A day in Hannover (Jan 15)

Today was our last day in Hannover. In the morning we went back to the hospital we were at yesterday but this time we met with a cardio-thoracic surgeon, Dr. Schmitto. He talked to us about heart transplants and heart-assistive devices. He showed us the types of assistive devices they use on patients to help their hearts pump normal blood flow. I put a picture of the device below. The amount of patients that qualify for these devices is low because of its size. Most women and some men don't have enough room in their chest cavity to fit it in there. Most patients that have this device are still on a heart transplant waiting list, but it helps to keep them stable until they receive a heart.

One of Dr. Schmitto's patients came in to the room and showed us his device and how it worked. It runs on a motor, so it does have a power cable that he has to keep connected to a battery which he wears around his belt. Although, he said the device has greatly increased his quality of life. He can exercise and play extreme sports all he wants, with the exception of swimming. He has been on the device for 3.5 years and is still waiting for a new heart.

We learned about what all it takes to be a donor and recipient, how the process of transplantation occurs, all the legalities, etc. It was a really great lecture/discussion. I really like these excursions because it doesn't feel like a formal lecture from someone who's boring me to death like I feel in class at A&M sometimes. It's really interactive and we're all really interested in the subject so it's cool to hear everyone else's questions.

We unfortunately had a really packed schedule today so there was no lunch break! People were getting cranky! We had to get to another appointment soon after the hospital. Our next meeting was with a research doctor at a center for regenerative medicine. We had a presentation about what they did in this lab and what their purpose was and then we got to see their lab and test subjects. This doctor studies Axolotls and their ability to regrow limbs and part of their spinal chord after there has been damage. They are also able to do this with little to no scarring. The regenerated limb is fully functional. The younger animals are able to regenerate in 2-3 weeks, but the older ones can take up to a year. This science is just amazing! The purpose of course is to learn how to do this process in humans. She's specializing in hands so she showed us some pretty gruesome pictures of people's hands with missing fingers, like ER pics all bloody and stuff. But we're all medical-freaks so we like that stuff right?

After her presentation she showed us her room with all the axolotls. There were a lot of tanks with multiple animals in each one, ranging in color and size. Apparently it's pretty popular and easy to have them as pets. I actually thought they were kind of cute, they look like a pokemon. Also apparently they're becoming extinct in southern Mexico (that's where they're originally from) because the people there have turned them into a delicacy! We were there for a good while just observing and asking questions. We then had a pretty ugly tour of her spider room. We literally walked into a bedroom sized room with huge spiders on their webs right over our heads and on walls next to us. I don't know what she's studying the spiders for, but we didn't stay long, we just went in to see them.

After this excursion we still didn't have time to eat because we had to go back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and catch our flight to Vienna, Austria. We managed to pick up some food at the train station on the way to the airport. It only took us about 20 minutes to get to the airport, and then the Hannover airport was small enough that getting to our gate was easy and fast. The hardest part of traveling is hauling around luggage! Anyway, thankfully we got to take a 1.5 hour flight instead of an 11 hour train ride. The flight was super fast and before we knew it we were in Austria. Goodbye Germany, thanks for your hospitality!