cast-a-rate

After battling with Friday the 13th, the HPSS team cautiously took a morning of relaxation, heading into nearby Lexington to see the sights, take in Lake Huron, and catch lunch before the last day in Croswell. We found plenty of fun- a beautiful shore, a beach wedding setup, families relaxing, and, of course, a photo opportunity of unforeseen proportions. A kind man visiting from Texas offered his photography services, and made sure we were believable as heads on bodies:

We had hoped to see him at the Fair later that day, but sadly, he never stopped by.

After a casual sightseeing morning and lunch at the local tavern, we approached the fairgrounds, playing “Final Countdown” at full volume (of course), from Lindsey’s iPod, transmitted on FM, with Max tailgating precariously close to the rear bumper to receive the signal and get pumped up, too. The friendly gate attendant greeted us as usual, but also had a bone to pick with us: last night, her grand-daughter came up to her and asked what ‘cast-a-rate’ meant, and the woman told us she could have just strangled us for opening that can of worms. Testes were NOT something she was planning on discussing that evening, ha.

Without the threat of rain, we had another fantastic day, talking with many more people about pets, parasites, veterinary medicine, and life. We even were fortunate enough to get our hands on some animals when the box of kittens we were promised to meet showed up for sexing- four girls and one boy- and we got some adorable fuzzy baby kitty time. We also were introduced to three ducklings that needed sexing, and Lindsey’s imdergraduate summer as a goose bander -slash- herder living at the Bird Sanctuary of MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station came in quite handy.

We also got to see some of our hard work pay off as we noticed repeat customers to the exhibit. One in particular, a boy of about 9 named Hunter, stopped by to learn about everything we had to show, and promptly ran off to bring his mother back to teach her (almost verbatim) everything all the displays, and then again with an aunt or anyone he could find, showing off over and over again just how much of an adorable smartypants he really was.

Finally, as the light started to fade, it was time to say goodbye. Jeff of the Fair Board came to wish us off as we started to pack up, and brought his family to check out the goods we had, as one of his daughters wanted to be a veterinarian and he knew she would love . everything we had to offer. However, her mother explained, she is highly allergic to pet hair, and they’re pretty sure she couldn’t be a veterinarian because of it, so she’s trying to figure out what else to be when she grows up. Well it just so happens they found the right people to talk to, as Lindsey explained that there are veterinarians whose job it is to look in microscopes or work in offices as teachers or researchers, or senators or public health officials, and they all went to vet school. Even though they don’t treat animals every day, they still help animals stay healthy in lots of different ways by learning about disease or how we should feed animals or almost anything! You should have seen her eyes light up upon learning she can still follow her dream of becoming a veterinarian... that's what makes this so worth it.

And if that wasn’t enough, as we were about to close up the completely (COMPLETELY.) full vehicle, an older woman came up to us to tell us that she just had to find us to thank us, because her grandkids were so excited about the things we showed them yesterday that they told her it was the best part of their day at the Fair. She said that she couldn’t get them to slow down about everything they saw, and the enthusiasm in their learning was unbelievable. It was a perfect ending to the first outing for our tour.

As we drove back to East Lansing in an inspiring lightning storm, we discussed just how much we look forward to meeting more people all around the state and spreading the fun and excitement of veterinary medicine- it’s been so fun for us so far. Til next time!

Friday the 13th

"What day of the week is it?"
"Friday."
"And the date?"

"The thirteenth."

"Exactly."

In true superstitious fashion, the day of grim misfortune struck the HPSS in full force. Lucky for us, it tangled with good humor and those able to laugh about the ensuing string of ridiculous near-catastrophic failures...

As we prepared to leave our hotel for lunch and setup at the second day of the fair, we received our first indication that today might not go exactly as planned: a phone call from the fair board informing us that our tent was found perilously flipped and crumpled a few hundred yards from where it had been all night. With dropped jaws and on empty stomachs, we rushed to investigate the damage:

...which was, to say, quite extensive. If we're honest, it hurt to look at it. We sheepishly gathered ourselves and set in on deconstructing the wounded beast, removing each panel and attempting to keep the frame in its proper orientation. We found that two support struts were broken, snapped off at their hinges, and one corner was badly bent. Thankfully, having just finished our stint in fourth semester Musculoskeletal, we were able to use some ingenuity (in the form of stakes and copious duct tape) to fixate the fractures above and below the affected joint (shout out to Dr. DeCamp), and got our girl back up on her feet pretty well in just under an hour.

Not too shabby. For our efforts, we found a local mexican restaurant and decided to take our lunch leisurely, applauding our damage control efforts and laughing at the irony of our day thusfar. Upon our return, we were ready for more hours of bringing veterinary medicine to fairgoers, and started to set up our displays. Almost immediately, one of our two glass-framed spay-neuter posters fell out of our hands and shattered. Pausing for effect, we rolled our eyes and finished putting out our supplies in the gale.

We soon found out that we would be wrangling with the wind for the rest of the afternoon. It decimated our stuffed animals, put our skeleton mascot in harm's way, made us tape down the radiographs, find makeshift paperweights for just about everything, and continue to keep an eye on the tent, which was billowing and shifting as it filled and flounced in the gusts. One particularly strong breeze took hold of our second poster and slammed it down against the back of a chair, spreading glass shards once again.

Well then. This was no ordinary day. We were 0 for 2 on posters, and 0 for smooth success on just about anything. With frustrated smiles, we went on wholehearted.

However, after all of our blood pressures had increased enough with worry for the day, we made the executive decision that the tent, for it's own sake, needed to be packed up for now, so as not to sustain any further wind damage. We removed our splints and carefully took down each piece to keep the frame stable. Packing away the collapsible construct, we began to fold the tent material for storage, which, let me tell you, was no easy task. This was like fighting with some kind of diabolical parachute. As the wind filled the fabric like a sail, one particular side went rogue and headed for our displays- Lindsey had to jump onto and roll herself into it to avoid certain disaster:

With that, we finally let go and had a good laugh at just how hilariously badly today was going, and as we packed away the last pieces of the tent, we felt raindrops, grinned knowingly, and ran around to bring the majority of our non-waterproof exhibit into the trailer for protection. As the rain continued, we decided we now had an excellent reason to explore the animal barns and rest of the fairgrounds, and met a very lazy and sleepy goat kid, plenty of sheep, brown swiss, and a fellow exhibitor who needed some advice about orphaned raccoon kits. It was great to be able to take in the ambiance of the fair, even under the rainy conditions. Croswell is a great place.

Shortly thereafter, once we were able to truly take a breather and contemplate (over elephant ears, the great inspirer) in the crowded trailer, we decided we would not just roll over. No way, Friday the 13th. We can take you. A little creativity and perserverence go a long way, as we made the effort to morph the HPSS exhibit into more than something that can be taken out by some wind and rain. We set up our displays and goodies inside the trailer, and invited our onlookers inside for a peek at what we had to offer. It felt a little more crowded, and a lot more effort, but we were proud to have soldiered on despite our drawbacks.

It was a much slower and harder-to-bear day, but as we wrapped up, we were reflecting in fondness the way we handled adversity and came out on top. And, of course, we still listened to "Final Countdown" on the way back to the hotel. It was a good day.

kicking off the tour

Finally, the day of our shining debut for the HPSS!

We had spent much of the night prior getting prepped and attempting (and eventually succeeding, through many feats of spatial reasoning and ingenuity) to fit all of the equipment and exciting demos into the vehicle. On little sleep, we left East Lansing bright and early this morning, headed eastward, and arrived in Croswell just after 9am to meet with the rest of Team HPSS: Drs. Rode and Steep, Max, and Dr. Rode's daughter, Anna, in tow.

With everyone's help, we got everything- the tent, the tables, the banners, the first pictures- all squared away and were ready for business by noon. Everyone around us was interested in just what exactly we were all about, and we were happy to start talking with those who stopped by.

Throughout the beautiful day until we shut down at around 10pm, we talked with about 200 fairgoers about everything we brought along to show off--- jars of all sorts of parasites, microscope slides, unusual radiographs, and the setup inside the tent (complete with our surgical patient for the weekend, Ryan's stuffed tiger, who was a real crowd-pleaser!).

We also were offered the chance to perform a goat castration on a local caprine (which, being veterinary students without liscences, we had to politely decline), and Ryan got to make use of his exotic medicine books in a discussion about husbandry and nutrition for pet iguanas. In all of the excitement, we forgot about the sunscreen for a few high-sun hours, and had to make an emergency run for SPF when some of the fairer-skinned members of the team started looking well-done. (We heard a lot of "oh my, did you get some sun" and "wow, are you really red"... oops.) During the evening, we were amazed by the genius of our budding veterinary audience in a presentation of radiology rounds with some of the most interesting x-rays in our collection.

After an excellent day at the fair representing the most excellent profession there is, we packed up in the trailer (special thanks to Jeff Butler of the Croswell Fair Board for providing such a great space!), we headed out to our hotel, halfway between Croswell and the lakeside town of Lexington. Max, having been there earlier in the day to check in and pick up the keys, had no trouble, but when Ryan and Lindsey found themselves staring at Lake Huron, decided they had maybe gone too far. A quick call to Max ("It's the only well-lit parking lot on the route"), and all was well. Well, except for not being able to find the actual hotel keys. Dang. After a return trip to the fairground proved unsuccessful, the keys were found in the duffel bag of a certain sunburned invidual (who shall remain nameless). Sleep was nearly instantaneous after an exciting first day on the tour. Can't wait for more.

a quarter century!

Happy 25th Birthday to our OLDEST Student Coordinator: RYAN!
Have a great day with your family, buddy!

ready to launch

Hello!

The Michigan fair season is about to begin, and as leaders of the traveling HPSS exhibit, who will be out there in the trenches, criss-crossing the state and spreading all the excitement of the veterinary profession to as many of Michigan's people as possible, we are both anxiously awaiting the first stop on our summer tour in just under a week: Croswell Agricultural Society Fair, from June 12-14th.

We have been working hard to prepare the exhibit for its debut, and know that you will all enjoy what we have prepared. Personally, we can't wait to show off what we've done! The MVMA has put many resources behind us to help us succeed, and we couldn't have made this what it is without their support (of all sorts)! Many thanks to everyone involved thusfar for believing in the project.

Additionally, thanks to our many friends at the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), we have assembled a great variety of touchable, interactive, and unbelievably fun educational materials that will bring the aspects of vet med that we love so much to all of you out there who don't get to experience it every day as we do!

Visit our home site, healthypetsurgicalsuite.googlepages.com, to see our tour schedule and find out when we'll be in a community near you! Please come out and see us at one of our summer venues, as we're excited to meet new faces and get to know each unique region of our state.

See you all in Croswell, and then on to the rest of the state!
Lindsey and Ryan