Crossing the Blood Brain Barrier: On our way to the Opera

Monday, July 8, 2013

On our way to the Opera

While we were getting ready to head to the opera, my dad was approached by one of our fellow hostel mates. He had been running up some concrete stairs in Odessa the previous nights and had slipped. He cut his face badly in a few places, so he needed to have stitches. After being turned away by one emergency doctor, he was finally seen and given the care he needed. Our hostel friend wanted to get my dad's opinion on his injuries. After examining him, my dad noticed that the stitches were way too tight so he decided to loosen them. When stitches are too tight, they get engulfed by the surrounding skin and cause what is known as railroad tracks. So, we went through my little black bag and got to work! I sterilized a needle I had brought to sew clothing with a lighter and used the forceps I had brought.

My dad taught me that injuries swell, so stitches should be looser than expected to accommodate for such swelling. He then showed me how to safely loosen stitches. It was interesting to see him get to work in the most random of places. Proving medicine does not have to be confined to a clinic!

Forehead stitches

Loosening some more stitches

Only in Ukraine

After this impromptu post-surgical after care, we made our way to the opera. We had purchased tickets to Tchaikovsky's Iolanta earlier that day, which was an adventure in and of itself. The lady didn't speak any English, so when other tourists heard me speaking Russian they all crowded around me and asked me if I could help them. I did all I could for them then we headed off to do more exploring around the city. The opera was beautiful, but the opera house was stunning. It was built by an architect from St. Petersburg in the neo-baroque (Vienna baroque) style in 1810. It is guilded in gold, making it extra beautiful.