Caffeine and Running, NYC here I come!

I drank my first cup of coffee in 2 months yesterday around 3pm.  I didn't fall asleep until after 3:30am this morning.  I am profoundly affected by caffeine- always have been, and I know this... but I was SO wired yesterday.  It got me wondering about the half life of caffeine (how long it takes for half of the substance to be metabolized in the body).   The only information I have in my books relates to cats and dogs, so I referred to the almighty WebMD.  Apparently, plasma levels of caffeine can be detected as little as 5 minutes after ingestion (via gut absorption), with an average half life of 5-8 hours in an adult.  Of course there is significant variation from person to person, but  I must be one of those who is very sensitive to the effects of caffeine with an inability to clear it quickly so it affects me longer... this might explain why I was still hyped up 12 hours after I drank my iced vanilla coffee.  geez.  

I love the running application on my phone that tells me  how far I've gone, how fast I've run, how long I've run etc.   It also lets me view my route on Google Earth.  This is a normal route for me... out around the hospital... but of course my route doesn't get any longer.  So you can see that I have to weave in and out of the neighborhoods and parking lots in order to add distance to my run.   :)  I tried to spell my name by running in circles of letters in the parking lot (hoping it would show up on the satellite), but unfortunately it didn't work. So I looked like a doof in the parking lot for no good reason!

On Saturday, I will be heading to The Animal Medical Center in New York City,  and I'm very excited about it.  I'll be externing on a soft tissue surgery rotation for two weeks.  This is a very large hospital and I'm excited about all that I will see - common or rare.  About this time of year, when the air is starting to feel nice outside all the New Yorkers begin to open up their windows.  This is not so good for some of the kitty cats up there, because they end up falling out of the window!  This happens so much, there is actually a name for it "high rise syndrome"!  The cats present with a separated mandibular symphasis and pneumothorax.  This is one of the reasons I chose May as my month to extern.  Those poor kittys.  There was actually a study done a number of years ago to determine what floor the feline fell from based upon it's injury.  Apparently it became very predictable.  One cat was an exception however.  The cat came in without a single injury, not even a broken bone. A lady found the cat on the sidewalk and rushed it in.  "This cat most likely fell from the 2nd floor," every veterinarian said.  So the doctors scanned the cat for a microchip to retreive the contact information for the owner and gave her a call.  She had seen the cat fall from the window, but just hadn't made it down from her apartment on the 63rd (!) floor before the other woman picked the cat up!  Oh my goodness!!  I will pray for all the cats of the city!!

and now. Just since we're talking about cats.  Here is my chit chat kit cat when she was just a few months old hanging out in Suzanne's lap as well as a current picture.  

she's sticking her tongue out at me!!!

Cocker Update

The little guy went to radiology again last night, and a large fluid filled mass was found in the cranial abdomen. The veterinarian suspected GDV (gastric dilitation volvulous). This means that the stomach became full of air (usually from aerophagia) and then twisted upon itself. It is considered a medical emergency. This is a condition that ususally happens in large and giant breed dogs (ex. great danes), but it can happen in other breeds too. The veterinarian is considering emergency surgery. In surgery, the veterinarian will correct the twist and most likely suture the stomach to the body wall so this sort of thing won't happen again. When the stomach twists like that, arteries and veins are twisted as well which can cause a problem called hypovolemia due to the congestion of the blood caudal to the twist that can't get back to the heart. This can send the animal into shock. This is the first concern that must be resolved, because you do not send an animal into surgery that is in shock. I'm worred about the little cocker. Even with surgical management 25% of the cases don't make it. The picture below shows how the stomach twists on itself.



***** Final cocker update*** He didn't have to go to surgery. The doctor was able to decompress his stomach with a gastric tube, and he we home on Monday 2/23!

Cocker Update

The little cocker spaniel didn't get to go home yesterday. He became febrile, began vomiting, and delveloped a very distended abdomen. An IV catheter is being placed right now.

White Coat Ceremony!!

My mom and grandparents came down on Friday afternoon, just in time to get ready and then head to the school for the coating ceremony. I found my seat and waited. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. I have waited for this for so long, and even though I've been in Baton Rouge for over 2.5 years, it felt like it came up so quickly. I wanted to remember everything. Dr. Taboada welcomed everyone there, and even commented on how our "family" has grown since the blue coat ceremony at the start of first year. This time... there was standing room only. He quickly cut to the chase and started calling names. I had an aisle seat, so that meant I was to lead the others behind me when it was our turn to go. Since I was on the opposite side of the auditorium from where we would enter the stage, we had to walk to the back of the auditorium and back down again. I saw 2 of my friends husbands as I was walking... but only because they called my name. I don't think I would have seen anyone's face if they had not brought themselves to my attention... I was focused on one thing only... stage... coat.... put it on without getting tangled up! Luckily everything went smoothly, I didn't get caught up in the sleeves or anything, and I even paused on stage so Josh could get a picture.













I almost missed it becuase I didn't see him standing up! Afterwards, we all congratulated each other out in the hallway then zipped off to dinner with the Smith's at Sammy's. Mom presented Stacey and I with cute festive gifts and "congrats" balloons!! She got us both super cute lunch boxes for clinics.
The next morning was open house. This is the best time to come visit the school of veterinary medicine, becasue all the coolest and newest technologies are out on display! Papa was very interested in all of the hands on things. He even got to put his hand inside a cow's rumen! Josh did too, which really surprised me, because things like this usually gross him out. There was no blood involved, but the smell of rumen contents is not very delightful. He was a good sport and did it though! He also got to palpate a set of goat lungs. They were set up on a machine that would demonstrate inspiration and respiration.

CLINICS!

I got my schedule of rotations for clinics!!!! YAY!
so I know you can't read it very well, but here it is! I'm very excited about it!!

3rd Year Equine Labs

I am not a horse person. Let me repeat... I am NOT a horse person. But when you're in your 3rd year at LSU SVM everyone takes a class called Equine Diseases and Surgery. This class is accompanied by a lab where we are allowed (made) to perform a number of various procedures. Here are some pictures of me doing things that made me very uncomfortable.

This was the most mild procedure I did... jugular venipuncture. Very simple. Very easy. The horse jugular is as big as a garden hose, so if I couldn't hit it... well I might as well go home :) This same day I also placed a nasogastric tube, but I don't have any pictures of me doing that.


Here, I am getting ready to make an incision just above the trachea. I am going to insert a cannula, so my classmate can place the tracheal catheter. This sort of procedure is done so we can culture the bacteria in the trachea or lower bronchi. It was very very hard to puncture the tracheal wall!!


I have my placement right, my incision is made...


And I'm pushing as HARD as I can, and I can't get the dang thing to go through! After many attempts, I finally got through. (and yes the horse was sedated as well as having a local block, so she didn't feel it at all).


This was the worst one of all. I was going to lavage the frontal sinus. See that silver thing in my right hand? That's a bone chuck. Yes. I drilled a hole into the horses face.


Here I am drilling away, I'll know I'm in the right spot when the chuck "pops" through.


It popped through all right! I didn't think it would be as dramatic as a pop as it was, but man it scared me! I even let out a little scream, which everyone found very entertaining....

A little comic relief... I was smiling out of relief that it was over.... see my needle in the horses face? (I'm holding the hub of the needle...) well thats going through bone. yuck...


Now for something a little more simple. I am getting ready to take a punch biopsy of an area of skin on the horses back. Ahhh.... something easy and simple.


Here is our group. We all worked together each time during lab. This was not our normal horse, but she was good sport and posed with us.

My Best Friends Wedding!!!

Suz became a Pennington on September 29, 2007!!!!!!! She was BEAUTIFUL bride, and I had sooo much fun being her MOH. It was a wonderful day, and I wish we could do it all over again.


She had her reception at Pleasant Valley Country Club and the weather was immaculate!




WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE! They're ma-wied!


The bouquet toss was awesome! Ramanda was going for it, but Nappy caught it!!



Have fun in Jamaica!!!