in the OR

here are some people i work with. they're all pretty nice, but unfortunately the two ladies with whom i spend most of my time, and whom i most enjoy, weren't there when i took the picture, so this is sorely lacking. it seems likely there will be more later.

anyway, my first week of work is done. glorious! i'm finally getting the swing of things, which means more freedom (obviously) and less boredom. halfway through the week this internationally renowned pediatric orthopedic surgeon from the US arrived to work for three weeks, as he does once a year. it's been great talking with him and watching him work. he works a lot with cerebral palsy kids, and yesterday i observed while he shortened one leg to match the other leg, which involved removing the plate that had previously been placed in the boy's hip, cutting out a chunk of the femur, shortening the hamstring, and lengthening the quadricep. then there were botox injections to reduce the spasticity of those muscles as well as those in his hands, which are constantly held so tight that he's always bent at the wrist. the way botox puts old ladies' faces to sleep turns out to be invaluable in treating kids like this, because while the muscles are sort of paralyzed for several weeks, physical therapy can stretch the muscles, and with time normal usage can return. needless to say, i'm fascinated at every step and this is starting to look like an invaluable experience for me.

the dude with the hand got it smashed in a machine at work. he ended up keeping his ring and pinky fingers--the rest was amputated. the next day the doc brought his camera and showed me tons of pictures he'd taken. i gave him my email address and asked him to send me them, but that hasn't happened yet. i'll keep pestering him, though, and maybe you all will get to see it! (don't worry, i'll just post links to the shots for those of you who don't want to be greeted with that kind of fun upon coming to this page).

ok, this was a relatively dry entry, but that's just the way it is sometimes!