That one day that was spent in Hannover had to be the most interesting day study wise of the trip so far. What I expected to be a little old town that was past it's industrial peak turned out to be a bustling city alive with some of the best medical facilities that Germany has to offer, notably the MHH. We spent most of the day touring the MHH and it's facilities. There we met up with the chief resident of cardiovascular surgery with a specialty in heart transplants and ______ hearts. She took us through everything that had to do with the procedures including the before and after for the patients. Her ability to make such a complicated subject seem so elementary astounded me when after two hours of listening to her I felt as though I was fully capable of transplanting a heart of my own. The artificial heart transplants were really mind blowing when talking about the success rate and the quality of life to follow for these patients. Most of the time these patients would get an artificial LVS transplant, an operation made minimally evasive in respect to most heart surgeries requiring only two small incisions one above the sternum and one underneath the lowest rib on the left side of the patients abdomen. The best part of this visit was getting to talk to and have some hands on experience with the patients in the ward who had either undergone surgery or were yet awaiting surgery.Turns out in Germany if you want a new heart you have to show how dedicated you are by waiting in the hospital the entirety of the time. Most cases the patients wanting a heart transplant must wait 8 months in the ward without leaving. Although many of these patients were now limited and in most cases forced to carry batteries in satchels with tubes sticking out of them to save their lives, they had an upbeat positive attitude about it. This one particular gentleman I bonded with seeing as how we share the same birthday, he has a kid my age, and is a man of faith had a particularly amazing attitude.
After our visit to the MHH cardiovascular center we went to their research facilities where they were studying the regenerative properties of axolotales. axolotales are curious little creatures that display the astounding regenerative abilities such as to grow limbs, organs, and even sections of the brain back. The researchers there are working to separate these enzymes that cause this and use it to someday maybe treat humans along the road. Kinda like the lizard man in one of my favorite comics growing up Spider man.
From there our next trip took us to the beautiful island of Norderney off the north coast of Germany in a chain of islands with it being the biggest. It is a very popular tourist spot amongst many Germans and rightfully so. Our time there was spent biking and learning about the national park there that for the most part consists of the mud flats. At first when I had found out these mud flats had been made into a national park I questioned the decision. Now after having hiked through there extensively and learned of all the different bio systems and niches that live in this park, I am in love. Everything about the island just screams fresh and living. People actually go there on leave paid for by the government to unwind at their clinic using a sort of therapy thought up by the French called thalyses I do believe (although most likely spelled wrong). The data presented, although pulled from a small sample size, showed significant gains and rendered healthy living conditions for these patients that was proven to having a lasting effect on overall health.
Those 3 days spent traveling over the past week were some of the most informative yet and am very glad for the opportunity for those visits. And now for Amsterdam....
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