Being one feet away from death

The title says it all. My first autopsy.My first encounter inches away from a fresh dead body. The foul smell of death. The fresh stench of blood.

While I was happily watching X-Men: Wolverine The Origin, a call came from Elora. "Hey girl,come faster to the KMC Forensic Department.There's an autopsy.Wear your labcoat.Come quick." I stood stunned for a moment. What?? Now?? I am going to an autopsy?? Oh shit!! My heart started beating like I've ran 40km marathon. Oh gosh! Oh gosh! I hasten to wear my contacts and changed to my tees and black pants, thinking "Oh God! Will I puke later?Oh no, I haven't eaten my lunch!" I quickly raid my fridge for a piece of chocolate, but I'm vegetarian! Pausing, thinking, ok I'm eating it.The Nine Gods will forgive me for this since I'm just gonna eat for once and no way I'm puking in the mortuary!"

Slipping into my sport shoes,I ran out of my hostel and towards the dreaded place. I took a moment to straighten my labcoat and buttoned it up and pulled my phone out from the pocket to put it in silent mode. I check for the current message from Elora. "Just come in" What?? just walk into the hall?? I'm gonna see a dead body now? LIKE NOW??? Oh shit. I walked in cautiously taking deep breaths. Ah! sighs of relieve. My batchmates and some KMC students are still gathered in the hallway.

Chatted a little and made some small jokes on puking and fainting. Suddenly I caught a glimpse of a pair of small feet in a metal tray across the hall in the inquest room.Oh no! It's a kid!! And two men carried the body of the poor girl, looking about the age of 5-7 years old ( you can never tell from the height and weight since a lot of malnourished kids are seen in India) into another hall.

We continued our discussion on the kid and Desmond was saying how you could smell the foul smell if you stand right in front of the hall. So trying to prepare my senses to the smell, I boldly walked to the hall and sniffed. " No...there's no smell yet," I told Desmond. "Got..smell properly" I took another deep breath.."Nooo..where got???" A man walked out and beckoned me to go in. Freaking out, I said " Eh can go in already!! Faster Faster! Sun Quan and Desmond walked in followed by me and Fred and the rest of them.

Ta Da! The girl was lying on the metal trolley.I saw the eyes was closed but not fully. The wrist was broken few inches above the radioulnar joint. The body was still limp and flaccid.No rigor mortis yet. Her head had a bloody wound and a few small cuts on her leg. Other than that, she looked perfectly at peace.Nothing that suggested a violent death.Autopsy starts with measurement all the body parts and wounds. Then without warning doctor just took the scalpel and cut right in the middle from the chin down to the abdomen and pelvic region. The skin and muscle are separated from the rib bones, sliced apart easily like cutting off the skin from the chicken.

Took all the organs out by cutting through the oesophagus and larynx and tongue and the whole body content comes out hanging like a bunch of bananas from its stem.( I can't find a better metaphor)

Then the ribs are examined.Fractured ribs. From the force of accident. Spleen ruptured and fragments of it went into the thoracic cavity,puncturing the diaphragm.And skull was cracked open and brain is removed and weighed.approximately 1. something kg ( Every organ is weighed) Can't remember.
Then organs are sliced and examined. Saw that kidney looks fine. And brain had a hemorrhagic state. Parietal and occipital lobe injury. But nothing compared to the internal haemorrhage of the organs.

Cause of death: Spleen rupture leading to internal haemorrhage from the force of collision. RTA :Road Traffic Accident

Postmortem of This Experience

Emotional Status : I can't believe such a young life, such precious life can so easily be taken away. As I see her dead body being cut open in that way, I can't believe how fragile our human body is.

Physical Status : Still fine.Didnt gag or faint because the smell reminds me of the pig stomach and chicken being slaughtered. So just a strong stench of blood. The sickening salty irony smell of blood
Though my taste bud is completely altered I felt. I drank lime juice in food court with Sarah and Desmond and it didn taste at all like lime juice.Sarah said she could still smell the blood and Desmond told that he had a flu for days and couldnt smell a thing till today when he just got his sense of smell back, he had to smell the bloody stench

Conclusion : Very good experience and considering it's the first case, Im lucky to not get a putrified or drowned body. They say it smell a 100 times worst. Gosh,I can't imagine that.

Exactly one month after...

Thanks to Yeem,I'm gonna update a little about my life since finals. Ok i passed year 1 with much toil n sweat, I've gone back to Malaysia and enjoyed my life in Subang n Penang, I broke my molar band and had it replaced with a high-tech band ( braces stuff,dun worry if u don't understand,it doesnt matter) celebrated Dot's n Yeem's bday, dined at Jogoya with my family,pictures yet to come, left my pencil box and name tag in my bro's room, and flew to Bangalore last night,overnight in the airport,left for hotel in morning,check-in,visited some temples and camwhored, bought bus ticket back to Mangalore then Manipal then now finally, blogging about it. That's in short the summary.Oh ya forgotten to mention that i saw some Indian film shooting some scenes in front of our hotel. And now Im blardy hungry but one of my fren is sleeping and another didnt want to eat.Gosh...apa jadi now? shud i go alone then? Anyway im leaving Bangalore alone..Im so happy to be back to Manipal (at least i gain some normalcy in life rather than living on the go like backpackers with 32kg of luggage + 10kg of hand carry + 5kg of backpack!! damn! why did i bring so much stuff back to Malaysia? now i have to bring them back..aiyoyo..next time il bring ntg back!! for sure!! For now..im so so lazy to post my pictures up in facebook! wait til i reach Manipal la..using hotel wifi..damn slow to upload..
Till next
I miss home!!! *sobs*

THANK YOU NOTE

A long time ago, I once said

A breakdown would be inevitable

I hope, at that time, someone will slow down to walk with me,

To regain my motivation, to shift my paradigm towards life and death,

To at least make sure I don’t beat myself up too much over the mistakes I’d do

And I could regain my strength and willpower to continue running to cross the finishing line.

This is to my family and friends,

Who stayed with me and held me tight when I needed them the most

 

You know who you are;

Mum&Dad for your endless support and believe in me when i didn’t believe in myself

sis Cheryl,who stayed up with me all night to study

bro Alvin,who bought a gecko and happily telling me just to make me happy *wtf*

bestie Wood,who woke me up with ur endless miss calls..and well wishes of course especially the one before anatomy paper:)

buddy Ian, who tolerated my calls at insanely weird hours and still called  to make sure I’ve not gone mad

the rest of my family in India who never fails to comfort me with their moral support! Gambate!! no need ad lah now gambate what..

AND the subang family with all their lucks n wishes!

I THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!!!

MIA

Carol’s gonna be missing in action for sometime till 26th August ya….having finals..don’t bother to check til then :) Have fun! Wish me luck! Don’t miss me so ya!

My personality Test-which i think i damn accurate lo….

copy paste from fb lol

You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. *very true*

While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. *isit?*

You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. *what is it i wonder*

Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. * ya ya im fickle…no im not fickle..im just not sure whether right or wrong my decisions*

You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. * hmmm thinking shifting to wordpress.com then i will be able to lock my post from unwanted eyes*

At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.* hahaha i like day dreaming..my once favourite day dream was to receive an award from Dr Mathathir for being top student in SPM ..of coz it didn come true…since i took only 10 subjects…but i was thinking how proud my parents would be…hhmmm *

Physiology Practical Nightmare

I just came back from a nightmarish practical examination

It consist of two performance test which I have to perform on a subject(patient) aka.some unknown tempe that I think they just pay to do it..Sit there act patient..*smart way to earn money*

and there are eight more stations where there’ll be some graph or pictures or questions to answer

So smart carol started with station 2 which is spirometry ( graph that depicts ur lung capacity*jeng jeng jeng* confidently answer and smirked at opposite neighbour to show off..oh so easy

Then come station 3, renal(kidney) function.Mmmm panicked a moment.eh shit…formula formula tubular load,excretory rate,urine flow rate, urine concentration of substance X…*mind raced through the formula I read just a moment ago outside the multipurpose lab* Then started calculation…and voila..net secretion by renal tubular! err…doubt for a moment then shud be ok..carol lee dun think so much

Then station 4, Cushing syndrome.Shit i think i just wrote decrease secretion of ACTH ARGH!! shit 1 mark gone

Then station 5,performance station.Heart races a bit.Shit i’m having palpation. Scanned the sheet of white paper which lies my fate of 3 marks.Oh thank god. Measure BP by palpation method.GREAT!!

*walked in confidently into the cubicle hidden by those green partition you find in hospitals… Good morning.I’m going to do the palpation method to check your BP. Picked up the sphygmomanometer * cheh showing of some medical tongue twister*  Hold tempe’s arm and check for brachial pulse.Then wrapped the deflated arm tube over it. Then start palpate for radial pulse ( like to TVB old chinese manchurian drama inside got those “chung yi”-- err chinese medicine doctor. Tested it 3 times to double check…ok 110mmHg sir :) Grins broadly as i walked out.cheh so easy summore i remember to tell patient thank you :)

Then next station is rest station.Lip SHeng did his BP and sat across me. He was mumbling something.Couldnt catch wat he said but I know he was hinting about next station. Couldnt be bothered.Scared I kena tangkap for cheating:P

anyway, next station 6, ovulation by temperature method. So to educate the women and families out there, if you plan to have  a baby pls ask ur wife or if you are a woman, consistently keep a diary of your temperature. Measure it when you wake up in the morning, dont do anything yet. Wake up and measure. Better result, measure it without getting out of bed which means you have to keep the thermometer at bedside. Track your body temperature it should remain constant at about 36.5 to 37 degree Celsius (not Fahrenheit) Then the day you noticed increased temperature by about 0.5 to 1 degree you may have erm … sexual intercourse ( coitus) lol there’s an increase chance of getting pregnant because you just ovulated mah…form 5 also got learn lo…

anyway next station 7 cant rmb

station 8 stupid acromegaly..how can I change my answer! stupid carol..think think think so much…bodoh punye budak…3 marks gone…blardy @$%@$##%$@^%#$^#@%$#%@

station 9 sensory ataxia.Oh shit..performance test..errr think think carol think what sensory ataxia…incoordination of movement..errr upper limb test rapid alternating movement?? shit shit..walk into the cubicle.The best part? the examiner himself took this topic for us. He must be eager to see how many students fail to master this portion that he taught. Gosh Gosh.

Carol to patient: So I’m going to do this test on you……………….

*paused for about 30 seconds which is pretty long when you have a patient and an examiner staring down at you..staring up in this case..they are both sitting..ermmm… ok carol’s pathetic brain keep flashing through the pages of her practical manual..stops at the page.ahh found it sensory ataxia..what is down there…the titile in bold…AHHH ROMBERG’S TEST!!!!

Yay!!! Sir…can you please stand for me.Put your legs together and close your eyes please. Yay!! Turned to sir, Sir!! No swaying sir! sensory ataxia absent. ROmberg’s sign negative. Hmmm nods.. What are the romberg’s test significance? Confidently blurt out cerebellar lesion. Examiner stares back…cerebellar lesion ??  Stupid.. summore say again…Yeah cerebellar *thought to myself,maybe he heard cerebral lesion* Then pause oh wait…. equilibrium…DORSAL COLUMN LESION!!! Then examiner nodded OK… passed…maybe will minus mark for this…but at least i didn do anything else that is wrong..I remember hearing some people whacking the tuning fork which is for auditory test( hearing test) wah….then the fella ma wrong kau kau?

lol

smiling again went to last station. Oh great microscope. Scanned it, adjusted the focus and voila…my pretty eosinophil came in focus. Happy wrote. Eosinophil, 1-4% in circulation Paused shit what is cause of eosinophilia( high eosinophil count) just read this morning..confused with so many disorders then just trusted instinct of my memory that remembered it to be bronchial asthma..or was it typhoid fever..gosh…then rmb typhoid fever supposed to be for eosinopenia ( low eosinophil count) aiya pun only la…trusting my heart

Then looked up , smiled and frown a little *doubtful face* LIpSHeng mouthed 50-70% huh? aint that for neutrophil? Isnt it multilobed?? Check the miscrope again No ah distinct bilobed…scans the brain again..YEs…CONFIRM EOSINOPHIL…frown at LipSHeng again.He mouthed 50-70% again..SUddenly lecturer shouted NO TALKING!! shhhh… paiseh…caught red-handed but not like he helped me also…im so sure he’s wrong..

then SOmething clicked in his brain! OH OH! then after they collected papers…Lipsheng said “ oh you save my life” thank you keep reapeating that i saved his life… But i burnt mine!!! Stupid acromegaly…why did i change my bloody answer! STupid CAROL ! ARGHHH

10.30am – Dissection Hall Anatomy revision Fine…go study now…zzzzzz

til next..carol

Saturday Black Pepper Chicken Rice Fever

To celebrate the end of Biochem practical I decided to cook a storm up..Nah…it was alright though there’s a few silly mistakes here and there…anyway..i curi tulang wan...Cuz i use the prepacked sauce:P

my masterpiece :) ciaoz…gtg savour my chicken rice :P

Nah…let u all salivate a little

Black Pepper Chicken with mixed veg

 

My Hainanese chicken rice..of course not ori lah…i Teochew mah lolx

Plain Porridge never tasted better

ham yu pak chuk ya hou hou mei ( translates to salted fish and white plain porridge also tasted good )

Really I never liked plain porridge and canned chinese side dishes that go along with it back home…i always think how could my parents grow up eating plain porridge and sardine fish only..

Now i know.Gosh, i miss mummy’s cooking so much…i want to go back…..if only i can fly back now..now for dinner itself! Argh frust frust

 

Clockwise: Sardine,my favourite braised peanut,pickled lettuce and porridge with olive vegetable :)

Ahhh dinner never tasted so good..satisfaction* patting  tummy*

:)

Gtg.Tomorrow I’m sitting for biochem practical and I cant afford to screw it up kthxbai