Don't worry, I'm a doctor!

Meet Carol. Things were getting a tad crowded at Simone's so Rica and I got shipped off to a new home. Carol is working on her PhD in Optho and is quite the person. Her apartment is tiny but her 2 cats make us feel at home right away. When we arrived, she immediately started rattling off her plans for us; there were a lot of plans. We stayed up late talking and getting to know each other and then woke up exhausted , but ready for our first day at the veterinary hospital.

The university is quite different than ours as made obvious by our tour first thing Wednesday morning. After that we split up into 2 groups; I was sent to work in Optho for the morning. It would have been incredibly awkward if it had not been for Daniel, a 3rd year with wonderful English. He explained everything that was going on and made sure the resident let us examine the patients as well. I think it was weird at first for the clients when they heard English in the background but once it was explained who we were they were just as interested in us as they were in discovering the problem with their dog! One thing that is worth mentioning is how neat their TonoPen was compared to what I am used to in the States. It is very high tech and exciting to use. (FYI -TonoPen measures ocular pressure). We saw many cases, including entropions, ulcers, etc but the most interesting was a case of non-perforated ulcer which required microsurgery the following day. The globe of the eye looked entirely misshaped, something I had not seen before but was happy to observe! 

 (Helping with an Optho case)

That afternoon was my favorite; surgery. We spent the entire afternoon observing orthopedic surgeries, a love of mine. I am pretty sure if I wasn't wearing a surgery mask you would have been able to see me drooling. Weird, perhaps? But I truly love ortho. The veterinarian was very kind and made sure to explain everything he was doing and encouraged questions along the way. The first procedure was IVDD of L1-L2. He did a did a dorsal approach, which I was not used to seeing. The doctor I worked with before veterinary school always went in laterally and always fenestrated/excavated the adjacent discs as well. This surgeon does not agree with that plan of action and only removes the nucleus of the injured disc. One thing I have learned here is that there are pros and cons to everything and that there are numerous methods in order to gain the same outcome. I love hearing different perspectives and can't wait until the day where I have one of my own. The second procedure was a a fractured scapula from a head on collision between two dogs. In order to cause that damage, the other dog must have been on quite a mission. Needless to say, the fracture was impressive. The supraglenoid tubercle had fractured off, so he repaired it with a single screw and then a second fracture off of the process was repaired with K wire. It was quick, no more than an hour. But very interesting to observe. I am used to typical procedures; CCL, spine, OCD, etc thus it was very excited to see a rare fracture. 

 (Post op X-rays of the scapula)

That evening was a rare blessing. We joined the local gym where carol works out. Thanks her brilliant communication, we were able to pay only $25 for 2 weeks of membership; including spin classes! We did the spin class and then worked out, it was much needed after the amount of desserts we have consumed since our arrival!

Thursday was a whole new day. In the morning I was assigned to work with exotics. One benefit to going to veterinary school in Brazil vs the US, the female to male ratio. It was us and 4 attractive males all day, something common here at the university! Two spoke English and the other tried and failed, but tried nonetheless! We spent the morning working on a chinchilla (severely dehydrated and in shock) and a deer. The deer had been hit by a car and fractured its rear right limb. The tibia was sticking out completely and the metatarsals were shattered, giving the limb a flimsy appearance. We gave heavy sedatives, analgesics, fluids, radiographs and bandaged the limb. We learned how to place IO catheters and what they should feel like and the different drugs they use and why. We also awkwardly found out that the hospital has been talking about us because Bruno (the anesthesia resident) kept mentioning information about us that we had not told him yet. Then the others would just start laughing and talk in Portuguese. It is very odd being the subject of a topic and not understanding exactly what is being said. 

 (Ouch, quite the injury)

That afternoon we had the opportunity to be in a horse necropsy. It was one of the most fascinating things I have watched. The head cut off and sitting in the corner, blood covering the ground and then taking an ax to the skull to examine the brain. Veterinary medicine is not something for the weak stomached. Rica said how interesting it is that we were "bred" for this. It never made us gag or queasy, only interested. 

That night we headed to the gym again and then went to a pub to listen twosome live music. It is funny because at the university we look Brazilian. Many professors and residents say that with our white coats and tans, they cannot tell we are American (obviously until we open up our mouths and the its a dead giveaway). White coats give you a sense a confidence, I feel like I could run around the hospital and just say "Don't worry I'm a doctor!"  But apparently when we are out, it is completely obvious that we are not from here (and more specifically from USA) because of our clothes. Let's just say that my style is slightly different. Red pants and jean vests aren't exactly trending here. But I am rocking them nonetheless of course. I love my style and I have learned that even in Indiana at Purdue my clothes are given second glances. However, in Brazil I even feel out of place and plus, once they hear me speak, that feeling is exaggerated times one hundred! 

 (So professional)

Regardless, I love it here and every day comes with a new story and more knowledge.