Under the scalpel

Have you ever what is it like?
I’ve never though much of it until today.

Today was the third time we had to draw blood from the heart of our short 21 days lived lab rat. Each time is as painful to watch as the first but this time was the worse. I suspect there wasn’t enough alcohol to anesthesia the rat for it took longer than usual to knock it off unconscious. When we though it was unconscious enough we place it at the dissecting tray where we pinned its four limbs with needle to the tray bed. Skillfully the lab worker pulled the flaccid abdominal muscle and makes an incision upwards to the chest cutting through its rib cage. The sound of crunch broken ribs was none as if there was nothing there in the first place. Usually, if the animal is not anesthesia the muscle will be still in contracted state, hence it’s easier to cut through the abdominal muscles without the messy pool of blood flooding.

Half way making the incision towards the chest, the rat struggled! It was gaining conscious. We had to quickly place the alcohol cotton on its face. The struggle wasn’t over until we draw all its blood from its heart to the syringe. How cruel and unethical it was.

I was watching from quite a distance, taking a step back each time I as the rat gain conscious and struggled, earnestly giving prayers to the poor animal, hoping the ordeal it had to go through wasn’t as bad as it looks. But who am I kidding? It’s painful enough to watch as it is what more if the one under the scalpel.

A few days ago I watch a movie-Awaken, story revolves a rich young business tycoon who had to lie on the surgery table having a cardio transplant. He was anesthesia of course but he’s subconscious mind was awake. Imagine finding yourself some what awake and watching you being dissected from the sides. He was screaming his lungs out of terror when he watch himself being slice up and the saw sawing through his ribcage as they went in and grab his heart. He watched the crew of operation doctors screw up as his body started crashing.

Comparing the two I’ve mix feelings conjure up in me as these two questions pop in to my mind: “What if I were the surgeon? What if I was lying on the cold operating table?”
I feel sorry for the rat having to wake up finding itself immobilize, hurt and being cut up. It left its dismembered body with its life being suck away into the syringe as the piston pulled upwards. Life was no more just like that.

Out, out, brief candle

It gets me wondering, was there any other way to draw all the blood from the rat other than that. If the rat was killed stone cold first, we would not be able to draw that much blood from the heart because the blood would have coagulated by then.

……. unfinished…

CHI MA KAN!!!

CHI MA KAN!!! So much to read and memorize! I think I’ll go nuts after this exam *momentarily pause- I say that every time at pre-exam period*

I’ve no idea suddenly my bloody internet connection is failing on me; I’m the only person who is facing this compared to the other 6 people. Doom is me since I’m one alternative lack in deviation of my attention from medical jargons during my long intervals. Hmm… I think is a sign from *points above* that I should concentrate more on squinty printed notes (due to my stinginess) than prance around in the cyworld trying to find the latest gossip of David Carradine’s death cause. Ok point taken from Almighty but I’ll be damn if I’m paying for no connection! I’ll refuse to pay if this doesn’t resolve soon… 3 days of abstinence is horrendous enough, it’ll be murderous soon and I’ll end up like the late David Carradine.

Before this I was weighing more options to go back twice or once… hmm. I want both can? Hehehe… If I return twice I promise not to skip classes but if I got back once only I want to skip 2 weeks of classes, okay if you reckon is too much how about 5 days extra off? Haiyar I promise to do better after that can? Come on, please? I’ll promise to property-sit and dog-guard the precinct well when both of you are off to Oz. Can’t believe I’m not invited to go to OZ.

I believe the option of returning twice is to the couples favor than the playing truant for 5 days. Eh wait… that means no random Bali tour, no day time boozing-book-reading at the beach damn! No Madura wedding to attend ( hmm hmm… aiyor, how now brown cow?

I’ll stay back for whole 7 weeks Finish off waiting for the many funerals of my lab rats, get the results, bully some noobies that are coming, attend the Madura wedding (since it is FOC) and go for another random Bali trip. Come back for Raya hols! Okay if I don’t play truant please spoil me with lots of souvenirs form Oz land and equip me with enough dough when I’m property-sitting.

Oohh… interesting! I’m drooling with anticipation. Now to slough my butt off on medical jargon.

i’m going to dig prepare myself a nice cocoon and not come out even if i rot… til exam time beckons. As IF.