Alexis Boots: Medicine, Week Four

This week flew by! Monday morning we headed to the hospital and had four cases to attend to. Our first case was the removal of a lipoma from a man’s lower back. I got to scrub-in completely on this case. It was awesome because I was so close to everything going on. I got to suction for Dr. Moorman after he rinsed the incision and also cut for Megan after she finished stitching. Once the lipoma was removed, it was huge! I could feel all the way back in the hole where the lipoma sat and feel the spinal wall. It was so cool. The next case was another lipoma removal from the back of a shoulder. This case was very similar to the first one just different locations. The third case was the removal of what was supposed to be one umbilical hernia but ended up being two hernias. I thought that it would change the surgery up or make it harder due to there being two hernias but it really didn’t change anything because they were so close together. This was the case that Kitty got to scrub in on for the day. The last case was the most interesting for me, it was the removal of a skin cancer on a young girls scalp called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. This girl is the same age as Kitty and me and had this cancer removed once before but it came back. Luckily later this week the results came back saying nothing was left behind and she was clear. After we finished with all our cases and paperwork we went to check on a guy in another part of the hospital called “med surg.” Dr. Moorman consulted his patient because he had wounds with staff infection and Dr. Moorman had to make sure a surgery didn’t need to take place. After that we headed home and ended our day.

Tuesday was an office day. We only had three students helping, which was Megan, Kitty and myself. This was because Dr. Moorman told the other girl to take the day off to spend time with family they had in town and Tyler was in the OR scrubbing in for general surgeries going on that day. This day was full of follow-ups just like any other Tuesday. A man came in for a check up and had very noticeable veins on his legs closer to his ankles but they looked all cut up and very dark, dark blue. I wasn’t sure what is was so as we returned to the private room, I asked Megan. I learned that it was called chronic venous stasis. This means that a shortage of blood supply is reaching that area of the body and is causing a change of color in the skin.

Wednesday was another office day full of procedures. Just like all other Wednesdays we removed lipomas and skin lesions. The coolest part of the day was the last appointment. We did a blepharoplasty. This is basically an eyelid lift. You cut out the center of the eyelid and then stretch the bottom to the top and make it less wrinkled and full. I was amazed because before the surgery Dr. Moorman did injections of lidocaine, which is a numbing medicine that made the eye lid look super swollen so it was easier to cut. Also Wednesday was our August “Christmas party.” I’m not really sure why this happens but it gives you a sneak peak of how the environment is working with Dr. Moorman. Our host brother Stefan made frosted sugar cookies, Megan brought a carrot cake, and Elise brought an Oreo birthday  with a piece of tape saying “Jesus” below the Birthday label. It was quite an interesting day. Wednesday night Kitty and I learned how to stitch. It actually wasn’t as hard as I was expecting. Although it does take time to get fast and get the technique down. We learned how to stitch on a sock with foam inside. Dr. Moorman drew out a little drawing on the sock that looked like an open wound and we learned how to sew.

Thursday was an OR day. The only case scheduled for this day was a breast reduction. Kitty scrubbed in first with one of the PA students and then I scrubbed I on the other half of the surgery with another PA student. I couldn’t not believe it but I actually got to do three stitches to close one of the incisions! I was so excited and proud of myself for getting it down and knowing how to do it thanks to Dr. Moorman’s fantastic teaching skills. After the surgery we went home and spent the rest of our afternoon in the pool with Ava and Stefan, our host sister and brother.

Friday morning we went into the OR with Dr. Moorman to see one surgery. This surgery was one of the most interesting surgeries we have done. This lady had gotten a manicure and it ended up getting infected. The infection lead down her thumb and ended up eating away at her bone. Obviously causing a huge amount of pain. The lady wanted to save her thumb just like any person would and trusted Dr. Moorman with his skills to do so. Kitty and I didn’t get to scrub in because it was such a small surgery. Dr. Moorman started the surgery off by numbing the thumb and all around it, of course. He then took a tiny spoon-like instrument and dug under the nail removing it completely. Then, he made a small incision at the tip of the thumb where you could see the infection coming out of the thumb and dug deep in until you thought he had gotten all the infection out of the thumb. When pulling out the infection he pointed out to us little pieces of bone that had just turned to mush because of the infection. It was so interesting. He then rinsed the inside of the thumb with cleaning solution and liquid antibiotic that would help to continue to keep the incision clean. He ended the surgery by putting two small stitches in the top and putting the nail back on. He told us that in a week or two the nail will eventually fall off but for now it is just for protection. Then it was wrapped and the lady was beyond thankful and ready to go. We spent the rest of our Friday exploring the East side of the island with Mrs. Moorman, Stefan, and Ava. She took us to a few unique places. We Went to the labyrinth. This place was full of trees and historical building to Saint Croix. We also finally got to eat lunch at the Chicken Shack, a place everyone said we needed to try. It wasn’t too bad. Then, we got to experience the rain forest of Saint Croix. This place was so pretty and tropical. We also got to tour Cruzan Rum. It was really cool to get to go through the steps of how the rum is produced and manufactured. There was a room full of barrels that wont even be used up to five years from now because rum sits for years to age, the longer it sits in these barrels the better it taste according to our tour guide. It was very cool to see the East side of the island.

Saturday we woke up and had breakfast and then Stefan, Kitty, and I went to see the farthest point on Saint Croix called Point Udall. This was very cool because we got to see both sides of the island at this time and the difference in the ocean on bot sides. Then we went to a small beach. We spent our day there playing Frisbee and relaxing in the water. We also had lunch here. I have also discovered that my new favorite frozen drink is a virgin pinacolada. They are so good. Saturday night we spent watch a movie called The Case of Benjamin Button. It was by far my favorite movie we have watched since we been here.

Sunday was more of a relaxed day. We slept in and the had a last breakfast and played games. We played Clue, Twister, and Checkers. Then we decided to go swim in the pool. We ended up swimming for three hours and were totally worn out. After the pool we had dinner and ended our day with a nice warm hot chai tea and graham crackers with a banana and nutella.

I cannot even begin to explain how thankful I am to have gotten the host family I did. They have done so much for Kitty and myself. It is definitely going to be not only a lifetime experience but a lifetime memory. I cannot wait to see what my last week here on Saint Croix has to hold.