A piece of what I got to do while in Haiti:
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Haiti Video
A piece of what I got to do while in Haiti:
Friday, September 20, 2013
Sitting in the shade with the pigs
Here is a short story about one of my favorite experiences while in Haiti:
Sitting in the shade with the pigs.
The journey up the mountain was serene: blue sky and green hills. The closer we got to the market the more people walked alongside the dirt road, the more donkeys with overstuffed straw saddle bags, the larger the baskets on the women's head became.
It was already warm and humid and the road was a steady climb. Motorcycles zipped by carrying FOUR people with bags strapped on the front, back and side. Huge trucks carrying large bags of rice were piled even higher with people bringing their items to sell at the market. In the shadow of the mountains, sprawled across the land were at least a thousand tin-roofed lean-tos. They were filled with everything from clothes to electronics to cooking pots and food.
We were there to purchase goats. Sellers would dismount the truck or motorcycle with their chickens, pigs, or goats and walk to the area where those animals were being sold. We had arrived early and only a couple of goats were there. Each goat was inspected by looking at their gums, to ensure a healthy pink color and the sides of their spine felt to see how much fat they had. Acky did the buying while Ben and I sat in the shade holding the ropes. On the other end of these ropes were young, healthy female goats, about 6-8 months old.
We shared the shade with some rather rambunctious pigs; anytime one would get startled it would jump causing a chain reaction. Each pig was also attached to a rope that was tied to a stick pushed deeply into the soft mud. If one pig got out of line a brawl was bound to happen, hopefully not ending in the uprooting of their sticks. Especially since the pigs outweighed me by an easy 200 pounds, I decided to keep my eye on them in case they wrestled in my direction.
We slowly began accumulating goats, 2, then 4, then 6, 7, 8! They were easier to handle if they were tied in the back of the truck. That's when I looked in the field across the road and saw the donkeys, mules, and horses grazing and seeking out the shade. Looking at their tense muscles and heaving ribs, they definitely deserved a break. Even in the serenity of the mountains an unending supply of motorcycles, trucks and tap taps drove by, dropping people off, picking new people up. Those who arrived early and sold their goods then turned around, bought what they needed from the market and headed home. I watched as everyone came and went, struggling with their newly bought squealing pigs. Which were then hog tied and placed in their lap on a motorcycle for the trip home.
When all seventeen sought after goats had been purchased it was our time to descend back down the mountain. These goats had a long journey ahead, not just down the road but to their new owners: the children of Merger.
These goats are generally already bred and pregnant and are then given to a child that is then responsible for their care. The children go to class to learn about types of forage, how to care for the goat, and more importantly how to make money by making sure the goat is healthy. For a lot of these children, the goats and their offspring are their families' main source of income. The better care the goats receive the more kids it can produce, the more money can be made. These goats don't cost that much money, maybe $30-35 US dollars. But what these goats represent is priceless: hope, the chance at a better life, self-respect, and a sense of responsibility are things you can never put a price tag on. The excitement in the air is electrifying, each child runs to their goat, and tightly gripping their rope walks home with their head held high.
And to think this day all started by sitting in the shade with the pigs.
Sitting in the shade with the pigs.
The journey up the mountain was serene: blue sky and green hills. The closer we got to the market the more people walked alongside the dirt road, the more donkeys with overstuffed straw saddle bags, the larger the baskets on the women's head became.
It was already warm and humid and the road was a steady climb. Motorcycles zipped by carrying FOUR people with bags strapped on the front, back and side. Huge trucks carrying large bags of rice were piled even higher with people bringing their items to sell at the market. In the shadow of the mountains, sprawled across the land were at least a thousand tin-roofed lean-tos. They were filled with everything from clothes to electronics to cooking pots and food.
We were there to purchase goats. Sellers would dismount the truck or motorcycle with their chickens, pigs, or goats and walk to the area where those animals were being sold. We had arrived early and only a couple of goats were there. Each goat was inspected by looking at their gums, to ensure a healthy pink color and the sides of their spine felt to see how much fat they had. Acky did the buying while Ben and I sat in the shade holding the ropes. On the other end of these ropes were young, healthy female goats, about 6-8 months old.
We shared the shade with some rather rambunctious pigs; anytime one would get startled it would jump causing a chain reaction. Each pig was also attached to a rope that was tied to a stick pushed deeply into the soft mud. If one pig got out of line a brawl was bound to happen, hopefully not ending in the uprooting of their sticks. Especially since the pigs outweighed me by an easy 200 pounds, I decided to keep my eye on them in case they wrestled in my direction.
We slowly began accumulating goats, 2, then 4, then 6, 7, 8! They were easier to handle if they were tied in the back of the truck. That's when I looked in the field across the road and saw the donkeys, mules, and horses grazing and seeking out the shade. Looking at their tense muscles and heaving ribs, they definitely deserved a break. Even in the serenity of the mountains an unending supply of motorcycles, trucks and tap taps drove by, dropping people off, picking new people up. Those who arrived early and sold their goods then turned around, bought what they needed from the market and headed home. I watched as everyone came and went, struggling with their newly bought squealing pigs. Which were then hog tied and placed in their lap on a motorcycle for the trip home.
When all seventeen sought after goats had been purchased it was our time to descend back down the mountain. These goats had a long journey ahead, not just down the road but to their new owners: the children of Merger.
These goats are generally already bred and pregnant and are then given to a child that is then responsible for their care. The children go to class to learn about types of forage, how to care for the goat, and more importantly how to make money by making sure the goat is healthy. For a lot of these children, the goats and their offspring are their families' main source of income. The better care the goats receive the more kids it can produce, the more money can be made. These goats don't cost that much money, maybe $30-35 US dollars. But what these goats represent is priceless: hope, the chance at a better life, self-respect, and a sense of responsibility are things you can never put a price tag on. The excitement in the air is electrifying, each child runs to their goat, and tightly gripping their rope walks home with their head held high.
And to think this day all started by sitting in the shade with the pigs.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Time flies!!
So 5th Semester down, 6th Semester is up next! Things got crazy last semester and I wasn't able to update.
We took the PAVE (Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence) http://www.aavsb.org/PAVE/- the test that used to be required of foreign graduates, but is no longer. However, for some Federal jobs the exam is required. The school paid for our registration and wanted to see how well we performed on the test (they say it correlates with how well you do on the NAVLE which we DO have to take). It's divided into 5 sections:
Anatomy (22%)
Physiology (23%)
Pharmacology (14%)
Microbiology (20%)
Pathology (21%)
I PASSED!!! I performed above average for all sections, I'm still in shock!
Anesthesia was by far the favorite class for me that semester because of all of the hands on experience we were able to have. We got to anesthetize both a dog and a sheep! Both were HUGE learning experiences. They say you learn from your mistakes and boy is that true! There weren't any major mistakes but we were supervised the entire procedure and that helped to avert disaster. We were divided into groups of 4 and we assigned the tasks amongst the group. We knew our dog and her weight a week before the procedure and performed our initial calculations for drug dosages. The day of we started off by doing a physical exam including weight then calculated the drug dosages and obtained the drugs from the pharmacy. After administering the pre-meds we placed an IV catheter and gave the induction drugs then started the fluids. It sounds simple and it is but there's so much pressure to do everything correctly and you feel like the life of the dog is in your hands. We then intubated and started the inhalant anesthetic and began monitoring the patient. We had many tools to monitor our patient: Pulse oximeter, Oscillometric blood pressure cuff, Doppler monitor, Esophageal Stethoscope, Capnographer, EKG and a temperature probe. Almost everything during the canine anesthesia went according to plan, except our Doppler monitor (which monitors the systolic blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer) didn't want to work, neither did our blood pressure cuff and our monitoring sheet was filled in wrong.
The sheep anesthesia on the other hand did not go according to plan. For sheep you have to place a jugular catheter which we got in but became dislodge soon after. After 2 more attempts and the use of the other jugular we finally had a patent vein. We administered the induction agent but he had pretty severe laryngospasms (we just thought we were bad and intubating). Well intubation took too long and while we though the inhalant anesthetic would maintain our patient he was awake enough to chew through the tube to the inflated cuff. We were unable to get another endotracheal tube in before he started regurgitating. We followed procedure and made sure he wasn't in position to aspirate the regurgitated contents and put him in sternal recumbency. The remainder of the procedure was then cancelled. I still wanted to gain the experience of monitoring the sheep under anesthesia so I ended up joining another group a week later. It was a good thing because I learned so much! That sheep bloated during the procedure so I got to help reduce the bloat. Both sheep recovered without any further complications.
Our other major practical exam was the OSCHE which is where we have to demonstrate how to do portions of the physical exam for Canine, Sheep, and Equine. This was a pass/fail grade. You NEVER want to fail! The exam only lasted for 30 minutes, you had 5 minutes to perform 5 tasks. Professors just stand there while you explain and demonstrate the tasks. It wasn't difficult but just that feeling that you forgot to say something in your explanation terrifies you. The stressful part dealt more with a communications module where you simulate a client/doctor interaction. Ugh, such a tough scenario and you are supposed to use the Calgary-Cambridge Model. Again, just the thought that you've forgotten to say something basic that could cause you to fail is overwhelming! Then we had to wait until 5p the next day to find out if we passed. So nerve wracking!!!
Diagnostic Imaging was another one of my favorites. We learned so much about radiographs, Ultrasound, CT, and MRIs. There were even practical portions of the labs where we got to perform ultrasounds and echocardiograms on dogs. Makes ya feel like a REAL doctor!
Toxicology was interesting but it all kind of ran together in my head, it seemed that every animal for every toxin just had convulsions. The really cool thing is that our professor maintains a Toxic Garden on the school's property and we get to see all of the plants. You don't want to touch them because some of them are toxic to humans as well. There's one tree, the Manchaneel tree, that if you walk under it when it's raining it can cause blindness!
Small Animal Medicine was interesting and for the first time we started discussing specific treatments as we discuss the diseases. It was extremely challenging, especially the cardiology section.
CVF kept me busy, we gave talks about Stress and Anxiety throughout the semester as well as a food and clothing donation drive; so as the 7th semester students leave the island, inevitably there are things they can't sell. So I thought it would be great to donate them to people in St Kitts that are in need rather than people throwing it away. I think its safe to say that we have around 5 car loads of clothes, shoes, and housewares. The leadership of CVF spent one whole afternoon just sorting through everything (separating women's from men's, shirts from shorts, etc.). I'm so excited about this adventure because we paired up with the neighboring medical school (UMHS) who will be doing a health fair at the same time! Hopefully plenty of people come out from the community in Middle Island :-)
I took my final exams, sorted through the donations and then it was Saturday and the day to leave for Haiti!!! I was beyond ecstatic but a little anxious too. Especially when LIAT cancelled my flight from St Kitts to St Maarten. Talk about going into a tail spin!!! I called one of my professors to see if they knew of any other way I could get off the island. Lo and behold I got the name and number of a pilot that does charter flights. Divine Intervention!!! I ended up making my flight from St. Maarten to Haiti. Next update I will tell you about my amazing experience while in Haiti :-D
We took the PAVE (Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence) http://www.aavsb.org/PAVE/- the test that used to be required of foreign graduates, but is no longer. However, for some Federal jobs the exam is required. The school paid for our registration and wanted to see how well we performed on the test (they say it correlates with how well you do on the NAVLE which we DO have to take). It's divided into 5 sections:
Anatomy (22%)
Physiology (23%)
Pharmacology (14%)
Microbiology (20%)
Pathology (21%)
I PASSED!!! I performed above average for all sections, I'm still in shock!
Anesthesia was by far the favorite class for me that semester because of all of the hands on experience we were able to have. We got to anesthetize both a dog and a sheep! Both were HUGE learning experiences. They say you learn from your mistakes and boy is that true! There weren't any major mistakes but we were supervised the entire procedure and that helped to avert disaster. We were divided into groups of 4 and we assigned the tasks amongst the group. We knew our dog and her weight a week before the procedure and performed our initial calculations for drug dosages. The day of we started off by doing a physical exam including weight then calculated the drug dosages and obtained the drugs from the pharmacy. After administering the pre-meds we placed an IV catheter and gave the induction drugs then started the fluids. It sounds simple and it is but there's so much pressure to do everything correctly and you feel like the life of the dog is in your hands. We then intubated and started the inhalant anesthetic and began monitoring the patient. We had many tools to monitor our patient: Pulse oximeter, Oscillometric blood pressure cuff, Doppler monitor, Esophageal Stethoscope, Capnographer, EKG and a temperature probe. Almost everything during the canine anesthesia went according to plan, except our Doppler monitor (which monitors the systolic blood pressure with a sphygmomanometer) didn't want to work, neither did our blood pressure cuff and our monitoring sheet was filled in wrong.
The sheep anesthesia on the other hand did not go according to plan. For sheep you have to place a jugular catheter which we got in but became dislodge soon after. After 2 more attempts and the use of the other jugular we finally had a patent vein. We administered the induction agent but he had pretty severe laryngospasms (we just thought we were bad and intubating). Well intubation took too long and while we though the inhalant anesthetic would maintain our patient he was awake enough to chew through the tube to the inflated cuff. We were unable to get another endotracheal tube in before he started regurgitating. We followed procedure and made sure he wasn't in position to aspirate the regurgitated contents and put him in sternal recumbency. The remainder of the procedure was then cancelled. I still wanted to gain the experience of monitoring the sheep under anesthesia so I ended up joining another group a week later. It was a good thing because I learned so much! That sheep bloated during the procedure so I got to help reduce the bloat. Both sheep recovered without any further complications.
Our other major practical exam was the OSCHE which is where we have to demonstrate how to do portions of the physical exam for Canine, Sheep, and Equine. This was a pass/fail grade. You NEVER want to fail! The exam only lasted for 30 minutes, you had 5 minutes to perform 5 tasks. Professors just stand there while you explain and demonstrate the tasks. It wasn't difficult but just that feeling that you forgot to say something in your explanation terrifies you. The stressful part dealt more with a communications module where you simulate a client/doctor interaction. Ugh, such a tough scenario and you are supposed to use the Calgary-Cambridge Model. Again, just the thought that you've forgotten to say something basic that could cause you to fail is overwhelming! Then we had to wait until 5p the next day to find out if we passed. So nerve wracking!!!
Diagnostic Imaging was another one of my favorites. We learned so much about radiographs, Ultrasound, CT, and MRIs. There were even practical portions of the labs where we got to perform ultrasounds and echocardiograms on dogs. Makes ya feel like a REAL doctor!
Toxicology was interesting but it all kind of ran together in my head, it seemed that every animal for every toxin just had convulsions. The really cool thing is that our professor maintains a Toxic Garden on the school's property and we get to see all of the plants. You don't want to touch them because some of them are toxic to humans as well. There's one tree, the Manchaneel tree, that if you walk under it when it's raining it can cause blindness!
Small Animal Medicine was interesting and for the first time we started discussing specific treatments as we discuss the diseases. It was extremely challenging, especially the cardiology section.
CVF kept me busy, we gave talks about Stress and Anxiety throughout the semester as well as a food and clothing donation drive; so as the 7th semester students leave the island, inevitably there are things they can't sell. So I thought it would be great to donate them to people in St Kitts that are in need rather than people throwing it away. I think its safe to say that we have around 5 car loads of clothes, shoes, and housewares. The leadership of CVF spent one whole afternoon just sorting through everything (separating women's from men's, shirts from shorts, etc.). I'm so excited about this adventure because we paired up with the neighboring medical school (UMHS) who will be doing a health fair at the same time! Hopefully plenty of people come out from the community in Middle Island :-)
I took my final exams, sorted through the donations and then it was Saturday and the day to leave for Haiti!!! I was beyond ecstatic but a little anxious too. Especially when LIAT cancelled my flight from St Kitts to St Maarten. Talk about going into a tail spin!!! I called one of my professors to see if they knew of any other way I could get off the island. Lo and behold I got the name and number of a pilot that does charter flights. Divine Intervention!!! I ended up making my flight from St. Maarten to Haiti. Next update I will tell you about my amazing experience while in Haiti :-D
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
5th Semester so far...
Wow, I can't believe we've been in class for 8 weeks. We just had our one day off, our mid-semester break. It was glorious! I got some studying, cleaning, quality time with the rabbits and the ever elusive beach time (which hasn't happened in the middle of a semester since October o_O).
5th Semester classes:
It's not really as bad as it looks. Class 8a-12p then labs in the afternoons. Most weeks I have 2-3 labs but there are a couple of weeks where there are FOUR! These labs are different from in lower semesters, in that you have to prepare the lab completely prior to going. This is when it gets real! It's starting to switch now from attending to labs to learn to attending labs to show what you have learned. Here is what my semester looks like:
This is the semester we receive our "Rossie". It is our spay model made from PVC piping, different layers of cushioning (to reflect the different layers: muscle, subcutaneous, fat and skin) with a fake uterus and uterine horns. We use it to practice our subQ and skin sutures this semester, but next semester in Small Animal Surgery we perform our "Rossie" Surgery (Spay). Everything must be done aseptically and with proper technique. I'll letcha know about it when it happens (hopefully I pass this semester).
So here is a picture of the Rossie - her name is Jezebel (courtesy of my AWANAs kids):
Speaking of AWANAs, this is a kid's program that our pastor Brandon Grayson helped to start here in St Kitts. It's where they get to learn Bible verses and play games while earning "AWANA dollars" that can be spent on prizes every so often. I'm not gonna lie, my kid skills have atrophied! I haven't gotten to be around children on a daily basis in a while, but I've wanted to help for over a year now. It's taking adjusting, both for the kids and for me to reach an understanding; we all continually test our boundaries. I'm always a work in progress (like the song, "He's still workin' on me, to make me what I ought to be..."), my life story :-) I've been volunteering with Brandon and a few other Ross Students at AWANAs on Saturdays from 4p-7p.
We also were able to start a chapter of Christian Veterinary Fellowship (the student version of Christian Veterinary Missions) here on campus. When I have a chance I will write all about it. We've been extremely busy trying to establish a presence on campus and within the community. We've hosted RLRI (see this post about RLRI ), have begun a 3-part series on:
"Feeling Overwhelmed??? Vet School is NOT impossible!!!"
Part 1 - Ways to Overcome Stress
Part 2 - How to Help Others Overcome Stress
Part 3 - Surprise! Stress still exists AFTER Vet School - Reaching the Community
Plus we have a Movie Night/Date Night planned for this semester, a prayer box to put up, and a food/clothing donation drive; so this semester I find it impossible to focus on my studies!
For the first 6 weeks I was also teaching a gymnastics class to the children in the afterschool program at the prep school. This came with its own challenges but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It combines two of my great loves: children and gymnastics! Everyone who came had the opportunity to learn a forward roll, a handstand, and the three basic jumps: tuck, pike and straddle. We also learned how to properly warm up and stretch, then came the favorite: the obstacle course! Each week I tried to mix it up so that they didn't get bored (or maybe I was the one bored ;-) ).
I also am attending a Bible study on Cults and Religions that is on Wednesday nights and is only a 6 week study as well.
Whew! This has been almost as busy as last semester! I made it through my first set of exams relatively unscathed. Overall, I have to say this is probably my favorite semester so far, which is crazy because I loved 3rd semester. I think because we get so much hands on experience with clinically applicable topics, it's exhilarating! I'll write more about the labs another time.
Ok I really do have to go get some studying done!
5th Semester classes:
This is the semester we receive our "Rossie". It is our spay model made from PVC piping, different layers of cushioning (to reflect the different layers: muscle, subcutaneous, fat and skin) with a fake uterus and uterine horns. We use it to practice our subQ and skin sutures this semester, but next semester in Small Animal Surgery we perform our "Rossie" Surgery (Spay). Everything must be done aseptically and with proper technique. I'll letcha know about it when it happens (hopefully I pass this semester).
So here is a picture of the Rossie - her name is Jezebel (courtesy of my AWANAs kids):
Speaking of AWANAs, this is a kid's program that our pastor Brandon Grayson helped to start here in St Kitts. It's where they get to learn Bible verses and play games while earning "AWANA dollars" that can be spent on prizes every so often. I'm not gonna lie, my kid skills have atrophied! I haven't gotten to be around children on a daily basis in a while, but I've wanted to help for over a year now. It's taking adjusting, both for the kids and for me to reach an understanding; we all continually test our boundaries. I'm always a work in progress (like the song, "He's still workin' on me, to make me what I ought to be..."), my life story :-) I've been volunteering with Brandon and a few other Ross Students at AWANAs on Saturdays from 4p-7p.
We also were able to start a chapter of Christian Veterinary Fellowship (the student version of Christian Veterinary Missions) here on campus. When I have a chance I will write all about it. We've been extremely busy trying to establish a presence on campus and within the community. We've hosted RLRI (see this post about RLRI ), have begun a 3-part series on:
"Feeling Overwhelmed??? Vet School is NOT impossible!!!"
Part 1 - Ways to Overcome Stress
Part 2 - How to Help Others Overcome Stress
Part 3 - Surprise! Stress still exists AFTER Vet School - Reaching the Community
Plus we have a Movie Night/Date Night planned for this semester, a prayer box to put up, and a food/clothing donation drive; so this semester I find it impossible to focus on my studies!
For the first 6 weeks I was also teaching a gymnastics class to the children in the afterschool program at the prep school. This came with its own challenges but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It combines two of my great loves: children and gymnastics! Everyone who came had the opportunity to learn a forward roll, a handstand, and the three basic jumps: tuck, pike and straddle. We also learned how to properly warm up and stretch, then came the favorite: the obstacle course! Each week I tried to mix it up so that they didn't get bored (or maybe I was the one bored ;-) ).
I also am attending a Bible study on Cults and Religions that is on Wednesday nights and is only a 6 week study as well.
Whew! This has been almost as busy as last semester! I made it through my first set of exams relatively unscathed. Overall, I have to say this is probably my favorite semester so far, which is crazy because I loved 3rd semester. I think because we get so much hands on experience with clinically applicable topics, it's exhilarating! I'll write more about the labs another time.
Ok I really do have to go get some studying done!
Saturday, June 15, 2013
I'm going to HAITI!!!
So I had planned for over 2 years (since before I even found out I was accepted to Ross) that while I was in vet school I would go on a short term mission trip. Let me back up and give you some background information on my thought process. It started out as an interest in joining the military because of the tremendous humanitarian missions that they do. I was hesitant because there's never any guarantee that you get to choose where or how long you get to go and it what ways you are able to help. My passion truly lies in being able to use my degree as a veterinarian to help the animals' human :-)
Most students going into vet school think, "I don't want to work with people, that's why I'm going to vet school!" Well, that's kind of backwards because without the owner the animal would probably never make it in to see you and animals can't pay the bills (for those wanting to go into clinical practice). After going through Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology last semester, the topics discussed in the class are definitely the direction that I want to go. My heart hurts for those that cannot provide quality protein sources and clean water. I feel I can have the most impact and hope to help those that want help and allow them to sustain any changes implemented that improve their quality of life through long term missions. I say this with some hesitation because of the connotations and negative experiences that some may have had. Someone once said that "being a Christian missionary is just another form of cultural imperialism". While this may have been their perspective and this person's experience, I pray that this is not how any work I do would be perceived. I don't want to force people to be like me in culture, practice, or even religion - I just want to use my knowledge to work with them to improve their health.
Well this semester has been a roller coaster, I was planning on going to India to work with Christian Veterinary Missions on a rural project of spays/neuters and vaccination/de-worming of cattle. My aunt and uncle were missionaries for 30 years, 12 of which were in the same province I was hoping to go, Tamil Nadu. I signed up for the trip but due to lack of interest, the trip was canceled. I was heartbroken to say the least, as this semester break is likely my last opportunity to get experience outside of school before I start my clinical year in April (hopefully).
I say all of this to share some exciting news, I will be embarking on a short term mission trip to Haiti for this semester break! This trip fits perfectly into what I envisioned and exceeds many of the items I wished for in an experience. I will be joining CVM long-term fieldworker, Dr. Kelly Crowdis who facilitates a sustainability project called "Give a Kid to a Kid". Here is a video that tells more about her program:
This project is used to help the children gain confidence, instill a sense of responsibility, and educate them on how to care for and profit from their livestock. The children are able to provide for their families through the products of the goats. The people of Haiti use the animals as a bank account, so having healthy productive animals ensures they have a better quality of life. The goal of this program is to be sustainable, so the second kid their goat produces goes back to the program and is given to another child.
Here is my video requesting support:
The total cost for the trip is $2000 which includes transportation, lodging, meals, and project expenses. I am hoping to raise the money before August 1st.
You can donate either via:
-Christian Veterinary Missions
https://www.cvmusa.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=3161
(if you would like to claim your donation as a tax deduction)
-Google Drive document
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Haw4FHdzJEMll3SXpsYWFMQmc/edit?usp=sharing
(to mail a payment to CVM)
-You Caring Donation Site
https://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/destination-haiti-sustaining-kids-with-kids/64563
(for credit card donations or smaller amounts)
Any contribution, large, small or through prayer is appreciated! If you have any questions, please ask! I may not know the answer but I can ask Dr. Crowdis or my folks at CVM and we'll learn together. I am so excited!!!
Most students going into vet school think, "I don't want to work with people, that's why I'm going to vet school!" Well, that's kind of backwards because without the owner the animal would probably never make it in to see you and animals can't pay the bills (for those wanting to go into clinical practice). After going through Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology last semester, the topics discussed in the class are definitely the direction that I want to go. My heart hurts for those that cannot provide quality protein sources and clean water. I feel I can have the most impact and hope to help those that want help and allow them to sustain any changes implemented that improve their quality of life through long term missions. I say this with some hesitation because of the connotations and negative experiences that some may have had. Someone once said that "being a Christian missionary is just another form of cultural imperialism". While this may have been their perspective and this person's experience, I pray that this is not how any work I do would be perceived. I don't want to force people to be like me in culture, practice, or even religion - I just want to use my knowledge to work with them to improve their health.
Well this semester has been a roller coaster, I was planning on going to India to work with Christian Veterinary Missions on a rural project of spays/neuters and vaccination/de-worming of cattle. My aunt and uncle were missionaries for 30 years, 12 of which were in the same province I was hoping to go, Tamil Nadu. I signed up for the trip but due to lack of interest, the trip was canceled. I was heartbroken to say the least, as this semester break is likely my last opportunity to get experience outside of school before I start my clinical year in April (hopefully).
I say all of this to share some exciting news, I will be embarking on a short term mission trip to Haiti for this semester break! This trip fits perfectly into what I envisioned and exceeds many of the items I wished for in an experience. I will be joining CVM long-term fieldworker, Dr. Kelly Crowdis who facilitates a sustainability project called "Give a Kid to a Kid". Here is a video that tells more about her program:
This project is used to help the children gain confidence, instill a sense of responsibility, and educate them on how to care for and profit from their livestock. The children are able to provide for their families through the products of the goats. The people of Haiti use the animals as a bank account, so having healthy productive animals ensures they have a better quality of life. The goal of this program is to be sustainable, so the second kid their goat produces goes back to the program and is given to another child.
Here is my video requesting support:
The total cost for the trip is $2000 which includes transportation, lodging, meals, and project expenses. I am hoping to raise the money before August 1st.
You can donate either via:
-Christian Veterinary Missions
https://www.cvmusa.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=3161
(if you would like to claim your donation as a tax deduction)
-Google Drive document
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3Haw4FHdzJEMll3SXpsYWFMQmc/edit?usp=sharing
(to mail a payment to CVM)
-You Caring Donation Site
https://www.youcaring.com/mission-trip-fundraiser/destination-haiti-sustaining-kids-with-kids/64563
(for credit card donations or smaller amounts)
Any contribution, large, small or through prayer is appreciated! If you have any questions, please ask! I may not know the answer but I can ask Dr. Crowdis or my folks at CVM and we'll learn together. I am so excited!!!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
4th Semester in a Nutshell
So I finally let loose...4th Semester was the semester I finally got a little (ok A LOT) crazy, joined some clubs and decided to enjoy school and island life. Terrified that I would fail out of vet school, I limited my participation in clubs and other extracurricular activities in semesters 1-3 (translation: I didn't do anything but study for my first year here). I went a little overboard though, this was just a glimpse of what I was able to be a part of last semester:
Pathology Club
ZEW (Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife) Club
Small Ruminant Club
Research Assistant for “Does pain perception and response to pain relieving drugs differ between horses and donkeys?” research project (25 hours for the semester)
Abbatoir visit with the Public Health Club - so much fun!!! Learning about Meat Inspection
As a part of our semesterly duties we were required to:
Clinical Skills I learned this past semester:
Not only do that leave less time in my schedule to stay caught up in classes, but each exam also comes with a review session that takes at least 30 minutes. These are good because you get to determine where you went wrong with the concepts, just do the math 14 exams, 30 minute exam review = 7 hours of just learning from my mistakes!
For my Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology course I got the first step of my USDA Accreditation (about 10 hours of modules with quizzes).
To top this wonderful and challenging semester off, I was able to visit South Africa for a trip with WildlifeVets to learn about Wildlife Conservation Medicine (see this post: ). Such a great experience I had to make a whole separate post about it!
Such a busy semester, but I wouldn't trade all of the practical experience for better grades. I finally feel like I'm able to connect some concepts with clinical applications and it feels GREAT!
Pathology Club
- Weekly club meetings
- 2 necropsies
- Cake off
 | ||
| Rabbit Pathology - Uterine Adenocarcinoma | - 1st Place!!! |
- Zoo Clean up (Fecal/Mite sample collection)
- Fecal Exam Reading (from samples collected) - My Valentine's present to myself :-)
- Dirt Cup Fundraiser Sale (vanilla/chocolate pudding with oreos and whipped cream with gummy worms on top, ohhhhh yeah!!!)
Small Ruminant Club
- Sheep Processing
- Administering Coccidiostats
- De-worming
- BCS Scoring
- FAMACHA Scoring
- Hoof Trimming
- Horn Trimming
 | |||
| We can't take pictures on campus, but these are the sheep |
- Women's Bible Study (weekly on Sunday nights)
- Discipleship (Theology/Apologetics) Bible Study (weekly on Thursday nights)
- Short term Mission Trip preparedness meetings (with a group that was preparing for their April trip to Nicaragua) and to prepare for my trip in August :-D (weekly on Monday nights)
- Good Friday Beach Church Service
- Children's Church Teacher (just for one Sunday)
- Planning for Real Life Real Impact (see this post: http://justanotherrossvetschoolstudentblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/its-been-while.html )
- SCAVMA Meeting to get approval for Christian Veterinary Fellowship (see this post: )
Research Assistant for “Does pain perception and response to pain relieving drugs differ between horses and donkeys?” research project (25 hours for the semester)
- administered dosages of phenylbutazone/placebo (molasses)
- tested their nociceptive responses
 |
| Donkeys!!! (I wish I could take a picture of the actual donkeys, they were so adorable! |
Abbatoir visit with the Public Health Club - so much fun!!! Learning about Meat Inspection
As a part of our semesterly duties we were required to:
- bathe 2 of the kennel dogs (one Saturday morning of the semester)
- clean the aviary (one day of the semester)
Clinical Skills I learned this past semester:
- Square knots (hand ties and with instruments)
- Surgeon's knots (hand ties and with instruments)
- Miller's knots (hand ties and with instruments)
- Ligatures of large and small vessels/structures
- Simple Interrupted Suture Patterns
Not only do that leave less time in my schedule to stay caught up in classes, but each exam also comes with a review session that takes at least 30 minutes. These are good because you get to determine where you went wrong with the concepts, just do the math 14 exams, 30 minute exam review = 7 hours of just learning from my mistakes!
For my Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology course I got the first step of my USDA Accreditation (about 10 hours of modules with quizzes).
To top this wonderful and challenging semester off, I was able to visit South Africa for a trip with WildlifeVets to learn about Wildlife Conservation Medicine (see this post: ). Such a great experience I had to make a whole separate post about it!
Such a busy semester, but I wouldn't trade all of the practical experience for better grades. I finally feel like I'm able to connect some concepts with clinical applications and it feels GREAT!
Sunday, May 26, 2013
It's been a while...
So for various reasons I have not been able to update my blog, and I apologize. A huge pet peeve of mine is people that don't follow through with a commitment. So I will try to do better...
In light of this new commitment I have a whole new post, so here goes:
If you would have told me a year ago that I would spend an entire weekend at an event, without an ounce of studying I would have laughed. For my whole first year here at Ross University I did nothing but study, rarely went to any social events and only saw the beach from campus or my apartment window. I would have had an anxiety attack at the thought of spending an ENTIRE day not doing school work. However, this weekend was a life changing experience. But let's backup for a second.
Throughout my time here at Ross I have become increasingly involved with "extracurricular activities". For my second and third semesters I was a part of the Women's Bible Study and last semester I finally joined some of the clubs, did 2 Bible Studies, and worked as a research assistant with the on campus donkeys. The clubs here are so active with events going on every week; students are so involved! I have definitely become one of those types of students. Thankfully, I (at least at this moment in time) have somewhat gotten over my fear of failure and started to enjoy island life, being a student again, and investing in relationships.
This weekend's event was called Real Life Real Impact, sponsored by Christian Veterinary Missions and Nutramax, and brought by Christian Veterinary Fellowship. This weekend seminar is a spiritual retreat geared toward veterinary students. During these weekends, students have an opportunity to meet other Christian veterinarians in private practice, talk with some of CVM's long-term missionaries and find out about short-term mission trips. I got the pleasure of helping to plan this event and have been working hard along with a faculty advisor to plan It has been such a great learning experience; working through frustrations and changes of plans is NOT my forte, so learning to "let it go" was a skill to be honed.
Here was the brochure that
my marketing team made:
This was the schedule of events for the weekend:
It was a great weekend for me to learn about the Short-term mission trip that I have planned for August (more on this later) and also a great opportunity to hear about Long-term missions (stay tuned for more on this). It was amazing to hear that close to 4,000 veterinarians from the US are a part of Christian Veterinary Missions in some capacity. This is truly where I feel my passion lies; how or if it works out the way I want is yet to be determined. But just as Kathy Shoenborn mentioned in her talk, God shows us one step at a time where our life is leading. If we could see the end result - the result 20 steps down the road - we would not learn nearly as much; learning about ourselves and, more importantly, about our relationship with God is what this journey is all about!
Since I have done such a horrible job of keeping this updated, I would like to retroactively update so everyone can fill in the time gap. It will be a process, but I am committed! Hopefully I'll have another update before the end of the week.
In light of this new commitment I have a whole new post, so here goes:
If you would have told me a year ago that I would spend an entire weekend at an event, without an ounce of studying I would have laughed. For my whole first year here at Ross University I did nothing but study, rarely went to any social events and only saw the beach from campus or my apartment window. I would have had an anxiety attack at the thought of spending an ENTIRE day not doing school work. However, this weekend was a life changing experience. But let's backup for a second.
Throughout my time here at Ross I have become increasingly involved with "extracurricular activities". For my second and third semesters I was a part of the Women's Bible Study and last semester I finally joined some of the clubs, did 2 Bible Studies, and worked as a research assistant with the on campus donkeys. The clubs here are so active with events going on every week; students are so involved! I have definitely become one of those types of students. Thankfully, I (at least at this moment in time) have somewhat gotten over my fear of failure and started to enjoy island life, being a student again, and investing in relationships.
This weekend's event was called Real Life Real Impact, sponsored by Christian Veterinary Missions and Nutramax, and brought by Christian Veterinary Fellowship. This weekend seminar is a spiritual retreat geared toward veterinary students. During these weekends, students have an opportunity to meet other Christian veterinarians in private practice, talk with some of CVM's long-term missionaries and find out about short-term mission trips. I got the pleasure of helping to plan this event and have been working hard along with a faculty advisor to plan It has been such a great learning experience; working through frustrations and changes of plans is NOT my forte, so learning to "let it go" was a skill to be honed.
Here was the brochure that
my marketing team made:
 |
| The flier to post on campus*** (more on this a little later): |
This was the schedule of events for the weekend:
It was a great weekend for me to learn about the Short-term mission trip that I have planned for August (more on this later) and also a great opportunity to hear about Long-term missions (stay tuned for more on this). It was amazing to hear that close to 4,000 veterinarians from the US are a part of Christian Veterinary Missions in some capacity. This is truly where I feel my passion lies; how or if it works out the way I want is yet to be determined. But just as Kathy Shoenborn mentioned in her talk, God shows us one step at a time where our life is leading. If we could see the end result - the result 20 steps down the road - we would not learn nearly as much; learning about ourselves and, more importantly, about our relationship with God is what this journey is all about!
Since I have done such a horrible job of keeping this updated, I would like to retroactively update so everyone can fill in the time gap. It will be a process, but I am committed! Hopefully I'll have another update before the end of the week.
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