Dr. Jacobs, Please Report To Section-C

So I was on my merry way to pick myself up some dinner at the local Subway, when all of the sudden--with images of baja BBQ pulled pork sandwiches dancing in my head--I got a call from the friendly neighborhood OB/Gyn inviting me to come scrub in on a C-section. "Uhh, ch-yeah...I'll be there". Fast forward 15 minutes, some frantic sandwich ordering, a quick jaunt to the hospital, and one scarfed sandwich later, I find myself scrubbing in on my very first C section.

I'm not going to give too many details for confidentiality reasons, but suffice it to say I was given ample opportunity to get my feet (read: gloved hands) wet. In fact, I came out of the surgery looking quite a bit like my man Ashton after his similarly thrilling lunch at McDonald's. 

Ashton demonstrates how my
hands looked after the surgery

All jokes aside, the procedure absolutely blew me away. I had seen a birth only once before, and had seen never a C-section, let alone participate in one. It was hands-down one of the coolest things I have ever done. And the doctor was fantastic, letting me participate a lot more than I expected. Withholding specifics, I got to help cut, suture, remove and replace, retract, draw, push, staunch and close. And what came of our efforts? A wonderful, healthy baby was brought forth into the arms of one of the sweetest women I've ever met. Pretty freakin' neato.

...Oh yeah, and to top it all off...my pulled pork sandwich wasn't half bad, either.

With such a long and exciting Thursday evening (I actually observed another procedure after the C-section, leaving me thrilled yet exhausted when I finally headed home around 11pm), I figured I had probably seen my fill of excitement for one week. But Friday refused to let me down, and instead delivered some additional fun to finish off an already wonderful week. I got to participate in several laparoscopic procedures, perform a minor surgery essentially from start to finish (with help from the doc here and there), and, to my extreme pleasure, I had the rather rare opportunity to actually cardiovert ("CLEAR!") a guy in afib. 

And last but not least, perhaps the highest point (of my already mountainous) week, I had my absolute favorite patient interaction to date, which I will now leave you with for your enjoyment:

Me: Hi, my name's Zac Jacobs, I'm a medical student

Patient: "Hi, my name's John Smith, I'm vomiting in a bag"