I had a couple of interesting days in the ED the past couple of days. I saw 2 major trauma cases within one night. Both of them are self-harm cases. The patient had slashed her major blood vessels on her arm and stab her abdomen and had taken some unknown tablets. She was only found several hours later and had unpalpable blood pressure. The other involved using a sharp object or razor and essentially stuck it into his throat - essentially giving himself a cricothyrotomy. He was found in a pool of blood though conscious. Because he had lost so much blood, he was shivering as the body could not maintain his body temperature.
I was allowed to do my first suture! 
I was asked to suture this patient who basically had cut his toes from glass. He had to have 6 stitches all in all. I have to admit that even after watching several other doctors suture wounds, it feels different when you have to do it. I was shaking initially. I could see my hands trembling when I gave the local anaesthetic and my first couple of stitches. But as time went on, I began to relax. When I first started, essentially I was concentrating so much on the wound that it's as if only the patient's disembodied foot was there. I took quite a bit of time to suture those 6 stitches which I'm sure other doctors would have been much quicker. The patient's father came in just as I cut the last stitch, thankfully. On the whole, I really enjoyed suturing and hope that I will get the chance to do it again in the next couple of weeks.
Alrighty, time for me to go and experience human civilization - I'm going to the city!
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