I've posted music of hers before, but the more I listen to her, the better I like her. I finally got my hands on one of her albums, and every song is different and amazing. My only real complaint is that I want to sing along so badly, and I just can't match her vocal range or style well enough!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Ugly Blood
We've been doing WBC differentials in class this past week, and we got to look at toxic blood on Friday. There was a lot of singing in class, but also a lot of "Oh wow!" and "Is that even a seg?!"
Those are, in fact, segmented neutrophils, and they really are showing toxic changes. The cell on the left has prominent Dohle Bodies, and the one on the right has some basophilia and foaminess, which is caused by vacuolization of the cytoplasm. The red blood cells are showing rouleaux, crenation, and some Howell-Jolly bodies (the name of those lead to more singing).
So, what does that all mean? Really, the cat that this blood came from is so sick that her cells are degrading. The Dohle bodies aren't especially noteworthy in a cat (say "BOO" to a cat and it'll produce them), but the rest are signs of extreme inflammation. The toxicity still seems subtle to me because I'm learning, but apparently this is the type of smear that would, as my instructor puts it, "make the vet poop his pants" in real practice. Good to know.
Those are, in fact, segmented neutrophils, and they really are showing toxic changes. The cell on the left has prominent Dohle Bodies, and the one on the right has some basophilia and foaminess, which is caused by vacuolization of the cytoplasm. The red blood cells are showing rouleaux, crenation, and some Howell-Jolly bodies (the name of those lead to more singing).
So, what does that all mean? Really, the cat that this blood came from is so sick that her cells are degrading. The Dohle bodies aren't especially noteworthy in a cat (say "BOO" to a cat and it'll produce them), but the rest are signs of extreme inflammation. The toxicity still seems subtle to me because I'm learning, but apparently this is the type of smear that would, as my instructor puts it, "make the vet poop his pants" in real practice. Good to know.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tell me, how does your garden grow?
No silver bells or cockleshells, but I'm pretty pleased with how things are looking outside my door anyway.
When I moved into this apartment, there was a rather ugly patch of dirt next to my little patio that looked as though it had been intended to contain plants. There were sad little rose bushes in it that looked like they had given up trying to fill the space, and if anything they really just made the whole thing look more pathetic, not less.
I have no really good pictures of the spot, simply because I saw no reason to photograph the ugliness. I wish had now, just so I'd have a better sense of before and after, but it's a little late!
It's still quite sparse, but I'm much happier with how it looks anyway. I'm especially pleased with the daffodils I put in...they turned out beautifully!
When I moved into this apartment, there was a rather ugly patch of dirt next to my little patio that looked as though it had been intended to contain plants. There were sad little rose bushes in it that looked like they had given up trying to fill the space, and if anything they really just made the whole thing look more pathetic, not less.
I have no really good pictures of the spot, simply because I saw no reason to photograph the ugliness. I wish had now, just so I'd have a better sense of before and after, but it's a little late!
It's still quite sparse, but I'm much happier with how it looks anyway. I'm especially pleased with the daffodils I put in...they turned out beautifully!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
VAMPIRE!!!
I don't think I fully realised just how deranged I would look when I made that face.Anyway, 3 for 3 on my canine blood draws (as evidenced by the blood-filled needles in the photo). It took me 3 tries to hit the lateral saphenous, but I'm not too upset about it. I was working with Brynn and she tends to shriek and squirm when you touch her with a needle, so not being able to hit the smallest and squirmiest vein on the first try isn't grounds for a freak-out.
I did, however, hit the cephalic and jugular on my first try, and man did that ever feel good. Dr. Henson was right, this whole blood drawing thing is both cathartic and addictive. I've caught myself staring at veins on animals, people, whatever...and just thinking "I could hit that...". This is bad.
After lab, Perri, Cat and I went out to the stable and gave Dave a bath. He's so furry that it was more like bathing a giant dog, and we pulled what seemed like 50lbs of hair off of him. He was very good about the whole thing and seemed to quite enjoy the attention.
Doesn't he look pretty?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Fever when you hold me tight...
I know, I know....slacker.
In other news, Merlin finally managed to ring a positive on one of the seeming billions of diagnostics I've had run on him, and he is the proud carrier of Bartonella henselae, otherwise known as Feline Bartonella in cats, or Cat Scratch Fever in humans. Granted, the seroprevalence of Bartonella can be up to 93% in some states, so Merlin testing positive shouldn't be all that shocking, but I've grown accustomed to his mastery of the "normal bloodwork, normal PE, barf all over the house" style of presentation, so this is a little exciting.
Bartonella is a bloodborne bacteria that is transmitted to cats by fleas. Areas with high flea population also have a lot of Bartonella, and up until recently it was assumed that while cats carried the bacteria and potentially passed it onto people, they didn't actually suffer any ill effects from it. This has recently been called into dispute, and while there is no hard data to support it, a lot of vets are beginning to think that Bartonella may influence diseases like stomatitis, diabetes, and cause chronic upper respiratory symptoms.
The problem with this, of course, is that when you have a population of cats of whom 93% could potentially be positive for Bartonella, you could link just about anything to it. Broken tails? Sure, 22 out of 25 cats with broken tails have Bartonella, that must be it! So, while I'm excited that we've finally found something clinically abnormal and treatable in Merlin's bloodwork, I'm not sure the treatment will ultimately make a difference. I'm certainly going to treat, I just won't hold my breath for a miraculous recovery.
Oh, and for those suddenly panicking at the idea that I'm living with a disease vector, relax. Merlin has almost certainly been carrying Bartonella since long before I adopted him, plenty of cats carry it without most people ever knowing (up to 93%, remember?), and Cat Scratch Fever affects less than 200,000 people in the US. Not exactly terrifying. I'm far more worried about Minnow's poorly disguised plots to kill me and take over the household.
As for school, it's been going well. Last week we went off into the woods, tracked down a Sasquatch, wrestled it to the ground, chopped it's arm off, and used it to practice blood draws on.
See? And you didn't believe me.....
In other news, Merlin finally managed to ring a positive on one of the seeming billions of diagnostics I've had run on him, and he is the proud carrier of Bartonella henselae, otherwise known as Feline Bartonella in cats, or Cat Scratch Fever in humans. Granted, the seroprevalence of Bartonella can be up to 93% in some states, so Merlin testing positive shouldn't be all that shocking, but I've grown accustomed to his mastery of the "normal bloodwork, normal PE, barf all over the house" style of presentation, so this is a little exciting.
Bartonella is a bloodborne bacteria that is transmitted to cats by fleas. Areas with high flea population also have a lot of Bartonella, and up until recently it was assumed that while cats carried the bacteria and potentially passed it onto people, they didn't actually suffer any ill effects from it. This has recently been called into dispute, and while there is no hard data to support it, a lot of vets are beginning to think that Bartonella may influence diseases like stomatitis, diabetes, and cause chronic upper respiratory symptoms.
The problem with this, of course, is that when you have a population of cats of whom 93% could potentially be positive for Bartonella, you could link just about anything to it. Broken tails? Sure, 22 out of 25 cats with broken tails have Bartonella, that must be it! So, while I'm excited that we've finally found something clinically abnormal and treatable in Merlin's bloodwork, I'm not sure the treatment will ultimately make a difference. I'm certainly going to treat, I just won't hold my breath for a miraculous recovery.
Oh, and for those suddenly panicking at the idea that I'm living with a disease vector, relax. Merlin has almost certainly been carrying Bartonella since long before I adopted him, plenty of cats carry it without most people ever knowing (up to 93%, remember?), and Cat Scratch Fever affects less than 200,000 people in the US. Not exactly terrifying. I'm far more worried about Minnow's poorly disguised plots to kill me and take over the household.
As for school, it's been going well. Last week we went off into the woods, tracked down a Sasquatch, wrestled it to the ground, chopped it's arm off, and used it to practice blood draws on.
See? And you didn't believe me.....
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cow Tippi.....er, Cow stabbing
No, we didn't tip cows today, we just stabbed them in the neck. And only to get their blood.
Yeah, I know. That doesn't make it sound any better.
Anyway, I did a jugular stick on cow today and hit it first try. I'm proud of myself, but I couldn't get too puffed up about it given that the vein is about an inch and a half across. I mean, really. I also hit the tail vein on the third try, which I was pretty pleased about. Actually, the hardest part about the cow lab was getting the cows into the chute in the first place. Most beef cattle are slightly nervous of people, so it is very easy to drive them. Ours are handled more than usual, so they don't fear us, and as a result, we have to use somewhat unorthodox methods to get them to move where we want them. This may seem like a scene from some bizarre horror movie (when vet techs attack?) but it was really just us trying (and failing) to drive the cattle. Honestly, if I were a cow, I would have been scared!
But apparently the cows couldn't care less, cause they sure didn't move.
Ah well, blood was eventually achieved anyway.
Yeah, I know. That doesn't make it sound any better.
Anyway, I did a jugular stick on cow today and hit it first try. I'm proud of myself, but I couldn't get too puffed up about it given that the vein is about an inch and a half across. I mean, really. I also hit the tail vein on the third try, which I was pretty pleased about. Actually, the hardest part about the cow lab was getting the cows into the chute in the first place. Most beef cattle are slightly nervous of people, so it is very easy to drive them. Ours are handled more than usual, so they don't fear us, and as a result, we have to use somewhat unorthodox methods to get them to move where we want them. This may seem like a scene from some bizarre horror movie (when vet techs attack?) but it was really just us trying (and failing) to drive the cattle. Honestly, if I were a cow, I would have been scared!
But apparently the cows couldn't care less, cause they sure didn't move.
Ah well, blood was eventually achieved anyway.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Garden + Camera =
I have a macro setting on my camera. I also have plants in bloom. That's really all there is to this post.
Blood!!
Yeah, I know, slacking again.
Anyway, this week was back to class, and we spent a large portion of our time handling blood. On Tuesday, I did my very first venipuncture, and managed a successful jugular stick on our sheep, along with a slightly less successful cephalic stick. I got a flash in the hub of the needle on the cephalic, but couldn't draw blood to save my life. My teammates couldn't get blood from the cephalic either though, so I think our sheep was just faulty. The jugular more than made up for it though and I easily pulled a full 3cc's. Took me about 7 tries to hit the vein, but I got blood, didn't blow the vein, and got the blood into the purple top with no spillage, so I call it a victory.
Thursday and Friday were spent analyzing said blood, which was highly entertaining. Thursday was all about learning how to do good blood smears, and let me tell you....it is WAY harder than it looks.
Dolores gave us 2 demos, and then did a demo using her left hand (and it still came out perfectly), so I was starting to think I wouldn't have too much trouble. I mean, really....place a drop of blood on the bottom slide, touch the edge of the top slide to it so the blood wicks along the edge, and then push the blood into a smear. Easy.
Yeah, so. About that easy bit....
To be fair, that pile of rejects isn't just mine. Alona and I pooled our spoil pile to save on cleanup, so at least half of them are hers. Still, we went through almost 2 boxes of slides in search of....
The perfect smear! See the pretty rainbow? The feathered edge and distinct lack of streaking? The way the blood doesn't run over the edges of the slide? Oh yeah. It's beautiful.
Friday was spent learning how to do hematocrit readings, total proteins, and fibrinogen levels. I learned that Dave is nicely within normal ranges on all of these, and that I am a total wimp when it comes to the necessary snapping of capillary tubes. Breaking glass on purpose just freaks me out, ok?
Both days were also spent being total dorks with classmates. Have I mentioned how much they rock?
Anyway, this week was back to class, and we spent a large portion of our time handling blood. On Tuesday, I did my very first venipuncture, and managed a successful jugular stick on our sheep, along with a slightly less successful cephalic stick. I got a flash in the hub of the needle on the cephalic, but couldn't draw blood to save my life. My teammates couldn't get blood from the cephalic either though, so I think our sheep was just faulty. The jugular more than made up for it though and I easily pulled a full 3cc's. Took me about 7 tries to hit the vein, but I got blood, didn't blow the vein, and got the blood into the purple top with no spillage, so I call it a victory.
Thursday and Friday were spent analyzing said blood, which was highly entertaining. Thursday was all about learning how to do good blood smears, and let me tell you....it is WAY harder than it looks.
Dolores gave us 2 demos, and then did a demo using her left hand (and it still came out perfectly), so I was starting to think I wouldn't have too much trouble. I mean, really....place a drop of blood on the bottom slide, touch the edge of the top slide to it so the blood wicks along the edge, and then push the blood into a smear. Easy.
Yeah, so. About that easy bit....
To be fair, that pile of rejects isn't just mine. Alona and I pooled our spoil pile to save on cleanup, so at least half of them are hers. Still, we went through almost 2 boxes of slides in search of....
The perfect smear! See the pretty rainbow? The feathered edge and distinct lack of streaking? The way the blood doesn't run over the edges of the slide? Oh yeah. It's beautiful.
Friday was spent learning how to do hematocrit readings, total proteins, and fibrinogen levels. I learned that Dave is nicely within normal ranges on all of these, and that I am a total wimp when it comes to the necessary snapping of capillary tubes. Breaking glass on purpose just freaks me out, ok?
Both days were also spent being total dorks with classmates. Have I mentioned how much they rock?
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