Life goals

This past week was filled with so much excitement, learning, and fun. Every student got the chance to "scrub-in" on real life surgeries at the Uniklinik in Bonn. The Uniklinik is the University Hospital. It is used as a teaching hospital for the medical students at Bonn University, and I can definitely say that I learned a lot!

 Not every student got to watch the same kind of surgeries. Some students went to the cardio unit for heart surgeries, some urology, and others general surgery. I got the opportunity to sit in on not just one, but two pediatric surgeries! At first I was not as excited as the students that went to the cardio surgeries and so forth. I just didn't feel like it was going to be as fascinating as the others, but boy was I wrong!

I have always been very good with children; it just comes naturally. However, I have never thought about actually performing surgery on a child. Of course I knew it was a thing, but I just never really gave it a thought as to pursuing it for a future career. Well, things change right? Life is about learning new things, and I sure uncovered a lot on this day!

This past Wednesday was probably one of the best if not the best day of my life! I witnessed two toddler boys undergo a surgery that would change their lives. Both boys were around 2-3 years old. They were both so tiny, and cute. One boy had a correction procedure done. His ureter was in the wrong place. The surgeon went in, and moved the ureter to the correct place so that the opening was at the tip, and not underneath. The other boy was born without a belly-button. This surgery was so fascinating to me. I never realized how it could be a big deal if you didn't have a belly-button, but it was to the parents of this child. The surgeon cut through the scar tissue that was on the boy's stomach, traced out what he would cut out for the creation of the belly-button, and then proceeded with the procedure. During this surgery I wasn't able to picture the final product actually looking like it should, but I definitely underestimated the surgeon. The final product definitely fascinated me more than anything ever has.

The overall experience was so much more than anything I've ever done or experienced in my life. I'm so glad that I got the chance to participate and be a witness to the surgeries. It only excites me for what is to come in the future, and also gives me so much motivation as to conquer my dreams.