June, July, August, September, October

Last weekend was Midsemester Break, and instead of utilizing that extra day like a good student would- catching up on work, re-listening to lectures, the works- I spent those three days watching Grey's Anatomy or Black Mirror on Netflix. I finally got to sleep for once. And, most importantly, I was able to recover from the absolute hell of the previous three weeks. Then I said, "Oh hey! I never actually posted my blog post from September that I wrote. Let's go see how the blog is going." *reads last post was from June*

.....

So in a quick rehash,  I passed all my 4th semester classes and made it to 5th semester. Over the break I spent a week at home seeing my family, friends, and horses, and then spent a few days visiting my best vet school friend up in Boston with lots of horseback riding and barn time (and shopping in a real mall again!!) Then I flew over to Tucson to visit Matt for a week. Long distance relationships are hard, but he makes it so worth it.

My first time seeing the Grand Canyon!!!!

The next week and 4 flights later saw me back on the island again and man did we just jump right into the deep end of work. I'm currently taking Small Animal Medicine, Anesthesiology, Diagnostic Imaging, and Toxicology and my workload is insane. Well, I shouldn't say insane because as long as I manage my time well, the information is doable. It's the fact that I lack almost all self-control that makes it hard for me.

Week 2 of Hell. Two more exams to follow next week. We had also had
a SAM exam the previous week.

During the first seven weeks of the semester everything was fine until right around Week 5-7. I had the equivalent of a midterm for every exam; by midterm, I mean each exam was roughly between 20-40 points on average and constituted 30-40% of my grade. I had my first live patient anesthesia on a dog named Quinn (ironic since that's one of my horses' names at home.) I had signed up for two additional ultrasound labs (equine distal limb ultrasound and a reproductive ultrasound wet lab) during that week as well as an equine dentistry wet lab. I was taking care of not just Toothless, but two other puppies from SAFE and one puppy who I am private fostering for a girl living in the dorms. Olivia and Cyrus came to me as 2 week old pups who had just lost their mother to a hit by car accident, and I would bring them with me to study so I wouldn't have to drive home every three hours to bottle feed them. However, the experience was so rewarding- Olivia just got adopted last night and is currently on a plane to America to her new owner, and Cyrus is a little scamp who I am trying very hard not to fall in love with. 

"Adopt me! I'm a good boy!"

Freaking cute as hell Olivia

(Shameless plug: if you or anyone you know wants this adorable island hound, please feel free to message me! He is the absolute sweetest!)

So Mom & Dad if you're reading this, at least I did well on my exams! (I'm also waiting for my notes to print off so before you say 'get back to studying,' I'm already doing so. Love you!) Besides, I only went out for Halloween twice and once because I was a host for trivia night- the rest of the time I spent in the library studying my butt off.

I do want to let anybody know who is planning on coming down here for veterinary school that there have been a number of events in the past month or two alone that can be frightening to the best of us. For example, there is an insane man living near the bypass who thinks it's fun to throw rocks through people's windshields as they drive by (luckily I just barely missed him and had no damage to my car). My two friends weren't so lucky as I. The police are regularly called to deal with him, but as there are few mental health opportunities for therapy here, the police have no choice but to let him go about his business. Then, just this morning, it was brought to the school's attention that someone had left out poisoned meat on a popular walking route near campus. Two students' dogs have died this morning and afternoon from it. There have additionally been numerous anecdotes from students about abuse towards their dogs- one student had her dog safely on a leash and was threatened by a local with a machete. Toothless just last week at the beach was minding her own business under a chair, and from my spot in the water I saw two little girls picking up large rocks and trying to throw them at her. In yet another example, a horse that appeared across from campus at the beginning of the semester literally had a deep infected wound from a machete across her withers that even 2 months later is barely healed.
I am writing this to warn students that this is not paradise. And I feel that a majority of blogs written about Ross skim over the bad aspects of living here because who wants to read about poisoned dogs or machetes? Let's look at pictures of people having fun and drinking on the beach and loving their lives in vet school. For future students: please remain vigilant. Please be safe. Recognize that you are not in America anymore and that the local communities do not think of dogs or even other animals the way that we do. I am not trying to dissuade anyone from coming here- St. Kitts is a beautiful country and the majority of the locals are very nice and welcoming. Vet school is hard enough. Vet school on an island is even harder. I want people to understand the realities of living down here, and not just an Instagram or Facebook-worthy "perfect, happy life." I love what I'm learning and I love what I'm going to do. I still am counting down the days until I'm back on American soil for good.

Since I'm running out of time to finish writing this thanks to my vent session above, here's a quick rundown of the rest of my semester. Future upcoming events for me include a sheep anesthesia lab, some snorkeling with some professors and friends thanks to a last minute bid on a faculty auction post, several more exams, and some finals and come December 16th, I will be flying back to the States for a few weeks of family and vacation!

It is 5 weeks into a new semester, one that is becoming more and more clear to me that I was born to do this work. My classes so far are still in the fundamental stages. I'm currently taking Animal Nutrition, Epidemiology (the study of mostly zoonotic diseases and animal/human public health), Pathology II, and Clinical Pathology.

When you give vet students Play-Doh as a
stress reliever....

We are finally learning what blood tests can actually tell us about the health of a patient, what body systems are affected, why this disease is so catastrophic if it enters the United States, how to tell parents that their child didn't get pinworms from their dog, but rather from another child at the day care center. This semester reminds me so much of the logic puzzles I loved as a kid (if you've never heard of them before, try them out here: http://www.logic-puzzles.org/ . They're addicting!!) We are now detectives, learning about palpations and how to tell that your cat has anemia because you gave it Tylenol, etc. Yes, there's a lot of work and studying still. My colleagues and I definitely hit the ground running! But it's now much more fun rather than strict memorization. I still have those thoughts of, "I don't understand any of this, I'm an imposter, I don't know anything, How can I even be a vet when I can't even tell these two white blood cells apart?" And then I find myself answering questions regarding cases in class, and I'm actually correct 85% of the time, and the other % is either a memorization failure or a brain block. My friends, family, and boyfriend continue to support me even when I have to leave the library in tears from stress. And now, I am feeling more and more confident as the semester continues.

Rolex 3-D Event 20016. This jump was about 4.5 feet tall
and was filled with apples and potatoes.

I guess I should mention that over this past break I was able to attend the Rolex 3-Day Event in Lexington, KY as a representative of RUSVM's SCAVMA AAEP Chapter (the American Association of Equine Practitioners.) 7 of my colleagues and I were able to network with various veterinarians on the course, were able to attend the veterinary debriefings both pre- and post- to the cross-country event, and were given a tour of Hagyard Veterinary Hospital (arguably one of the best equine hospitals in the nation). Who knows? Maybe this time next year I'll be doing an externship with them during my break. Or at the legendary Claiborne Farms? I'm still undecided at the moment about an internship vs. externship. But regardless, my mom and I were able to have some bonding time together, and I think this might be the start of an annual trip (Dad, you're coming with us, next time!) My horses at home are doing well. I still miss them every day, but now I can officially tell my parents "This is why we're feeding this brand of feed and why each horse gets something different."

Toothless, you freaking weirdo.

Life on island is much the same as ever- Toothless is still the terrible terrier, my island car has been out of commission for 2 weeks because a $10 US part hasn't been flown over from St. Martin yet, and I still love binge watching Gordon Ramsay videos and trying to learn to not be a picky eater anymore (Mom, look, I'm trying!). But I believe the rest of this semester will be a little bit sad for one reason.

My jump I was stationed at with a vet from FL.
5 foot high with a 5 foot spread.

My favorite professor, and likely one of the most influential mentors I have ever had, is leaving us after 25 years. We- the student body- are crushed to see him go. After all, there are so many other things that he could be teaching us. More anecdotes and examples that we could use later on in our careers. More "Out of the mouth of R-" quotes that never fail to put us back in a good mood. But we are all so happy for him that he finally chose to retire, to do what he pleases and not be bound to just one or two countries anymore. He deserves this. So when he sent the students the following email, his words only helped to solidify my respect for him as a mentor, as a professor, and as a human being.

Soon To Be Veterinarians: 

Some of you know better than others that for some reason unknown to me, I find it difficult to accept gifts. I can’t explain it. At the same time, I am fully aware of gifts that you have bestowed on me for many years, gifts that you may not even know you have given. You should know that your enthusiasm and your curiosity are what we teachers feed on. It is sustenance. It gives us worth above and beyond the basic worth we all possess as human beings. That is a gift. 

 That your enthusiasm and your curiosity are in no small part driven by your desire to do good by all animals only wraps the gift in a bigger gift still. 

 You have no idea how rewarding it has been to be surrounded by such souls for so many years.
Best Wishes and Best of Luck to all of you,
AR

Thank you Dr. R. His words have also helped to eradicate some of these negative thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head lately. I can do this. I will get through this. And if you, whoever is reading this, are in my shoes and need a friend to talk to, I will gladly help. I have a bunch of Awkward Yeti / vet school memes to keep us both laughing for hours.

On the hill before the beach, Stand By Me hike.

No railings, only planks to walk on, and we found out the train DOES still pass through this hiking trail.

All the best to all of you-

S.

Today, as one of my good friends so elegantly put, "St. Kitts beat me down today." Make it more of the past 3 days. Long rant to follow.

SHE WINKED. SHE ACTUALLY WINKED.
WHAT DOG EVEN DOES THAT.

Normally I love living here. The beautiful scenery and beaches, the challenges and puzzles of vet school, the strong drinks (5/6 rum with a dash of coke), etc. are usually enough to placate me until I go back home to the States. I am so incredibly blessed to be studying down here; to be living in places that normal people save up for years to vacation/honeymoon to. But I am writing this post to remind both my family and the future students who may read this blog that living here is not always sunshine and roses. Getting anything done here is so damn difficult, the "relaxed" culture is to the point of lazy that makes you want to pull your hair out, and you will face constant reminders of "everything you love and what you think is normal is thousands of miles away." I'm going to write today about every day challenges each RUSVM student will face, except this all hit me at once like a ton of bricks.

The car:

Every time someone tries to tell me about my car problems, I hear...

I drive a Toyota model named Melvin who is a year older than I am. If he were for sale in the states, he wouldn't even bring $1,000. But I bought him for $3,500 with all of his little island quirks because that's basically the minimum price for a used car in St. Kitts. His passenger side window is difficult to get down, the driver's side outside door handle broke off the second day after I bought him and the inside door handle recently broke at one pin so you have to gently pull it to open the door, the A/C had been working but now isn't, the high beams won't stay on- instead, they turn all the lights off, and the seat belts are starting to become stuck. Overall, however, Melvin has been a fairly reliable car who has only been out of commission from needing radiator hoses/caps replaced and several flat tires. So what's the issue? Where am I going with this?
Remember what I said about "relaxation" can be described as "lazy?" Wanna know how many times this month alone I've had to buy new tires? Three, at $150 EC each (about $55 US per tire). If it were once a year, I would completely be fine with this. What I'm NOT fine with is that each of these flats were caused by nails/screws left out by a construction site near my apartment. It's too lazy to sweep up or pick up any materials, especially considering that I only drive back to my house between 1-3 AM as I'm a night owl. Just like all the litter and garbage that surrounds the streets and highways of St. Kitts, it's customary to just leave a construction site with nails and screws everywhere. I digress.
Additionally I have a tail light that is out, and the other one is dimmed. Okay, fine. That I can deal with-it's an easy fix. But then last night I left the library after studying to find that someone had hit my front end and my low beam light is cracked (still working though!) I get in the car, and lo and behold, only my low beams work now- the high beams won't even turn on. Then this morning, at the same time I discovered the flat tire, the low beam on the hit side is now also broken and won't light. Normally I would just view this as another inconvenience, except that I am supposed to get my car fully inspected tomorrow and get my wheel tax done for the year (must be finished by the end of March). I'm not even sure if the place I'm taking the car to can even fix these things in one day- usually you give the mechanics here 3-4 days to get things done, and then give yourself another 2 days to figure out whether they just half-assed it or actually did the job right. We'll see tomorrow.

Toothless likes wine even more than I do... :|

The apartment:
My roommate and I are in different semesters, and both have different schedules with her classes beginning in the early morning and mine not starting until the afternoon. Lately our freezer has been prone to having ice form by the fan therefore impeding it and spoiling all of our frozen foods. And in the past few days, we've noticed that the refrigerator portion is also not cooling (yay more spoiled food). Finally, on Friday, we found that our regular lock is now broken- our house keys just spin the interior circle and don't actually lock the door. Thank God the deadbolt still works, but still. Our landlord came down to fix it, but it's still the same. Now it takes us 20 minutes to get into the house if it is locked from the inside.

The phone:
My precious, sweet iPhone. May you rest in piece in the hands of either the student or cleaning person who found you and won't return it, or you may be sleeping somewhere in my house- (as I've searched and cleaned every spot in the apartment and car since you've gone missing, I doubt that the second option is valid.)
Last Tuesday after our Path exam, another student and I were studying in the 24 hour room- a room filled with security cameras- for our BacT exam that Thursday. I had forgotten my phone charger at home and helplessly watched my phone die, then set it beside my computer in sadness. Around 1 AM, friend and I packed up our belongings and headed home. After the 10 minute drive back to my house, I went to charge my phone and realized my phone wasn't in any of my bags. Took my flashlight out and checked my car and the ground around the car- nothing. By the time I was done looking, it was 3 AM, and I had to be on campus by 7:30. I figured that since the room was being cleaned at 4:30 that morning and that there were cameras everywhere, and my phone was probably in my car regardless, I would just wait until I got to campus to see if it was still there.

Shockingly, it wasn't.

I asked on the student's page. I asked both Student Services and the workers at the LRC if anyone had turned in an iPhone. I scoured my car (with the aid of several other friends because I do a crappy job of searching for things), and I cleaned my room top to bottom after my next exam. After 3 days, it became clear to me that I hadn't just misplaced it, but likely that someone had stolen it. I'm still waiting to hear back from security after they check the video footage, but in the meantime, I've lost my watch, my camera, my iPod, my alarm clock, my nutrition/workout calendar, my contacts, etc. etc.

Stress:
In 2 weeks, I lost 10 pounds. I figured out that it was a combination of diet and exercise- rather, I was too nervous to eat much and wanted to run away from my problems and the stress of school. And after this round of exams, I gained every single pound back in 4 days. Both extremes are disgusting. I'm currently trying to establish a better routine for myself, but as the stress of classes continues to mount, I feel like a larger and larger failure in that I can't keep my life together. This is week....what? 9? I think. We just had two exams last week, we have a "week" off, a Viro exam on Tuesday, Path exam the week after, and another round of Path/BacT the week after. Most of my friends and I are in a dilemma- catch up on the other three classes as they'll have more complicated material we must master, or get a head start on the upcoming Viro exam.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Needless to say, it's been a very tough past few days/weeks for me. However, with the support system of my family, friends, and boyfriend all helping me, I'm finally at a place where I think I can buckle down and push through all the trials and tribulations St. Kitts has thrown at me. In addition, there have been MANY good days and things that I have been up to:

It was our team, Mr. Krabs!
WE WERE NUMBER ONE!

•  I finally was able to take Toothless to the beach for a well-deserved and delayed mid semester break with my close friends
• The weekend before that those same friends and I gathered together for a potluck and some good homemade food
• Went on a birthday night-catamaran trip to Nevis (complete with good company and an open bar)
• Led some friends on yet another volcano hike
• Went to the movies to go see Zootopia with a bunch of other vet students
• Had a lovely movie night with Toothless, a bottle of wine, Matt, and me last Sunday
• Raptor Squad is still #1- had the most delicious homemade strawberry cheesecake pie.
• Was accepted into the "Rolex Experience" team over April break- will be able to see behind-the-scenes at Rolex 3 Day Event in Kentucky, speak with performance vets, etc. :D

“After all, tomorrow is another day!" -Scarlet O’Hara

Hey y'all. I'm sorry. Hey yinz.

The moment 2nd semester ended.

So it's pretty much going to be typical of me to wait 3-4 months in between blog posts. And frankly, most of 2nd semester was a blur- a blur of one exam per week for 9 straight weeks and then a week off only to have finals. I know, I'm horrible. This is the semester that you begin to wonder if you are cut out for vet school, if you even have the capacity to retain any of this information they cram into your head week after week. But literally, there have been hundreds of thousands of people in your shoes and they have all become veterinarians. There is no reason you can't make it through. Because I did!

I had a slight panic attack on Christmas Day when I came out to
feed my horses and found Bebe lying down- something I've
NEVER seen her do in 6 years other than to roll. She got a bit
 mad at me when I ran up to her but she was just napping. :)

So then I made my way home for a well-deserved 3 week break for Christmas and New Years. Most of it was spent riding two-three horses per day, catching up with family and friends, the usual stuff. But best of all, Matt (long-term boyfriend) was able to visit me for a week! Even got a little bit of snow.

But as it would have it, I was reminded once again how horses are "one flimsy stomach on four flimsy legs waiting to die." On my last Thursday before my Saturday flight, I walked up to the barn to bring the horses in and get a nice ride in before I left. We only have about 3 acres total of fenced pasture, the rest of our 84 acres is woods, trails, and some lawns, so it's normal that we allow the horses to free-range on the lawns near the house while rotating out our pastures. I called out for them and whistled- nothing. Walked up to my open pasture gate and checked the overhang where they normally go to when I call- missing. At this point I start panicking. Because several times in the past, the horses have made their way up my driveway to the bar across the street, where patrons will give them beer and snacks (Mare's favorite is Guinness, by the way.) I hop in my truck and speed up my driveway, and they're still not there. I get back into my truck and drive back down the driveway to the house to get my cellphone, and magically there they were- standing inside the fence at the top of our upper pasture. Relieved, I called out to them again, but they still didn't move, and I had that horrible sinking feeling that something was wrong. I made my way up the hill and walked towards them.

"Hmmmm...all three seem BAR (bright, alert, responsive), normal positioning and stance, even breathing, Quinn and Mare seem fine. But why hasn't Bebe walked up to me yet like she normally does?"

The day before Bebe's incident, and about 20 min before dinner.

And then she starts to. And I see that the inside of her flanks, her stifles, both inside gaskins/hocks and the front of both hind cannon bones have wounds all over them, as if she had tried to jump something and got her hind end stuck and then panicked. FYI: Bebe loathes jumping. To this day I have NO clue what she had done- we don't leave any machinery out, all of my fences/gates were intact with no signs of damage or struggle, water tanks were fine, no logs out to jump. I ended up using a Betadine TM scrub and a triple antibiotic ointment/standing wraps on the wounds, gave a little bit of bute, and put her back in her stall. And the next day- the day before I fly back to St. Kitts- Bebe is off her feed (wouldn't eat her grain) with a swollen and hot left foreleg from the knee down to her fetlock. I then called my vet (also a Ross grad!) out that afternoon for x-rays to make sure she didn't chip or fracture anything in her carpal or metacarpal region (easily a $6,000 surgery at our nearest teaching hospital). Luckily, she had neither of those- it was a slight puncture wound causing the cellulitis/swelling.

The list of drugs my horse was on:

Lasix (furosemide)

Banamine (flunixin meglumine)

Bute (phenylbutazone)

Sulfamethoxaole

Trimethoprim

Gentamicin

Penicillin

Nitrofurazone (topical application)

So basically, her daily regimen was one shot of Lasix IV every 24 hours for 2 days, one shot of gentamicin IM once a day and one shot of penicillin IM twice a day for 7 days, 2cc's of Banamine orally twice a day then switch to Bute (2cc's orally twice a day) for a total week. When the gentamicin and penicillin run out, crush sulfa/trimethoprim tablets in feed twice a day for 11 days, cold hose the leg 2x a day for 20 minutes, wait for the leg to dry, and apply a stacked Nitrofurazone sweat wrap overnight.
The day before I leave.

Luckily for me, my parents were able to step up to the plate and help out a bit more, although I had a friend come out to give the shots since she was more familiar with and not afraid of the needles. My mom sent me a video of Bebe walking in hand last week and you can't even tell that she's lame anymore!
...
...
...
Anyways!
3rd semester so far has been a blast. Currently, I'm taking Pathology, Virology, Bacteriology and Mycology, and Pharmacology. I'm staying on top of all my work (mostly!), getting sleep (more so than last semester), and working out / eating way healthier (down 7 pounds since the beginning of the semester and am now averaging 3/4 miles per day on the treadmill.) We have our first set of exams tomorrow and Thursday, but I feel surprisingly ready for them. A quick rundown:

Pathology: Extensive and inclusive, you finally use all the knowledge from 1st and 2nd semester (yes, even the parasites) to begin learning how to evaluate, describe, and diagnose lesions. Was my most challenging class until I caught up with my work for BacT and Viro and learned how integrative all these classes are with each other. Studying for this class is difficult- there are no example questions that we could use as a guide, so we're kind of going into this exam blind. But thank God for multiple choice and deductive reasoning :)
Pharmacology: So far, almost exactly the same material as what was taught during my Vet Prep semester. Not worried about this class, but you should try and stay on top of the material. Plumb's Drug book will be your best friend.
Virology: It's nice and refreshing to see someone be as eager for students to learn as he is excited about the material itself. Dr. G is fantastic, and I always retain so much info from just attending lecture that studying the material later is almost relaxing.
Bacteriology & Mycology: Dr. R is very nice, very straightforward, and very fair. Additionally, we were her inaugural class here at Ross during VP, and she gives you the material from the clinical perspective (Rhodococcus equi is the most common bacteria you'll see causing foal pneumonia; Streptococcus canis is most common isolate and can be pathogenic/opportunistic in dogs and cats, etc.) It's a pleasure any time she lectures.

So far in my free time, I was able to go full-moon paddle boarding last week! A group of us were celebrating my friend S's birthday so we hopped in an car and drove to Whitehouse Bay. I happened to get the record of falling off the most (4 times in the first 30 minutes), but apparently my luck changed since it started raining and the waves got choppy enough that most people just sank to their knees and paddled that way. It was much more intense than what is normal for paddle boarding- so much so that the owner contacted us afterward and gave us the option of our money back or going out again on a free tour. Guess which one I picked? ;) Besides, it's a killer full body workout! Additionally, I was able to go on another trail ride on Nevis with a bunch of friends and ate at the amazing Turtle Time Beach Bar & Grill. Seriously. Go to this place.

That's it for now!