{"id":2623,"date":"2017-07-26T18:31:24","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T23:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vetmed.illinois.edu\/wel\/?p=2623"},"modified":"2017-08-09T10:09:30","modified_gmt":"2017-08-09T15:09:30","slug":"week-10-blandings-blunders-and-bloopers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vetmed.illinois.edu\/wel\/week-10-blandings-blunders-and-bloopers\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 10: Blanding’s Blunders and Bloopers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Throughout our summer blog we have mainly focused on our accomplishments and the fun we have had while working. However, this summer was not always sunshine and rainbows. This week we want to highlight some of the \u201cchallenges” we experienced and never discussed.<\/p>\n

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Oh the things we have learned…<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t freeze your Complete Blood Count samples<\/strong>
\nWe came up here over two months ago, wide eyed and innocent. We had a less than stellar start however as on our very first day, John accidentally put all of the samples we were supposed to test that day in the freezer instead of the refrigerator. Unbeknownst to him at the time, cells in the blood that we wanted to count, lyse (burst and die) when frozen. So already we were off to a shaky start.<\/p>\n

Centrifuge lids prevent explosions<\/strong>
\nIt is one big, simple step when running PCV\/TP in the lab \u2013 put the lid on! It\u2019s a mistake \"\"you are bound to make at least once, and apparently Lauren\u2019s time to do it was\u00a0this\u00a0summer. The worst part was, the day this happened we had a full centrifuge full of 12 samples. 5000 rpm (check), 5 minute time (check), all tubes pushed to the outer edge (check), centrifuge closed (check), \u201cstart.\u201d Within seconds glass shatter was heard. With a sigh, Lauren clicked \u201cstop\u201d and opened it to find with no surprise a blow-up of blood spatter. All the tubes had to be re-made and re-run; the second time though with the lid.<\/p>\n

Kestrels + Water = 100% humidity<\/strong>
\nA kestrel is a device we use daily in the field as a wind and weather tracker. Usually it is \"\"the first thing you take out of your pack, turn on and swing over a branch while working up a turtle to collect temp and humidity. In the middle of the marsh sometimes you have no option but to loop it over a flimsy tree or tall cattail. Lauren\u2019s choice of tall cattails of course were not always the best and one day her cattail decided to bend, snap and drop her kestrel directly in to the water. Unfortunately, she didn\u2019t realize this until she completed her turtle work-up and went to grab for it to record weather data. After pulling out the sunken data she read right there on the side \u201cnot water proof.\u201d It was hot and humid this day but when the kestrel read 100% humidity she had to assume it was because it was dripping with water and weeds.<\/p>\n

Pink and purple stains don\u2019t mix well<\/strong>
\nTo dye each blood smear, we use three different stains in a certain order so that the cells are highlighted. When using the stain, liquid from 3 bottles are poured into 3 separate containers to dip the slides into and afterwards the liquids are returned to the bottles. Unfortunately, John discovered that it\u2019s important to put the liquids back into the SAME bottles when he accidentally poured the pink dye into the purple dye bottle, rendering it useless.<\/p>\n

GPS units can\u2019t track themselves<\/strong>
\nBecause we needed to be able to pinpoint where we were getting these turtles from, Dr. Allender entrusted us each with a high tech GPS unit that even has navigation and \"\"camera functions. So of course John lost his within the first 5 weeks. During the excitement of Blanding\u2019s Bowl, John was stumbling and tripping over vegetation at a quicker pace in an effort to secure more handcaps and after finding none in a pond he was searching, realized he was one GPS unit lighter than he had been 5 minutes ago. The GPS must have bounced out of his waders pocket into the brush or water. So after 30 minutes of retracing steps, and multiple attempts to find it later in the week, John\u2019s GPS was officially declared lost to the wilds of Lake County.<\/p>\n

Marsh water doesn\u2019t taste great<\/strong>
\nWhen we find turtles we want to work up, we put them in our pockets or backpacks to carry them to dry land. While hustling to collect traps on a day full of thunderstorms, Lauren had two \"\"turtles collected in her backpack, both itching to get out. While carrying two handfuls of collected traps and trudging through thigh-high water she accidentally dropped a trap. Turning around to grab it, she found what had made the splash was actually a turtle from her backpack! The turtle scratching at her pack somehow managed to get the zipper wide enough to pop out! A face first dive, a mouth full of water and lost sunglasses were necessary to get this turtle back and that\u2019s exactly what happened – drama scene right out of a movie. Lauren went swimming and learned marsh water does not taste the best, and waders are heavier flooded.<\/p>\n

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And the learning doesn’t stop there…<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n