Let's Look at This Closely

If I could perform a magic trick and have the ability to do something over, here is how I would and would not spend that gift:

I don't really care that the Wings have no chance of a sweep. I wouldn't want them to win the cup on the Penguin's ice. Suffice it to say, I was thrilled to see Johan Franzen (who gets his meatballs at Ikea too) get one in the net. It was a beautiful goal.

Ja!

The Penguin's wanted this win more and it showed. It was a great game but the Wings didn't come to life until the third period and by that time, it was too little, too late. I wouldn't spend my redo gift here.

Looking back on my life, I'd want a major redo in my career. When I went to nursing school, it was microbiology that captured my heart. I have a love of things minuscule and tedious. This is a branch of science complete with formalities like the nomenclature or naming of organisms. It's quite formal. I love the study of microscopic critters and find their images beneath a lens that magnifies their sizes thousands of times, quite stunning. Had it been financially feasible back then, I'd have changed direction and become a bug hunter of some sort: bacteriologist, virologist, epidemiologist or immunologist. I'd probably like viruses. I've always been enamored of the study of viruses. All organisms look so amazing when under the microscope:

Here is the star of the movie (and book) And the Band Played On.

HIV on a macrophage-it looks like a photo of the universe.

This spirochete is Treponema pallidum or more commonly, syphilis. One nursing school instructor I had always gave good advice: before you say yes, turn on the lights. I can't believe that stuck in my head lo these many years later. I know I've never had it but working in this business, I've seen it. Baltimore is the #1 city for occurrence of syphilis. Detroit is 6th.

This is an absolutely stunning photo of gram positive cocci arranged in clusters. Yes, it's Staphyloccus (genus) epidermidis (species). It resides on our skin and can be a normal finding. Ordinarily this organism is not pathogenic (disease causing) but don't be mislead; this beautiful bug can infect a person and is usually resistant to penicillin and methacillin. That's not a good thing. This bug can enter the body through a catheter and produces a biofilm (slime) that adheres to the catheters and thus causes infection in the immune compromised "host".

I love the red stain used on this virus. I am captivated by the story of this bug. It's the spanish flu which was a particularly deadly Influenza A Virus strain of subtype H1N1. The irony of the Spanish flu is that it was first discovered here in the U.S and then spread to Europe. It's thought that maybe up to as many as 100,000,000 people world wide were killed by this virus. Thats a lot of zeros. It was fascinating to read The Great Influenza by John M. Barry. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is even remotely concerned about the emerging strains of influenza (H5N1-avian flu) that the scientific community is concerned about. I'd recommend it as well to people who love bugs as much as me.

This bug is the reason you really shouldn't abuse or use antibiotics you don't need (antibiotics don't kill viruses or fungi.) This is Clostridium difficile. It causes horrific colitis and even death and once again, it's in the news. I dread taking care of patients with this bug. I have to gown, glove and wash everything all day long. It takes a toll on patients and can lead to severe skin issues as well. This is one I worry I'll catch too and thats why I'm so careful. The new data coming out indicates that newer strains of this bacteria are more deadly than in the past.

So this is how I'd spend my redo. If only.