Hercules

Believe it or not, I was actually up at 5:45 today. Yes, I know, it's a Saturday. At best, the only reason for being up at such hours should be that one hasn't gone to bed in the first place.

But. All the medical procedures from the night shifts are saved up for the early mornings, so getting there really early was the only way for us to participate in these. And why wouldn't I want to? This is what I'm here for!

I got to try a number of different things while I was there. It's particularly fun to try procedures under supervision that one has never tried before, and actually managing them. Femoral taps, for example; drawing blood samples from the femoral vein in infants and young children. It can be quite the challenge.

See, it's hard to tell an infant that the pinprick they're going to feel is done in the best of intentions. This in turn means that they won't quietly lie around while you take the blood sample. No no, they will fight it with every ounce of their body - and sometimes you're left wondering where a baby this tiny gets so much strength from.