Every morning and evening this week, I'm in charge of the care
of our surgery patient. Consequently, my weekend started at 6:00 am
Saturday morning. I might have been up, but the sun definitely was
not. Thank goodness our surgery animal this week is a healthy,
spry, little cat that doesn't mind a thorough physical exam (minus
the temperature-taking, but honestly, who wouldn't be a little
upset about a rectal thermometer?). After finishing the paperwork
for our kitty, I headed to the large animal hospital for an equine
castration clinic that one of our veterinary student chapters
organized for the community.
At this clinic, we vet students had the opportunity to handle
every aspect of patient care with castrations in the field. We all
rotated between anesthetist, surgeon, and assistant surgeon with
each horse. I have watched numerous castrations in the past, but
getting a chance to perform one was a great experience. We had
clinicians and experienced technicians volunteer their Saturday to
teach us proper technique and the various ways you could perform
the procedure. Throughout the morning, we also interacted with the
horse owners. These clients further reinforced in my mind that
veterinary medicine isn't just about the animals, it's about the
people. The owners were just as thankful for the chance to be a
part of the castration clinic as I was. The way the owners listened
to our recommendations and asked us questions made us all feel a
little closer to being doctors. The experience I gained that
morning was well-worth waking up at the crack of dawn.
After the clinic, the rest of Saturday officially started. I
hurriedly headed home to shower and go to a friend's barbeque.
After some fantastic grilling and grub, we all headed back to
campus to tailgate and watch a Fightin' Texas Aggie football game.
The game was fantastic, and I loved that I got to see our boys beat
the top-ten ranked Oklahoma Sooners at Kyle Field (Whoop!).
I finally got home around 11:30 pm (traffic's a little rough
when 81,000 fans all leave the stadium at the same time). By the
time I made dinner and got ready for bed, I had been up and going
for 18 hours. Needless to say, my victory celebration after the
game involved me passing out for some much needed sleep. Thank
goodness daylight savings time gave me an additional, much needed
hour of sleep!