The Kidney dance!

Now any of you may all be wondering on what the freaking heck is a C-Arm? Well to the sane people a C-Arm is a portable x-ray machine capable of taking live images of the body (AKA a huge ass fluoroscope) and is most commonly used in surgical procedures*. Now for the INSANE, like health care people, C-Arms are heavy, large, annoying, foot crushing, herniated disk creating monstrosities. Orthopedists love them, X-Ray technologists hate them and Urologists just don't give a damn about them.

C-Arms come in many shapes and forms. There's the non portable ones which are commonly found inside rooms that are used for Cardiac procedures, and the portable ones which come in two sizes, either one with a large "C" or one with a tiny "C". There has been a lot of concern about the radiation doses that the patient, the surgeon, the rad tech and everyone else in the operation room receives from using these machines outside their 5 minute dose limit but I think this can get solved if we educate them of the dangers and the proper uses of the C-Arm but of course...some never listen (Or in my case...get yelled at. )**

I am Itty Bitty TINY C-Arm! I like working with extremities, yay!!

Now a few days back I was called to the operating room for a desperate surgeon in need of my x-ray shooting skills, they were doing a Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy which is a fancy word for "The urologist inserts a tube and just sucks kidney stones out of you". So while I try to accommodate HUGEASS C-Arm and the nurses making the last preparations with the patient the surgeon comes in, dresses in the latest fashion of sterile clothes and starts to operate like planned...it was not long until something happened.

Dr.Millionyearsold- Hm? Oh...DG can you magnify that image? I can't seem to see the stone clearly.

Me- Sure.

He x-rays, we get a few cells killed, a bigger image comes...there's 3 HUGE kidney stones

Dr.Millionyearsold- Erm...did you magnified like I told you to?

Me- I did...why?

Dr.Millionyearsold- ...I can't see them *walks from the patient to were I was and stares at the image* Magnify them more!

Me- Doc the C-Arm is at it's maximun magnification! I can't do anything else!

Random Nurse next to me- You seriously can't see the stones doctor?

Dr.Millionyearsold- *stares for like a minute REALLY close at the computer* Hmm...OH! Yea! I see them! Yep! Well...back to work!

So after like half an hour and we flip the patient upside-down, the worlds most ancient surgeon inserts a tiny tube on the patients back and x-rays for an image on were he was, he kept watching the image in live x-ray glory as we all watch in awe (Well...more like horror) as the tiny tube was pocking the poor guys kidneys.

Poke
Poke
POKE
POOOOOKE

His assistant- Um...doctor what are you doing?

Dr.Millionyearsold- Poking the kidney? Why?

His assistant- ....No reason.

Yes that right kidney was poked real good alright! And while the doc is like 100000 years old he still does his job good...despite his blindness and randomness...God-bless the elderly.***


* If you want more detailed information about C-Arms you can always just google.
** Please PLEASE read this article http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=85258
*** If you all are wondering, the patient was fine, his stones were gone for good.

I smell a Femoral ORIF

ring ring ring

"Good afternoon this is the Radiology Department, DG speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hello there! We need a C-Arm in room 8 please"

"Alright I will report it"

"Thank you!"

clang!

"Well let me see who is on portable this afternoon!"

*checks* 

"Hmm...R.TPregnant is on Er? But she already had her baby! R.TCrazy is handling the inpatients but were the heck is he!? Then that means..."

Oh god...no....

no...

NO...

SHIIIIIIIIIIT!!

*goes to the OR*

"Well DG look at it this way, you will be here for a while so might as well talk with your OR buddies"


*gets changed into OR clothing, gets the C-Arm, sees one of the nurses*

"Hey May! Any idea which C-Arm are they going to use?"

"DG? You are on portable this week AGAIN? Well they are using BIGASS C-Arm"

"Urgh...I wanted to use CUTETINY C-Arm...alright...who is the orthopedist?"

"Erm...Dr.Playboy"

OH GOD WHYYYYYYY!?!?!?

*gets BIGASS C-Arm*

*pushing the damn thing* "Urgh...the wheels on this thing are STILL damaged! I thought I reported this a month ago! I am going to get an herniated disk from this.."

*opens door to Room 8*

Dr.Playboy- WERE ARE THE SIZE 7 STERILE GROVES!? GONE? GONE!?!? THIS IS BULLSHIT!! GET ME A BOX NOW!!! *looks at DG* Oh! You are the one who is going to assist me? Come in darlin! Please don't mind my yelling!

This guy is a psycho...

*about an hour at the operation*

Dr.Playboy- Now please place the C-Arm around the mayor trochanter and give it a bit of angulation *x-rays!* Beautiful! You darlin are an A class tech.

Me- Thanks...

Dr.Playboy- *tells guy next to him to give him a hammer* No really I mean it yo-WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST GIVE ME YOU IDIOT!? I DON'T WANT THIS HAMMER!! FUCK DAMNIT!!

Me- *sigh*

Yep! Just another beautiful afternoon with Dr.Playboy...at least there are nicer people....

All down the drain

So we were doing a follow up Abdominal/Pelvic CT scan with IV contrast on a very sweet lady who was suffering from stomach cancer. She always brought us little things like chocolate and lollipops and she always came to our department with a brilliant smile on her face despite the monster that was slowly consuming her body. Once we helped her get on the table, the nurse plepared the IV while I helped in getting the iodinated contrast it was all just part of the routine...nothing could go wrong here right?

Until we saw this:

An axial image of an Abdomino/Pelvic CT with IV contrast showing classic (deadly) Liver Metastases.

We were shocked (No...I was HORRIFIED) when the images appeared, making it clear that her battle with cancer was coming to its end...and clearly she was not going to be the winner. When I was still in Rad school the professor told us to have a strong heart, we will get attached to many of our patients and it would just be worse...like in this case.

Oh! But it got worse! When Dr.Ihavenoheart came in

Dr.Ihavenoheart- Oh my god! That patient is so screwed! Cancer is everywhere!

WOW! Thank you doc! For sharing your opinions to us AND to the patients family who were quite nearby. Thank you...

Atleast I am not brain dead...yet

Just took the GRE general test a few hours ago and I am still feeling a bit lightheaded, geez is like my neurons are protesting in need for a freaking day off. I didn't found the test as hard as many people told me it was (Just watch me flunk faster than you can say 'oh shit!' just watch...) the only issue was the verbal test, like I said a few days ago English is not my main language so taking an entire 3+ hour test that decides my fate in grad school in an English that is by FAR not high school level (BS! College level English classes were easier!!) was challenging...but I am still positive.

Now the next test remaining is the Subject one which is required for the Anatomy/Neurobiology program. I am still deciding whether to take the pure Biology one or go hard core with the Biochemistry/Molecular biology. Because enzimes and proteins make me go all 'squeeee' on the inside!

Well...I might post something later...when my brain stops going on strike...

Me, myself and the future

First of all forgive me all in advance for my bad grammar. English is not my native language but I still manage to express myself more in it than my first language....hmm...

Working in something related to medicine has always fascinated me since I was a small child. The thing I wanted to do most in that time (Around 2004 when I graduated...hey I told you I am shiny and new!) was to be Radiation Therapist while second on the list was to be a Nurse, so after a few weeks of being nervous about my grades I finally got accepted to a bachelors decree in Nursing, sure I was a little bit disappointed since I couldn't enter into the concentration I liked BUT it was still something good.

I spent the next two years and a half in nursing school and while I found the classes and laboratories amazing I knew that really deep down inside this just didn't felt right. DG was just not nurse material, and don't get me wrong Nurses are awesome! A lot of my good friends are kickass nurses but me? Not my thing...and I still really don't get WHY!! I truly am such a lost case...

One sunny Thursday morning while I was walking over to take an enormous Microbiology test there were people handling flyers and stuff at the hallways and unluckily (Or maybe it was fate?) a few got on my hands. Hmmm what's this? An associates decree in Radiologic Technology? Those people needed education? *flips paper* OMG! Three physics classes!? Huh? Look at all those anatomy classes...wow the names sound interesting and...it kind of looks like Radiation Therapy maybe...maybe this is what I want!

So after that Microbiology bomb (in which I aced. I would like to thank my friend pseudomonas aeruginosa for appearing all green, stinky and purty in the miscroscope.) I called the school were this associates decree thingy was offered and found out I was still in time to get all the crap they ask for and submit it to them. It didn't took much...and I was admitted to Radiologic Technology in HugeAssHospital school.

DUDE! This school was simply AMAZING! I did my clinical practices with hundreds of students from different concentrations! The ED I spent most of my practice was famous all over the place I live. The baddest of the bad accidents stopped there, the worst and nastiest of the sick people got treated there, I once did over 20 x-rays on a guy involved in a MVA and when I was looking at all those bones as broken as porcelain next to me was the SMARTEST DOCTOR IN THE UNIVERSE (In my student days I got excited over little things...LEAVE ME ALONE!) with a HUGE group of med students all staring at the x-rays I did, writing down on their little notebooks, whispering to each other and asking the professor/doctor/surgeon questions. EVERYONE was learning! There wasn't a single day in my practice (That I could remember...) were medical students and residents when over to us asking questions or just helping out on things.

I fell in love...deep down inside I knew what I wanted to be...

A Radiologic Technologist.

After I finished my rotations and graduated, I quickly got my license as a radiographer and got to work per diem (Thank you AwesomeRad! You helped me in my student needs!) but still I decided to continue studying for the bachelors so I could work with the CT and MRI machines. I loved it...that is all I could say to you so my second blog post wont be too long and boring.

So...now what??

The GRE...that's what. And oh lookie here! I take it on Wednesday! Isn't that wonderful?? But hopefully if I pass the annoying test I could finally enter HugeAssHospital school's Masters/PhD program in Anatomy and Neurobiology. HELL YES!!!!!!!

Oh...this is a blog about X-rays...I guess I should post something...

(Normal work day...it's 3:40pm)

Me-Well you have an order for a Chest X-ray ma'am. Is there any possibility of being pregnant?

Mrs. Hatemen- OMG!? What is wrong with you! I am a lesbian!! Of course not!!

Me- Um...ma'am I didn't asked for your sexual orientation...

Mrs. Hatemen- Doesn't matter! Don't ask those rude questions again!

Well lets see how this goes

Blogging is new to me and I always wanted to try it so lets see how this goes. Heck! This is my excuse to vent about my work in the Radiology Department...but more on THAT on later posts...