Since my last post a LOT has happened! (yes, Cassidy...I know I'm a slacker!)
7th semester was by far one of my most successful semesters academically. I kind of struggled in therio but pulled it together in the end :D Large Animal Surgery was actually one of my favorite courses and I did really well on my exams. By far my favorite part of the semester was the hands on procedures with both small animals and large animals. I loved loved loved doing surgical procedures.
It was sad to say good-bye to the many students and professors that I had really grown close to but good news is the veterinary profession is one small world and I'll definitely be running into them in the future.
By far the hardest good-bye I said was to RUSVM's Josh Project. I had taken a backseat in all the action as a co-chair but I was fortunate to complete one last project after the completion of the "Under the Sea" mural painting at the pediatric ward.
Hopefully this last project I completed will benefit the organization for a long time. I had always wanted to create a video that would not only promote all that Josh Project does but also educate those that see it about what Josh Project is. I hoped to include interviews from children and parents that have been impacted by the efforts of Josh Project, members of Josh Project that were enthusiastic about the role they play, the founder of Josh and Friends to share his hopes and motivation to start the organization, and for community members to share their insight on the impact that Josh Project has had. Fortunately, I was able to make this happen thanks to the collaborative efforts of Brian Spugnardi (photographer) and Laura Byers (current Josh Project chair). I lined up our interviews and before I knew it we were done with interviews and it was time to let Brian do his thing and put together a video that would capture the essence of Josh Project.
The final product turned out to be the most beautiful video compilation I could ever ask for. The interviews that contributed to this amazing message were:
Christian Nathanial - A Josh Kit recipient from one of our hospital donation visits. Christian shares a very personal take on how Josh has impacted his life and become a furever friend. It was extremely special to meet Christian and have him really articulate the impact Josh has had in his life and the meaning of the friendship he has with Josh. Christian continues to reach out to his peers who may be going through their own difficult experiences and allowing his Josh to lift up their spirits.
Kamoy and G'Neika Liburd - Mother and daughter duo. G'Neika was in the states undergoing surgery and chemotherapy for a brain tumor when she had a special delivery Josh Kit sent to her. Josh has helped her with all of her stateside trips and treatments. My interview with G'Neika was the first time I got to meet G'Neika and Kamoy in person. We had been in contact over facebook since I first learned about G'Neika. I felt like I was there with her and her mom every step of the way. When I finally met G'Neika and her mom, their love for each other really came into focus. The love between them was tangible. G'Neika is such a beautiful and strong little girl inside and out.
Toni Frederick - I was first put in touch with Toni when I went on WINNFM (a local radio station in St. Kitts) for a radio program that RUSVM does every so often with them called Animal Answers. Our program theme focused on the human-animal bond and I got to discuss how we utilize this concept with our Josh Kits for the children in the hospital. Since that interview, Toni has always been a huge fan and supporter of Josh Project. She has also been a huge personal support to me as I journeyed through the semesters at RUSVM. It was very special to be able to incorporate her insight into this video because I knew she had a good take on it from a community member perspective.
Dr. Randy Lange - I was able to meet Dr. Lange and Josh (Junior) the Golden Retriever for the first time when I accepted the 1st place Josh Challenge award on behalf of RUSVM's Josh Project at the 2013 LSU SCAVMA Symposium. Dr. Lange is the founder of Josh and Friends (the parent organization to all the Josh Project chapters at participating veterinary schools). It was important to me to incorporate him into our video in order to really bring to life the original mission of the organization. His message is incredibly special. Dr. Lange has been a huge supporter since I first contacted him when I took on the chair position at RUSVM and he continues to be a tremendous supporter in my life even now that I am in clinics.
Laura Byers - I picked Laura to be the chair in my place as I moved on into some more challenging semesters at RUSVM (6th and 7th). I felt it was important to have her in this video because she started out in JP as a very passionate member. She continues to utilize that passion with her new role in JP. You can tell that not only does she understand the role that the organization plays in the lives of all the children that receive Josh Kits, but also the role that the organization can play in the lives of students who become involved and give back to the community.
Without further adieu...The Josh Project Promotional Video.
After finals, Jarrod flew down to the island and helped me and the pets get back to Ohio. But before we left we had some fun around the island :D
Where our journey together began
Ziplining with Sky Safari St. Kitts! It was our first time and it was such a blast!
We stopped out at Major's Bay. Neither of us had been to this beach before. It was very quiet and so beautiful.
We had dinner together at The Beach House Restaurant.
We stopped by the Dorset's home and enjoyed some coconuts right off their trees as well as some homemade Hammon (local moonshine St. Kitts style). I already miss them and their family cat "Puddy" very much. But will keep in touch with them and hopefully visit again one day. I'm so grateful I met them at that one RUSVM Open House that I volunteered at. They were so kind and I can't wait to see their son pursue his dream of becoming a veterinarian.
Traveling wasn't too bad. We overnighted in Miami and stayed at the airport hotel. Overall all the pets did really well and it wasn't horribly stressful. We arrived pretty late to the Cincinnati airport but everyone got settled in really well.
Where did I sleep?? Oh I found room on the pull out of course!
My gorgeous handmade gift from my Uncle Jay...best present EVER!
My new ride in the states!
Packed up and ready to move up to Columbus (again)
All 7 pets are in the car (4 cats and 3 dogs) and ready to go.
Go Bucks!!
Yup, people stare at us but I love these goobers and they love their short walks together around our new neighborhood.
Cats get along for the most part lol and yes they have a whole room to themselves.
I finally live where I have a great view of a sunrise :)
My transition to Ohio State has been so easy. All the students in the class that I have joined are absolutely amazing and so helpful. I do have to admit the hardest transition for me coming back to the states has been grocery shopping. The stores are huge and there's everything and anything you could ever need in one store. I have gotten to see most of my best girl friends since I've been back. I wish I had more time to hang out with them but they are all very understanding of my schedule in clinics and how limited I am with time to do much else other than study VetPrep and my rotations. Sadly I had to say good-bye to my bestie, Caitlin, shortly after my return to Ohio as she set off to start her journey towards pursuing specializing in small animal internal medicine with a small animal rotating internship at Texas A&M. But we are pros at distance and keeping in touch and I definitely see a visit to see her in my future :)
My clinical year has been amazing so far. I started off my time at Ohio State in an Applied Pathology rotation. It was extremely educational and I loved all the disease processes that we got to see when we did autopsies that did reveal lesions. I do have a word of advice to all those that go through these rotations that perform autopsies...bring Vick's Vapor Rub. Helped so much getting through this rotation. This rotation definitely gave me an appreciation for the peace of mind it was able to give veterinarians and the owners of the animals we worked on. Many owners wonder if they made the right choice by humanely euthanizing their pets...was it the right time...etc. And in performing an autopsy, we were able to give them answers to these concerns. Often times, the answer was yes...you definitely made the right decision. And lastly, the reports that we had to do for all the autopsies that we were primary for really helped solidify the diagnosis and pathophysiology behind the lesions that were found.
My second rotation was with Oncology. I was not sure what to expect with this rotation and was honestly nervous about it. What this rotation enabled me to have is more confidence with preliminary diagnoses of cancer, types of cancer and their characteristics, the approach to these cancers and what expectations you can have with the different treatment options. I was extremely impressed with the clinicians I worked under during this rotation. The department also has ongoing research studies that are contributing to improvements with canine and feline cancers. It was very cool to see these projects. The rotation also solidified a variety of ways to utilize the diagnostics available to us with cancer patients. It was also very humbling to be present when the clinicians were discussing a diagnosis and options to pet owners.
My third rotation at OSU was Equine Surgery. We hit the ground running during this rotation! My first day I was assigned 5 inpatients during our rounds. I do feel like I got the hang of what was expected during this rotation and how to manage treatments, SOAPs, discharges, surgery reports, etc...might have taken the whole rotation, but I strived each day to do it to my clinician's liking! The clinician that I mainly worked with definitely had high expectations of his students, but personally it only made me work that much harder every day to hopefully make him proud of my efforts and progress throughout the rotation. This rotation was also awesome because....it was SURGERY!! I really have a special place in my heart for surgery. During this rotation I met two blood donor horses that I grew to really love. I also made sure that they got all the TLC I could give during my two weeks on this rotation. All the clinicians and staff that I got a chance to work with during this rotation were really awesome and I can't wait to work with them again in September.
My fourth rotation was Anesthesia. I really loved this rotation. I loved the challenges that each patient presented when coming up with a safe anesthetic protocol to use during their procedures. The technicians and clinicians were amazing to work with. They really enabled you to become more confident in your drug selections, anesthesia set up, intubation, IV catheter placement, monitoring, etc. Most days you are doing small animal anesthesia but you do get 1-2 days of large animal anesthesia. I switched with a rotation mate to get a second day with the large animal anesthesia team because I really had a lot of fun with the large animals since I wasn't getting to work on them all the time during this rotation. Overall, the rotation was just so satisfying because you really had to put some knowledge to use and you also got to fine tune your clinical skills.
For my fifth and sixth rotations I have been off-site at Metropolitan Veterinary Hospital in Copley, OH. I've been staying with a veterinarian and her family for the past month. We actually became facebook friends in 2011 because we had mutual facebook friends and a love for Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. We've kept in touch all these years and she helped me get in touch with the folks at Metro to land my externship. I have spent a week with ER, a week on internal medicine, and my last two weeks have been with orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. ER was intense but a good introduction to how it will probably be at Ohio State when my ER rotation rolls around. I've really enjoyed working with all the technicians, clinicians, interns, and residents during my time at Metro. One of the interns is a Rossie, one of the surgical interns is a Rossie, and one of the surgical residents is a Rossie...small world! So it was good to see some familiar faces while I have been there.
Aside from gaining insight into a referral hospital and being able to observe client interactions in this setting, I've also been able to have some down time this past month. I've been able to really kick my NAVLE studying into the next gear and have made a ton of progress with my VetPrep material. I have also been able to go to Cedar Point for the first time over a weekend. I went to my first country concert and saw Toby Keith perform after tailgating of course. And I went to my first deep fry cookout...YUM! Hanging out with my hostess and her family has been a blast and I'm soooooo very thankful for her hospitality this past month. None of this would have been possible if she hadn't allowed me to stay with her during my externship.
This past month has also been a time of reflection for me. As I've mentioned before, I have a soft spot for small animal surgery. I had given thought to pursuing a rotating small animal internship in hopes to begin the journey towards specializing in small animal surgery. This rotation allowed me to speak to others that are on that journey, to speak to those that have even been in general practice prior, and to speak to those that I know are currently in general practice. I really picked their brains and after some contemplating on the pros and cons of the small animal surgery path, I've decided to put pursuit of this path on hold temporarily. Jarrod is in the midst of an equine rotating internship at KSU as of June of this year and he has hopes to landing an equine surgery residency in this next year. Long story short, we are both exhausted with spending our relationship apart and I've decided to find a small animal general practice job where ever he ends up for his residency (fingers and toes crossed he is scooped up by someone during this next match period!). So he will enter the match program that matches internships and residency positions and hopefully come February of next year we will know more! And Jarrod knows that if and when I decide to pursue small animal surgery, he has to come along for the ride :) But who knows...maybe I will find that general practice is an even better fit for me! I'm keeping my mind open :)
I am really excited about not only being with him come next June, but also being in general practice where I will get to be an amazing advocate for my patients and even perform surgeries. But that is a little ways away so I'm trying to remain focused on the immediate hurdles I have to clear first...the NAVLE! Wish me luck and I will continue to keep all of you posted on my time at Ohio State and all that is to come in the next 9 months of clinics!
