Busy Week

This week was full of extremes and opposites. I attended a deep brain stimulation surgery on Wednesday, which was a story all on its own, and then the next day found myself cleaning out a freezer at work tossing 12 year old saliva samples. Kyan was a little devil at school 2 days this week and today he was a little angel. Either the house was really loud, or completely silent. One day I was trying to figure out how I was going water my flowers with the water conservation and by the end of the week I was wondering how to drain some of the water out of the rain barrel. If I could just get the house to change from messy to clean........

The highlight of the week was definitely the brain surgery. Not many people get to see a surgery, much less neurosurgery. And since I am in psychiatry, it made the whole brain thing even more facinating. The idea behind going was to get a feel for the process for the procedure. We are going to be starting a clinical trial testing deep brain stimulation for major depression. In order to better be able to explain to the patients the procedure and write the consent form, it was important to really see what happens, how long it takes, etc. The surgery I saw was DBS for dystonia. The surgery is very similar, but of course the area of the brain is different so the holes are closer to the front of the head in depression to stimulate the area 25. The patient is awake the entire procedure, but feels nothing. The patient has to remain awake to be able to communicate any sensations that better tracks the target. Everyone's brain is slightly different just like fingerprints. You have a general idea, you get a better idea through scans, but when it comes down to mm. you really have to get readings. Just facinating and something I won't soon forget. If anyone is interested in hearing more, feel free to ask.

Nashville is still recovering from the flood. What a mess. I am so sorry for all of those who have lost so much. Our little musty smell in the sunroom is trivial compared to losing your home.