Welcome to Surgery!

This post is dedicated to the beloved doctor in our life :)



 The other night, we went out for an adventure in the dark.

To visit St. Cloud Hospital's new surgical center.

 It has been completely renovated and was very impressive!

 There were some hands-on hip sockets to examine.

There were also new rooms to look at.  I had heard of the daVinci robot, but didn't realize there was one in central Minnesota.

We're so hip (har!) and advanced here in the midwest.

 You could even manipulate the daVinci yourself . . .

. . . If you could get through the door.  The room was so packed with people, we had to move on.  The only one who could get a look at anything in there was Nate, and that is only because his legs are actually part stilt (true story).

The sinks for handwashing were so big, Elin could take a bath in them.

The kids' room was nearly empty, so we headed in there.

The first thing we saw was candy.  Is this normal surgical protocol?

The nurse in there demonstated how a tube was put into an airway to help the patient breathe.  (Sorry, no technical terms here.)

It was pretty cool.

I'm not sure what Svea was thinking.

She was game to put a little thing on her finger that monitored her heart rate and oxygen levels though.

The screen showed a 98 out of 100 oxygen level (see it near the bottom right of the screen)  We applauded Svea for having such excellent lungs.

Viggo couldn't help but want to know what his heart rate and oxygen levels were too.

First he had a 96/100 for oxygen.  Then that stinker then took several deep breaths so his oxygen level was at 100.  So he could beat Svea at breathing.

Yes, our children even compete for who is the better breather.

Then Viggo got suited up to preform surgery.

This headgear keeps all the germs contained.

Viggo got such a kick out of that.

Then there was water to spray.  Viggo wanted to bring this contraption home.

 Elin squirted the water too.  This was the only activity she wanted to participate in (besides helping herself to a piece of candy).

Okay, I know we live in the heart of Jell-O country, but these were not refreshements for the tour.  These things are placed under the patient's body, anywhere that needs to be cushioned to help them feel more comfortable on the operating table.

And they were lemon flavored.

Just kidding!  Moving on to Laparoscopic Cholecstectomy!

 Viggo started taking pictures.  I was glad, because this room was a little creepy, and I was busy keeping an eye on Svea, who was looking a little wary about being in this room.

I did not take this photo, and I'm not sure what is happening in this video, and I am not really even wanting to know.

We had a great time.  It was really nice to see the new surgery rooms and meet some of the staff.  I hope we never have to see them again.

When I was putting the girls to bed that night, Svea told me she never wanted to go there again (she meant the laparoscopic room specifically).  I told her that we need to be thankful that God has blessed us with healthy bodies, and that even though we haven't needed to have surgery, isn't it nice to know there is a wonderful place full of nice doctors like Grandpa Zeke who can take good care of people who do need surgery, blah blah blah.  Well, my little speech went in one ear and out the other because she just said, "Mommy, I never want to be in that dark room again!" 

So then we prayed.  And then she fell asleep - thank goodness!

Lost Episode: the Minnesota Zoo field trip

 We went to the zoo for an official homeschool field trip in October.

As in, it was specifically for homeschool families, put on by the Minnesota Zoo.  It was so fun to have a field trip to look forward to!

The kids couldn't wait to get there.  Plus, Nate took the day off so we got to go all together.

First there were starfish to touch.

A leafy seadragon.

 Medtronic now sponsors a large portion of the zoo - the entire Minnesota wildlife section, actually - and wow, was it dolled up compared to the last time we were there.  Now it's like walking through a beautiful log cabin.

Really, it is such an improvement.  A hundred years ago when we visited, this hallway was concrete and creepy.

Coyote.

Wolf.

No kidding.

*sigh*  Bald Eagle, so amazing to see up close.

There were a variety of activities and hands-on fun stuff for the students, and Viggo tried jumping as far as a mountain lion could.

The baby lynx.  Look how big those feet are.

I kind of wanted to take this thing home.  Their ears always make me think of some sort of creature from Narnia.

 Meet Coconut, the cockatoo.
The kids loved Coconut.  She did some fun tricks and was so sweet.

And this is a Hyacinth Macaw.  Elin loved those big orange eyes.

Then we went to the tropics, another part of the zoo that had a major renovation at some point while we were out in Delaware.  Here we have a lemur.

I watched this guy for quite some time and I don't think he ever blinks.

Elin was fascinated with him (a West African Dwarf Crocodile).  She couldn't stop saying she was scared of it, but she couldn't stop staring at it either.

 The expressions on the faces of these guys was so entertaining.

I can almost imagine this little guy smoking a pipe.

Then we found something terrible.

Can you see it?

A Komodo Dragon.

Seeing this Komodo resulted in two nights of Svea not wanting to fall asleep because she thought this thing was going to come and eat her.  It didn't matter how much we tried to reason with her:
The Komodo Dragon can't drive a car.  It can't walk out of the zoo.  It can't even leave it's pen.  There is no way possible it could survive out of the zoo in the freezing cold anyway.  They are not native to Minnesota, or ever North America, for that matter.

It didn't matter.  She cried and protested.  She was going to be eaten.

I was not expecting that type of reaction from her.  She saves all the drama for bedtime.

 Viggo had worksheets to fill out about the animals as we made our way through the zoo.

Tortoises.

A zebra shark.  I can't figure this one out.  It has spots, not stripes - why the name?

Love this fish!!

 Russian wild boar, anyone?

Then we hit the trail outside.

Svea was excited to see the caribou.

"Mom, is that the caribou from Caribou Coffee?"

Sure it is, honey!

Svea then did a caribou call.

The caribou didn't give a reaction, but she freaked the moose out a little.

Now there's a nose.

A sleepy fox.

And resting camels.  It seemed to be naptime.

Prairie dogs!  These guys were so fun to watch.

They are really quick too.

This is a Takin, a goofy cow/goat type of creature from the Himalayas.

Viggo does a reasonably good Takin impersonation.

We ended with another favorite, the sea otters.  They were being fed so this one actually stayed still for a moment while it chewed so I could get a picture.

We had such a great time and hope that the MN zoo offers another homeschool day next year!