The Gum Tree for 2004 November 5

What a week it has been. The elections were interesting to watch. I wonder how these next four years will turn out. I also went to volunteer in the ER wednesday. I was able to see more that I am usually able to see due to the fact that the place was unusually busy. I was also able to see a couple of cat scans as well as a MRI. There was this one lady (older) who came in complaining that a peice of pork that she swallowed was stuck in her esophagus since the 1800's and that all she could do was swallow saliva. They did a tox screen and monitored her heart, and then it was my turn to take her to the cat scan. She was all hooked up to the monitors and for anybody who knows about einhoven's triangle (where you place the heart sensors; two near the top of the chest, and one on the side of the lower left ribs (the point of the ventricles)) I had to reach down her blouse and unhook the last sensor. It was very uncomfortable. I guess I will have to get over that. The cat scan revealed dead brain tissue from what looked like a stroke. It was really neat seeing the scanner work. It is truely amazing what we can do nowadays. I also did OK on the two tests of the week-- Neuroscience, and Biochemistry. I am happy that I am in the running for a decent grade, and hopefully I can finish strong this semester. I am excited because tommorrow I will go and play some paintball with some of the boys in our young men's. It is sort of an "unofficial activity".