Surgeries and Other Invasive Methods

When I lived in Kijabe, I had the opportunity to go and witness many kinds of surgeries. However, due to a combined lack of time and actual connection to any of the cases, I started medical school without ever actually witnessing a surgery. Thus, when one of the patients where I do my summer practicals needed a surgery to implant a permanent catheter, I was very happy to observe. I initially thought I would be watching from a separate room, looking down at the surgeon and patient from a little window perhaps. I blame Grey's Anatomy for this hasty presumption. I actually got to get all dressed up in green scrubs, and witness the surgery first hand, standing right next to the surgeon and his assistant. To say it felt incredibly legit would be an understatement.

Now this was actually a very simple procedure, and didn't even involve much cutting and blood, and it was all over in a little more than half an hour. So even though I didn't witness a radical hysterectomy or something absolutely crazy, I was still awed by my first surgical experience. Yes, let's call it that.

The following day, which would be today in fact, I got to observe when the doctors performed a kidney biopsy. The doctor, knowing my Swedish roots, was keen to point out that the equipment used was of Swedish origin and invention. A moment of personal hubris ensued as I watched the BARD Biopsy Gun (which is manufactured in Uppsala) pierce through the patients back and into the kidney, which was displayed for all to see via Ultrasound. Then "BANG" went the needle gun, taking a part of the patient's kidney, before being swiftly and skillfully withdrawn. All very quick. However, recovery time is about a day, as the anesthetic wears off and the patient's body starts to realize someone stole  part of their kidney, and makes sure the brain is aware of this hideous crime. 

Until next time folks, and remember, whenever you are walking through a dark alley, protect your kidneys! Organ robbers lurking everywhere, you have been warned, Ha!

First Day and Russian Toilets

Today was my first day of my summer practicals. I am doing them here at the provincial hospital in Olsztyn, at the Nephrology Department. I wasn't really sure what to expect of my summer practicals, not sure how much hands-on experience I would be able to gain and so forth, but I must say I have been happily surprised. After the nurse explained to me how it's done, I got to inject a heparin solution (an anti-coagulant given to bed-ridden elderly patients) into a patient all on my own. The first person I did it on was very skinny, so it was a bit tricky and I thought I might hurt them unnecessarily, but it went well. The other 3 patients I injected had some more fat on them, so it was quite easy. The nurses seem to trust me quite well after just the first day, and don't seem to be to annoyed at having someone steadily on their tail. That's good, wouldn't want to be on the nurses' bad side now would I? Tomorrow, however, me and a doctor from the department are going to observe (from the gallery) an operation carried out on one of the patients. This will actually be the first operation that I witness, and I am very much excited about that.
Now to the bewildering piece of bathroom equipment that is the Russian Toilet. They have one at the Nephrology Department, most likely a remnant from former times. One would think all water-closets should look the same, but like with everything else, the Russians have an alternative idea. Instead of one's excrement's landing in the water where the stench is somewhat subdued, they land on what can best be described as a little ridged holder. There they lie, not very far from their origin, and I can only imagine the difficulty that must haunt all Russians with acute diarrhea. The splashing effect would be devastating. To all my worried readers, I can confirm that my visit to this exotic toilet did indeed go smoothly, but I am perhaps a bit shaken.

Notice the little "pool" at the back, this is where everything lands...

Yo-yoing <= Because One Direction is not Enough

Yo-yoing. You know, when you have to go to town to do something in the morning,then head back home, then back to town in the afternoon. Then back to town the next day etc.. Instead of everything just flowing along smoothly in one direction it's rather is like a yoyo: up, down, up, down. (Before everyone gets too excited, by "one direction" i am not referring to some British boy band neither am I talking about RVP's ambitious little boy inside of him; please, let's keep it real here)
To get started with my driving license, I had to go get one of those eye-checkups where they test if you can see the letters on the board (which is very hard when I never really bothered learning the Polish pronunciation of the letters themselves, so I just started wording my way through it and sounded like a fool: "Aa", "Behh" "Kuhh" "Pe" etc...) Anyway, i got my little note saying that I was good to go, just to be notified later on in the day it was the wrong sort of test. I had to have an eye- plus cardio-respiratory check. Sigh, it's not like I am signing up for the army...
I went to the proper place the next morning, managed to get the point across that I needed to see this very specific doctor (making sure I made no mistake now). Unfortunately she was out for the day, "return tomorrow" they told me. Yo-yo.
I returned the following day, zooming past the cars in the traffic jam on my bike on my way there, feeling ever so good about myself. I told the secretary that I was there for my appointment, and she looked through my documents and passport. I let out a small sigh of relief, finally things were happening. "Ok, everything looks good with your documents, come back Thursday before lunch and the doctor will see you then." It was currently Tuesday. Yo-yoing over level 9000.
Being an incurable optimist I tried to focus on the good of it all. The exercise from biking up that slope for the up-tenth time was terrific. Really great... No, really, it was awesome. Wish I could spend the rest of my life doing just that.
Anyway, I went back on Thursday, and after about 2hrs of waiting, I finally got my stupid little checkup done. The doctor who did it was lovely though, to be fair. 70 plus year old lady that used a magnifying glass to read my fine-print documents. Sort of ironic that she was checking my eye-sight, but oh well. She even ordered me to get a Polish girlfriend so that my Polish language skills wouldn't be so crappy. I guess now I can say that I will be partying on the doctor's orders.

Oh.. and I finally got around to seeing The Dark Knight Rises. Best movie I have seen in a cinema, even better than Inception, in my opinion. Thoroughly satisfied.

Return to The Olsztyn

My trip back to Olsztyn after vacation in Sweden was annoyingly eventful if anything. Flight and the like went fine, managed to squeeze my bloated luggage along, even though it was borderline overweight. However, the bus taking me from Gdansk to Olsztyn broke down about an hour outside Gdansk, leaving us all stranded in the Polish wilderness for 2 very long hours. Thankfully a backup bus did arrive, and to make up for the time lost the driver engaged Ludicrous Speed (Spaceballs anyone??) and we made it back in one piece, albeit a bit shaken and tired.
Traffic is still slow in Olsztyn, with the numerous roadworks everywhere. I know opinion is divided on the subject, but as far as I am concerned, everyone I've seen seems to be working hard to get it done quickly. However, I don't expect it to be done anytime soon. As a result, I went and bought myself a bike. Terrific purchase if I may say so myself, been using it a lot already. Olsztyn has got some pretty good bike lanes, so it's not a bad investment. Although, I'll be back to using the buses come winter.
Next week I'm starting my summer practicals, which I am looking forward to. Many of my colleagues have already done them, and I've mostly heard positive feedback, so I'm excited. Alongside my summer practicals I will also be taking my driving license (finally). This will be third country in which I learn how to drive, I started out with some lessons in Sweden, then I attended driving school in Mozambique, and now hopefully I'll get it all done in Poland. Thankfully the driving instructor knows some English, so I won't have to resort to my limited Polish =) Expect to hear lots about both these new adventures in the coming weeks.

Bumblebee on a String

Yet another little crazy idea my brother got, that I most gladly helped him execute. After putting the bumblebee in the freezer to make it less active, we managed, after many many tries, to tie a string around its abdomen. Then we let it warm up in the sun, and in no time it was flying around again, but now it had been domesticated =)

 Pet Bumblebee on a string, enjoy!

Gullbranna Kom2012

Back on the west coast! This time as a youth leader at a Christian youth camp. Unfortunately the rain is quite persistent, but we are hoping for better tomorrow. One feels sunshine should be a constant at seaside resorts, but higher powers seem to disagree. Speaking of higher powers, there was an earthquake last night (!) It wasn't that serious though, like 4 on the richter scale. Didn't even wake up to feel it to be honest, but it was all over the papers in the morning. Bet this is everyday stuff for people in Japan, but here in Sweden it is classed as something quite exraordinaire. End of the world? Well, maybe?

The Log That Couldn't Be Moved

There used to be a big tree by the edge of the garden, where the local road and our drive-way intersect. By the authorization of powers greater than me, namely my parents, it was cut down. In all fairness, the place looks better with it lying in separate logs on the ground, rather than it blocking the view. In any case, my father thought it would be nice if we could move one of the logs into position and turn it into a make-shift bench.

Only thing though... it's a massive log. Absolutely enormous.

There are lots of farmers around the area where I live, so it wouldn't have been all that hard to get some heavy equipment brought in to do the job, but what's the fun in letting big machines take all the glory? Thus my dad and I tried to wiggle the big log loose, but it moved little. Swallowing our manly pride, we decided to give in and let a machine have a go at it, not a heavy duty one though, because that would still be cheating.

We tied a rope around one end of the log, and hooked the rope onto the car, as to rotate the log into place. We feared the rope might break, but figured it was worth a try.

The log moved! Ever so slowly the log was getting into place, and the rope wasn't breaking either. Fantastic! Then my dad shouted from inside the car, "it's on fire!!"

I looked up and saw a bit of smoke coming from the bonnet, and my dad hurrying to open it up to let the engine cool off. Yes, the log was too heavy even for the car to deal with it and the added difficulty of having to drive uphill caused the engine to over-heat. No damage was done to the car itself, it just needed a breather so to speak. However, since we are selling it in the coming months it would be a sad shame if something actually happened to it, so we gave up on that idea.

Finding ourselves back at square one, we turned to that aspect of humanity that ever so often proves our ally, our blunt stubbornness. That log was going to move, one way or the other. 

We dug our heels in, and with our last strength (plus some added help from my little brother who came out wondering what all the commotion was all about) we actually managed to get it into place. 

The car might overheat, but not the will of a determined man. How beautiful. It was such a sentimental glorification of the power of the the free man that I almost heard "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing in the wind, and shed a solitary tear. Well, no, I certainly did not, but you get the idea. The log was in place and I was happy with my effort.

I could get all deep now and compare the log to the troubles in life, heavy and seemingly unmovable. The car to that perfect quick fix that never actually works. Get all worked up and gloriously promote "will-power" and the "never-say-die attitude". But I'm too lazy for that right now, so you can write that last part for yourself.

Pz  =P