abigail414's diaryland diary
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Girls Just Wannabe God
Last Wednesday I put in a 12 hour day � no lunch break and stayed until 8:30 pm cutting up a dead dog.
Sidney was a devoted 10 year old lab mix with a loving and gentle owner. He had an infected mass removed earlier in the year, and then had some unrelated lameness and intestinal parasites. His mom Jackie is a regular who has three dogs and always asks for me. I initially met her after one of her other dogs was transferred from the emergency clinic to us for post-surgical care � it had an intestinal blockage and surgery that didn�t go well.
Sidney was robustly healthy until Monday when he went off his feed. For a big old dog he had a good life � went jogging with Jackie and to the dog park regularly. He had a good time over the weekend before becoming lethargic and vomiting and standing in the pool drinking water for hours. When he came in I could sense he was REALLY sick, like �go to surgery immediately because he has something really wrong inside and could die any minute� (or �ohmigod we need a more experienced vet�). I worked with two other vets at our clinic and threw an arsenal of tests at him - bloodwork, x-rays, abdominal tap, barium study � he wasn�t obstructed, twisted, no obvious tumors, no peritonitis, but had diabetes (which was new), with a painful abdomen, and his heart rate was sky high. On x-rays his heart looked OK, so the high rate was associated with his abdominal pain, possibly pancreatitis (which can cause secondary diabetes). He got a boatload of pain medication, fluids, antibiotics, anti-emetics � without a whole lot of effect but appeared �stable� � his owner decided to take him home for the night to return Thursday and decide if we would do exploratory surgery or wait for the ultrasonographer on Friday.
He died while his owner was putting him in the car in our parking lot. He howled, went stiff, and took a few last breaths. Aggh. He loved her and didn�t want to die without her so he held on all day. We were stunned. She was apologetic for keeping us open after hours (I would be so mad if I spent $1,000 on my dog and it died in the parking lot!). I offered to do a necropsy to see what the problem was � hence found myself probing around a big dog�s belly by myself after hours. Turns out he that yes he had a troubled pancreas, but also had a big clot in his aorta and who knows where else �which is probably why he died suddenly (and may have contributed to his high heart rate and odd symptoms).
By the time I was done with the necropsy, he was in rigormortus, in a stretched out position that would not fit into the cremation bag. I was alone at the clinic, tired, with a stiff dead dog, so just left him out for the night to perhaps get a little softer (with his belly sewed up of course).
The next day the owner came in to pay for cremation and was so effusive towards me, saying that I went above and beyond the call of duty and that I�m the absolutely best doctor. Well, I certainly didn�t feel like the best doctor after her dog died � but I�m just an emissary for and not actually God. Need to remember that when I feel like I 'failed' - sometimes it is just their time to go.
Plus, the 'failures' are so outnumbered by the successes. Like today I got a call from a very neurotic (and difficult) client with a 16 year old whippet that we�ve been treating for heart disease and kidney failure. It started to get shaky and disoriented, and bloodwork showed a slightly low thyroid. It was already on heart meds, and I added thyroid and senilty meds to the mix - he was �ecstatic� about the results (his words, I wrote them in the file, just to remind me). And, for Christmas I got a lot of lovely cards, candy, and the above fantastic fancy cookie arrangement from Josh�s parents (see previous entry 'Veterinary
Tales�). All in all, if I remember my role in the big picture, this is a pretty good way to make a living.
9:22 p.m. - 2006-12-22
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