PAWS L.A

Last week I had a rotation at PAWS L.A, which is a non-profit agency which provides pet care to people who have disabling illnesses. So far it has been my favorite rotation. It was the first time that I not only had a a patient but I was able to deal directly with the client as well. My patient was Charlie-Girl, a cute pekinese mix that has a history of skin problems which was being treated with steroids, however, the treatments were no longer effective so I had to figure out other options to treat Charile-Girl with. The client, was extremly warm and friendly and was very appreciative of the care that was being provided to Charlie-Girl. For the first time I felt like I was a doctor.
Last weeks case in school was a difficult one, we had a recurring meningioma (tumor in the brain), so I had to learn the anatomy of the brain, all of the cranial nerves and their tracts along with the anatomy of the eye.
We are going to be assigned this weeks case in about 10 minutes, so far all I know about it, is that it's a "sleepy sheep".

More Pictures

Here's a picture of Santa Barbara and one of me, Steve and Henry at a street fair in San Diego.

Pictures

Here's a picture of Henry and the Mustang in front of my house and a picture of Henry hugging a palm tree (he's never seen one before!)

Pongo!

We have a new edition to our house, his name is Pongo and he is a 2 year old Chow-mix that was abused by his former owner. Back in March Pongo had to have surgery to remove a kite string (which was being used as a leash) that was embedded in his neck. He has been living at the Inland Empire Humane Society since March because he was not allowed to be put up for adoption until his court case was over with. Two-weeks ago the judge ruled against the former owner and Pongo was put up for adoption. Brandon (one of my roommates) fell in love with him right away and took him home. He gets along really well with Coco (the other dog) but is still adjusting to Oasten (the cat).

A relaxing long weekend!

Henry and Steve came to visit me over the long weekend. It was perfect timing because I had just finished my first quarter and exam week so their was nothing to study. On Friday I took Henry to the Yardhouse after my last exam for lunch with the rest of my class. Afterwards we drove to Santa Monica and Venice Beach in his rented Mustang Convertable, then we headed up the Pacific Pallisades to Malibu where we saw the sunset over the ocean and had dinner at this secluded restaurant on the water.
Steve flew in at midnight. On Saturday we took the Mustang down the Pacific Pallisades to San Diego where we stayed with Andrew and Dave (friends from UMASS who moved to Cali in August). We toured the city and spent the following day at the beach. The water was freezing (most people were wearing wetsuits) and the waves were big but we went swimming anyway. On Monday we drove up north to Santa Barbara. So far Santa Barbara is my favorite place in California, it's this cute little beach town surrounded by mountains. On our way home we stopped at a small pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. Henry and Steve left late on a midnight flight that night and I started my second quarter of veterinary school on 8am Tuesday morning!
The picture above was taken on the Pacific Pallisades on our way to Malibu.

I survived Exam Week!

Last week was the longest week of my life! We had end of the quarter exams Monday through Friday in every single subject and ology. Heres a quick breakdown of what exams were like:
Monday 10am-12pm Veterinary Issues
Tuesday 10am-2pm Written exam on all of the disciplines (Anatomy, Behavior, Epidemiology, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Nutrition, Parasitology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology and Toxicology).
Wednesday 8am-12pm Anatomy, Parisitology, Radiology and Histology Practical
Thursday 8am-10am Molecular and Cellular Biology
12pm-2pm IVPACT (tests our problem based learning analytical skills)
2pm-8am Take home portion of IVPACT
Friday 10am-12pm IVPACT part II (Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology)

So far I have only recieved the results of how I did in each of the ologies on Tuesday's exams. I actually got a 100% in Epidemiology and Immunology. I also did really well in Pharmacology. I did ok in all of the other subjects and am not in danger of having to remediate any of the subjects on this test.
The anatomy practical was ridiculously difficult and I don't think that I did well BUT everyone feels the same way so their should be a big curve.