Rotations, Bingo and Mr. Squiggles

Im going to put out an advisory that there may be a picture or two in this post of "graphic" content from rotations. I have chosen the most PG photos but just be prepared to scroll past them if you wish.

We kicked off our 6th term adventures with many trips to the local brewery (finally some good beer on the island) as well as bingo night at a restaurant up in Lance Aux Epines. Bri, Celene and I had never been to bingo and we figured we couldnt leave this island without trying it at least once. It was alot of fun and for the majority the prizes are more "gag gifts" than anything. Toilet paper, maxi pads, kid toys etc, but at the end of the big rounds they do tend to give away cash or even livestock! As we got to the end of a bigger round the MC announced the final prize would be 400 EC and a pig! We all freaked out and decided we MUST win this round and the prized Mr. Squiggles as he had been aptly named. Slowly but surely we got down to 3 spots, then 2, then 1, then PANDAMONIUM!! We all screamed and Bri shot out of her chair to go accept the prize....which you have to dance for :)

As for rotations I have gone through Clinical Pathology, Pathology, Small Animal Medicine, Ambulatory and the combined Radiology/Shelter Med course. Thus far ambulatory and shelter medicine have been my favorite rotations. The small animal rotation was shortened due to a tropical storm threat. The university took the necessary precautions to cancel classes and urged everyone to prepare. Fortunately the storm pushed slightly north and we really didnt get much severe weather. However, now the storm has been upgraded to a Hurricane 4/5 and is due to really hit Jamaica hard.

                         Oink oink up close and personal                            Physical exams on baby goats

Pig castrations-- Dont worry it may look brutal but we injected them with antibiotics for any post op infections and gave a local anesthetic to prevent any pain. All in all the whole thing takes only a few minutes and they go back to rooting around in their pens. Production management is a whole different ball game but these producers truly care about their animals. I wasnt expecting too much at a local farm but the pens were extremely clean, protected from the elements and the pigs had minimal health issues.

Rotations are on hold this week, as are classes for our midterms. 4 tests and one practical. Cant wait for it to be over. As always, the procrastinator in me starts to freak out trying to catch up. But the senior in me doesnt care too much :)

                                                 This place does have amazing sunsets

Its the Final Countdown

6th term! How the heck did that happen?! 3 years on this beautiful island is almost over and while everyone knows I cannot wait to get back to the U.S, I will miss this place. But I'm getting ahead of myself. There's lots to share so let me go back to a few months ago...

This was my first time flying back to Grenada with my new best pal Tiger! For anyone who doesn't know, thats the Grenadian Potthound dog I adopted at the end of last term. She was initially brought to SGU by her owner to be a part of the5th term spay and neuter program. Unfortunately they discovered she had TVT (transmissible venereal tumor) a form of cancer that is spread between intact animals and is very common in communities like this. However, it is 100% treatable with chemotherapy! The owners decided that they did not want her back so she ended up being fostered by students until she found a home. Her previous owners didnt feed her well if at all either so she was extremely underweight and had a poor coat. Despite all her ailments she had the happiest spirit and loved everyone she met. Before I knew it she gave me those "I love you adopt me" eyes and I was hooked. I signed the adoption papers and she remained under the schools care until she was cleared of her cancer.

 Before shot, she probably weighed about 15 pounds and had skin/hair coat issue. Her vulva and cervix were also enlarged due to the cancer but I will spare yall that photo. Externally her vulva probably hung down about 3 inches or so....thats not normal by any means

Here is my beautiful girl in many
"after" shots. She has put on plenty of weight and has an amazing think/shiny coat. Love the brindle coloration!












Tiger was a great companion on the plane and pretty much slept the whole time. She only peed in the airport once but I had a potty pad to scoop under her luckily. Getting her through customs was also not as rigorous as I had feared. The Customs agents were unpleasant as usual and stared blankly at me before asking where I got her multiple times. But there is no doubt that this mama is a local dog so they let me go without trying to charge me for her, hooray! 

She plays well with my roommates dog Bennet as well as my friends dog Dodgy. They are quite the little pack and we walk them every day. Plus they get to earn their keep by being our physical exam guinea pigs!!

As far as 6th term goes it entails lecture from 8-1 and then rotations in the afternoon. It's an attempt to get us used to what next year will be like. We rotate each week through various departments such as Clincal Pathology, Pathology, Small Animal Med, Surgery/Anesthesia, Shelter Medicine, Ambulatory (large animal out on local farms), Emergency and Critical Care, and Radiology. It makes for a VERY busy schedule but the rotations are alot of fun and while we may feel like idiots, you do learn a great deal. We also only have midterms and finals this term so you can imagine for a procrastinator like me its a bit unnerving. However, our goal for the term is simply to pass and get back to the U.S. and our clinical schools! Check out my next post for all the photos and descriptions of the rotations I've already had as well as the adventures thus far!                                                                             

Post Midterm Update- Spays, Neuters and Paint Parties

Its time for the post midterm update! The ball has really been rollin' since my last post. Surgeries started and we have now moved into the more complicated spay procedures. We started off with neuters....thats right, we chopped off some doggie huevos. We were put in to groups of 4 and each week you rotate positions through primary surgeon, assistant surgeon, anesthetist and scrub nurse. By far the worst position is anesthetist. Sure as surgeon you have to cut, but anesthetist is responsible for the life of the patient. You're never really alone through any of the procedure, there is always a professor watching and making sure you dont screw up. But in the moment its you and its the dog and you feel as though its all riding on you. Its a great experience though. We finally feel like we are putting to use all that we have learned since starting school....its real life....not just pictures on a screen or words in a book. "BE BOLD SURGEONS" as our first term anatomy professor would say.

My neuter patient (face covered for confidentiality), what a champ

I was the first up to be surgeon for the spays and I have to say they kind of just threw us in the deep end and said start swimmin'. We had videos to watch and we could ask our professors questions but nothing really prepares you for the way things look in real life. Lucky for me my spay patient "had the biggest uterus" they've ever seen in the Jr Surgery Lab......that was fun. She was also in heat so the tissues of the reproductive tract were very fragile. I had to double ligate most of the structures because of it. The surgery took hours and by the end I never wanted to do another spay again, but my professor said "if you can spay her, you can spay anyone" so that was a small consolation. We have 3 more spay procedures to go before we are done for the term.

Other than surgery we have had our hands up more cow butts, learned a little bit about dentals, and now have a guest lecturer who graduated vet school in 1959.....He is a wealth of knowledge and has had alot of cool jobs, but some of what he says is a little outdated. For example, you can use snake venom to help treat certain limb diseases in a horse....I don't think thats the first line anymore. Outside of the classroom there have been alot of fundraising events and post midterm celebrations. Some friends put together a powderpuff flag football team, but there was nothing powderpuff about it. I walked away with ripped shorts, more cuts than I could count and the desire to never play that tournament again :). It was fun for awhile but when people started tackling, complaining, and being rude I was over it. BUUUUUUTTTTT WE WON!! It was a dogfight but our team was really athletic so what we lost in football skills we gained back in fitness.

"Team Untouchables"

I also went to Splash Jouvert, a party on the beach where they throw paint powder in the air and you walk out looking like a bag of skittles. I lasted about 3 hours before calling it quits and heading home, quite the impressive feat for me.

Now there is just about a month and a half left this term before heading back home for the summer. Everyone is counting down the days. Until then its a few more tests, surgery and finals. My family is also coming to visit which will be a much needed dose of home. Cant wait!!! Ill be sure to add photos post visit. Well thats about all the procrastinating I can do, time to get back to studying. Hope everyone had a happy Easter weekend

5th Term Begins...Surgery, Cow Butts and Horse Uteri

5th term. The start of our final year on the island. The term we start surgery, care for our own patients, and choose which clinical school we will be attending. That's not terrifying at all! 4th term ended with a fabulous visit from 3 of my best friends from home/college. The first night they were here I took them to the local bar/club called Bananas for a real Grenada night out. Now those of you who know me well know I am not a party person. None the less we went out, had some drinks, enjoyed the night and came home and immediately went to bed. Got my Bananas fix for the next year. That weekend we went on an amazing catamaran trip with Carib Catz. We sailed up the west coast of the island to Flamingo bay where we spent about an hour snorkeling above the reef. Our next stop was the worlds first and largest underwater sculpture garden. It was very exciting to see the new additions to the sculpture park and even more fun to see everyone bobbing around. The crew was great and made sure our cups were never empty and the music was always bumpin. Fantastic day

Other than the boat trip our only other big excursion was a guided tour led by one of my friends up to 7 sisters waterfall. Its deep within the Grand Etang Rainforest but the hike is moderate and the water at the falls is cold and refreshing. Not to mention you can jump off of them, which we all did reluctantly.

Birthday dinner at Dodgy Dock restaurant. Yes my friends did get the steel drum band to play happy birthday and sing to me in front of everyone. Embarrassing but I love them for it. The trip wasn't long enough, as anyone on vacation laments but it was a great experience of this beautiful island.











 Term 5 as I mentioned earlier is crazy busy and somewhat nerve-wracking because we actually start having a "case load" in the form of our surgery patients. We are split into groups and have to rotate between the positions of surgeon, assistant surgeon, anesthetist and scrub nurse. We are the ones doing everything from pre op to surgery to post op. Its scary but also very exciting. My group has dubbed themselves "50 Shades of Spay". Everyone takes the chance to make fun of local pop culture and mix it with spay or neuter terms. Other classes this term include Small animal med, large animal surgery, small animal surgery, theriogenology, diagnostic imaging, intro to clinical practice, and junior surgery. Sounds exciting right? Well just this morning I had a lab on bovine pregnancy detection and palpation. How might you detect pregnancy in a cow??? Well you have the glorious job of sticking your hand in the cows rectum and palpating various reproductive structures. Just what you want to do at 8:30 AM on a Friday. Its great fun actually. The cows here are very domesticated and while they probably hate being guinea pigs, they tolerate our learning very well.

Its going to be a fun but exhausting term. More pictures and funny stories to come I'm sure. Sending warmth and sunshine back home to everyone still buried under snow. Until next time.

I'm Alive! Back from the Study Induced Absence

Hello all,

It's been awhile hasn't it? 4th term has definitely taken a different route than I thought. Most older students say 4th term is nice because you have more free time. Well this may be true but the classes definitely require more attention. I have also taken on the role of Events and Lab Coordinator for the Shelter Medicine club so that has taken up a bit of time as well. Our event coming up is a Halloween "kissing" booth. No, I will not be puckering up to hand out kisses.....the puppies will!! The dogs and puppies from the shelter will be brought in to provide some much needed release for the hard working students and it will get them exposure to potential adopters. People also have the choice to bring their own pets and dress them up in costumes and get a professional photo. It was successful last year when we did it as a Valentine's Day fundraiser so I am hopeful for this event as well.

As far as school goes I've been learning alot. This term has some of the same ole classes like pathology, but also has some new ones such as Anesthesiology and Clinical Medicine. These are two classes I feel have been great for relating information I learned this summer, and providing new info I feel I can take back to work. In addition we are finally learning techniques for surgery next term. Suture patterns, tools and their uses, gowning and gloving, draping and how to maintain a sterile surgical field. Cool stuff. I havent done much outside of school  because when I have some time off I usually just want to take a nap.....watch out world this girl is goin craaaaazy. One of the main reasons for my sloth is how hot it is this semester. The rainy season usually features hotter temperatures because of increased humidity but this has been one of the worst rainy seasons thus far. Even the locals are saying its abnormally hot. You know it's bad when you take an ice cold shower and 3 seconds later you're sweating all over again. Such is life on the island though.

I will be happy to get back to the Virginia Mountains and cozy up by the fire in my flannel. I always hate to miss the fall season and seeing the leaves change color. I can only imagine the explosion of color up on the mountain. Driving the backroads from Blacksburg to Troutville has to be one of the most beautiful drives especially in the fall. Once again my friends and I will be holding are Thanksgiving potluck sans Turkey. Instead we will be feasting on Kentucky Fried Chicken. This weekend is actually the Grenadian Thanksgiving. I wasn't sure of the history behind it but after googling I found it is actually in celebration of the US led invasion in 1983 in response to the deposition and execution of the Prime Minister Maurice Bishop. jovial isnt it? They actually have a big mural in town in thanks to the 82nd Airborne and the US troops that helped during the invasion. Pretty neat.

Just about a month and a half left on the island for this term. It's flying by and I cant say I'm too upset about it. Not much left but some quizzes and then finals start. I'll be sure to do another update around Thanksgiving. Best of wishes to everyone back home. Step on an extra crunchy fall leaf for me :)

Dog model for endotracheal intubation

Rainbow from the porch of our house

Half Way Done!

As Term 3 comes to a close, it marks the halfway mark of my time on the island. This term I spent more time in the study hall than I ever have before. 9 times out of 10 if you ask someone what the hardest term was, they will say term 3. Its quite voluminous and the information is challenging. But....we made it through!! The last few days on the island after finals I did get to enjoy some time on the beach every day and eat some good food.

La Sagesse Beach. Situated on the east coast

Sunset over Grand Anse Beach

We managed to explore some new parts of the island, heading to the east coast to spend the day at La Sagesse beach. Very much off the beaten path and filled with only a few locals, visitors of the hotel, and a few students it was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Grand Anse. The water was rougher but we had a blast body surfing. The ocean even swallowed up some of our sunglasses after getting pummeled by some waves. It was nice to finally get to enjoy the island and get some much needed Vitamin D.

The trip home was fairly uneventful, which is a good thing. After getting home my siblings and I planned a fabulous 30th Anniversary Party for my parents. We had family from all across the US come into town for the celebration. Nothin like a good surprise, some delicious BBQ and refreshing beer on Memorial Day weekend. A fitting way to celebrate the best parents in the world.

This summer I hpe to be working at the local clinic I volunteered at last summer. Im really looking forward to enhancing my skills and putting to use what I learned this term. Other than that just resting the ole noggin before kicking back up for 4th term.

My Mariiiiiiiiiia, Maria I love you

This past weekend was a busy one. The Jason Roberts Foundation hosted the first ever Grenada Color Run and Sunday was the annual Med vs. Vet Kickball tournament. Not to mention I had the pleasure of fostering a precious dog named Maria from the local SPCA as part of the shelter medicine club. I went with some friends to pick Maria up Friday after lab. She had a rough start to life as her previous owners overdosed her on medication leaving her toxic and holding on to life. Luckily she made a magic turn around but not without leaving her a little skidish. Shes a petit lil potthound but has the softest fur which is uncharacteristic of the breed, she must be mixed with something else. Friday we spent the day getting her acclimated to the house as well as my roommates dog Bennet. Hes super friendly but is alot of dog coming at ya, so it took some time for him to clm down and her to get comfortable.

 Do you think I took enough pictures??? These aren't even half ;)

Saturday we put on her "Adopt Me" bandana (even though I secretly wanted to hide it) and headed off to the color run. The trail wound us around the neighborhoods near campus and about every mile we were splattered with paint of a different color. By the end both dog and people were one big rainbow. The race ended with a big dance party and some good food. Unfortunately the paint was a bear to get out of dog fur and people hair so my roommate and I spent about an hour hunched over in the shower picking paint out of the dogs fur. It was not how I saw the evening going but the race was a blast none-the-less. Sunday I got suckered in to playing on my terms kickball team. We lost before the finals but there was actually some stiff competition out there. Maria came for the first game but then got to spend the rest of the day with my friends while I finished up kickball. She definitely needs lots more socialization as she gets nervous in crowds are places where lots of things are going on....but she has the potential. Sunday night was a relax and recuperate night. Maria managed to sneak up on bed after giving me the puppy eyes and laying her head on the bed. Plus it was her last night so I gave in, hoisted her up and had a nice lil sleeping buddy. The feeling of waking up with a smiling doggy face and wagging tale next to you is fabulous. Dogs really do think you are the greatest thing since sliced bread. True unconditional unwavering love.

 Monday was obviously sad because I had to return her to the shelter. I told myself if she was still here in August that I would get her. We walked in to the shelter and she was happy as a clam, it was her unofficial home after all. She was put in the pen with the other 5 dogs that are currently available and was so excited to see them. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. A few hours later I actually got a message from one of the vets at the SPCA saying the couple I talked to at the race and hyped both Maria and the SPCA up to actually came in and adopted Maria AND a puppy named Winslow. While I was sad that I wouldnt be her forever home, I was ecstatic that both she and Winslow would not have to spend another night in the shelter and had finally been adopted (and together!). I hope I will run into Maria again and I hope I dont see her back at the shelter. This just means I get to open my arms to the next dog in need. All in a days work.   

This ones for Maria <3