Scrubbing in for the first time...

So, Friday I was paired up with my preceptor to start working in the OR. We originally had a full schedule, but when we came to work on Friday all of our original cases had been cancelled and our new case didn't start until 2:30 pm (I started at 6:45 am). Since there was nothing for us to do in the morning my preceptor took me down to one of the heart rooms so that I could watch an aortic valve replacement. Originally I was just going to observe from the back, but ended up being able to scrub in. Scrubbing in allowed me to be sterile so that I could stand right next to the surgeon and see the surgery up close. I was even allowed to touch the beating heart, feel the aorta and the thrill in the aorta from the bad valve, and then how the aorta felt after the new valve was in place. It was crazy!!! It was so cool, I couldn't believe I was actually touching a beating heart! I LOVE my job.