For Ms. Lamb’s class, we needed to job shadow for the class, so I choose to shadow at Regional in Defiance. Little did I know that this choice would affect what I want to do with the rest of my life. My parents both are nurses, so we acquired some pretty darn good connections. I decided I would shadow Dr. Weigand, one of the general surgeons at Regional, for my assignment. I had to leave with Dad for work around 7 a.m. Once we arrived there, he handed me royal scrubs, a  turquoise surgical mask, and a steel surgical cap. 

“Make sure your shoe covers do not come off,” Dad requested. We were Smurfs out in the open. I wore the same attire as all the employees. I excitedly hide a smile under my mask. Strutting towards the OR, I realized the orthopedic surgeon was performing a total knee replacement. 

As soon as I walked into the room, all of the blinding bright lights caught my attention. The aroma of sterilization filled the room, too. The room was a baby blue color, but it seemed even lighter because all of the lights. From the time the surgery started to its end, I was thrilled to be in the OR.

“Watch these two muscles here,” Weigand commented. “Pretty cool isn’t it?” I watched the thick knee muscles flex and retract. The surgeon then pulled out this metallic nutcracker looking device. 

Weigand laughed, “Watch this.” BOOM!!! The sound like a tree snapping in half sliced through the room. Soon after, the knee then burst into hundreds of chipped shards flying everywhere. The sound vibrated through my body. My stomach churned and became queasy. The stench of burning flesh and calcium enveloped me. All of the surgical staff in the OR took notice of it. To ease my discomfort, I rocked back and forth uncontrollably. I had completely lost my balance. My eyes closed. Standing next to me, the CRNA grabbed my arm.

“Hey, dude, come on; let’s go,” the CRNA insisted. The CRNA took me out to the break room. Like a baby giraffe learning to walk, I teetered back to the break room in a robotic fashion. My first taste of hardcore surgery was a bitter but satisfying one. He set me down and brought me some saltine crackers with water. 

“This is a lesson for you. Never. I mean never go into the OR with an empty stomach. Only bad things will happen if you do that,” Dr. Weigand repeated. He left me there while he finished up on his case. 

By the time I settled down my stomach, Dr. Weigand came into the surgical block. He took me into his first case which was a hernia repair. Once again, we were back in the same looking, extremely lit room. The most interesting part of the surgery started when Dr. Weigand started to cut. Weigand barely even made an incision the diameter of the tip of a pencil. While conducting the surgery, he only used two mechanical hands while operating. That’s it. The entire surgery was minimally invasive. 

My last surgery and most favorite of all with Dr. Miller, the sports med doctor in the carbon scrubs, had began in OR 2. The surgery started in the patient's shoulder. When Dr. Miller moved around, I could tell he owned the OR. He layed out every single cut he made to me. He also demonstrated what muscles are which. With his fast-paced work method, we were in and out of the OR within less than an hour. I still think that was one of the most interesting experiences I have ever seen. On that very day in that very OR, I learned what I wanted to do with my life. 

‘I’m gonna become a surgeon,’ I thought. 

“So, Kal, what did you think?” Dad asked.