Reba's ear is doing well. We had a check-up yesterday afternoon, so I decided to leave her at home for the morning. There was no reason for BOTH of us to freeze half to death at the office (the second floor of my building, where my office is located, has been at about 55-60 degrees for two weeks). When I came home to use the restroom before going to the vet, Reba met me at the door with her bandage hanging on by only a quarter-sized piece of adhesive. By the time I got back in my chair, she had lost the bandage completely.
The vet said everything looked great. He cleaned her ears and they were only mildly dirty -- light tan gunk and stink free compared to red-tinged black gunk and reeking last week. He put some powder on and we left. He didn't seem concerned that she hasn't really eaten anything in the last week, just nibbled, but I confess I'm a bit worried.
I finished formatting my manuscript to the requirements of the next journal to which I'm submitting. I emailed it to B (my advisor) and asked him if he could look it over by the end of the week. I'm anxious to get it submitted. I'd really LOVE to get my second publication! Come on, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences -- take me!
Friday, February 29, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
My poor little girl
I have not mentioned yet that I have a service dog. Reba is a golden retriever/standard poodle mix who has lived with me for almost seven years (will be a full seven years next month). My friend Naomi picked her out of the litter at a bit over two months, and I got her when she was seven and a half months old. Naomi helped me by getting her basic obedience on her (sit, down, off, stay), and Reba pretty much trained herself to get her leash, retrieve dropped objects, and take off my gloves (Winter gloves, not latex). You can see her in my profile pic, but here are a couple of others.
Two years ago, when my "niece" wanted to play dress-up:
Posing at my mom and dad's:
All this by way of telling you about our unexpected trip to the vet today. Reba has chronic yeast infections in her ears, and they seem to be getting worse and more frequent. When she has one, the pain and itching cause her to shake her head a lot. Last night, my PCA and I discovered a HUGE hematoma in her left ear -- her head shaking caused her to break a blood vessel in her ear, and the blood pooled under the skin. So this morning my friend Kim drove us to the vet where I had to leave her to have the hematoma drained. While I was there, I asked them to do her yearly heartworm test (so I could get more heartworm preventative) and do a fine needle aspiration of a lump on her side. The doc looked her over thoroughly and noticed from her skin that she appeared to have allergies. He said the allergies could exacerbate the yeast problem, and most allergies are from food. So long story short and $734.59 later, this is what happened:
-- She was konked out, her hematoma was drained and her ear bandaged, and her ears were thoroughly irrigated
-- I bought a small bag of prescription, hypoallergenic dog food (I won't bore you with the scientific details of how it's hypoallergenic) that we'll see if she eats. We'll probably keep her on it for 2-3 months and then introduce her to various foods (boiled chicken, hamburger) to see if she starts itching again. It may just be that she's allergic to one particular thing (like chicken), and then I can buy her regular (non-prescription) dog food without the allergen. She cannot have ANYTHING else during this trial period -- no treats, no peanut butter.
-- I'm to up her Benadryl from 25 mg 1X daily to 100 mg 3X daily. I also have to give her an oral antibiotic (because of the surgery) and an oral yeast treatment 2X daily each -- WITHOUT the aid of peanut butter! Just now, while talking to Mom, I thought about calling to see if the vet has hypoallergenic canned food in which I can hide her pills.
-- We go in for weekly ear checks for the next three weeks.
-- She's supposed to wear her bandage for three weeks. *laughs* If she doesn't shake it off before the next ear check, I'll be surprised.
So that was my fun day today, along with HEAVY rain (yes, I got wet) and lunch with another faculty job candidate. My mom as we were hanging up -- "Go get some rest."
I'll try. Good night, Faithful Reader, and I hope you have a great day tomorrow and a great weekend.
Two years ago, when my "niece" wanted to play dress-up:
Posing at my mom and dad's:
All this by way of telling you about our unexpected trip to the vet today. Reba has chronic yeast infections in her ears, and they seem to be getting worse and more frequent. When she has one, the pain and itching cause her to shake her head a lot. Last night, my PCA and I discovered a HUGE hematoma in her left ear -- her head shaking caused her to break a blood vessel in her ear, and the blood pooled under the skin. So this morning my friend Kim drove us to the vet where I had to leave her to have the hematoma drained. While I was there, I asked them to do her yearly heartworm test (so I could get more heartworm preventative) and do a fine needle aspiration of a lump on her side. The doc looked her over thoroughly and noticed from her skin that she appeared to have allergies. He said the allergies could exacerbate the yeast problem, and most allergies are from food. So long story short and $734.59 later, this is what happened:
-- She was konked out, her hematoma was drained and her ear bandaged, and her ears were thoroughly irrigated
-- I bought a small bag of prescription, hypoallergenic dog food (I won't bore you with the scientific details of how it's hypoallergenic) that we'll see if she eats. We'll probably keep her on it for 2-3 months and then introduce her to various foods (boiled chicken, hamburger) to see if she starts itching again. It may just be that she's allergic to one particular thing (like chicken), and then I can buy her regular (non-prescription) dog food without the allergen. She cannot have ANYTHING else during this trial period -- no treats, no peanut butter.
-- I'm to up her Benadryl from 25 mg 1X daily to 100 mg 3X daily. I also have to give her an oral antibiotic (because of the surgery) and an oral yeast treatment 2X daily each -- WITHOUT the aid of peanut butter! Just now, while talking to Mom, I thought about calling to see if the vet has hypoallergenic canned food in which I can hide her pills.
-- We go in for weekly ear checks for the next three weeks.
-- She's supposed to wear her bandage for three weeks. *laughs* If she doesn't shake it off before the next ear check, I'll be surprised.
So that was my fun day today, along with HEAVY rain (yes, I got wet) and lunch with another faculty job candidate. My mom as we were hanging up -- "Go get some rest."
I'll try. Good night, Faithful Reader, and I hope you have a great day tomorrow and a great weekend.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Elizabeth's Questions
In response to my last post, Elizabeth had a few things about which she thought folks might wonder before wondering about how I keep my fish alive. She thought folks would first be curious as to how I handle the "20 lbs of papers," the "hundred books" it takes to do research (you only needed a hundred, Beth?), and doing presentations.
1) Papers. I make a stack of articles to read with the help of a personal care attendant (PCA) if I'm reading at home or with the help of the department secretary or one of my officemates if I'm reading at the office. As I read an article, I start a new stack on the other side of the desk. I make notes on 3x5 index cards as I go (the reason for which I will explain later). This all gives the impression that I am terribly organized, and I am -- mostly. My desk, however, has many MANY papers on it, so I look like I'm messy. I make notes on the index cards for two main reasons: (a) it was a method taught to me by my high school junior English teacher, and it really does help you write the paper; (b) it's easier for me to have the cards next to my computer instead of a huge (20 lbs) stack of research articles. The method is to write whatever you need for the parenthetical reference at the top (in my case, author and year) and one piece of information per card. Yes, you use a lot of cards (I have three card boxes that each hold about 300 cards for ONE manuscript), but when you get those babies in topic/supporting point order, your paper practically writes itself.
2) Books. If there are any gimps out there thinking about going into ANY course of study for which you will have to use a library, I give you this advice -- be prepared, and utilize the staff. Know what books/journals you want, and make a list of titles, authors, and call numbers. Putting the list in order by call number and alphabetizing within a call number (or getting volumes in sequential order for journals) will save you time in the library AND score you valuable points with the library staff. Yes, it's a bit anal retentive/OCD (so am I), but it really will save you time going back and forth from shelf to shelf. Don't know how to find what you're needing? Ask the staff. Helping patrons is what they get paid for, so help them earn their paychecks. Because most journals are heavier than I can lift, I take my lovely list up to the circulation desk, smile, and say politely, "Is there someone who can help me get some books?" I'm telling you, you won't believe how stress-free your life can be once you start utilizing the staff. Then just ask those helpful staffers to put the books in your bag (if you need that kind of help) or in their handy plastic bags they keep on hand. Oh, and your library doesn't have what you need? Interlibrary loan is a heaven-send, and most libraries have their request forms on their webpages, so no pesky bits of paper and searching for a pen/pencil.
3) Presentations. Well, so far in my Ph.D. career, I've only done one professional presentation and one guest lecture (with another pending this semester). During my masters, I did three conferences -- two in Texas, and one in California. The Texas ones were driving distance from Wichita, KS (though that Houston trip was loooooooong, in more ways than one). For the first, my advisor volunteered to help me with personal care, and that worked out well, except for the part where she and I ended up dog-piled on one of my male lab-mates in the bed -- but that's a story for another time. For the second, I took one of my PCAs, and that was a disaster, but only because she was one of those power-trippers who really thinks she's in charge. For the San Francisco trip, I took my mom for two reasons -- (a) like the Houston trip, the only PCA I had who could take the time from other obligations was the power-tripper, and I wasn't making THAT mistake twice; (b) most importantly, my mom and I get along really well, the trip was very near her birthday, and I thought it would be fun to take a trip with my mom. We had a blast.
All three of those presentations were posters, but my presentations here in NO have been PowerPoints. Those are so gimp friendly -- but what to do if you can't reach the comp to change the slides during the actual presentation? You get yourself a laser pointer with slide changer built in. This is the model I purchased, and I love it. It's not skinny like a writing pen, so it's easy to grip. There's no software to install to make it work; rather, it has a piece resembling a flash/jump/thumb drive hidden in the back that you snap out and plug in to a USB port on the presenting comp (check out the additional images to see what I mean). The forward and back slide buttons and the laser pointer button are all close together, so you only have to move your thumb just a tiny bit. And you can set a five- and/or two-minute warning for your presentation's end, and the presenter will vibrate at the designated moment. Pretty darned nifty.
And that brings us to the end of tonight's edition of "Road Hog's Guide to Surviving Graduate School." To recap:
-- There is no shame in asking for a little help where you need it, as long as you do what you can as well.
-- Seemingly silly techniques and fabulous technology can be quite helpful.
-- If all else fails, pin your lab-mate to a bed with your advisor in a motel room hundreds of miles from home. It's a stress reliever -- and who says a gimp can't pin a guy to the bed once in a while?
(RH's note: I'll be getting a call from one of the parental units about that last one, you can bet!)
1) Papers. I make a stack of articles to read with the help of a personal care attendant (PCA) if I'm reading at home or with the help of the department secretary or one of my officemates if I'm reading at the office. As I read an article, I start a new stack on the other side of the desk. I make notes on 3x5 index cards as I go (the reason for which I will explain later). This all gives the impression that I am terribly organized, and I am -- mostly. My desk, however, has many MANY papers on it, so I look like I'm messy. I make notes on the index cards for two main reasons: (a) it was a method taught to me by my high school junior English teacher, and it really does help you write the paper; (b) it's easier for me to have the cards next to my computer instead of a huge (20 lbs) stack of research articles. The method is to write whatever you need for the parenthetical reference at the top (in my case, author and year) and one piece of information per card. Yes, you use a lot of cards (I have three card boxes that each hold about 300 cards for ONE manuscript), but when you get those babies in topic/supporting point order, your paper practically writes itself.
2) Books. If there are any gimps out there thinking about going into ANY course of study for which you will have to use a library, I give you this advice -- be prepared, and utilize the staff. Know what books/journals you want, and make a list of titles, authors, and call numbers. Putting the list in order by call number and alphabetizing within a call number (or getting volumes in sequential order for journals) will save you time in the library AND score you valuable points with the library staff. Yes, it's a bit anal retentive/OCD (so am I), but it really will save you time going back and forth from shelf to shelf. Don't know how to find what you're needing? Ask the staff. Helping patrons is what they get paid for, so help them earn their paychecks. Because most journals are heavier than I can lift, I take my lovely list up to the circulation desk, smile, and say politely, "Is there someone who can help me get some books?" I'm telling you, you won't believe how stress-free your life can be once you start utilizing the staff. Then just ask those helpful staffers to put the books in your bag (if you need that kind of help) or in their handy plastic bags they keep on hand. Oh, and your library doesn't have what you need? Interlibrary loan is a heaven-send, and most libraries have their request forms on their webpages, so no pesky bits of paper and searching for a pen/pencil.
3) Presentations. Well, so far in my Ph.D. career, I've only done one professional presentation and one guest lecture (with another pending this semester). During my masters, I did three conferences -- two in Texas, and one in California. The Texas ones were driving distance from Wichita, KS (though that Houston trip was loooooooong, in more ways than one). For the first, my advisor volunteered to help me with personal care, and that worked out well, except for the part where she and I ended up dog-piled on one of my male lab-mates in the bed -- but that's a story for another time. For the second, I took one of my PCAs, and that was a disaster, but only because she was one of those power-trippers who really thinks she's in charge. For the San Francisco trip, I took my mom for two reasons -- (a) like the Houston trip, the only PCA I had who could take the time from other obligations was the power-tripper, and I wasn't making THAT mistake twice; (b) most importantly, my mom and I get along really well, the trip was very near her birthday, and I thought it would be fun to take a trip with my mom. We had a blast.
All three of those presentations were posters, but my presentations here in NO have been PowerPoints. Those are so gimp friendly -- but what to do if you can't reach the comp to change the slides during the actual presentation? You get yourself a laser pointer with slide changer built in. This is the model I purchased, and I love it. It's not skinny like a writing pen, so it's easy to grip. There's no software to install to make it work; rather, it has a piece resembling a flash/jump/thumb drive hidden in the back that you snap out and plug in to a USB port on the presenting comp (check out the additional images to see what I mean). The forward and back slide buttons and the laser pointer button are all close together, so you only have to move your thumb just a tiny bit. And you can set a five- and/or two-minute warning for your presentation's end, and the presenter will vibrate at the designated moment. Pretty darned nifty.
And that brings us to the end of tonight's edition of "Road Hog's Guide to Surviving Graduate School." To recap:
-- There is no shame in asking for a little help where you need it, as long as you do what you can as well.
-- Seemingly silly techniques and fabulous technology can be quite helpful.
-- If all else fails, pin your lab-mate to a bed with your advisor in a motel room hundreds of miles from home. It's a stress reliever -- and who says a gimp can't pin a guy to the bed once in a while?
(RH's note: I'll be getting a call from one of the parental units about that last one, you can bet!)
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Continuation
I suppose I ought to warn you that Life quite often gets in the way of my blogging. I am a graduate student in a Ph.D. program, and those duties plus the extra ones due to the department interviewing to fill faculty positions make it so when I get home at night, I want nothing more than a good supper and some alone time with my "Babylon 5" DVDs.
So, by way of continuing my introduction, I am a graduate student in a conservation biology Ph.D. program. Basically I'm a "tree-hugging, bunny-loving hippie" (to quote my little brother) interested in how environmental stressors affect fish body symmetry. I completed my master of science degree many years ago in the same interest and actually managed to get it published. My current research is with an adorable little fish called the Japanese medaka Oryzias latipes:
Told you they were cute. *grin*
One advantage to using these guys for my research is that because they are so small (approx. 1.5-2.0 cm as adults), I can have more of them per tank than my original study organism. A big disadvantage is because they are so small, I have to have more specialized equipment than one normally needs to do this type of research.
Well, their size and my disability mean I have to have more specialized equipment than one normally needs to do this type of research.
My MND -- intermediate spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) -- blesses me (she said sarcastically) with weak muscles that progressively grow weaker with time. As such, to take measurements on the fish, I can no longer easily manipulate the fish under a microscope and measure them with a ruler or calipers like I did 12-13 years ago. I need a good quality stereo microscope with a good quality camera with as much resolution as possible to capture digital images of my fish.
Check.
I also need a computer with good graphics and monitor.
Working on it.
"Wait!" you, a Faithful Reader, cry out. "Hold on a second. If your dexterity ain't what it used to be, then how do you maintain your broodstock? How do you feed them, clean their tanks, remove the floaters? How do you conduct your experiments and raise the babies? How do you even get back into the TOP SECRET rooms where they all live?"
That, Faithful Reader, is what my minions are for.
You see, I have two amazing undergraduates who act as my lab assistants. They are part of our department's Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology program funded by the National Science Foundation. They are paid through the department's NSF grant to work in a lab and gain research experience. It's a great program, and I am lucky to have two of its best students. I literally could not do my research without Arianne and Carla.
And that, my Faithful Reader, is how fortunate I am to be a biologist with a severe disability who can still conduct quality research without having to do modeling. *shivers* If my only choice as a biologist were modeling, I think I'd rather just sit back and become a bank teller like my grandmother suggested 16 years ago. Thinking about the level of mathematics required to do modeling gives me a headache.
So, by way of continuing my introduction, I am a graduate student in a conservation biology Ph.D. program. Basically I'm a "tree-hugging, bunny-loving hippie" (to quote my little brother) interested in how environmental stressors affect fish body symmetry. I completed my master of science degree many years ago in the same interest and actually managed to get it published. My current research is with an adorable little fish called the Japanese medaka Oryzias latipes:
Told you they were cute. *grin*
One advantage to using these guys for my research is that because they are so small (approx. 1.5-2.0 cm as adults), I can have more of them per tank than my original study organism. A big disadvantage is because they are so small, I have to have more specialized equipment than one normally needs to do this type of research.
Well, their size and my disability mean I have to have more specialized equipment than one normally needs to do this type of research.
My MND -- intermediate spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) -- blesses me (she said sarcastically) with weak muscles that progressively grow weaker with time. As such, to take measurements on the fish, I can no longer easily manipulate the fish under a microscope and measure them with a ruler or calipers like I did 12-13 years ago. I need a good quality stereo microscope with a good quality camera with as much resolution as possible to capture digital images of my fish.
Check.
I also need a computer with good graphics and monitor.
Working on it.
"Wait!" you, a Faithful Reader, cry out. "Hold on a second. If your dexterity ain't what it used to be, then how do you maintain your broodstock? How do you feed them, clean their tanks, remove the floaters? How do you conduct your experiments and raise the babies? How do you even get back into the TOP SECRET rooms where they all live?"
That, Faithful Reader, is what my minions are for.
You see, I have two amazing undergraduates who act as my lab assistants. They are part of our department's Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology program funded by the National Science Foundation. They are paid through the department's NSF grant to work in a lab and gain research experience. It's a great program, and I am lucky to have two of its best students. I literally could not do my research without Arianne and Carla.
And that, my Faithful Reader, is how fortunate I am to be a biologist with a severe disability who can still conduct quality research without having to do modeling. *shivers* If my only choice as a biologist were modeling, I think I'd rather just sit back and become a bank teller like my grandmother suggested 16 years ago. Thinking about the level of mathematics required to do modeling gives me a headache.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Who -- or what -- is a Road Hog?
First by way of introducing myself -- the name. "Road Hog" was a nickname given to me by my high school advanced junior English teacher, Ms. Marilyn Darnell. She was the first teacher I ever had who didn't resent me being in her class because I was a disabled student or treat me extra special because I was a disabled student or flat out ignore me because I was a disabled student. She treated me like I had a brain in my head and knew how to use it. She treated me the same as every other smart-assed teenager in her classroom. It was unexpected and refreshing.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Introduction
Former French general and president Charles DeGaulle said at the funeral of his disabled daughter in 1948: "Now she's like everyone else."
I have not read this quotation in context, so I do not know what he meant, but I can imagine one possibility from 1948 -- Now that she's in Heaven, she's normal. She can walk, see, hear, think, speak, whatever it was she couldn't do while alive.
I am a disabled woman, and I relish not being like everyone else.
I get inordinate pleasure from rolling over dry leaves with my power wheelchair and hearing them crunch under my tires. I like living on campus at a university and being allowed to have a dog. I love making jokes about my disease and my "strange" body and watching people who don't know me well fidget and try to respond. I love giving my "niece" rides on the back of my chair or seeing my "nephew" sleeping peacefully in my seat as his mother helps me into bed.
Having a degenerative motor neuron disease (MND) isn't sunshine and daisies -- but neither is it darkness and peace lilies. Continue reading as I continue writing, and maybe together we'll work out what it was, is, and will be.
I have not read this quotation in context, so I do not know what he meant, but I can imagine one possibility from 1948 -- Now that she's in Heaven, she's normal. She can walk, see, hear, think, speak, whatever it was she couldn't do while alive.
I am a disabled woman, and I relish not being like everyone else.
I get inordinate pleasure from rolling over dry leaves with my power wheelchair and hearing them crunch under my tires. I like living on campus at a university and being allowed to have a dog. I love making jokes about my disease and my "strange" body and watching people who don't know me well fidget and try to respond. I love giving my "niece" rides on the back of my chair or seeing my "nephew" sleeping peacefully in my seat as his mother helps me into bed.
Having a degenerative motor neuron disease (MND) isn't sunshine and daisies -- but neither is it darkness and peace lilies. Continue reading as I continue writing, and maybe together we'll work out what it was, is, and will be.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
