Stamping Out Disease, part deux

Okay, they knock the little kiddie out, then they jam a needle thing-a-ma-bobby into his little hip. The needle is surprisingly not all that big. And it isn't really a needle like you'd picture a needle. More like a blue plastic toy contraption that has a two inch sharp metal piece sticking out of one end. I think the blue plastic part is for traction - it must be dang hard(ish) to jam a needle into bone.

Okay, Lindsay, get up off the floor now. I'll stop talking about bones and needles.

Alright. So, doctor gets bone marrow, nurse lady puts marrow into and on top of several different tubes and slides. Little kiddie is then woken up. Easy peasy, no? It is! The parents even stayed and watched.

I assumed my participation would end with the... Well, actually I didn't really participate per se in any of this. I was merely an observer. But, the attending did invite me to travel with her to the lab to check on the results.

Now, I did say that I didn't have the gold touch, but I do have to tell you that, in Medical Student Land, one-on-one time with an attending is tantamount to bushels of gold. Bushels! Especially when the attending is the clerkship director. ESPECIALLY when the attending is the clerkship director of pediatrics. Smashing!

I got a full half hour of walking around with Dr. Attending, asking thoughtful and relevant questions. All the while thinking "Ha! Someone to ask for a recommendation letter! She actually knows that my name is Brenna, not Brenda or 'that student' This is great. Sound smart, sound smart! And stop talking to yourself!!!"

Then, to top it all off, we went to look at the bone marrow smear of the adorable little two year old whose symptoms were all concerning for leukemia. And he didn't have it! He instead has something called Idiopathic (or Immune-mediated) Thrombocytopenia - ITP. 90% of kids with this recover pretty quickly without any problems.

Isn't that great? I think so.

To celebrate, I went home and had a processed cheese and pickle sandwich. With horseradish. It sounds like I'm pregnant, but I'm really just poor and haven't been grocery shopping for a while.

La di da!

HAPPY DAY AFTER YOUR BIRTHDAY, DAD!!! Way to go!