The end is near...

I'm fairly certain I say this every time I sit down to write a blog- but it has been a long time since I updated!  As always whatever I say is probably of little interest to those who experience it with me, but I enjoy taking the time to update my friends and family that I don't speak to on a frequent basis- or who just can't decipher what the heck my status updates mean and who enjoy reading through my meandering posts instead.  

Midterm season has finally come to an end for my second year of vet school.  It took FOREVER to reach this point.  Our  first midterm was January 31st.  Our last midterm was this past Monday- Saint Patricks Day!  While they were spread out for the most part, there was a two week span where I had 3 midterms scheduled in and very little time for anything other than a passing bite to eat and a short snooze (more like a nap really).  It seems to me every time midterms roll around I conveniently forget just how little sleep I get, and how little I do anything other than study.  I would be lying if I told you I never procrastinated because I do that well also- Netflix just one more episode, dishes to do- you name it, I probably have done it to avoid studying.  As you can imagine, by the end of midterms I am exhausted and mentally can't stand staring at text books any longer.  As my prize for making it through midterms this semester I took this week to catch up on other things while doing the bare minimum in terms of school studying.  This weekend will be the last weekend before finals that I am not stuck with my face in my notes for hours on end.  A friend and I were discussing how our definition of "a lot of studying" has changed since undergrad.  In undergrad if I spent the whole day before a test studying, I considered that a lot.  Sometimes I would study for 10 hours over weekends for really intense classes but I never had to be as disciplined as I am here.  On an average weekend before a midterm, even with procrastination factored, in I usually study 20 hours.  During the week I sometimes am in class until 3:30 or 4, and then come home, organize a few things, and then hit the books again for 5 or 6 more hours.  I never knew a person could study like that before- but when you have 70 or more pages of material in front of you that you must memorize, it's not hard to take that long! 

One last push for the semester begins with the start of lab finals on April 7, and then it snowballs from there, with my last final on May 3- and yes I know that is a Saturday.  The end of second year is in sight!  That fact is both exciting, and daunting.  Before the end of the semester, we will declare whether or not we are large animal, small animal, mixed practice or "other" which typically refers to wildlife and exotics, or something like government interests.  While this does not track you totally for the remainder of your vet school career, it does place you in terms of when you will do your surgery for third year, and when you pick your labs in third year.  It does have a little bearing down the road for your rotations in fourth year, but in the immediate future it plays a role in your scheduling.  I will be picking small animal, not a surprise if you know me, and that should place me for surgery in the second semester next year.


School hasn't been all work and no play.  I cannot study every hour of every day.  A few weeks back, before midterms really got into a hard push, the Bovine club put on the Large vs. Small pub crawl.  I love dancing, and I enjoy hanging out with friends, but the weekends where I used to spend the majority of my time out at bars and recuperating the next day have dwindled as I have gotten older.  It's not to say I don't still enjoy going out- just that I do so with far less frequency than I used to.  This was a throwback for me, though pub crawls in undergrad were never a school approved event.  I never went to a pub crawl back home, never had much desire.  This event turned out to be a lot of fun.  We started with some trivia at the first bar (my team didn't win trivia, but we did win a drink ticket for the next bar by having the best name... I don't think I shall repeat the name here- it's not exactly appropriate ;)).  The second bar we went to we had another round of beer and hanging out, but it was the third bar that I had the most fun at.  We danced, and met new people, and in general had a great time.  I had forgotten how much fun it was to just go out dancing, and I spent time with people I don't spend large amounts of time with, so it was a chance to get to know some of them better.

Last Friday, my class hosted the schools annual "Suture Review"  which actually has nothing to do with suturing.  Instead, this is a chance for our class to fundraise for graduation, and for the members of AVC to showcase their general humor and talent.  There are live acts, and videos and we present them in a manner according to a chosen theme.  For our class, we chose the theme Awards Night.  We had two great hosts from my class, and a lot of entertaining submissions from people.  Additionally, my class also had a live act.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am NOT someone who enjoys being on a stage in front of people.  I don't even like presenting in front of my class- let alone a large portion of the school.  Somehow, my brain decided it would be a wise choice to agree to being part of the class live act on stage.  Regardless, some multi-talented people in my class put together a song and a performance to the "Cup Song" but with lyrics  pertaining to vet school.  I learned how to do the cup motions, and despite my initial hesitations regarding performing, things actually went quite well.  I did not fling my cup off the stage (which would not have been the end of the world), nor did I fall of the stage or forget what I was supposed to be doing.  I don't have any desire to be back on the stage at any point in time in the near future, but I do believe in personal growth, and I do believe that the only way to grow is to challenge yourself to do things that scare you.  Well, being on stage scares the ever loving crap out of me, and thus I took this as a chance to prove I could do something different.  

Earlier in the week of suture review, we also hosted a "Coffehouse" at the school in the evening.  The premise behind this was a night of artwork, musical talents, and snacks.  During the school day, artists in the school could display their artwork (in many forms- from pottery to jewelry to paintings) for people to appreciate, and then the display continued at night while the musical talent was on display as well.  I made chocolate peanut butter rice krispies treats for the event, though it was hard not to just eat them all when they were finished!  I am in total awe of the talent that my classmates have.  Some have incredible voices, or play phenomenal musical pieces with their instruments of choice... and me, I feel totally inadequate in both the artistic and musical fields.  I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, and my singing is best left in the walls of my bathroom, or in my car while driving alone- not something to share with the public.  To have the ability to perform in front of people, and put yourself and your talent on display is awe-inspiring enough.  There were many people who sang or performed that I had no idea could actually do those things.  It was refreshing to see something not related to veterinary medicine being celebrated, and I hope next years class continues the tradition as well.  

And finally, for all those who ask and are kind enough to care, there is the Cherry update.  As most people know, she has been battling her joint infection now for quite some time (as in, since October.)  She has endured joint tap after joint tap (which isn't terribly invasive, just a needle into the joint cavity), a joint flushing, another surgery to remove hardware and the remaining meniscus in the knee, and more joint taps.  We thought in December that she was going to be headed down the right path- her surgical hardware was out which was the likely source of infection, and her joint tap in December at home was negative for any bacteria!  When we got back up here in January she should have been continuing to progress with her lameness.  The removal of the meniscus in her joint means that she walks with bone on bone contact which causes much more arthritis in the joint than if she had some cushioning in the joint, so we knew that she was probably never going to be a sound (non lame) dog again. The hope was that with medical management she would have a decent gait to where she could compensate and enjoy her life still.  However, by the middle to end of January she was no longer making progress with her gait, and at times she was maybe slightly more lame than she was in the middle of December.  I brought her back for another recheck, and another joint tap which showed her infection was back.  We had stopped meds in December because the infection was negative when in reality it was likely present still in very small amounts.  Part of the problem with her culture has always been that the bacteria is never present in very high quantity and often she does not grow bacteria on culture as quickly as one would expect.  So, we started her back on antibiotics, with the plan being a full 6 weeks more of meds, and a joint tap in the middle to assess how well they were working.  She had her joint tapped halfway through the course of antibiotics, and the report came back as negative for bacterial growth.  So, we finished her meds, planning to retap the joint 4-5 days after finishing to be sure that her infection was really gone.  I brought her back to school on Thursday for a recheck and retap, and when they reopened her file to check her history they found that her last report that was "finalized" from the lab was actually finalized too early, and she was still positive at the previous tap.  So, she is back on antibiotics for another three weeks, then we will tap the joint again.  At this point I, as well as her mother Nikki, are praying the end of the tunnel is in sight after this round of medication.  If the tap comes back positive, her treatment for infection needs to become more aggressive, and options begin to dwindle.  So, please, if you have a spare thought in a few weeks down the line, use it to think positively for her.  In the mean time, Cherry is happy happy happy.  She loves her car rides, she loves to walk the trail/beach for her limited amount of time she is allowed, she loves to see people when we go out and about... food is the best thing ever.  There are a lot of people in this world who could learn from her.  Staying happy in the face of so much- it's a feat that I don't think many people could accomplish.  I learn a lot from her... I learn to laugh and not stress over little things (she might not stress because she can't grasp little things... but it works for my parallel), and I learn to get up and try again if something doesn't go exactly as I plan it.  We might joke that her brain has one brain cell that takes frequent vacations, but if that's the case her one brain cell does the functions that are most important perfectly well. 

As the school year winds down, I am reminded that this school year has been exciting, rewarding and difficult.  I have learned so much, with more hands on labs and interactive things to do.  I participated in a fun ultrasound wet lab this past week, and it's amazing to me the things I have the chance to do.  For some I think they spend their adult lives in a slow growth phase- where education and learning decrease to a trickle.  For me, I hope the day where my learning is diminished never comes.  I think how boring life would be if I didn't have something each day that I could say I learned.  Even though this summer will not require me to have a nose in the books, I look forward to taking part in things that allow me to continue to explore my love for this job, and for the animals.  Along with the barbecues and the fishing, the tanning and the reading I intend to squeeze in- I am looking forward to spending the time learning how to do new things, even some not related to veterinary medicine.  Who knows- maybe I will even learn to draw that straight line with a ruler.