Here's Katie learning how to prime an IV line and hook it up into the IV pump. Aunt Becki had just said, "Look! She flicks the tube just like a nurse!". Ha ha! How did she know there's a special flicking motion that you learn in nursing school? 
Our OB/Neonate ICU simulation lab: the babies here can have pulses, become hypoxic (lack of oxygen, and you can see their lips turn blue), and you can see the umbilical cord's 2 arteries and 1 vein. See the placenta at the bottom right corner?
Here is a special device used to illuminate the veins when you can't see them to put in an IV. All the dark lines here are Katie's veins in her elbow. She has a nice juicy one there in the middle:
Last weekend, Mom, Matt, Bryce, and Brandon came to visit! Brandon wants to be a veterinarian, so we took a tour of the anatomy department and nursing lab and then went out to spend some time with the animals of Lynchburg.
We went to the Virginia Safari Park. It's a zoo filled with all sorts of animals from around the world, and they just roam around in open fields that you can drive through.
We were able to feed the animals through the windows, but most importantly, Brandon was able to see how he would be able to handle caring for the gentle creatures of this earth.
Then, he practiced his technique on Bryce, who was a healthy, spry 16 year old eager for the experience:
Then it was off to the field, where he could truly practice his assessment, diagnostic, planning, implementation, and evaluation skills:
Bryce had a good time with the animals too!
This moment was special. This little guy had bad breath, but just wanted something to eat! I guess Bryce couldn't make it as a doctor; you're not supposed to show your true feelings on your face for the patient to read.
I even think Matt enjoyed himself. Here he is challenging what he called "The Alpha Male", who stood by the side of the road and waited for people to stick out their bucket full of feed. This animal would take a few gentle nibbles, then his eyes would get big and his pupils would dilate and he'd grab the side of the bucket with his mouth and pull until the person could hold on no longer! There were empty buckets scattered all around his feet. Brandon was the first to experience the brute, but Matt was determined not to let the guy win.
We had fun pulling ahead after dealing with this guy and watching as the next car pulled up and had the bucket pulled from their window!
I thought this camel had rabies, but he was just eating a whole feed bucket, silly guy!
The exotic bird house:
Feeding the giraffes:
On the way back from the Safari Zoo, Brandon updated his status on Facebook about the experience. He later got a call from Aunt Michelle, and this is what we all got to experience listening to Brandon's side of the conversation in the Jeep:
"Hey, Mom did you see my Facebook status? Go on and look at it......... No, it's a 'Nah-zee'........... yeah, I got sneezed on by it....... No, a 'Nah-zeeee', that's how it's spelled, N-A-Z-I."
I looked at Matt and said, "A Nazi?"
Matt and I just looked at eachother and laughed, realizing that his Facebook status read, "I just got sneezed on by a Nazi". Brandon thought it was funny too :)
It was hilarious. We looked up the animal in the brochure from the zoo and saw that the animal was called an "Eland".
After the safari zoo, we went to the Toby Mac concert on campus. Toby Mac went to shool at Liberty, and he always gives a great concert. Opening for him was Skillet, a screamer/hard rock band that named themselves after a frying pan, and insists on playing very very loud. Their fire effects made us feel like we were in a skillet! Bryce and Brandon thought they were the best of the night. Mom, Matt and I liked the end of their last song the best.
Watiting for Toby Mac to come on!
Best quote of the week from Brandon at the Safari Zoo: "This is better than Grove City! Sorry, Matt."
