On January 11th, Jim and I were sponsors at the baptism of our first godchild! Bekk is Jim's cousin and we are so proud to be his godparents!
Laura with Elling, Jim and I with Bekk, and Jim with Dane.
The third year of veterinary school has included some really amazing experiences so far. My absolute favorite has been the Bovine Surgery Elective, affectionately known as "Cut-A-Cow." The nickname might sound a little crude, but basically what happens is this:
The school purchases cows already on their way to slaughter. We don't get any history on the animals, but they are usually dairy cows being culled for reasons likely related to poor production. The cows spend a week at the vet school's facilities (a regular bovine resort!) and 3rd year students in the elective course get to perform an exploratory abdominal surgery. This can be done when the cow is standing and she isn't sedated (usually) but we do inject anesthetic around the spinal nerves so she can't feel what we're doing. We opened the abdomen, got to have a feel around inside, and then practice an opentopexy. An omentopexy is done by suturing some of the tissue around the cow's abomasum (4th stomach compartment) to the body wall and is often done to correct and prevent a twisted stomach (displaced abomasum or DA.) The we sutured up our incision and after a few days of rest, the cow is back on her way to her original destination - slaughter. Not a happy ending for the cow I guess, but since they are going there anyway, they get to do us a favor by taking a little detour first to help us learn some surgical skills.
My partner Kaitlin and I with our cow
Our incision (has to be big enough to fit an arm through - good thing for the cow we both have spaghetti arms!)
Having a feel around on the inside (amazing!)
All stitched up and in one piece!
That's all for now, until next time!
Love, Steph and Jim
