By Nicholas Currier ‘20

Mr. Dunne’s anatomy class took a field trip to Advocate Christ Medical Center to observe a triple bypass heart surgery.

When asked about the trip as a whole, Grant Gierhan said, “I observed firsthand how unique the human heart is and how we must do all we can to protect it.” The anatomy students were able to see the surgery take place and had a doctor speak to them during the process.

Johnny Pettenon was asked more specifically about how the procedure took place. He said “It was a great experience because it was educational and just crazy to see such a procedure. We saw a man getting a triple bypass and then they removed an artery from the man’s leg and prepared it to be used for the bypasses.” Such procedures are very serious and involve “the surgical team stopping the heart to be able to operate.”

Johnny was very interested in the whole operation and the field trip changed his viewpoint on the surgical process and opened his eyes to the field of medicine.

Ryan Rice was asked to relate the field trip to what he has learned in class. He said, “The field trip to Christ Hospital was a very exciting time in which lessons learned in class were seen in the real world. I have never seen an open heart surgery and it truly opened my eyes to what surgeons go through on a daily basis. Questions students had were answered by professionals in the medical field. I never thought I would have learned this much and am beyond glad that I attended this field trip. I also learned what it takes to ensure that I never have to undergo such a procedure. It was very epic.”

The surgery was a great event to see but could cause discomfort for some. Michael Flynn said, “I felt that the experience was insightful. Parts of the surgery made me feel uneasy and were very unpleasant. We watched the surgery live from an auditorium at Christ Hospital. The operating room was only about 5 rooms down from where we were.”

What a field trip to go on! There were many different viewpoints on the surgery, but overall everyone agreed that Mr. Dunne prepared everyone and made the field trip incredible.