IFR rating pursuit!

Started, or should I say continued my quest to become IFR rated.  For those of you who are not steeped in aviation, IFR stands for Instrument Flight Rules (although some would say it means I Follow Roads!).  This type of rating is the next step in advancing your piloting skills. It will allow me to fly through weather that you are not allowed to fly through with a VFR (Visual Flight Rules) rating.  

An IFR rating is the foundation upon which other ratings are based. It requires ground schooling (which I completed about 18 months ago) and a knowledge test by a certified testing center (which I passed about 6 months ago).  Then you must complete the flight training with a Certified Instrument Flight Instructor (CFII) which I started about 7 years ago but had to abandon until I could complete the ground schooling.  Hey, some of us just like to take our time… had other things to do.  Anyway, I was able to get up with my previous instructor (Rick) and we started out as though it was just yesterday that we were practicing for the check ride… both of us had a little more gray hair, and a lot more stories to tell!  There have been a lot of changes in aviation in the last 7 years.  For one thing, almost all of the NDBs (non directional beacons) have been decommissioned and GPS has become the norm.  However a lot has remained the same… "fly the plane Robin".  Rick put me through the paces to see how much I remembered on "flying by instruments".  Folks, it was a little tough at first but eventually things were coming back to me.  We practiced Slow Flight, Power-on and Power-off Stalls as well as climbing and descending  and turning to a particular heading all while under a "hood" (view limiting device).  The tolerances are very close (100 feet in altitude and 10 degrees heading).  After about an hour, the instruments "get into your head" and one of two things happen… either you become very comfortable with how to make the plane do exactly what you want (almost by instinct) or you start to over analyze how to make things happen and the whole thing becomes a jumbled up mess!  Eventually the instinct becomes a normal part of flying.  This is why pilots train for hours on end.  I have to admit the challenge is exhilarating and I can't wait for the next session! I know I will be a much better pilot with this training… Thanks Rick!

This type of training will make me a better pilot and increase my safety factor as I plan my trip to St. Croix island and the Final Fix mission.  Thanks to all who are supporting this nobel cause.  Bye for now, Robin.

Virginia Tech, Garmin's app, Treadmill Dog

Still working on setting the final route for the flight to St. Croix for the Fixit Project.  This will have to be planned carefully.  The first leg will be from Hampton Roads to Ft. Lauderdale.  This will not be so critical as there are plenty of places to stop.  On the second leg it will be more important to pick out the best destinations for a fuel stop.  Tentatively I will be stopping in the Caicos Islands for a midway fill up.  This will be about 4 hours into the final leg.  Will continue to investigate!

The Virginia Tech Campus from 1000 feet!

Flew up to Virginia Tech this weekend it is good to keep my flying skills up.  I saw my son Chris at the Vet School.  He is in "clinics" and will be graduating in May of 2013.  I am naturally very proud of him.  It was great to see him and I look forward to seeing him as a full fledged Doctor.  While I was there we went out to the local Macado's sandwich shop for a meal.  It was great catching up with him and his girlfriend Ellie.  Ellie is a third year student who is currently doing research on type II diabetes as a summer project.  I think she will make the veterinary profession very proud, and I look forward to great things from her (and Chris)! 

Tested out Garmin's App for the iPad pilot.  There were a few things that are driving me crazy.  I am not sure if it is because I am not very familiar with how it works or if it is the app itself.  One of the things that I felt was very annoying was that the screen turned off every couple of minutes.  Now I know that there is a way to turn off the setting but the Foreflight app turned it off automatically.  It is very hard to make the adjustment happen in the airplane while it's bouncing around in the air.  My fingers are a little on the fat side and that makes it even harder to hit the right area of the iPad.  I also could not call up the frequencies for the airport of destination and that was down right frustrating!  I did not find it very intuitive.  By the was do NOT wear polarized sunglasses with the iPad as you will not be able to see the screen.  I don't think this is going to be the one for me!

We have been having a great time at the hospital teaching our Doggie Day Care dogs to walk on a treadmill.  I was not sure that it was going to be possible but my son Mark has been working with several members and really has a "nack" for making it happen.  He seems to have a real connection with the animal world so it did not surprise me.  I have included a short video for any of you that doubt that it can be done.

Back to work, it's surgery day today.  I am looking forward to the challenging cases!  As always, thanks for your support.  Bye for now, Robin

Life Rafts and Trixie

Looked into renting a life raft for the plane and there are several companies available.  It looks like around $300 for the week at Aviation Survival.com … money well spent!  I will continue to look for the best deal, it will be important to have a safety net for the open water trip.

Abbey Animal Hospital is a place where the whole range of emotions occurs on a regular basis.  We celebrate our successes and morn our losses.  It can be mentally exhausting to go through a busy day.  One recent case involved a very gentle and mature Skipperke dog named Trixie.  She presented to our hospital with a very large and growing mass on her chest.  The mass had grown so big that it was rubbing on the ground and causing excoriations and some bleeding.  The owner and I were very concerned.  The problem with masses that are so big is that the surgery to remove them is never easy… but something had to be done.  Trixie still had a lot of life left in her and none of us were ready to put her down.

We put a surgical team together with some ideas on how to remove this very large tumor.  One of the main complications about taking this tumor off is the size of the hole that is left.  It takes some planning on where to take the skin to make the closure.  I have experience with this type of closure but each time is still a challenge.  I decided that the best form of closure in this case was going to be an advancement flap.  This type of flap uses the adjacent skin to advance into the wound area.  Fortunately there is some extra skin on the abdomen from which this flap can be made.

After making a rather large incision we had to clamp off the vessels which were extensive.  We had to use all the clamps in one pack and most of the clamps in a second surgical pack.  At one point I thought we might have to do a blood transfusion.  Once we ligated all the vessels and removed the tumor, the real work started.  It takes more time to close this type of wound then it takes to remove the mass.  I was able to create the flap and secure it in place.  I placed a drain to prevent fluid build up.  I then closed the rest of the incision from side to side.  I felt that I got a good closure but that there was more tension on this incision then I wanted.  So it goes.  It is now in mother nature's hands.  

On the 5 day check-up Trixie was in good spirits.  She did have some drainage from the incision, but it might be due to her increased activity.  We were able to remove the actual drain with instructions to keep the incision clean and continue with the antibiotics.  We will be rechecking in several days to keep an eye on the incision.  It was great to see Trixie back with her owner!

Another Monday come and gone.  Thanks to everyone for all the support.  Stay tuned for more developments.  Bye for now, Robin.

Delivered Pups! Documents Away!

We are continuing on with the Fix St. Croix mission.  I have been able to find and send copies of all the documents needed for a temporary license to practice in St. Croix (thanks to my Cracker Jack Staff).  Now I just have to wait to see if everything goes through.  It should, but you never know about these things.  Sometimes you will run into a "snag" of some type… we will see.

Troubled Little Young Pug!

I ran into a case this week of the reason that I am going to St. Croix.  We had a very sweet but very young little pug show up at the hospital and she was in trouble.  She was in active labor but unable to produce any pups (the technical term is Dystocia).  We took some radiographs and discovered that she had 2 very large pups that she was trying to give birth to for the past 6 hours. 

  There were birthing tissues hanging out the back end but no pups.  I also used the ultrasound machine to make sure the pups were alive. Sure enough there were 2 little hearts pumping away!  After trying to have her deliver naturally, it was painfully obvious that surgery was our only option.  We went to work.  Folks, I can't emphasize how great my staff is when it comes to emergencies.  Everyone knew what they had to do and everyone jumped into action!  The trick to delivering live pups is speed!  We had her down on the surgery table and pups delivered within 5 minutes after starting anesthesia.  The pups were stimulated to breath by the staff and they were cleaned up and kept warm while waiting for the Mom to be closed up.  The ovarian hysterectomy and the closure took much longer due to all the extensive development of the vessels and the huge uterus.  The Mom did fine and we introduced both pups soon after she was recovered from anesthesia.  They were bruisers and the instinct to nurse took over. 

  Both pups weighed over half a pound!  That would be like have 10 pound twins for you ladies out there… Yikes!  The miracle of life is a miracle, but the casual breeding of dogs is not good.  It should not be entered into lightly as there are many potential complications.  I am sure that if more people were aware of these complications, they would keep their furry companions from breeding.  In this case everything turned out OK (so far).  It was a very dangerous and expensive event for the owner and the Mom, not to mention it will be a long 6 to 8 weeks of tending to these pups  before finding them new homes.  It could have been avoided with a simple spay between 4 and 6 months of age.  Ah, "hind sight is always 20/20".

Well its time for a second cup of coffee and then back to work.  Thanks for all the support out there, its great to hear from you.  Stay tuned for more developments.  Bye for now, Robin.

Novartis to Donate! Dog Emergency!

Talked to Ashly my great Novartis Rep. and she was interested in our St. Croix project.  The first thing she said was "OK, Take me with you!"  I think she was thinking that it would be all about SCUBA diving and sandy beaches… "well, its not exactly a vacation".  After we talked about the mission she said she would look into having The Novartis Company donate some suture material (used to close incisions) for the spay surgeries.  Folks, this would be a great help and would give me a chance to try out some of the newer products on a whole bunch of surgeries.  I hope they can come through.

Example of Dog with Endotracheal Tube

Its been a crazy busy week at the hospital.  Lots of great cases and surgeries.  One case involved a senior Beagle that hadn't missed too many meals in her life (she had packed on some extra weight bless her heart).  She was struggling with a history of a chronic cough that never completely cleared up with supportive care and antibiotics.  It would get better then come back.  We had been looking at this patient for some time and not able to put our finger on it.  Her heart was slightly enlarged but there has not been a murmur and her heart rate was normal.  Her lung fields were unremarkable for a senior canine.  She never coughed in the exam room on previous visits.  Her condition was quite perplexing until she came in this past Tuesday morning for additional work up and became very excited and anxious… I think she has "white coat syndrome", this is a condition that people suffer from when in the presence of a Doctor (who typically wears a white coat).  Its almost a panic attack.  Well with all the excitement she was panting like a freight train.  Then she progressed into an inability to breath out.  There was a distinctive "HUT, HUT, HUT" sound every time she attempted to breath.  This progressed and got much worse.  She was turning blue and needed help and needed it quickly!

     I looked in her mouth and observed her larynx not working properly.  She was unable to open the cartilages that block the wind pipe (these normally keep food and fluid from getting into the lungs).  Having some background in emergency veterinary medicine, it was obvious that she was suffering from a condition called "laryngeal paralysis".  This is called "roarers" in horses because of the noise they make. One thing about this problem, you have to intubate the patient (see picture above) to relieve the condition in canines.  Well this patient (like most) wasn't about to let me place a tube down her throat while she had anything to say about it!  This is where the "rubber hits the road" as they say.  I can hear all my mentors talking in my head and saying "OK, what are you going to do now?".  Folks I will tell you here and now, when you are looking at a patient that is turning blue and struggling to breath, the last thing you think of is sedating this patient… but thats exactly what needed to be done.  I gave the injection and watched her become tranquil, then we put the O2 mask on her and masked her the rest of the way down with gas anesthesia until we were able to place an endotracheal tube.  Vio La, she responded almost immediately and pinked up.  We all breathed a little easier as we watched her rest comfortably with a normal breathing rate and normal vital signs.  We referred her owner to the local Boarded surgeon for repair.  Right after she recovered and was doing great I thought it would have been a great training video for some of the younger veterinarians but alas, it was not meant to be.  Sorry, I would have liked to share it with you.  Have to admit, taking pictures was a low priority at the time.

Well its back to work... stay tuned for more exciting developments for this adventure.  Bye for now, Robin.

Great News!

   Great News, St. Croix pet population control is on its way... we are defiantly scheduled for the third week in October (20th to 26th).  I have been in direct contact with Dr. Kellie Heckman, the coordinator for this mission in St. Croix and the executive Director of FiXit.  This is a non-profit organization dedicated to controlling the overpopulation of companion animals.  You can check out their website at Fixit-foundation.org.   She has requested copies of several documents required for a temporary license in order for me to practice veterinary medicine in the Caribbean.  I have put my "Cracker-Jack" manager and her team on this to make it happen (thank you Diana and Alli)!  We are in the first stages of planning so I know there will be many more details to work out before going on this mission.

Captain Brad ready for action!

     Brad and I have decided that we need to get going on the fund raising activities to get us down there and to allow us to bring extra supplies.  I have set up an account at the hospital to keep track of any donations that are made to this nobel cause.  Feel free to contact me at rknoppdvm@aol.com or call the hospital at 757-471-1003.  Remember that "many hands makes the work light"… so do not hesitate to get involved!

     Talked to Randy (my other "fly Buddy") and he does not think that he will be able to make the actual flight but that he will help out in any way he can.  He is a high energy type of guy and he will be a real asset to making this happen.  Sometimes the people behind the scenes are the real heroes that make a project happen.  Its great to watch this work force come together for a great cause.  Hope you will be a part of this.

     Well, got to get ready for work and another cup of coffee.  More to come, bye for now, Robin.

Thoughts for St. Croix

    Talked about my St. Croix spay/neuter mission to Brad (one of my fly buddies) and he decided he wanted to come alone on the mission.  This is great news as I did not want to make the trip by myself.  I am planing on loading the Six with supplies that will be needed for this mission.  I think that they will have most of everything that I will need however, I am sure there will be additional needs due to the overwhelming scale of this feral animal population (see previous post on St. Croix Fix).  I know it will be tricky getting all the medical supplies from one country to another as we make our way down there (I don't want any misunderstanding about the use of this medical supplies) .  I think I will contact the different customs before setting off across the water.

Brad (L) and Randy(R) ready to fly!

     One thing about flying down there, you need to be prepared to make a water landing… I will make sure we have life preservers and a PLB just in case.  I will also look into life rafts as they can really make a difference.  I will bring some spare parts, getting a repair down there might be tricky.  Definitely a spare tire/ inner tube and some oil is a minimal must.  I think contacting a company that flies the Caribbean extensively would be a good idea.  The  Bahamas and Caribbean Pilot Guide would be a great investment as it seems to be a solid and up to date publication of the airports in this region.

OK, more to come… Bye for now, Robin