No, I’m okay, thanks...
Yesterday marked the class’ second sojourn to the cadaver lab. Wow, I really forgot how much fun this is!
The weather is turning great here (high of 78 today, ooh that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside). Yesterday I was trying to gauge what to wear by looking at the people outside. The first person I saw was wearing capris and a sleeveless shirt. The person right behind her was wearing jeans and a jacket; both looking quite content. How am I supposed to decide what to wear when I see that?! I ended up wearing my scrubs with a sleeveless shirt underneath.
We entered the lab and all the memories of last time came rushing back to me. First, the fact that we have to wear a gown, shoe covers, surgical cap, gloves and the optional face mask. Second, the presence of two dead bodies. Well, it’s not so much that I forgot that, just that I forgot how unpleasant it is until you can get acclimated to the cadaver lab environment.
We got right into it, reviewing airways, intubation, and the like. Nothing about the cadaver lab really gets to me; the smells, the sights, the utter weirdness of what we’re doing, but yesterday something was getting to me: the heat. You’d think such a place would be cold, right? Dead bodies and all. But no, it’s hot.
I was watching my friend do a surgical airway when I realized that I was feeling…well, weird. I walked out and breathed semi-fresh air in the hallway and got a new pair of gloves. I came back in and someone told me that I nearly matched my white gown. Hmm, I thought, that’s interesting.
I continue to watch what was going on and suddenly realized that I felt dizzy and that I was standing in such a place that if I fell down, no one could catch me. I carefully walked back into the hallway and tore off all of my disposable clothing. I felt so weird, unequivocally hot. I thought about how I could get out of the area successfully; walking down the hall and pushing open a door looked like an impossible task. I felt nauseous. I began to see white blotches… Crap! Am I going to faint?! I have never fainted before, but that is what I imagine the ‘pre-faint’ to be like.
So, there I was breathing deeply with my hands on my knees, head down, when Ewing comes out and asks me how I am. I briefly come out of my misery to say, “I feel weird, but…I’m fine.” I don’t think he believed me as he stayed and told me I was pale. Then my teacher notices me there, and again I say “No, I’m okay, thanks.” Only to almost immediately go back to feeling decidedly not okay.
Thankfully, someone opened the freezer nearby. The cool washed over me and I felt a bit better. It's odd to be comforted by a freezer full of body parts. Someone else offered me a chair. I declined although she told me that I certainly wouldn’t want to fall on that floor. Another classmate came out and escorted me to the water fountain, a good idea as I felt much better after leaving that hallway. When we got back, the lab is almost over anyway but I came back in to do a needle decompression, feeling cured.
Which leads me to the question of the day. Why is it that when people ask you if you’re okay and you’re not, you say you are anyway, only to go back to feeling miserable? My roommate thinks it’s because you’re trying to convince yourself that you are fine. I think in my situation I subconsciously didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I may not have been totally okay to a room full of paramedics. At what point would I have conceded to not feeling well and seek help? I'm not sure I could have felt any worse, so I guess I would have relied on implied consent after I hit the floor.
So, never a dull one. Wow, that was a long entry. More next week. Stay cool and try to avoid those syncopal episodes.
The weather is turning great here (high of 78 today, ooh that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside). Yesterday I was trying to gauge what to wear by looking at the people outside. The first person I saw was wearing capris and a sleeveless shirt. The person right behind her was wearing jeans and a jacket; both looking quite content. How am I supposed to decide what to wear when I see that?! I ended up wearing my scrubs with a sleeveless shirt underneath.
We entered the lab and all the memories of last time came rushing back to me. First, the fact that we have to wear a gown, shoe covers, surgical cap, gloves and the optional face mask. Second, the presence of two dead bodies. Well, it’s not so much that I forgot that, just that I forgot how unpleasant it is until you can get acclimated to the cadaver lab environment.
We got right into it, reviewing airways, intubation, and the like. Nothing about the cadaver lab really gets to me; the smells, the sights, the utter weirdness of what we’re doing, but yesterday something was getting to me: the heat. You’d think such a place would be cold, right? Dead bodies and all. But no, it’s hot.
I was watching my friend do a surgical airway when I realized that I was feeling…well, weird. I walked out and breathed semi-fresh air in the hallway and got a new pair of gloves. I came back in and someone told me that I nearly matched my white gown. Hmm, I thought, that’s interesting.
I continue to watch what was going on and suddenly realized that I felt dizzy and that I was standing in such a place that if I fell down, no one could catch me. I carefully walked back into the hallway and tore off all of my disposable clothing. I felt so weird, unequivocally hot. I thought about how I could get out of the area successfully; walking down the hall and pushing open a door looked like an impossible task. I felt nauseous. I began to see white blotches… Crap! Am I going to faint?! I have never fainted before, but that is what I imagine the ‘pre-faint’ to be like.
So, there I was breathing deeply with my hands on my knees, head down, when Ewing comes out and asks me how I am. I briefly come out of my misery to say, “I feel weird, but…I’m fine.” I don’t think he believed me as he stayed and told me I was pale. Then my teacher notices me there, and again I say “No, I’m okay, thanks.” Only to almost immediately go back to feeling decidedly not okay.
Thankfully, someone opened the freezer nearby. The cool washed over me and I felt a bit better. It's odd to be comforted by a freezer full of body parts. Someone else offered me a chair. I declined although she told me that I certainly wouldn’t want to fall on that floor. Another classmate came out and escorted me to the water fountain, a good idea as I felt much better after leaving that hallway. When we got back, the lab is almost over anyway but I came back in to do a needle decompression, feeling cured.
Which leads me to the question of the day. Why is it that when people ask you if you’re okay and you’re not, you say you are anyway, only to go back to feeling miserable? My roommate thinks it’s because you’re trying to convince yourself that you are fine. I think in my situation I subconsciously didn’t want to draw attention to the fact that I may not have been totally okay to a room full of paramedics. At what point would I have conceded to not feeling well and seek help? I'm not sure I could have felt any worse, so I guess I would have relied on implied consent after I hit the floor.
So, never a dull one. Wow, that was a long entry. More next week. Stay cool and try to avoid those syncopal episodes.
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