Nearing the end

A lot has happened since the last time that I sat down and actually paid attention to this page. You might be picturing grand swashbuckling adventures as I swing between large sailing ships with a cutlass between my teeth and a cleaver red and white striped sash tied at my hips. Or perhaps you envisioned me laying motionless on a sunny beach in total relaxation, a chilled tropical drink by my side with large inviting drops of condensation cascading down the outside, only a slight breeze and the sound of small waves gently slapping the white sand.  Either way, you'd be sadly wrong. Although I have managed to down a decent amount of rum mostly I have been confined to classrooms with no windows for the majority of each day and to my bedroom desk (with a gorgeous view of the caribbean sea simply there to tease me) for the rest of it. That's right, I am coming up on the end of my first semester of vet school and in less than two weeks I will plunge into 5 days of straight finals including anatomy, physiology, nutrition, and microbiology/histology. There is however, a light at the end of this proverbial tunnel... Right at the end of the stress of finals week Shawn will be coming out to visit and we will be able to spend two weeks of blissful intersemester break lounging around the island. On another note I also purchased a car for use here on the island, a small bright blue '97 suzuki samari soft top. Due to its comic book blue color I have named it krypton. I will spend what I assume will be several frustrating days learning to adapt to driving a stick from the right side of the car while remembering to stay on the left side of the road.... Perhaps I should get a red and white sash... More soon :D

The bug

I have a new best friend and it's name is "Baygon" a highly toxic aerosol bug spray that I picked up a few weeks ago at the supermarket "just in case"... That decision was one of the best I've ever made...
This island is home to a very disgusting, poisonous, and very large red centipede with a reputation for having a personality to match its looks. In fact these things can get so large that it has been known to pray on and consume mice and if it bites a person will leave at least a very painful and swollen area and a fever for up to a week.
The other night around midnight, while sitting on my bed and skyping with Shawn, I glanced up from the monitor and, as if suddenly transported to a dark horror film from the late 90's, witnessed this monster crawl quickly across the side of my wall behind my bed and duck down behind my pillows toward my nightstand. As I screamed and jumped up onto my bed I looked around wildly for that can of spray. I remember hearing Shawn asking what was happening and, remembering the one thing that I was dreading living on this island, asking if it was a centipede. I managed an "uh huh" between shrieks and pulled on my clogs with the hard thick soles just in case the stories about these horrible insects were true and when I uncovered it from it's hiding place it would run at me and hiss... I was not disappointed by these stories. As I pulled the nightstand away form the wall it dropped onto the ground and began running toward me. I pointed the nozzle toward it and sprayed while simultaneously jumping up and onto the bed once again. To my horror it began running FASTER toward me and even raised up it's front legs as if it intended to jump up and eat my face. Between shrieks I continued to spray it as it ran about in circles on the floor next to my bed emptying nearly half of a can before the creature began to slow down, twitch, twist onto its back, and then finally stop moving in a small pool of pymethrin.
I collapsed onto my bed for a minute with my heat threatening to leap from its cage while continuing to keep one eye tentatively on the dead body in the corner of my room. Shawn had managed to stay composed and talked to me throughout the ordeal, telling me I did well, and even informing me that he would have reacted in a similar fashion except that his scream would have been slightly lower pitched. I mustered the courage to walk over to the corpse and poke at it cautiously with a chopstick convinced, that at any moment, it would throw it's eyes wide open, leap up and attach itself to my throat. Instead of allowing myself to be overcome by this image I grabbed the thing with my chopsticks and walked it outside to the garbage can.
When I got back into the room I began shaking out my bad, pulling furniture away from the walls, and looking under the fridge and dresser. Where there was one, there could be more. After finding nothing I stood for a moment and became aware that I was feeling very dizzy and faint. I realized that I was standing in a completely unventilated room with over half of a can of aerosolized bug spray and this was likely not a good idea. I felt much better after opening a few windows but still had to sleep with the lights on and curled in a ball in the very center of my bed without pillows or covers.
Shawnon 1 - Centepede 0

The Lion King meets Vet School Nutrition

So tonight after being overly done studying for my nutrition midterm tomorrow I decided it would be fun to try to change some lyrics to a Disney song to match what I was learning... Here's what I came up with, enjoy!

“Be Prepared”  A Nutritional View (from the Lion King)

---

I never thought carbs were essential

Polysaccharides were simply a pain

But once broken down I transport them

as glucose for my neurons and brain

I know that your views of nutrition

Aren’t relaxed as you study tonight

But scared as you are, it’s apparent 

You are ready to put up a fight

It's a swift metabolic reaction

That makes lactate reduce without air

For electrons they must be disposed of

When the transport chains broken downstairs

So prepare for a test of a lifetime

Be prepared for absorption of food

What happens in fasting

You shouldn’t be asking

        I don’t need a preacher?

Just listen to teacher

When more keytones frolic

You’re net catabolic

Gluconeogenic paths rule

In the liver with glucogon there

Be prepared!

         In cows we have help from the microbes

         As they eat beta glucose away

In the rumen of sheep around the globe

But not Horses though they still eat hay

Proteins as amino acids

Absorb through duodenum terrain

And the reason they deaminize is

So the liver ATP can gain!

So prepare for the oligopeptide

         (Oooh!)

Be prepared for the insulin too

         (Oooh... La! La! La!)

For Beta cells secrete

         (We'll have food!)

When they see that we eat

         (Lots of food)

Glycolysis churn

         (We repeat)

And fat cease to burn

         (Endless meat)

Until we stop eating

         (Aaaaaaah...)

Keep LPL reeling

         (...aaaaaaah...)

To say in adipocytes stay

         (...aaaaaaah!)

No, there’s no reason you should be scared

         (Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo)

Be prepared!

         No, there’s no reason you should be scared-

         Be prepared!

Lyrics reworked by -Shawnon Kaiser

Swimming with sharks

          Ok so this title might be a bit misleading but you'll have to keep reading to learn how. It's been a crazy couple of weeks but the first two of my long list of examinations are complete in Gross Anatomy and Micro-anatomy (although I am very excited to be able to report letter grades of A for both of these two exams). No rest for me though since my next five exams are approaching in the next 3 weeks. Hopefully this will make the time fly by... I actually can't believe that it's only 2 more weeks until mid-semester break marking the halfway done point of my first semester.
          Now on to the fun... I have been working in the last few weeks on getting scuba certified and today marked my final open water dive. Those of you who know me well remember my phobia of the water and the large fish lurking under its surface. Getting certified is an attempt on my part to face a horrible fear and learn to enjoy a new part of my vast world. The first set of dives last week did not go well for me since the day before the dive was scheduled I had woken up with a horrible migraine and was unable to even get out of bed (except for running to the toilet to vomit) for 24 hours after which I forced myself to go out on the dives. Anyone who has experienced a migraine will tell you how horrific the pain is as well as recounting the day or two after a bad migraine where you feel completely dazed, lost, confused, and dizzy. It was not my finest moment on the boat when first I broke down in tears when given a BCD that I hadn't used before because I was convinced I would get down to the bottom and forget where the new valves were and proceed to drown. To embarrass myself further once I jumped in I began to have an immediate panic attack and had to resurface, calm the hyperventilation and cling desperately to the side of the boat ladder for a good 5 minutes before finally being able to breath normally and try once again to dip below the surface. This is where the final issues for the day reared their ugly head and as I tried to calmly descend my right ear refused to pop. After about 5 minutes worth of descending and reascending I finally made it to the sandy floor. Needless to say it was a miserable experience.
          Today I did much much better. No panic attacks and I was able to clear my ears all the way down without having to stop and ascend to get them to pop. On the first dive of the morning we went to about 55 ft to a sandy bottom right between two magnificent coral reefs. During this dive I could almost make out the sound of the choir singing Ahhhhh as I looked around and drank in all of the magnificent beauty and life effortlessly maneuvering through the reef. As we swam we glimpsed a myriad of various sea life including feather duster worms, hard and soft corals, lion fish, small goby's, a gar, a barracuda, and even a nurse shark slumbering under a large shelf of coral (I got to within 4 feet or so of where the shark was sleeping). I was surprised at my own reaction to being in the water with a shark which turned out to be extreme excitement and curiosity over fear (especially once I saw that it was a nurse shark who are mostly crab eaters). I was so sad that I did not have my camera with me on this dive but I wasn't sure how my camera would handle 60ft of water since it is only rated for 33ft. On the second and final certification dive we went to a ship wreck... I decided to give my camera a try this time and it performed spectacularly (we went to about 50 ft here). Below you can see some of the various creatures and corals I saw there.

The creation of a new synapse.

There is certainly no skimping on brain activity within the first few weeks here. In the first week and a half we have spent over 40 hours per week in class  (and at least 30 hours studying outside of it). this is a taste of what we have looked at so far (7 days in)...In anatomy we have learned all of the bones, surfaces, and prominences of the canine thoracic limb as well as all of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles including their origins, insertions, and actions. In Nutrition we have summarized and briefly reviewed the biochemical pathways that produce ATP both in an aerobic and anaerobic environment and moved on to discussing how carbohydrates and proteins are digested and absorbed in ruminant, mono-gastric, and hind gut fermentor species. In microbiology we have discussed a menagerie of cellular types, the stains used to highlight various portions of them, and how to identify tissue types under microscopic evaluation. In Physiology we have looked at the neuron and the propagation of the action potential down the axon and synaptic cleft. In a separate vet practice class we have discussed goal setting, time, personal finance, and business management. Needless to say my head is pounding slightly. The good news is that up to this point I feel as though I have a decent grasp at least conceptually of all the material that has been presented. I have now had several classmates tell me that I am great at explaining things and ask me for clarification during lecture or study time. This makes me feel good about both my deeper understanding of the material as well as my ability to assist my classmates. I'm sure they will be returning the favor for me once we get a little deeper.
The photo for today is simply my official portrait from the RUSVM white coat ceremony :).

Mr. Ross

I survived (barely) my first week of classes. Phew! Lots of time spent in the anatomy lab reeking of formaldehyde .. More of that to come. Today Ross held there tri-annual Mr. RUSVM (Ross University School of Vet Med) competition. This is basically a Miss america pageant .. only for men... there is a lot of silliness and a lot of men dressing in drag. Every semester chooses a male representative (of which there are few in vet school). The representative for our class this semester did an amazing job and for the talent round he decided to choreograph a swing dance number. He asked around as to which girls in the class had ever done any swing before... I mentioned that I had done some way back in the day (keep in mind I am not longer a spring chicken) and was asked to perform the dance with him for the competition. We met for the first time on Wednesday this week and we performed the dance he wrote tonight (Saturday). In all we have about 4 hours of practice in on this. We had a great time and I think things turned out much better than expected. Here is the video :) Cheers!

White Coat Ceremony

Yesterday afternoon, after sitting through our first few classes, the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine class of 2016 participated in our official "White Coat Ceremony". This event is held as an induction  and welcome to the veterinary community and symbolizes our achievement of acceptance into this profession. I can't really describe the feeling that I had as my name was read and my white coat was dressed upon me. Nor can I express the overwhelming fear and excitement I held as I shook hands with the dean and I realized on a new level that this, this is it. In working toward this goal I have known frustration, overwhelming stress, and have had more rejections and heartbreaks than I care to mention. Through it all it was the incredible support of my family and friends as well as determination and perseverance that finally won. I am so very glad they did. Here I sit in truly one of the most beautiful places in the world staring out at the Caribbean sea and reading about the structural anatomy of the canine thoracic limb, knowing that this particular journey is just beginning, and I couldn't be happier. I miss you all very much and say thank you for everything. Let the education begin.

...The evening of the white coat ceremony I got a call from my boyfriend Shawn who asks "Did you receive any special packages?" I at this point had no idea what on earth he was talking about but he continues to tell me to keep an eye out for something. Two days later (very true to the island time theme of "rush slowly" I get an email from the student service desk stating that I have a special delivery that needs to be picked up. I get down there and all three of them are at the front of the desk grinning (keep in mind that customer service here on the island is almost non existent and you have to really work to get a smile out of people most of the time). Shawn had arranged for flowers to be delivered to me at school with a note stating how nice it was to watch my ceremony and how excited he is to see me again. I know he was upset that it took them two extra days to get me the flowers but let me tell you I was melting from the inside out.