Welp, that was the weirdst month of my life. Not only did I re-learn my anatomy, I got very very familiar with the human body. and with death. I learned that I have a stronger stomach than I give myself credit for. I also learned I am more emotionally attached than i pretend not to be. Here are a list of autopsies and situations I was involved with. I believe it will take my a very long time to adequatlly process what I saw during this month. Honestly, I have no idea how some students leave this rotation with smiles saying it was so cool "blah, blah." Yes, its great. But I think the scenerios we encounter really make it a high price to pay for education. Life is so very delicate.
Week 1
-A gentleman who was found in a burning apartment. We were there to establish if he died before or during the fire. Sadly, he died during the fire as seen by a huge amount of sut and ash in his airway meaning he had to still be breathing in order to get them into his airway/lungs.
-A skeleton discovered by a hiker who stumbled into a homeless man’s encampment...that then stumbled upon some scattered bones including a human skull
-a man who committed suicide by putting a shotgun into his mouth
“you may be wondering why we are doing an autopsy on him considering we know the cause of death. Well, apparently this man’s wife had an ex-husband who did the exact same thing when they were married....” -coroner
-a young man that was stabbed 77 times. Every single stab wound had to be probed, measured, documented and drawn onto a model
-a women who died of pyelonephritis. we knew this because there was frank puss all over her kidneys and ureters...a totally preventable death if she had gotten antibiotics
-a 26 year old baby that was found dead in her crib. we found no cause of death
-a body that was murdered then dumped in concrete
Lastly, the most troubling case I saw was a young college kid that died on New Years Eve. The police report stated it was 3am and he was known to be drinking at a restaurant. For some reason, he was alone trying to cross a very busy street/ highway and was struck by a vehicle going 45mph. He was hit and flew 120 feet forward. He died instantly on impact.
As I read this story and looked at this handsome young man, it was very disturbing. This guy could easily be me or any of my friends. Who hasnt gotten drunk and separated from their friends? I know I definetly have.
What made this case even worse was when I looked at the next of kin and it stated that it was his father who lived in a city on the East coast. I imagined his parents laying in bed sleeping at 6am new years day getting a phone call that their son in college had died. I imagined this couple mourning the loss of their son from the other side of the country and having to take a plane to LA to take their son home to barry him. I will never forget standing next to this mans naked body as he was being cut open feeling so helpless.
Week 2
-a young black man who was shot once and died. He was shot, was able to run from the scene into his friends car and they took him to the ER where he died at the doorstep. This was a very educational case for my ER standpoint. This one tiny bullet did more damage than one could ever imagine. When we opened him up, we saw the trajectory of the bullet and it basically hit every major thing that could kill him. It entered his left flank and went through his left lung [lower than uper], then through his esophagus, then aorta, then through his right lung, then his right subclavian artery. This guy had no chance.
-A baby with what appeared to be DiGeorge syndrome
-a 22 week old fetus who died in utero when his mother was in a MVA on the freeway. the impact was large enough to break the femur of the fetus. This was an incredible autopsy to see as it was literally on an unborn child
-This week we met with the forensic odontologist. Who I found out went to high school with my dad.... small world
-A older chinese man who was completely emaciated but yet had a huuuuge abdomen that looked like cirrhosis. He was found dead in his jail cell. When we opened him up it was pretty clear what he died from, his abdomen was filled with cancer. He had the worst case of carcinomatosis I will ever see in my career
-A man who died of a subdural hematoma
-A young man who died of sudden cardiac arrest at the gym. He was here on vacation from Spain. He was found to have a large subarachnoid hemorrhage. spontaneous unavoidable death.
Week 3
-A young lady who went into sudden cardiac arrest at home and was 28 weeks pregnant. She was brought to the ED where a peri- mortem C section was performed and then pronounced dead. We did the autopsy which included taking out her uterus that had the placenta still attached. A rare experience.
-A young man who was s/p GSW to the head with subsequent craniotomy. He was pronounced to be brain dead at the hospital and life support was withdrawn. He was an organ donor.
-A older gentleman who was changing his tire on the side of the freeway and was hit by a car. He was killed on impact from a T spine fracture. The driver fled the scene
-A man with a massive PE
-a spinal cord dissection. That was pretty cool
-A young man who was hit by a car and brought to the ED where he was intubated, had bilateral chest tubes placed, several central lines but ultimately was pronounced. We did the autopsty and double checked that everything was in place. This was when I learned where a chest tube should correctly be.
Week 4
This was a short week because we had Monday off for holiday and then I went to my Cook County interview. This week I got to work with Sarah for a day which rocked. I got to watch her be handed a spleen by the autopsy tech and then drop it on the floor. It was a great experience to watch her face as the spleen slid across the floor. Complete horror.
-One of the last autopsys i saw was a murder victim who had major blunt force trauma to his head, wrapped in a blanket and barried.
Some great lectures we attended:
Dismemberment [this was just as gross as it sounds]
Animal activity on the dead. In case you were wondering, Yes, your cat will eat your face off when you die.
A random fact to know: a group of crows is called a murder. A group of turkey vultures is a wake.
And on those notes, I am done with this rotation. and i think i am very very happy about that.
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