Hi, my name is Stefan, and this is my fourth and final week working with Dr. Moorman. I am an upcoming senior at the Telluride High School, and have been interning with Dr. Gregory Moorman for the past few weeks.
On Sunday, July 18th, despite what I had said last week about having a rest day; Dr. Moorman was called into the emergency room for a facial laceration. We arrived at the hospital at about 11:45pm, and Dr. Moorman anticipated we would be there until at least 2:30am. As we entered the patient’s room, another doctor explained the situation of her injury. Dr. Moorman looked over the wound, and created a list for the nurse of items needed to close the patient’s laceration. The patient’s laceration was about 12 centimeters, splitting through the patient’s eyebrow. Dr. Moorman carefully injected local anesthesia (he used lidocaine, 1% epinephrine), and then began the reconstruction. He began by suturing the muscles back together with stitches that would dissolve after the muscles are healed. After repairing the muscles, he began to close the skin back together. After he was finished, he showed us how to document patients’ notes, and update their charts. Finally, we went home and had the next three days to relax.
On Monday, July 19th, we returned to Plessen Healthcare center to watch Dr. Moorman complete two operations. The first operation was a patient who had multiple skin cancer lesions. After being removed, they were sent to pathology to make sure the the margin was gone. Unfortunately, after reviewing the pathology report later that week, Dr. Moorman found that one lesion still had a margin for cancer. Therefore, he would need to consult the patient about a further removal. The second operation was done on a patient who had a mass growing on his finger. Dr. Moorman made a meticulous incision in the shape of a “Z” to insure the hand heals properly. This technique prevents damaging the tendon, and is very beneficial to use on fingers. Dr. Moorman opened the finger, and had to carefully remove the tumor because of its proximity to the first lumbrical nerve. The tumor was sent to pathology to ensure it was not cancerous or could possibly grow back.
We had Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to relax and go to the beach. On Tuesday, we slept in and spent the day watching movies. On Wednesday, July 21st, I took Avery and Anna on a hike to the St. Croix tide pools. Despite the hike being fairly short, the heat was overwhelming. So when we arrived at the Annaly Bay Tide Pools, we jumped straight in. As we were leaving, heavy rainfall began, and we retreated to a small cave on the cliffside. When the rain stopped, we hiked back and drove home. On Thursday, we decided to do an afternoon “Buck day” before going to the Tamarind Deep End restaurant for their disco bingo night. Buck Island is a small uninhabited paradise a few miles off of St. Croix. This was Avery’s last day and Buck Island has been her favorite place to go. We went to Buck at around 12:00pm, and had to rush back to the marina so we could make our reservation on time at 6:00pm. Disco Bingo is a big event on St. Croix; in which, all the money used to buy bingo cards is put in a pot for the final winner. There are about five rounds before the final, one of which I won! Unfortunately we did not win the final pot of 1,150 dollars, but at least we didn’t go home empty handed. We spent the rest of the night watching movies with Avery before she left.
On Friday, July 23rd, we went to the Plessen Healthcare center to perform a surgery on a patient who previously had a mammoplasty. The doctor who performed that surgery left too much tissue and skin, causing an indent on the patient’s breast. Dr. Moorman lukly was able to make incisions along the scar tissue of her last surgery (scar tissue heals much better than new incisions). Dr. Moorman removed the excess skin and tissue from the patient’s breasts, and they were sent to pathology. The surgery scheduled for after was canceled, so Dr. Moorman took us to the hospital to watch him consult a woman who had been in a car accident a few days prior. He undressed her wounds, and recommended she call him with any questions or concerns. We returned home, and made rum cake for Avery’s family who were arriving at the airport later that night. We drove with Avery to the airport, and showed her family the way to the VRBO. We said our goodbyes, and went home.
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