Sharps - 3. . . Bronwyn - 1
Mar. 16th, 2003 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bronwynrhBoy, has THIS been a day!
Today was to be the last day of my Big Experiment (tm). It was my big, 7-day long mother of an experiment, during the course of which I have generated some 18 GB worth of image files. I haven't been able to begin analyzing these image files though, because the analysis software I need to use has an attitude problem. Basically, it stubbornly refuses to see what's staring it in the face. Anyway, that's a whole other story that I'll save for another time. Right now, my fingers are hurting too much to type it all out for you.
Why are your fingers hurting so much, Bronwyn?
I'll tell you.
Let me begin by telling you that for this experiment (and during the prep and numerous failed attempts and false starts), I have used a diabetic needle (fine-gauge) and syringe for injecting cells into my system.
Today, I was going to inject a chemical into the system because yesterday I had the bright idea that it would be cool to try a little extra thing for the last day's imaging.
So I loaded up my syringe with propidium iodide, a fluorescent dye and an agent that basically elbows it's way into cells and between the bases of your DNA. We've all seen how bubbles are gotten out of syringes, right? You flick it. Well, I was flicking happily until I STABBED the needle practically to the hilt into the tip of my index finger.
Hurt. Like. Hell.
I squeezed my finger to make it bleed as much as I could from that tiny little hole and cried a little from the pain and frustration.
Score one for the Sharps.
(For added frustration, the rest of the flow cell experiment was a bust and a fuse was blown on the microscope, so I just had to blow off Day 7 completely - Oh well.)
If you followed the link to the propidium iodide, you'll see that in Section 4 it says to seek medical attention. I'll tell you right now, there's not a damn thing that can be done about what happened, no damage that may have been done by the chemical can be reversed, but I needed to follow procedure. So off I went to the emergency room.
I was praised for making myself bleed :-)
I was also given a tetanus shot.
Score two for the Sharps.
I then returned home and called Dave because the weather outside was just too good to be true - sunny and 70 degrees. We decided we'd putter in the garden for a while.
We'd not been outside for more than 20 minutes, and I was removing some dead material and mulch from the base of a Lamb's Ear when a horrible, awful sting shot through my left thumb. At first, I thought splinter. A split-second later, I thought caterpillar sting. Another split-second later, a yellow-jacket appeared.
I'm yelping, cursing, crying and calling for Dave. I'm also squeezing the living shit out of my thumb to get as much poison out as I can. Sure enough, a rather large drop of amber liquid emerges from a puncture wound on my thumb as a white area around it appears.
At that point I'm seriously crying from the pain and the shock - Dave is comforting, calming, wiping the poison away, holding me and helping me inside to the cold water tap.
Score three for the sharps.
I found my wasp and hornet spray under the sink.
Score one for ME.
It's been a couple of hours now, I think, and it still hurts like hell. Oh my GOD does it hurt!!! Those of you who have been stung know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't. . . imagine pouring concentrated acid directly into your veins. That's what a wasp sting is, so that's what it feels like.
Benadryl hasn't helped. The only thing that has helped so far is ice. Although, getting ice cream was kinda fun. And now I'm getting ready to head out again - with my ice pack, of course.
Whadda day!
Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed :-)
Today was to be the last day of my Big Experiment (tm). It was my big, 7-day long mother of an experiment, during the course of which I have generated some 18 GB worth of image files. I haven't been able to begin analyzing these image files though, because the analysis software I need to use has an attitude problem. Basically, it stubbornly refuses to see what's staring it in the face. Anyway, that's a whole other story that I'll save for another time. Right now, my fingers are hurting too much to type it all out for you.
Why are your fingers hurting so much, Bronwyn?
I'll tell you.
Let me begin by telling you that for this experiment (and during the prep and numerous failed attempts and false starts), I have used a diabetic needle (fine-gauge) and syringe for injecting cells into my system.
Today, I was going to inject a chemical into the system because yesterday I had the bright idea that it would be cool to try a little extra thing for the last day's imaging.
So I loaded up my syringe with propidium iodide, a fluorescent dye and an agent that basically elbows it's way into cells and between the bases of your DNA. We've all seen how bubbles are gotten out of syringes, right? You flick it. Well, I was flicking happily until I STABBED the needle practically to the hilt into the tip of my index finger.
Hurt. Like. Hell.
I squeezed my finger to make it bleed as much as I could from that tiny little hole and cried a little from the pain and frustration.
Score one for the Sharps.
(For added frustration, the rest of the flow cell experiment was a bust and a fuse was blown on the microscope, so I just had to blow off Day 7 completely - Oh well.)
If you followed the link to the propidium iodide, you'll see that in Section 4 it says to seek medical attention. I'll tell you right now, there's not a damn thing that can be done about what happened, no damage that may have been done by the chemical can be reversed, but I needed to follow procedure. So off I went to the emergency room.
I was praised for making myself bleed :-)
I was also given a tetanus shot.
Score two for the Sharps.
I then returned home and called Dave because the weather outside was just too good to be true - sunny and 70 degrees. We decided we'd putter in the garden for a while.
We'd not been outside for more than 20 minutes, and I was removing some dead material and mulch from the base of a Lamb's Ear when a horrible, awful sting shot through my left thumb. At first, I thought splinter. A split-second later, I thought caterpillar sting. Another split-second later, a yellow-jacket appeared.
I'm yelping, cursing, crying and calling for Dave. I'm also squeezing the living shit out of my thumb to get as much poison out as I can. Sure enough, a rather large drop of amber liquid emerges from a puncture wound on my thumb as a white area around it appears.
At that point I'm seriously crying from the pain and the shock - Dave is comforting, calming, wiping the poison away, holding me and helping me inside to the cold water tap.
Score three for the sharps.
I found my wasp and hornet spray under the sink.
Score one for ME.
It's been a couple of hours now, I think, and it still hurts like hell. Oh my GOD does it hurt!!! Those of you who have been stung know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't. . . imagine pouring concentrated acid directly into your veins. That's what a wasp sting is, so that's what it feels like.
Benadryl hasn't helped. The only thing that has helped so far is ice. Although, getting ice cream was kinda fun. And now I'm getting ready to head out again - with my ice pack, of course.
Whadda day!
Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed :-)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: March 16th, 2003 06:12 pm (UTC)I don't have syringes or yellow jackets here.
Just saying... :)
Well, the rest of your vacation has to get better.
part 2
Date: March 16th, 2003 06:15 pm (UTC)"MAY ALTER GENETIC MATERIAL."??!
Re: part 2
Date: March 16th, 2003 06:30 pm (UTC)I'll grow a stinger from my butt and wings from my shoulder blades.
Watch out, world!
Muahahahahahaaaaaa!!!
Ummm. . . yeah. So the concentration of the chemical was really really REALLY low, at 10 micro-grams per mililiter, and I didn't inject any of it. What got in me was whatever happened to be on the tip and on the outside surface of the needle. In other words, it was a negligible amount. I've gotten more ethidium bromide (another fluorescent dye that does a similar trick and is more dangerous and commonly used) on my skin than this in my years of working in the lab.
If anything I do in the lab is gonna kill me, it sure as heck isn't going to be this little incident :-)
But that is a fun thing to read, isn't it?
(no subject)
Date: March 16th, 2003 07:14 pm (UTC)Well, at least you and the rest of the folks in there didn't fall into a 100-year sleep, causing thorns and trees to grow up around Jordan Hall, until some futuristic prince can come and save the day...
Here's to hoping that you can make it through tomorrow without mutating.
Call me or email me if you want to do lunch or anything!
*hugs!*
ouchouchouchouch
Date: March 16th, 2003 08:11 pm (UTC)what do you analyse about the images? spectrum (sp????) details, density of the light, or is it physical features stuff? (and what software are you talking 'bout?? or is it some custom thing that only makes sense to you lab coat mad scientist types?
and ouch again about the sting and the needle! (wear gloves tomorrow).
:)
night night bron-sugar. :)
Re: part 2
Date: March 17th, 2003 05:17 am (UTC)Re: ouchouchouchouch
Date: March 17th, 2003 07:32 am (UTC)The software package, known as Comstat, counts pixels (density of the light). It can take a stack of images and reconstruct them into a three-dimensional image, then tell me information about biomass, height, surface area coverage, etc, based on the number of pixels that are lit up in the x, y and z directions. :-)
If that doesn't make sense. . . think of it this way. I was taking pictures with a spinning disk laser scanning confocal microscope. WHAT?!?! What that means is that this microscope can focus on and take pictures of my sample in slices, just like the way CDs fit into a multiple-CD cassette. These slices can be put back together later using Imaging software, such as Metamorph, that can reconstruct them into 3-D images.
This is in contrast to your more typical microscope which just gives you a top-down view, has only one plane of focus, and thus leaves everything else OUT of focus.
How was that?
Re: ouchouchouchouch
Date: March 17th, 2003 07:43 am (UTC)I did this project in University... a special "variable star" research thing... I took hundreds of pictures of these specific stars over 8 months... and I wanted to find a program that would (this was BEFORE digital cameras, btw) put a quantitative value on the relative brightness of an object compared to an adjacent - theoretically stable - object... and therefor id variance. :D
I managed to demo that catalogued variable star was was catalogued with incorrect data... but never found a program to help... well, I guess it wouldn't have been a program then... more like "a machine" that would scan and make measurements... (I'm dying to say "spectrometer" but I doubt that would be right... :) :D lol )
I hope your sting finger is feeling better...
(no subject)
Date: March 17th, 2003 07:59 am (UTC)Oooh t feel for ya.... hope ya feeling better now...
chris x x
(no subject)
Date: March 17th, 2003 12:30 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: March 17th, 2003 12:54 pm (UTC)I expect my shoulder will be quite sore by morning. *rolls eyes*
The whole ordeal should be a memory by Wednesday.
(no subject)
Date: March 17th, 2003 12:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: March 17th, 2003 12:58 pm (UTC)I am much better today - even yesterday I found plenty of things to laugh and smile about, even through the tears.
Really, it was fucking hilarious, in spite of the pain.
Ouch!
Date: March 18th, 2003 07:55 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: March 18th, 2003 01:00 pm (UTC)