halfway point

old sugar can mill with caribbean sea

Can you believe we've just hit the 1/2 way point with semester three! Wow, it sure has flown by! Third semester has the task of walking the anesthesia dogs twice a day. So we split up into groups of 5 and choose a week to do our dog walking. I tell you adding 2 hours of walking per day on top of everything else had me running on fumes! My first dog walk I was matching Truffles (the fastest/most hyper) every stride of our run/walks. On my last day even Sydney (slowest dog) was pulling me along like some sack of potatoes. I lost alot of study time so this weekend was all about catching up. I have round #2 of exams coming up next week, and although I fared alright I can't let my guard down.

During one of my breaks I decided to take the wifee and little squinkles to the Marriot pool. I've heard of students getting kicked out so I was hesitant. Sharie lead the way and I acted as the bell boy. Sharie and Chochita had a great time and we didn't even get kicked out (maybe b/c it's off season?). The funny thing is that I noticed alot of Rossies while at the Marriot, so I guess we're a permanent fixture. . . for now.

AVMA came and went and the Dean filled us in on the skinny. Of course I was dog walking but I heard that we need to 1) work on the research area 2) install a large animal isolation ward and I believe those were the biggies. The research deal is gonna take a while, but hopefully AVMA will accredit R.U. before my time is up.

I'm gonna explore the sugarcane road a bit further. Today I consulted Dr. Reich about the trails and he's gonna mark a section of a trail for me....hopefully I won't get lost or abducted by some canabalistic tribe....eekkkk! Alright I'm gonna see if I can squeeze a little more material in my noggin, then it's to bed!

New Trails

Mr. Potato glasses

I've been slacking the last week. Actually it wasn't conducive to gettin' any solid study time in, group meetings, necropsy, and Sharie's Choir practice. Somehow now I've been recruited to haul the 100+ lb electric keyboard plus case (case is 90lb and I'm sure bombproof) to school on Sundays for the student worship meetings. No biggie, I'm all for helping make the good things happen, Lord knows I'm having my own issues as to why I don't feel like attending church service. I know however that I frequently think of him and appreciate whatever it is that he instilled in me that makes me remember him so often.

Is this where I should feed baby mama?

Today I put in a good solid 8 hours of studying in and decided to go trail exploring on the cross bike. I went down the usual sugarcane road to school. On the way I stopped and asked the goat herder a few questions about the trail system. I see him everyday on his beater bike, and he even rings the bell as I zoom past. The trail was reminiscent of Blue Mountain climb, wide fireroad, steep, and snakes itself up. Almost exactly as a matter of fact, a steep pitch at each turn, followed by a slight tapering of pitch. I didn't make it to the top as daylight was running out. Surprisingly I felt good, I say that because on Saturday I decided to go support Kelly Rock's first organized "Ross Swim Challenge". I haven't been swimming at all, but figured I can handle doing the 250 and 750 yard races. About 15 people showed up, and the water was murky due to the recent heavy rain fall. One guy visiting the island from Boston downright smoked us all.

Somehow I got a sand-dollar/medal

My classmate Chris Spencer broke his jaw last weekend while playing football and is now in the states recovering. My other classmate Chris Bory flew out today to welcome his first born in San Dimas, CA! Sharie in the meantime is getting bigger and bigger! We're alot better (not at each others throats) now that she is keeping busy teaching the music program at school, going to Wednesday evening bible study, and helping with Sunday worship.

small group, most of us winners!

Alright, I better get back to virology and a little pathology because this next week will be busy. . . dog walking duty! Have a great week folks!

Demigod

"say hi"

So far I'm doing better this semester. Immunology was better than expected, Neuro as well. However, my love, my passion. . . Physio I underperformed! If I underperform in like Pathology or something or other I'll just shake it off. However, with physio I take it personally because I own it, I love it, and I expect more from myself. I know I know more than my low B reflected but I must also remind myself that Reich averaged 69% on his last semesters Renal exam.

What is cool about having Reich and Hutchison as professors is the way they impart wisdom. For example for Reich he goes full throttle from the start, as a matter of fact I don't write notes anymore. . . just hang on and listen! Hutch tells it how it is and doesn't dwell on theories, or lists. . . .just the facts, what you'll actually need when you get to clinics. Speaking of Hutchison has what he calls "demigod" moments. Demigod is a being that has a god parent and a mortal human parent, so naturally this being is superhuman. So Hutch and Reich prepare us so when we join or "elite" U.S. counerparts for semesters 8-10 during clinics. They kid around how some schools (Cornell) believe they are holy and expect to be treated as such. As a matter of fact some schools are too pure to affiliate themselves with us "second" rate students (Davis, Tufts).

So Hutch suddenly goes off on a tangent with a "demigod" moment and says: O.K., so what are you going to do when your doing rounds as a student and the clinician says "how do you know this dog is suffering from trochlear nerve paralysis?". So Hutch continues: "your going to take the opthalmoscope and the residents and clinician will be wondering what the hell your doing", but you little Rossie will know that the only way to determine if this is indeed trigeminal nerve paralysis is to look at the internal vasculature of the eye!" So there you have it a demigod moment:)

Sharie is alot better now that she is keeping herself busy teaching K-8 music classes. Nicole is a big girl now because she can not only sit down and behave herself while mommy teaches but is a big sister. . . . .it's a GIRL! We've been thinking of some names, I personally like "Indie".

During one of my vending machine study breaks I was being nosy and looked into Dr. Kainer's office. I was amazed to see he had nothing to indicate it belonged to him. Maybe once one gets to that age diplomas, awards, personal interests, or mementos mean nothing. So I got to thinking about life and all it's uncertainties, how we live forgetting that we are all on borrowed time. I know that if I knew I had only a few days to live I'd live life alot differently.

Living on the island has it's share of difficulties. For example these little pesky sugar ants that smell my cereal from the other side of the island. Tonight I devised a solution for Sharie's dillema: Where can she put the freshly baked goods' for tommorows bake sale without the sugar ants devouring the cookies? Last time I checked sugar ants don't swim, so we placed the cookie sheet on top of a mini lake of water! I guess we'll see in the morning.

We'll I'm hittin' the sack because I still have Pathology and Virology exams this week. Thanks for reading!

Sergio

Real Doctor

It wasn't until last semester that I heard about this real doctor thing and veterinary medicine. I never recall hearing about it during my near decade in human medicine. Often I'd overhear someone joking around about dentist and how that was the route for those not admitted to med school. Or I'd hear about physical therapists with doctrates and how no one really cared. At the end of the day the boss had M.D. after his name and that was the last word. . . well maybe the HMO's? I've heard of people dog on chiropracters, podiatrists, or history PhD's who park in hospital "doctors only" spots. The fact of the matter is that the history professor parking in M.D.'s parking spot has more of a right to park their than does M.D..

What I found out was that in England (a loooong time ago) medical school graduates where given "honorary" doctrate degrees. This basically was implemented by prestigous schools like Cambridge, and Oxford (operated by PhD's by the way)because patients referred to them as such. So as history has it now it's a birth right for everyone to be called a doctor. As a matter of fact the meaning of doctor is "he who teaches". In England veterinarians are just that "veterinarians" not "doctors". So now I ask do I care? No, and as a matter of fact "Dr. Iniguez" doesn't even have the right ring to it. For me a doctor will always be that person that you always refer to for professional enlightment. . . . the last word. The Dr. Reichs, Dr. Bergs, Dr. Hutchisons are in my opinion the final word in their respective fields. So I devised a portrait that summarizes a veterinarian (left) from a "real doctor" on right.

It's all good as long as I have the bike and no HMO's!

So I've been thinking about starting a running club lately. It's easier than starting a triathlon club because all you need is a pair of shoes and the will to run. I think I'll even copy the Loma Linda Lopers club colors. . . Pink! Currently we are looking for a school mascot. I'm all for a turtle since we are on an island with a healthy population of sea turtles. Someone submitted a mustang? Uhhh, sorry Dorothy but were not in Kansas anymore!

Tomorrow is my first exam of the semester: Immunology, then Physiology III on Friday. Tourist season will be in full swing in about 2 weeks or so. The last few months have been uncomfortably hot, so we're looking forward to some cold weather during December break. Good quality beef is non-existant here so thanks to Matt and Cherie we had some teriyaki marinated tri-tip last night! All we thought about was Matt and Cherie. . . ...thanks a chazillion!

We'll I better get back to the immuno notes, especially if I want to become a wanna be real doctor someday!