Thailand Inspiration

Jessica Schuster - Ohio State

V:50 I:4 Experiences

      Five years ago I went through an unexpected and life-changing event that nearly cost me my life, and since that day I have achieved goals beyond which I ever thought I could. I went to college to become a veterinary technician and follow my dream to one day become a veterinarian, I traveled with every chance I had to places all around the world, and took hold of all the opportunities I could. I’ve been snorkeling in the Caribbean, horseback riding through the jungle, and swam with dolphins. I’ve scaled the Mayan Ruins, gone cave tubing, and witnessed rare and exotic creatures. I’ve had more amazing experiences than I could ever tell you in one paper, all because I made one simple promise to myself when this all began five years ago - to never let any opportunity slip through my fingers that I would later regret, because I see everyday as a chance to become more than I was yesterday. And everyday to me, especially after nearly losing all of my chances, is another possibility to live life to its fullest.

            Little did I know, that dream I had since I could remember – the dream to one day become a veterinarian – would indeed one day become more of a prospect than a figment of my imagination. Almost exactly two years ago today, I walked through the doors of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, the most nervous I’d ever been in all my life, to present myself as a potential future colleague. Also little did I know that one of my first professors at this college would later become more of a friend and a mentor, who I would travel with all the way on the other side of the world, to offer me more once-in-a-lifetime experiences. So now this brings me to my most recent journey, one of many more I hope, that has offered me so much more than I ever imagined possible – my trip to Thailand.

            It’s not easy to limit a voyage such as this one to a single paper, as I’m sure I could write a whole novel on the experience, but as I ponder this I realize that our journey together could simply be described by three words: Acceptance, Compassion, Inspiration.

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IVSA UPenn Thailand Trip 2010

By: Steven Fernandez

Class of 2013, University of Pennsylvania

The International Veterinary Student Association (IVSA) University of Pennsylvania chapter took on the challenge this past year to organize a trip with a contact from a Thai veterinarian and practice owner of Vet4 Polyclinic in Bangkok, Thailand. Our IVSA UPenn chapter was unaware that this veterinary practice is a well-known and respected clinic in all of Thailand. Vet4 was the first clinic in Thailand to start hydrotherapy for dogs and third to do total hip replacements. Hundreds of emails later throughout the entire academic year, IVSA UPenn sent 14 veterinary students and one local veterinarian to Bangkok, Thailand to start their hands-on training 9,500 miles away.

The trip consisted of 5 clinic days where the students were able to do full spays and castrations from incision to closure at no cost to the owners. We held a series of wetlabs using cadavers weeks in advance to prepare for surgery thanks to the help of our IVSA faculty advisor and surgery residents. Throughout the year we fundraised as much as possible to reduce the cost of the trip and we received lots of donations to offer better medical care for our patients. We brought extra luggage filled with IDEXX Snap tests, injectable Metacam (courtesy of Boerhinger-Ingelheim) for pain management, sterile surgery gloves, lots of frontline (courtesy of Merial), and sterile drapes (courtesy of GEPCO). Students learned how to keep their patient under anesthesia using basic drugs that were available to us. One of the major challenges with outdoor surgery was the incredibly high temperatures dogs had while recovering. Nonetheless, animals did recover and were sent on their way once they were able to walk.

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