I never pass up a chance to scrub in on the best cases. I'm not twisted! I'm just fascinated by the human body!
We
had a man donate his organs today and we did the harvest. Four teams
from all over the country came in to remove the organs and fly them
back to their cities for transplant. I described a little bit of this
process in a previous post so I won't go into details but I did want
to tell you about the heart.
Human nature tends to romanticize
the heart. We think of love, Valentines Day, loss, adoration and the
hundreds of other emotions that go along with it. We
speak of remembering things by heart, or loving someone with all of our
heart, or missing someone so much that it breaks our heart. We speak
of the heart as if it is the center of our emotional selves.
But, there is a different heart that nobody sees but everybody listens
to; the beating heart. The heart that sustains life. Remember the
story "The TellTale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe? Remember the
description he gave of the sound of that heart pumping and beating in
what he thought was the floor beneath him? Only to find out it was his
own. I remember thinking about how strong the sound of the heartbeat
was.
But the beating heart is a magnificent organ. Today I was
able to see it as it worked inside the chest. The chest was opened and
the heart and lungs were exposed. Because this man was still on life
support, the heart and lungs were in full operation. I was awestruck
by the power of this muscle that was no larger than my fist. The
amount of force this organ produced rocked the entire thoracic cavity.
There was no mistaking who was the boss inside that space! And, rather
than the side-to-side motion that I suspected happens with the heart,
it had more of a twist to the motion, like a washing machine has. That
is how powerful this muscle is!
I tend to see the human body as
a science rather than a being but today I couldn't help but notice the
magic behind it. Which makes me think...no wonder we associate such
strong emotions with the powerful beating heart!
ninibud92 posted on Dec 22, 2006
| views: 281
Comments
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dailyachesandpains said on Dec 22, 2006....
Nini,I love reading your posts.I believe I told you in the past that my daughter had open heart surgery at the age of 7 months...I think everyone knows that by now. Hearing you describe it really meant a lot. I always wondered what the OR staff saw when they were operating on her tiny little heart. Thanks to you...I know!Thank you!{{{hugs}}}Daily -
ninibud92 said on Dec 22, 2006....
I'm glad you enjoy reading. I hoped that by writing about my experiences, people wouldn't be so afraid to seek medical attention when needed. It is always a scary process but, most of the time, everything turns out wonderfully!
Thank you!
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silverwhisper said on Dec 22, 2006....
i get squeamish easily but that would be a sight to see, nini.
ed -
ninibud92 said on Dec 22, 2006....
ed, I couldn't stop looking at this mysterious object! When I say I was awestruck, I mean every bit of the phrase! It was quite an exciting yet humbling experience! -
dailyachesandpains said on Dec 22, 2006....
The heart you saw was the size of a fist, I can't even imagine what a 7 month old's heart looks like! Must be the size of a Mento!
Daily
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ninibud92 said on Dec 22, 2006....
Yes, that is what makes this so miraculous! That small of an organ, with that much power and force and it keeps us alive! This is why I am so amazed by the human body! There are even more structures and even smaller cell groups that do more work and have more influence. Hormones are a prime example!
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secretlife said on Dec 22, 2006....
pretty amazing stuff.we are indeed miracles. -
momsrock said on Dec 22, 2006....
It is something that I would also like to see. I saw one picture online of a heart and lungs and I was shocked at the sight. Was it the color used in the photograph or are your lungs really blue? To be honest, when I saw it, I thought it was coral...in the ocean... is that what lungs really look like? -
ninibud92 said on Dec 23, 2006....
The branches, or structure, of the bronchi and bronchioles do resemble coral but the lungs themselves are pillowy and pink not blue. The respiratory system includes the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and the lung tissue, among other things.
Pretty much every tissue in the body is some shade of pink or red unless it is diseased. What you saw was probably a computer generated or enhanced photo to outline the structures.
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momsrock said on Dec 23, 2006....
I have only seen it on tv obviously but it was always pink... when the photo came up... I was a little scared!
Comment on "The Beating Heart"
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