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Brain Surgery Frees Runner, but Raises Barriers

The Roads the Follow

After climbing out of a hole I've started looking towards the future again. I got stuck in a rut for awhile, but now I have a new outlook and am trying to figure out where my DVM is going to take me. What doesn't interest me is small animal, large animal, or mixed practice. So I started thinking about what I like:   1. The way animal health and human health are connected. (Zoonoses is one example) 2. Epidemiology 3. Discovering new things 4. The outdoors 5. Wildlife conservation 6. Birds   That got me thinking about doing things like epidemiological studies of diseases affecting native wildlife, or how vector borne diseases are transmitted from host animals to humans.   Now I'm thinking the road I want to take is forked and includes a Master of Public Health degree. So I'm looking into a program to start next Spring/Summer.

Follow Your Gut

I got up this morning thinking I was going to ride to the rec, ride to VBS to work for half the day, then ride home to get ready to visit my grandparents and go to speed training. Then I noticed the radar looked a little fishy, and caught the bus to city campus. After swimming laps I got out of the rec, noted the odd increase in wind and the grey sky and decided that I'd take the bus to East Campus instead of walking on the Mopac. Good thing I did, because the minute I stepped onto the bus the sky fell and drenched everything in site. I would have been one soaked human had I walked or ridden my bike this morning!

Dear Body, Lets Be Nice to Each Other

Dear Body,

For the last 27.27 years we've been living together. From the first cell division until now we have never been separated. You were there when Cassie tried to end our relationship by feeding us French toast that fateful day oh so long ago. You where there when I was catching toads in the yard in Friend, and that day I tried to rescue a bee out of the kiddy pool in Crete. Sorry about that, by the way, I didn't realize it would sting you.

Remember our first baseball game? I bet you were thankful I had that helment on when it started to hail. Who knew my first time at bat would cause the sky to fall?

Now that we are older I think it is time to talk about our relationship. You seem to take joy in finding ways to make life complicated. First it was my immune system. You had to teach it that pollen was a bad thing. Didn't you know that pollen was just the plant version of sperm, like the little guy who donated half our DNA? Its a good thing. All those plants you see out there were created, in part, by pollen. How can that be a bad thing? They are so beautiful. Then you had to go teach my lungs that trying to strangle me was fun. I really could have done without that. Now you've taught my stomach and intestines that it is okay to take the day off. Don't you realize that this creates a fundamental problem for you? That little hexose, you know, the one the glucose transporters use to give energy to all your cells comes from the digestive tract. It is derived from food.

I know that I can be rough on you, asking you to do things like get up at 5am when you are still trying to create dreams. I push you to run 4 miles on tired legs, go on bike rides when you rather be sitting on the couch relaxing after a long day, and force you to flop around in a pool of cold water. I know deep down you know that you were made for these types of things. Why else would you be so good at it?

How about we call it a truce? I stop pushing you so hard, and you start teaching your components that they can stop being so fickle? Now, I'm not saying I won't push you, but maybe I'll be a little less intense? I'll take an extra day off here and there, and give you a little more TLC now and then? I know you enjoy a good long hot shower, that is when we have hot water.

Sincerely,
Brittney

p.s This doesn't mean we won't be sitting in the ice bath tomorrow night after speed training. You know your quads and hamstrings really need it.

Changes

Yesterday morning while swimming in circles like a goldfish in a bowl I found myself thinking about the difference between the old me and the new me. I found differences in all areas of my life. The old me would sit in front of the telephone for long periods of time before I actually picked it up and made the phone call I had been thinking about all day. The old me spent more time planning out every detail of a day before I started it, and needed to know the customary way of doing things at a new place before I ventured to visit it. Now I have a basic outline of my day in hand, and then go with the flow. If I need to make a phone call I just do it, and I'm more relaxed in a new setting. I take charge of things instead of waiting for someone to make the first move, and I'm less afraid of making a mistake.

I think the reason this hit me while I was swimming is because last year I absolutely hated being the only person in the lap pool. I worried about what the lifeguard thought of my ungraceful technique. Yesterday I was the only person in the pool until about five minutes before I called it a day (my goggles were filling up with water every other lap and I got frustrated), and while I still think I'm not graceful while swimming I didn't give it a second thought other than noting it didn't bother me as much anymore.

Hocus Focus

Last month I ditched my old blog posts and started things off on a new foot. I wasn't quite sure of what I was going to do with the blog when I did that, all I knew is that I didn't like my old one and wanted a fresh start. Having thought about it for awhile, I decided a few things. No matter how hard I tried there isn't a way of separating each segment of my life from each other. I'm a daughter, a granddaughter, a sister, an aunt, a scientist, a student, an athlete, and a patient. I view the world through a combination of filters, and by discarding a fraction of the light that passes through each of them I'm not being honest with myself or whoever stumbles onto my blog.

So, with that, my focus is going to be my life. The ups, the downs, the triumphs, and major disasters that occur. I had thought about not discussing the day to day frustrations, especially when it comes to the medical side of things, but no matter which way I look at my life they are still there to see. From the pesky irritations that come with sharing living space, to the horrible runs I have (like last Wednesday). I don't want to dwell on them, but I'm not going to leave them out either. After all, I am trying to document my life.

Leaving Lincoln

There is one thing eating at the back of my mind this summer and that is the fact unless something catastrophic happens this is my last full summer in Lincoln. Next summer I'm moving to Ames, Iowa to continue my veterinary education. There are so many things I have to take care of before moving, from finding suitable housing that will accommodate my zoo to figuring out how I'm going to handle my medical care. I'm so comfortable where I'm at now that even the thought of moving makes the hair on the back of my neck stand at full attention.

Last night I scoured Iowa State's website to find out about their recreation center (they have a 5.5 lap/mile indoor track!), and their student health center. I looked at Ames' city website and found out they have 22 miles of trails in the city, and that I have to have my bike licenced if I want to take it on campus. I'm taking my sister's advice, I'm learning about my future home by surfing the net.