my sweatshirt
Who Let the Vet Students Out?
The vet school hosted a veterinary conference this weekend, so we first-years got Friday off.
So, naturally, our social reps planned a Thursday evening of fun:
First we stuffed our faces at Murphy's Pub:
Then we enjoyed some liquid refreshment at Legend's:
And we socialized:
Some played pool:
The pool champs!
Others played cards:
Then we headed to Brothers' for some dancing:
And a "girls only" toast:
