The day I saw a laminectomy.

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Hello friends,

I may have finally had the opportunity to catch up on my blog tonight. It's 10 pm here in Thailand and I'm tired so we will see if that holds true.

I can't believe I'm saying this but today was our last full day in Nakornping hospital.

Breakfast started like any other: pork on a stick, blue sticky rice (the blue color made from cooking the rice with a blue flower), and salad.

We stepped out of the vans at Nakornping and were greeted by my preceptor Peanut (again, not sure how to spell). She told us that there was a schedule laminectomy today so she could take 7 people to the OR for observation. Even though I know OR nursing is not my thing, after seeing a hip replacement and C-section in the past, I was excited to see a spinal surgery. I raised my hand and off we went to dress for the OR. First thing we did was take off our shoes and put on sandals. We then changed out of our uniforms and put on a scrub dress, cloth face mask, and a cloth hair net. We went to the basement where there were 9 total operating rooms all recently renovated. This was the only place I knew thus far that had air conditioning in the hospital so I was a happy girl.

We originally were told that only three people could be in the room during the laminectomy but it turned out that there were two laminectomies scheduled at the same time. Three went into one OR, Libby and I went into the other, and the last two saw a total hip replacement. Libby and I were kind of thrown into the room with no one questioning whether or not we scrubbed down (we didn't) but we figured as long as we stood in the corner everything would be fine. The OR looked very similar to one in the US and they even had a camera over top of the surgeon so could see what he was doing. Similar to what I saw in the Neuro ICU, the sterile field was made by a sterile cloth and unlike the US there was no count of the instruments (at least what we could see/hear) pre or post-op. The nurses and surgeon did use sterile gloves and technique as best as they could. But health care personnel continued to walk in and out of the room throughout the three hour surgery. There was no small room to scrub down before entering the OR, there was the OR and a door which led into the main hallway. Thus, the constant walking in and out of the OR by health care workers made me question the actual sterility of the procedure and the environment. The procedure in general was pretty cool as this particular patient had a herniated disk which they cleaned out and then put in 10 screws and two rods. We even saw the nurse breaking the bone down and then putting it back in as an autograft for the patient. All in all it was a pretty cool experience and we got to know the surgeon fairly well as he spoke good English after studying at UCLA. A quick side note...the girls who watched the total hip replacement told us that the patient had no anesthesia and only received a nerve-block. So, the patient was awake but could feel no pain as they completed the procedure. But for those who know how orthopedic surgery goes, you don't want to be awake for this procedure. Apparently, it is common in this hospital to only give anesthesia for neurosurgery or for those who really need it (to save money).

After the procedure we headed to lunch where I was less adventurous and got the shrimp Pad Thai again. Instead of Thai tea, I got myself an iced macchiato which reminded me of home 😊 My preceptor Peanut told us that for the afternoon we would be seeing what alternative medicine looked like in the hospital.

We walked to this ward and were told that for 100 baht we could get a Thai massage. I learned quickly that a Thai massage is not the same as a normal massage. They focus more on pressure points and stretching. My lady knew where all of my pressure points were and where all my knots were. While it hurt at the moment, the end result was complete relaxation. We were told that patients can ask for alternative medicine but they also do outpatient services as well. We met the acupuncture specialist before leaving who let us watch two patients receive acupuncture for various reasons. The one lady had joint pain while the other woman had allergies. Both said that after a month of treatment they noticed a major difference in their issues. The specialist told us that acupuncture is about finding balance between energy and that our whole body has lines of energy. Depending on the diagnosis or problem, he finds the most affected energy lines and that is where he places the needles. My friend Sarah said she has had really bad pain in both of her ankles and he offered to let her try acupuncture. She didn't turn down the offer. When in Thailand...

He placed a needle around both of her ankles and she said it felt like a little pinch and then it goes away. Later that night she told us that the pain had decreased but she wasn't sure if it was a psychological thing or not. Psychological or not, she did notice a difference. We thanked the entire staff for their time and warm welcome and then headed back to BCNC.

We had a nice dinner of soup, chicken stir fry, and another fried egg. Tonight I decided I would also make some toast with jelly. So I did.

The night came to an end with our first official day of class where we covered two weeks worth of content and talked about our experiences at the hospital.

Fun dee na ka (sweet dreams) friends.

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