Surgery

I am involved in research here at USP. The Tuesday before Thanksgiving break I walked from my apartment on 46th and Linmore over to 38th and Spruce. I was going to be assisting on the surgery of rats at 7 am. The animal research and surgery center on University of Pennsylvania's campus was located behind a heavy metal gate. I stood for a moment trying to figure out how to get through the gate. I decided on try to open the gate using psychokinesis. While deeply engaged in trying to move the gate with my mind, a Penn vet student swiped her card to open the gate. I scurried right behind her and made it through with perhaps milliseconds to spare as the metal clanged back into a locked position. I wandered up to the building and opened the glass door. What happened next can be best described as a "labyrinth" as seen in David Bowie's Labyrinth. Somehow, after climbing countless stairs and crossing over countless door frames, I ended up in front of the double-doored surgery suite. Jamie was standing there waiting for me and invited me to gown up and then join her in our surgery room. After I scrubbed up, I pulled on a hair cover, shoe cover, gown, gloves and mask. I felt like a blue smurf. I opened the doors with my butt so I didn't contaminate my gloves and waddled over to the room. Jamie was shaving the 2 rats that we were going to be operating on. After shaving, we placed one rat back into the cage and one rat into a glass box. The glass box was then filled with anesthetic gas pumping from a tube. The rat soon looked like a drunk pirate sloshing about on a ship. Jamie injected the rat with more anesthetic and we positioned the rat on the table. After about 2 hours of surgery, the rat was now the proud owner of 6 electrodes and a head cap. With a quick swipe of my sweaty brow, I made my way through the labyrinth and back out towards that metal door. I pushed the red exit button and breathed in a gulp of fresh air. I tiredly made my way back from 38th street back to my apartment on 46th street. As I collapsed on my bed for a nap before classes, a satisfied smile tugged at the corners of my lips.