Y3S1 Week 10: Dentistry, Found Collective, and The A21 Campaign!

Week 10 is in the books, and we are officially 1/3 of the way done with our third-year didactic curriculum!

This week started off with a quick run with Churro, followed by our infectious disease final. My exam had a little meltdown at the end and decided that it didn’t want to be submitted. After a nice 30+ minute chat with the ExamSoft company, they were able to gain access to my computer, retrieve the encrypted exam file, and submit the exam manually. We then had an iRAT/tRAT quiz and discussion on vesicular diseases for our comparative medicine course. This was a nice way to review some of the major vesicular diseases that (mostly) impact our large animal species but can sometimes make their way into the small animal world.

The rest of the afternoon included a quick run to the rec. to do some interval training on the treadmill, followed by some quality time with Churro.

Tuesday morning began with a quick run around the block with Churro, followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a lecture on dental hygiene for companion animals. I think that this is a topic that commonly gets missed by many pet owners. Just like humans, the teeth of our animals need to be brushed regularly. Plaque can begin to develop within 24 hours of a professional dental cleaning, and calculus buildup begins within 72 hours. Daily teeth brushing and mindful toy/bone choice can help prolong the longevity of your pet’s teeth and save a significant amount of money in the long run. The rest of the day included an awesome dentistry lab that involved learning how to perform a complete oral exam, dental charting, scaling, and polishing. We had the opportunity to work with both dog and cat anatomy and learn the differences in their dentition. We also had the chance to practice scaling with an ultrasonic scaler as well as a manual hand-piece. This lab was a great way to gain some experience with the traditional steps involved in a periodontal treatment!

The rest of the afternoon included some playtime with Churro on the field and getting some things done around the house.

Wednesday morning started off with a nice 7-miler with Churro followed by a lecture on the oral mucosa and what happens when it becomes inflamed. It has been super interesting learning about dentistry in our companion animal species and realizing how similar it is to human dentistry. I then had a break before my afternoon lab section, so I went home and spent some time with Churro while also reviewing some material for the upcoming spay cadaver lab. That afternoon I had the opportunity to apply my knowledge and practice going through the steps of an ovariohysterectomy surgery with my group. It was great to practice prior to the live-animal surgery that will take place on the 27^th.

That evening, I had the privilege of hosting a study session for the Cal Poly Undergraduate Students in the Systemic Anatomy and Physiology course. I absolutely love teaching and have been able to stay connected with this course throughout my time at Davis. All of the students were engaged and ready to participate, which is always appreciated, especially during an evening Zoom session.

Thursday morning started off with a nice whirl around the park with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a dentistry case discussion where we had the opportunity to apply our knowledge from past lectures and put things into practice. I then joined the CVF group for a morning prayer session before heading to a chiropractor appointment. During our dentistry block, we have had a more open schedule since there are a lot of hands-on labs with small groups of students. My only session of the day was the morning discussion, so I had the rest of the day open to get caught up on things which was needed after the busy past few weeks.

Friday morning started off with a nice 5-miler with Churro followed by a lecture on occlusion and abnormal teeth. We then learned about what happens when there is a loss of tooth substance and how to address these issues in general practice while also knowing when we should refer the patient to a specialist. We then transitioned into a comparative discussion on bloat, colic and gastric dilation and volvulus (GDV). All these conditions have a similar mechanism within their respective species, so it was interesting to be able to go through different cases and learn how these animals may present in a clinical setting.

That afternoon I had a dental radiography lab. This lab was focused on how to take full-mouth radiographs on our canine and feline patients. We were split into groups of four and given the chance to use film and actually take radiographs of cadaver heads and then practice interpreting what we saw. We split our time between canine and feline heads and learned about the different techniques used between species. This was a great way to apply our lecture material and practice obtaining proper positioning for dental radiographs.

Conference Day 1 with New Friends!

That evening, I attended the Found Collective conference in Roseville. This was a two-day event filled with incredible speakers and a whole lot of Jesus! We started off the night with some awesome worship lead by Taya followed by a session lead by Megan Fate Marshman. Megan spoke about Psalm 139 and dove into the duality of joy and sadness within situations and how God’s ways are higher than ours meaning that we won’t always understand why things happen the way that the do. She shared her personal experience of losing her husband to a heart attack in the middle of the night four and a half years ago and the night before she gave this message she got engaged. During her message, she vulnerably shared the split emotions that evening stirred up. After her session all the speakers did a small panel discussion where they shared some of their backgrounds and how they have seen Jesus work in their lives. All of them spoke from unique perspectives and it was awesome to witness such strong women share their faith with passion. The night ended with a talk from Lisa Harper who spoke about the power of dependency and how the longer we walk with Jesus, the more dependent we become on Him. Taya closed the night with more worship music and a time for reflection.

After a quick 5-miler with Churro, Katelyn and I went to the second day of the conference. Things started off in a similar way with Taya leading some amazing worship and then Lauree dove into a session surrounding the theme of identity. She started off with a powerful story of when she was in the Czech Republic with a group focused on helping young girls tied up within the prostitution industry. She recounted the heartbreaking visual of these young girls acting brainwashed by the pimps and how the light in their eyes had been “turned off” by the lies and abuse that they were being fed. After the conclusion of her trip, she used this experience to not only continue to advocate for those young women, but to also bring people to understand the power of God’s love and what He wants for our lives. We are often far too easily pleased by the temporary things in life. Our identities can become intertwined with our worldly values or we can trust in Jesus and live in a way that values different things than what the world values.

Day 2 with Katelyn!

That powerful talk was followed with some additional worship lead by Taya and then a final session by Christine Caine who spoke about cutting off the things in life that are holding you back. She talked about how too many people spend too much time on things that do not matter and live their lives in a state of comfort and routine. Complacency and comfort are the cancer of our generation and just because things were done a certain way in the past, doesn’t mean that they will always be done that way, nor is that always going to be the best way to do things. This holds true for how God works, time and time again people have tried to predict how God will work in their lives, and she made the important point that God doesn’t do “next” he does “new”, and He can use anyone to do anything anytime He wants. Christine finished the session by acknowledging that just because people have mishandled the Bible and used their misinterpretation to hurt people, doesn’t mean that was how the scripture was intended to be used and if you can’t way what God says, don’t say anything and take another lap. The conference ended with more awesome worship led by Taya.

This conference was such a wonderful way to connect and learn from women who truly love Jesus and try to walk in a way that demonstrates that love. My faith is a huge part of my life, and I can guarantee you that I would not be where I am today without the grace of God. If you do not believe in Jesus, thank you for getting to this point in the blog and please know that if you have any questions or ever want to talk about things I am always available. I have also compiled my notes from the conference and they can be accessed here!

I also want to share a resource that was given to us at the conference. Christine Caine and her husband founded The A21 Campaign, a nonprofit that focuses on sex trafficking in southeastern Europe and has since spread its focus to other parts of the world including the United States. There is a powerful training that is about 45 minutes long and can be accessed for free at this link. I watched it and cannot recommend it enough. There were aspects of the video that I had never considered and am now more aware of how to spot and intervene in these horrendous situations.

The rest of Saturday included some chores around the house and a hot Pilates session with some friends!

Hot Pilates!

Sunday morning started off with a three miler with Churro followed by Church. The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping and finishing up an online USDA training for school. Churro and I enjoyed a nice walk at the arboretum and got a few things done around the house before calling it an early night.

Quote of the week: “Shutith upith and take another lap” -Christine Caine

Happy Boy!