My BFR with Daniel

In Case you are joining this blog for the first time, you can read more bout it in previous posts.  One main purpose is to follow our progress towards the various missions we are preparing to do.  Currently we are preparing for The Fix St. Croix mission of pet population control in October.  Please check out my other blog at AbbeyAnimal.blogspot.com for more information on this mission.

Daniel

Here it is June of 2012 and time for my BFR (biannual flight review).  For those of you who do not fly, this is a "tune up" that every pilot is required by the FAA to do every 24 months.  This review is a great chance to get together with a Certified Flight Instructor and have them review your piloting skills.  It helps check your ability to fly the plane controlled in tricky configurations.  These configurations occur when setting up to land and when taking off.  These areas of operation are well practiced in the pilot population… so, while they are the most demanding of the areas of operation, they are also the most familiar to pilots.  After all, its really important to have a safe take off to start your flight and a safe landing after having a beautiful (or any) flight.

To accomplish my BFR I had to find a flight instructor… not very hard to do at an airport.  That's when I met Daniel Williams.  He is a young energetic instructor out at Eads Flight School at Hampton Roads Executive Airport (named after Mr. Eads a legend at the airfield).  Tom Stevens (who helps keep me flying) taught him to fly so I know I can trust him.  After introductions we headed out to the Cherokee Six to get started.  After the pre-flight check of the plane, we were taking off and heading to the practice area for some slow flight and steep turns.  This type of flying is not normal but is always a lot of fun for me.  I suspect that if you were not comfortable with flying, one might not enjoy the slightly odd attitudes that the plane is put in (but I find it quit exhilarating).  We practiced some slow flight at 3000 feet (where recovery is easy) and experienced the "buffeting" of the lift when the plane is about to stall.  This is called a "power-off stall".  It is very important to get this sensation so you can correct the plane if you feel this while flying at 200 feet (not as much time to recover).  The next maneuver we practiced was a "power-on stall"… you guessed it, this is a maneuver that simulates take off conditions.  This type of stall is a little more exciting as you slow the plane down to take off speeds and put full throttle on while pulling the yoke back until you stall.  This can take some time and the nose of the plane is usually very high.  It feels like you are going to fall over backwards.  The buffeting started and I was able to recover quickly (without loosing altitude).  OK now we moved on to the  next airport to practice the soft and short field landings (that's a story for another time).  Then it was back to Hampton Roads for a simulated power outage landing and then some ground schooling.  We discussed the effects of Lift and Drag and all the different types of Air Space.  All in all I feel more confident in my piloting skills thanks to Daniel's instructions.  Ok, am good to go for another 2 years!

Well have had some delicious coffee this morning and even though it's Saturday I am off to work at the Hospital.  Lots of my furry friends need to be seen!  Pray for our projects and thanks for your support.  Bye for now, Robin.

Mia "Rocks" On!

Please check out my Abbey Animal Missions blog (Abbeyanimal.blogspot.com)to see the progress of the Fix St. Croix mission!

Mia, the Clever Dog!

Well, its Thursday and we have to look in on Mia to see if the staple has passed.  I saw Randy and Susan last night and they assured me that Mia was doing great.  If you are not sure what has happened up to this date, you need to read the previous post about how Mia ate a filet mignon (with a staple in it to hold the bacon) down like a Great Blue Heron eats a fish… in one gulp!  We had a great Wednesday night get together with friends and family. Susan told me that her Women's circle group at the church was praying for Mia's staple to pass without causing harm.  Folks, the power of prayer is great and should be used often and regularly.  The Wednesday night at the Knopp's tradition started years ago when our church had to shut down their Wednesday night dinners and service for remodeling of the building.  We at the Knopp house hold enjoyed this middle of the week get together so much that we kept it going at our house.  Over the years it has become a tradition and over the years we have had some pretty good times on Wednesday evenings.  Some of them are large gatherings as everyone is invited (please let me know if you are coming so I can plan ahead), but most of them are a quaint gathering of friends and family.  If you have not tried this type of tradition, I highly recommend it as a great way to come together and a great way to re-energize the middle of the week!

Ok, back to Mia.  We took some radiographs of her abdomen to see where the dreaded staple was.

Staple in the Stomach with Food on Sunday.

Staple in the end of the tract ready to come out on Thursday!

As you can see the staple has moved through the whole GI tract and is now ready to exit the system.  I would love to take credit for this miraculous event but again it is a great tribute to the power of prayer!  Anyway, I texted Susan that things were going fine and that no surgery was required.  She was relieved and thanked me for the news.  The best part of the whole thing was that Mia walked out of the hospital with a little extra "swagger" in her step… yes she is a clever dog!

Have a great rest of the week and remember to pray for our projects… Bye for now, Robin

Interesting Cases and Mia the Dalmation

This week has been full of interesting cases at Abbey Animal Hospital.  We saw broken bones, fleas, diarrhea, and went chasing a very large staple in the stomach of a Dalmatian named Mia.

Mia, a beautiful, well natured, Dalmatian, belongs to good friends Susan and my fly-buddy Randy.  They were getting ready to prepare a delicious meal on Saturday night.  You know the kind that involves those fancy cuts of beef wrapped in bacon and secured with a large stainless steel staple.  They had the grill all ready and the salad all made and had placed the steaks out on the counter ready to take out for cooking.  Well, you guessed it… Mia had plans of her own and decided to get in on the delicious meal.  She snatched that meat off the counter and gulped it down in 2 seconds flat (that's warp 10 in dog time).  She did seem to be very pleased with herself.  Randy said he couldn't believe what he witnessed, she looked him in the eye as it was going down and seemed to say "what a clever dog I am".  We came over later and she seemed fine.  Not painful, but pink and full of herself.  We decided that we would see if she could pass the staple on her own over the next 24 hours.  No such luck… Susan was worried so Sunday night we took radiographs and low and behold… there, right there in the area of the stomach was the beautiful silhouette of a perfectly formed staple.  Yes, the kind that you use to hold the bacon onto that beautiful piece of meat.  Randy said it was a form of karmal justice ( I know he was just kidding, he loves that dog)(but he did love that steak... and he was very hungry!).  

Me and Mia ready for the endoscope!

After much deliberation we decided that I should go in with the endoscope to see if we could fish out that pesky foreign body.  One thing that concerned me was that Susan had been feeding Mia… a lot… to try and get her to pass the staple.  Her stomach was full of food so the likelihood of me being able to see the staple was not great.  I figured I wanted to go in there with the endoscope and get it out before it passed into the small intestines where it would be out of reach.  It was a calculated gamble.  Unfortunately I was right about not being able to find anything in a stomach full of food (we did find some hair and fishing line and a "ton" of U/D diet).  Its not like a needle in a hay stack but more like a needle in the middle of a large pile of goo, very difficult to see through.  So we got busy and tried to lavage the stomach and hopefully get the staple or at the very least flush out the stomach and go back in with the endoscope.  Well it is easier said then done… after copious amounts of water flushed through a large bore gavage tube… no luck.  Lots of food came out but no staple.  Went back in with the endoscope and believe it or not there was still way too much food to find the staple… now, we are in a waiting mode.  We woke Mia up after some meds for the stomach and we decided to see if she will pass it on her own by Thursday… if not, it looks like we will be going in!  Susan called me on Monday to tell me that she seemed like her same old self.  Stay tuned for the rest of the story.  Mia doesn't seem to know she has a staple in her gut!

     Well, its back to work,  no new developments on the St. Croix Fix Project but lots of hopeful energy, please pray for our projects!  Bye for now, Robin

Native Americans

The St. Croix project involving control the pet overpopulation is moving along.  Please see the other blog at Abbeyanimal.blogspot.com for updates.  

Talked to several people about other missions and it was brought to my attention that there is a great need on some of the Native American Reservations for veterinary care.  They have a lot of poverty and a lot of animals.  It would be a great thing to help out with their companion animal population.  I will continue to look for organizations that are involved in this cause.  Please contact me if you are aware of a worthwhile cause that could use our support. (rknoppdvm@aol.com)

Opened my wife's pool yesterday.  She likes to call it "our" pool but when it comes right down to it, it really is "her" pool.  She is a bit of an exercise nut and likes to swim in it often, especially during the summer months.  I try to help her keep it clean and running.  This is always on my "Honey-do" list.  It is a "salt" pool which is much nicer on the skin.  Some people feel that the human body is like a battery and needs to be recharged regularly.  The salt in the water it thought to help with the naturally occurring magnetic charges that surround us… that's the theory anyway.  All I know is, it is very refreshing to bath in salt water (especially in the ocean), however, the salt is hard on equipment.

Before Splint...

After Splinting and ready to Wake Up!

Very busy week which include the splinting of a very small patient.  This dog came from a situation where the family had lots of very young children.  Unfortunately this little guy wanted to play with them and they wanted to play with her and the next thing you know she got stepped upon.  These things can happen in the "blink of and eye".  Fortunately she is young and the break will eventually heal.  You can see how much material it takes to get the job done.  The splint looks almost bigger then the patient! Better "a broken bone then a broken spirit"… or … "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Went to Church this morning and it was time for the Children's Cantata (they sing a sermon).  What a great thing to witness.  All those innocent voices lifting up God's praises!  Very moving.  My daughter Alli helped accompany and direct some of it.  It was also the Sunday where the Women of Song sing during the Offertory.  They were also great!  What a blessing to be at a Church where music is used to lift up the Lord.  It is a great way to start the day!

Pray for our projects, bye for now, Robin

Flying to Williamsburg

     Please don't forget to check out my Abbey Animal Mission blog (Abbeyanimal.blogspot.com) to see where we are on that Project.

   Went to Church today and decided to go to the 9:45 service with my son Mark.  I don't usually go to this service as its contemporary and I am more of a traditional kind of guy… I have to admit that it was a great service.  A lot of youth were there including David Jr. who I have known since he was only a kid.  I watched him grow up in the church, I watched him sing in the youth choir, I watched him pick up a guitar for the first time and now I have watched him come of age in the church. Now I have also watched him propose to his wife to be.  God has special things waiting for him.  I can't wait to see what is next!  Anyway, the service was very moving.  It sure was nice to see the youth taking an active role in the church.

Ghost Fleet in the James River

     Was able to fly to Williamsburg today (KJGG).  Took my bike in the Six and parked in the parking lot next to two other Pipers (they were a lot younger). 

Piper Squadron!

  Peddled into town for lunch and some delicious coffee.  This is a great little town with lots of history and lots of things to do.  I am lucky to live so close.  The flight is about 15 minutes from Hampton Roads Executive (KPVG), but it is packed with very interesting events along the way.  One of the things that I fly over is the James River "Ghost Fleet".  These are ships that have been mothballed by the Navy.  If you want to buy one I am sure they are for sale.  Mostly they are purchased for scrap as they are out of the World War II time zone and not in very good shape. 

Look real Hard and can see Bush Gardens

Classic Williamsburg!

      Another thing that I fly by is Bush Gardens (the amusement park).  This is interesting in that it is very hard to tell which ride you are looking at.  I am sure that some of you are experts in the field of Roller Coasters and you will be able to pick them out.  Anyway after going into town I stopped at Aroma's, a coffee shop, for some great coffee and a sandwich.  Then, on to the Virginia Peanut Factory store right across the street.  The best thing about this place is the very large and complete spread of peanuts… I feel like its the Buba-Gump  of Peanuts.  They have all kinds, from very spicy to salty to sweet to chocolate covered.  The other best thing is that they have samples of all of them so you can try them before making a selection… mostly I just try them, and try them, and try them (i can't seem to eat just one…)!  The next thing I know I am jumping around like a "Mexican Jumping Bean" from all the sugar and caffeine in the chocolate… well worth it!

     Ok, this blog post has gotten long enough and kind of "ramblie", so I am going to get going and get ready to go to work (good grief! that was quite the sentence).  Another week is starting and I can't wait to see whats next.  Please Pray for these Projects.  More to come, Bye for now, Robin