VP Shunts and Sunsets

Today did not go as I had expected. Today was my first day of pediatric clinicals. Yesterday I was in orientation all day and then spent the evening researching my pt for today. After all that research I only got to spend about 3 minutes with my pt - maybe. I suppose it wasn't all that great of a loss though, since my pt only had a UTI.

I didn't get to spend any time with my pt today because I got put on another pts case right after I got on the floor and ended up in surgery all day. I observed the placement of a VP shunt - so essentially I was in brain surgery all morning. It was really incredible. I think the reality of the situation really hit home when I saw the pt's skull shavings fall to the ground like saw dust as the surgeon drilled a hole in the pt's skull. It was quite amazing. The story is so much more than skull shavings though. I was with the pt 1.5 hours before, the 1.5 hours of, and the 1.5 hours after the surgery.

It's amazing the things we are able to do and the people we are able to help. It's amazing to see the underside of someones skull. It's amazing to think how amazing and beautiful God is. We often go in search of beauty - chasing sunsets, visiting museums, planting flowers, etc. But the truth is, there is so much beauty inside of us. Watching the skull shavings fall to the floor today, I couldn't help but think about bones - their strength, their ability to grow and constantly regenerate (bones are an organ and though they are hard they are constantly changing); I was in awe of the physical manifestation of calcium - the end result of milk. I watched the pts blood and thought about the different cells that comprise it and the power that lies within them - the white blood cells and their fighting power, the red blood cells and their life giving ability, the platelets and their life maintaining function. I watched the hair fall to the ground as it was shaved from the pts head and was amazed at the tiny detail that God designed to keep us clean and enhance our bodies. I watched the lungs fight for breath as they tried to overtake the intubation tube and the power they forced on the pts heaving chest. I followed the pt to the recovery room and listened to the monitor beep incessantly, mimicking the ever beating heart and acknowledged the power that resides within each of us.

I suppose much of life is about perspective, though. The amazingly beautiful and powerful human body would have been before me whether I had stayed with the pt with the UTI or followed the pt to surgery, but it took me seeing a pts brain to acknowledge it.

Maybe we are all guilty of chasing sunsets......but then again, they are amazingly beautiful too.