tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7052086611494747952024-02-06T21:38:56.016-06:00Secrets of a Vet School Drama QueenIts like high school with scalpals... And animals.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-75329254467960681462013-02-07T16:38:00.002-06:002013-02-07T16:38:39.902-06:00RecoveryLast march, I was training for the Illinois marathon. I was training well. I was running three days a week with a training plan, tempo runs, long runs, intervals - and I was killing it. My foot started to hurt, but it wasn't a significant amount of pain. I've been training for different races for 20 years - I can usually tell when I need to slow down and when I'm able to push through it. That doesn't mean I make the right decision to stop training, but at least I recognize when I'm being stupid.
A month later, the pain was getting pretty intense. I saw the doctor at the university health clinic who told me to rest and to use crutches and that I would be fine. I followed directions, using crutches for the final week of rotations and through all the fun end-of-vet-school things. After two weeks, I started walking again and the pain wasn't too bad. My friends and I went to Maine for a 10 day vacation before graduation and we hiked all over Acadia National Park and drank our way through Bar Harbor afterwards. It was a blast.
Wearing heels at graduation was painful. I started my job at the animal hospital the day after graduation and wore crocs. Every. Single. Day. I could no longer wear running shoes, gym shoes, any kind of shoes or a dull burning sensation would creep along the edge of my foot.
Unfortunately, my insurance didn't start until July 1st. On July 2nd, I met my new primary care physician who immediately referred me to the podiatrist, suspecting a bunion as the cause of the pain. He diagnosed my issue as "Joplin's neuroma", telling me that it would take 6+ months to heal or I would need to have a neurectomy. That would lead to permanent numbness along the side of my big toe and foot - not ideal for an athlete... or anyone really.
6 weeks later, I got a steroid injection in the nerve, which helped for exactly 3 weeks. He sent me over to the foot surgeon and finally, finally, finally said the bunion itself was the problem and leading to the nasty nerve pain.
Three weeks ago, he shaved the side of the metatarsal bone in a neat, quick, 15 minute outpatient surgery. I was up and walking right away, went to work the next day (which doc said I could, but mistake! ouch!). I've been recovering well since then, but I still have 2.5 weeks until I can run again. I'm excited, I'm excited to train, to run pain free (I hope) and to wear normal shoes again!
I'm going to try to document training and keep myself accountable. Hubs and I have been trying to eat healthy - I'm trying to see how long I can go without any fast food (minus the chipotle, pancheros, qdoba type places, I have healthy options there... and I love it). We didn't eat a lot of fast food before, but when we travel or on sundays we sometimes get McDonalds... eek. This is the only "restaurant" within 10 minutes of our house, sadly.
Here's to a happy, healthy new year :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-72821896696614560102013-01-31T05:59:00.000-06:002013-01-31T05:59:38.366-06:00Frustration.I've been thinking about my blog lately. Every time I sit down to write a post about something interesting that I saw or a frustrating case that I have, I realize that I can't give details that would even make the story interesting. As much as I have kept this blog under wraps, I would be deeply saddened if a client came across something negative that I had written. That would reflect poorly on me, my staff, and my clinic that my husband's family has worked for nearly 30 years to build. We have a stellar reputation, and I would hate to be the one to tarnish it. Do other clinics see at least 8+ new patients a day? I find that crazy. We have seen 6100+ clients in just under the 3 years that the computer system has been in place. That equates to at least 10,000+ patients. I find that crazy!
That all being said... I'm becoming frustrated with the public. It makes me very sad to see puppies dying of parvo that could have been prevented. Heartworm disease that would have been prevented if we had seen the animal routinely. The mass that could have been removed months ago, but is now the size of a grapefruit. I understand money is tight in our area - we sometimes get complaints over pennies. And that saddens me to no end, to think that people literally have to count pennies, and are still trying to do right by their pet.
I found myself getting almost snippy last night over the frustration and burnout that is slowly seeping in. I can't care about a pet more than the owner. That isn't fair to the animal and it isn't fair to me.
On the other hand, there are owners that are trying all that they feasibly can to help their pet, but are restricted by finances. I found myself close to tears last night pleading with an animal that isn't doing well and refuses to eat. And yes, I actually spoke directly to the cat. In front of the owner. Given that it was late at night and I'd had a rough week, possibly I was starting to lose it.
But today is my day off. And I know that I will be stopping into work this morning to call in a prescription for that animal. It's what we do. There are weeks that I have calculated out that I make far less than $10/hr. And I'm a doctor. And between KJ and I, we are sitting on $350,000 of student loans. So when people get upset when we can't do things for free or when there are complaints about the $27 exam fee and the $7 rabies vaccine... I literally want to cry. Like I said, I can't care about pets more than the owners or compassion burn out will be lurking close by. We as doctors still need to provide for our families. We went to an excessive amount of school and racked up an astronomical amount of loans (in relation to how much we make) in order to share our knowledge and help animals.
Like I said, I'm glad it is my day off today. That eternally positive, happy person is still here. But sometimes you just have to vent :) Also, I miss blogland. I hope this is the start to my comeback tour. Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-70425351428981007772012-07-12T06:15:00.001-05:002012-07-12T06:15:35.561-05:00Still alive.So many things.
1. I graduated vet school. I am a doctor.
2. I've been working for 8 weeks now. I started the day after graduation. I worked 65+ hour weeks for the first 7 weeks.
3. I haven't been working out consistently due to foot injury... which was recently diagnosed as a "baby bunion". it also means marathon training was put on hold.
4. We moved to the country - I can't see any other houses from my house, just horses, deer, dogs, and cows.
5. I didn't have internet for 6 weeks after graduation. See #4.
6. I also didn't have a working phone for 6 weeks after graduation. See #4.
7. I still don't have cable. See #4.
8. I learned I need the internet to destress and be happy. Apparently I have a technological addiction. I also realized how much I stay in touch with friends and family via email/facebook - it was a little lonely there for awhile.
But I'm back! I finally have a decently normal schedule (only 45-50 hours/week and a day off during the week!). I'll have lots of veterinary stories, lots of veterinary "firsts", and more blogs about training. I'm going to try to get back into triathlon this year, putting less pressure on my feet/knees. It also means I'll get to swim more, which is one of the great loves of my life.
A mini vet summary of my first eight weeks:
1. diagnosed my first mast cell tumor via FNA
2. diagnosed horner's syndrome on an 8 yr old golden
3. euthanized my first patient (and a few more after that...)
4. palpated an abdominal mass on a recheck hyperthyroid cat appointment... GI lymphoma most likely.
5. diagnosed multiple hyperthyroid kitties
6. etc. etc. etc. learned lots.
I'll be back :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-20756503074198243522012-03-10T08:40:00.002-06:002012-03-14T08:09:40.779-05:00Tattoos... and the foundation for my belief system.KJ has been talking about wanting to get a tattoo. He wants a half sleeve and his idea for it was actually inspired by our honeymoon. In Mexico, we learned a lot about the Mayan culture and about their religion and spirituality. He loved the idea of their version of the "tree of life". In the Mayan culture, they believe the world is made up of the heavens and the underworld, and linked together by a tree whose branches extend into the heavens and whose roots delve deep into the underworld, making the tree the center of the universe. When Mayans died, they believed that they entered the underworld through a cenote (very deep, water-filled caves that are interconnected - we went swimming in one on our honeymoon) and reborn into the sky world... or something along those lines. <br /><br />His other idea involves some version of snake skin, with two separate scales colored red (for him and me). He is terrified of snakes and feels that by commemorating them into a tattoo, it will help him combat his fears. <br /><br />I love the ideas for his tattoo and I want something equally inspiring and meaningful. The best I could come up with my favorite flower, Gerber daisies - which was also our wedding flower. <br /><br />... and that is the best I could come up with. <br /><br />So, I started thinking about quotes or single word inspirations, like "believe" or "dream" or "hope". It is cheesy, yes - but to have that constant, permanent reminder to be myself and believe in myself seems wonderful. I then changed gears to thinking of what word I would choose if I actually did it. "Believe" vs. "Dream". I'm not a dreamer - I set goals and I work to achieve those goals. I know myself and I guess that when I set my sights on something, I expect to get it - if I work for it and really want it. Maybe that makes me cocky, but I don't expect to be given any of it - I just set my sights on the final product and keep pushing until its mine. Swimming, softball, running, vet school, graduating college with honors, the past and present men in my life... I went after all of it, it didn't find me. And while I have some belief in fate, in the sense that things happen for a reason - I think we choose our own destinies and allow the things that could happen or were "meant" to happen, happen to us. <br /><br />I guess the monkees had it right - I am a *believer*.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-27378570073761542692012-02-28T12:35:00.002-06:002012-03-08T10:42:03.779-06:00Emergency SituationsFor my one and only off-campus rotation of the year, I got an externship at an animal hospital in the southwestern Chicago suburbs. It is a shelter based rotation, but the rescue itself operates out of an animal hospital. I've gotten quite a bit of spay/neuter experience (about 23 surgeries so far with two days left to go - my goal is to hit 30 total) as well as experience dealing with shelter illnesses - upper respiratory infections and intestinal parasites mainly. <br /><br />What I want to share is what went on yesterday. First of all, I got the opportunity to assist with a TECABO (total ear canal ablation with bulla osteotomy) surgery. I chatted with the head practice partner about swimming, school, practice ownership, etc. It was a two and a half hour long procedure with about an hour of prep time, so we had ample opportunity to talk! Afterwards, I grabbed a quick lunch (it was 3:30 pm by the time we were done) and got my first surgery premedded. In the meantime, a hefty english bulldog had been brought into the hospital in respiratory distress. Apparently the owner had seen the dog breathing heavily early that morning. She went to work and returned to find her dog having a lot of trouble breathing, so she brought him into the nearest clinic (not her regular vet). He was immediately put on flow-by oxygen which helped his color tremendously. His temp was 103 when he was brought in and he was placed in the oxygen cage to relax. Unfortunately, his temp skyrocketed to 106 in a short amount of time and he was returned to the dental table for a cold bath, where his temp came down to 101. He started improving and began wanting to jump off the table. He was placed in a cage to see how he would do on room air, and at this point, I had just premedded my patient. <br /><br />Three minutes later, he collapsed and stopped breathing. An ET tube was placed, he was re-started on oxygen. He had a heartbeat, so we moved him onto the surgery table close to ventilater and iso in case it was needed. A pink foam began dripping from the ET tube so we tilted the table and eventually picked him up and allowed it to drain from his lungs. At the same time, he was trying to vomit and up came about 2 cups of semi-digested kibble. Eventually he was put on iso and ventilator since he kept fighting the tube. There was no way he could breathe on his own with just flow by oxygen so this was temporary to keep him breathing to call the owners and decide on a next step. At this point, referral was the obvious choice - send him to an intensive care unit with a staff that could monitor him at all times. <br /><br />As soon as Dr. E called the owner and explained what had happened, she began SCREAMING into the phone, and I quote, "YOU KILLED MY DOG, YOU KILLED MY DOG". When he told her he couldn't speak to her if she was screaming at him, she hung up the phone. She must have been waiting outisde, because she came immediately into the building screaming "YOU KILLED MY DOG" to the waiting room. After being put into an exam room, Dr. E went to speak with her and she began screaming AGAIN. No exaggerating, top of her lungs screaming... AND. POUNDING. THE. WALL. WITH. HER. FISTS. <br /><br />(... are you kidding me? I don't care how distraught you are, that is no way to behave.)<br /><br />Dr. E came right back out and Dr. S walked in (he is a partner of the practice) to reason with her. She then opens the exam room door that faces the waiting room and screams to them "THEY F***ING KILLED MY DOG". IN. FRONT. OF. CHILDREN. <br /><br />When asked to stop or she'd have to leave because there were children present, she demanded that the children leave. <br /><br />This continued for another 10 minutes, at which point the decision was made to take the dog to the specialty hospital. I drove and a tech and doctor sat in the backseat with propofol and an ambu bag with the dog. Fluids were hanging from my hanger hook and my cupholders held all the emergency drugs. <br /><br />Of course, as soon as we were on our way, I realized I had NO gas. About 10 minutes from the hospital, I had to stop, run out of the car, pump 10 dollars as fast as I could and jump back in the car to get on our way. We only had a limited supply of propofol and we needed to get there. Plus, it was a 70 pound dog, so he needs a lot of propofol than a tiny dog!<br /><br />About three miles from the hospital, we hit a standstill in traffic. An accident was about 10 blocks away and traffic had merged into a single lane directed by police officers. Dr. E said - "this better not take long or we are going to run out of propofol."<br /><br />SHIT! <br /><br />As I sat in the driver's seat shaking and praying for traffic to move its happy ass along, we finally began moving. We did make it and the dog was alive and pink when we dropped him off. After getting him settled, the owner tried to apologize, justifying her actions by saying this: "You just don't understand how much he means to me. You know I would marry him if I could."<br /><br />You can't make this stuff up. <br /><br />Today, the dog is still alive and on a ventilator still, so his prognosis isn't good... but we'll see what happens. It is out of our hands and hospital, so they can deal with the crazy if the dog doesn't make it.<br /><br />Just a typical day in vet med.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-34808859464897081242012-02-10T10:32:00.002-06:002012-02-10T17:29:03.163-06:00The more you "know"...Things I have "learned" or been told on this rotation that I plan on erasing from my brain as soon as I leave:<br /><br />1. Doctors should not discuss the cost of anything with clients. They should only be associated with "caring for their animals" and not money. <br />2. Doctors do not clean cages. This is the job of techs, caretakers, and anyone else without a DVM after their name. <br />3. Cats do not need restraint. Instead of scruffing or really even touching them, you should kneel down, eye to eye with the cat, and blink slowly. This is what cats do in the wild to show that things are okay. They will magically stand still when you stick a needle in their jugular vein. <br />4. Primary care appointments should be scheduled hourly, or if really necessary, by the half hour. 15 minute appointments are not enough time to truly evaluate any animal and treat them... even if it is a perfectly healthy animal that only needs one vaccine. <br />5. An elderly animal that jumps from a counter and limps for a couple of days needs full sets of radiographs even if the limping has resolved and the cat is behaving perfectly normal and they made the appointment because of vomiting. <br /><br />And I am SICK of people telling me that "your techs will do this and your techs will do that". I went to vet school so I can do my own bloodwork and do my own radiographs and do anal glands and have the ability and knowledge to do everything and anything. While I appreciate the work the CVTs do in the university setting (the hospital would be dead lost without them), if I have adequate time, I would like to do most of the so-called "tech" work. I think that is one fault (of many) of human medicine - the doctors are so far removed from the patient and removed from the costs of everything that they don't fully appreciate the whole picture. Veterinary medicine provides the whole picture - that is the beauty of our profession. I don't believe veterinarians are "above" the "mundane tech work" at all - in fact, you shoudn't be in vet school if you truly believe you are better than the techs and therefore shouldn't have to perform those basic skills EVER. I'm sorry if you disagree. <br /><br />And I'm sorry for the rant, I just want to graduate and work in my small town veterinary practice for the next 30+ years with my husband.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-2266027263931781102012-02-09T13:25:00.003-06:002012-02-09T13:50:21.189-06:00January 2012 running update & Ally updateI ran 100 miles in January to start off the first month of marathon training. The problem is, I haven't been great (or even very good) about cross training and that is part of the foundation for the training program, aside from running three days a week. I only missed three runs in total (2 tempo runs and 1 interval runs) so I have done all the long runs so far (yay me!). This weekend I am supposed to do 12, but I'm going to push for 14 and try to get a little ahead in the long runs so I can hopefully do two 20 milers before the marathon to build up some endurance. <br /><br />On a side note, we decided we wouldn't be able to adopt Ally... but one of the volunteers that works with our rehab specialist is taking her! She is an older lady with no dogs and is very familiar with Ally and adores her. I hope Ally will have an awesome home with her!<br /><br />As far as rotation go, I'm currently on primary care at our school... which is an incredibly poor example of primary care and completely unrealistic - the majority of primary care practices do not have specialists available for "consults" and are not able to sustain themselves strictly on a 1 appointment/hour schedule. Its craziness... oh, the stories I have... and its only been two days! I'll update soon with my very-nearly-useless experience here and the endless tidbits of "wisdom" I've picked up... FUN FUN FUN!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-54929667463931589472012-02-05T20:54:00.002-06:002012-02-05T21:21:39.650-06:00Are we ready for this?And no Mom, this is not about children. <br /><br />Our ex-foster girl, Ally, has had a tough little life so far. She was rescued by a kind, caring lady who found her walking on both carpi (wrists) with some incredibly flexed tendons. She hopped around like a little mongoose and was pretty adept at walking on two legs as well as four. She had a bilateral radial and ulnar osteotomy to correct her horribly curved bones and intensive physical therapy. When the left radial implant became infected, she had another surgery to remove it. Weeks later, the healing bone was fractured again and another surgery was performed. Immediately following the first surgery is when Kyle and I came into her life. We'd visit her in rehab and play gently with her. Through everything, she was mostly a wonderful, happy little dog, with some moments of sad depression sprinkled in. <br /><br />She's been staying with our rehab specialist, who is also long-time friend of KJ's and his family and now my friend as well. She is a remarkable person and does wonders for the animals that come through her ward. She opened her heart to little Ally and has been caring for her since our wedding - she never expected to inherit Ally for the long term, but graciously and lovingly took her into her home during all of her recovery. The woman that originally adopted Ally had a lot on her plate, which is why Ally is been fostered since her first surgery. <br /><br />Ally had recheck radiographs done on Monday - and she was pronounced HEALED. Kim sent us an email telling us the happy news and we were thrilled to know that Ally was finally given a second chance at a quality life. <br /><br />Since I'm on the imaging rotation, I was perusing the rads that were taken this past Friday and saw Ally's name pop up. I immediately ran over to rehab to visit our girl and see how well she was doing. The first thing K (rehab specialist) said when she saw me was, "Ally's broken again". <br /><br />I couldn't believe. I went back and opened both sets of rads and sure enough, the Monday rads looked great, while the rads taken four days later showed matching radial and ulnar fractures. <br /><br />F*CK. F*CK, F*CK, F*CKING F*CK. <br /><br />The surgeons think her bones are shot... she's had months and months to recover. She is going to get 8 more weeks of bandage changes and see how it goes. But if she isn't healed... she will most likely be a three legged dog. And K thinks she will be a terrible three legged dog since she isn't great on her front right leg. And her owner has finally had it - so Ally technically belongs to K now. And K also owns a Mastiff with two young, active kids. It's not a great environment for Ally. Our house really isn't either... but we're K's first choice for Ally's new home. <br /><br />KJ and I both know the situation... but haven't sat down to talk about it yet. We both love her so much - but are we ready to take on such a special needs little girl? Can we manage three dogs and two cats? I just don't know... She is such a special little girl, a sweet tiny cuddle bug that loves people and adores other animals. But we are so busy and I'm not sure we can do her rehab and give her enough attention... <br /><br />Thoughts? I know other people would be willing to love her and take her into their home... but I do have a strong attachment to her. I just never pictured us being her forever home. But life doesn't always follow our plans, and I guess that's what makes it exciting and wonderful...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-59327895244557274422012-01-25T10:04:00.002-06:002012-01-25T10:27:37.363-06:00When I grow up, I want to be an animal doctor.The annual interview day at our school is almost upon us. Our school does it all in one day, in one neat little package - get in, get out, thanks for coming. When I applied, this was my last of four interviews. At that point, I was over the interview process and only wanted to know if I would be going to vet school (or not) the following year. I knew my Kansas state interview had gone well and I liked the school a lot. The only draw to Illinois was cost of tuition and being closer to home, not the actual school itself. I had heard a lot of negative things about the school and not a lot of positives... <br /><br />I drove down that day - skipped the tour, skipped all of the informational meetings - almost like I didn't want to know what the school had to offer, because if I got accepted, I would be going because of cost. If I hated the school and got accepted to there AND another school, I knew I would have a tough time turning Illinois down, despite everything I hated about it. The state of blissful ignorance - we're well acquainted. <br /><br />My interview was a blur. I remember nothing except that one girl was wearing something Cardinals related. I can't even tell you if it was a hat, a t-shirt - nothing. Years later, when my friends and I would talk about the interview process - they could remember everything - "oh yea, I had Dr. P, and that fourth year named Megan." What is wrong with me that my own interview day is a gaping black hole? Maybe it was my indifference, who knows. <br /><br />What I do know is that I don't regret it. I met my husband here. That above everything means the world to me. In some small place in my heart, I'll always have a certain fondness for the school when I think about late night anatomy lab study sessions with KJ and my friends, cramming for exams in the cafe for 12 hours a day, rocking out to country music and "gangta rap" while cutting our anatomy animals, and having a ball (a lot of the time) in clinics. I have met a lot of amazing people in my four years here - and I'll be happy and honored to call them my colleagues in just a few months. <br /><br />I've also been thinking about kids lately, or more so the "idea" of kids. Its going to be years before we jump on that train, but I love that our future kids are going to grow up at the animal hospital and be surrounded by animals their whole lives. Maybe they'll want to be vets someday, and maybe they won't - but either would be okay with me :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-64052419357185043852012-01-22T19:15:00.002-06:002012-01-22T19:40:50.729-06:00I run so I can eat.Marathon training is underway. I'm glad my schedule for the rest of the year allows me to have time to train and have free time on top of it. Unfortunately, the temperature is about 10 degrees with icy rain... so I've been doing a lot of indoor, treadmill running. Today's run was 11 miles and I had the fortunate opportunity to watch nearly all of Legally Blonde and zone out for awhile. It was lovely.<br /><br />Post-run, the husband "convinced me" to get Pancheros burritos for lunch... and frozen yogurt for dinner. That's love right there - he knows my weakness for americanized mexican food and love of freezing cold dessert in the dead of Illinois winter. Honestly, this is one - albeit small - reason that I exercise as much as I do. I love eating. I mean, love running too, but I really really love eating :)<br /><br />I start my next block of imaging tomorrow - which means more time to read books! I'm on the second book of the Hunger Games trilogy now. So far in 2012, I also read Inheritance, the fourth book of the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini (awesome books). Then I read All My Patients Kick and Bite by Todd Wells - a cute, funny book written by a mixed animal vet about his most memorable patients. I just finished Dewey the Library Cat by Vicki Myron yesterday. I cried through the book, both from laughing and sadness. The way she depicted Dewey reminded my so much of my Quoddy cat, our rambunctious, trouble-making, sensitive, stubborn, snuggle loving-Maine Coon cat. I recommend all of the books if you are looking for light, easy reads. <br /><br />More to come from my adventures on radiation vacation (aka diagnostic imaging).Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-87459020502625696672012-01-14T06:32:00.002-06:002012-01-14T07:02:04.547-06:00Boards... I pass them.I passed boards. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />I passed boards. </span><br /><br />I PASSED BOARDS!<br /><br />(correction: WE PASSED BOARDS!)<br /><br />It hasn't sunk in. At all. In fact, I woke up this morning and checked again to make sure. I *honestly* was scared I wouldn't pass. When you walk out of that exam, you are in a daze. Actually, half way through the exam you start to feel like you are in a fog. Then, a few hours later, when you try to talk about it - you only remember six questions. And you hope to God that your friends agree with your six answers. <br /><br />I called my family last night to tell them and I know they are so proud of me and its an amazing feeling! I owe it all to them. I wouldn't be the person I am or have the accomplishments that I do - with school, sports, and life - without their endless support and encouragement to follow my dreams and do what I think is best for me - even when they don't always agree (aka turning down a full ride for a college I didn't think was right for me... even though six months later I admitted to my horrible mistake and transferred!). I love you mom, dad, and bro - you are my strength and my rock.<br /><br />Four months from yesterday we will graduate as DVMs and be thrown into the real world. I'm terrified and excited. I updated facebook this morning to add my current/future employer - associate veterinarian, at your service! <br /><br />Husband and I are headed to Chicago for a day trip to celebrate today - we have a lot to be thankful for :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-22421244502048707382012-01-12T12:37:00.004-06:002012-01-13T09:37:54.238-06:00The times they are a-changing...... in more ways than one. I'm still alive. Fourth year tried to swallow me up and claim me as its own, but I'm rising above it. Take that fourth year. And our house just got robbed... but I'll get to that later. Take that robbers. <br /><br />I've been living in a post-boards splendor for a month and a half now and it has been blissfully uneventful... other than the typical grind and headaches of rotations. I just came off of five weeks of internal medicine and am settling into 4 weeks of imaging. <br /><br />Reality hit today when the NBVME released the NAVLE scores to the states that subscribe to the online portal system... 23 states get to check their scores online and unfortunately Illinois is behind the ball as always. We are sitting, patiently (or not so patiently) waiting... pacing... checking facebook/gmail/various websites for updates and trying to put the potentially life altering news out of our minds until we know for sure. If you do happen to fail, the world doesn't end. You get another chance in April and you still graduate and all is well in the world. I think the tricky part is getting back into the studying mindset for three months knowing that you didn't pass it the first time. Dear God, let me pass on the first try. <br /><br />Since this year will bring a thousand changes in my life with graduation, moving, and starting my career, I thought it would be appropriate to start with some goals for my mental and physical health. I've been feeling a little depressed lately and I can't pinpoint the reason but recent events have made me uneasy and scared. <br /><br />So, like I mentioned, our house got robbed. On Christmas night. <br /><br />YES, CHRISTMAS.<br /><br />Now, I imagine some of your jaws have dropped and you are thinking "what kind of horrible human being robs a home on Christmas". I agree with you whole heartedly. It takes a certain type of asshole to break into a bedroom window of two poor veterinary students and steal almost everything of significant worth. Thank God nothing of sentimental value was taken and that we and our animals are safe. <br /><br />We had taken both cars out to Kyle's parents farm (about 30 minutes away) and my parents and brother had come down on Christmas Eve afternoon and we all got to celebrate that night and Christmas morning (after we got home from work at eleven... yes, we worked all through the Christmas holiday). My family left around 1 and Kyle and I had more Christmas with his family. We left around 10 for home in separate cars and I headed to a friend's house to take care of their dog before heading home and Kyle went straight home. I got back about 20 minutes later and as soon as I pulled up, Kyle got out of the truck with Ben and came to my window. The first thing he says is, "Don't freak out, but we got robbed." <br /><br />So I did what anyone would do. I punched the steering wheel repeatedly and cursed/screamed at the neighborhood. When I had finished my tantrum, he asked for my phone to call 911, since he phone had broken a few days before and we hadn't replaced it yet. Apparently, Kyle had walked in the house with Ben and saw the TV was missing. Of course, he thought the cat had knocked it over because he does that crap all the time. Then he noticed the PS3 (that I bought for his birthday four weeks before), Wii, and laptop were missing. He immediately grabbed Ben and sat in the truck parked at the end of the street with the doors locked until I came home. <br /><br />The police arrived in three separate cars and had to "clear the house" just like they do in the movies. Guns drawn, they went through each room with flashlights to make sure no one was still in the house. Then we were allowed to come inside. Apparently they had taken out our window air conditioning unit and broken in through the bedroom window. They flipped the mattress and searched the nightstand/file cabinet - of which they found nothing because everything of importance is in my office. They went in my office, which happened to be filled floor to ceiling with shower/wedding gifts in boxes - but only took a single plastic bag, I assume to carry all of our stuff out of the house with. THANK GOD. <br /><br />They must have grabbed everything they could in the living room and headed out the backdoor (which they left open, luckily the cats didn't go on any adventures that night). My laptop was sitting on the kitchen table, but they missed that. <br /><br />All in all, it was terrifying and a huge invasion in our privacy. To think that strangers purposefully broke into our home and took our belongings makes me feel incredibly vulnerable and exposed. <br /><br />The following day, we ventured out to the stores and priced out new TVs. Even though we had purchased our 32" less than a couple of years ago, we were able to buy a 37" that day for about as much as we had originally spent and a new playstation 3 (our insurance should be covering nearly everything). Later in the week, I went up to visit my family and we went shopping at Costco where we discovered a floor model that was 47" and only 20 dollars more than we had spent on the new TV. It was much better quality, 120 Hz, 1080p, wireless capabilities, 3D capabilities, etc - I bought it on the spot and returned our other one with no problem (thank you Best Buy). Its pretty awesome - way different than our little 32" - but it wasn't fun shopping for new stuff knowing WHY we were doing it. <br /><br />Anyway. Lock your doors and windows. Get a guard dog. Or an alarm system. Your choice.<br /><br />...<br /><br />So about those goals - I have a bunch. Here they are:<br /><br />1. Graduate. <br /><br />2. Run in at least 3 races in 2012. Already training for the Illinois marathon April 28. Doing the Shamrock Shuffle in March. Possibly the Chicago marathon in October.<br /> <br />3. Lose 10-15 pounds. I gained back all the weight I lost over the summer for the wedding... its time to get back on track. <br /><br />3b. Calorie counter. Joined Livestrong.com and have been tracking my calorie intake... I'm not going to be a crazy person about it because I enjoy drinking and ice cream but to have some idea of the kind of nutrients I'm taking in on a daily basis. I just want to make sure I have enough protein, fiber, etc.<br /><br />4. Learn to budget and manage my money. Joined Mint.com and have been good about keeping up with it and checking which keeps me from spending more money. <br /><br />5. Read for fun. I'm on my third book of the year so far. It helps that I am on a very laid back rotation right now, but I forget how much I miss reading. I have loads of books that are waiting to be opened. <br /><br />Sorry for the long catch up. I'll be back to updating more regularly :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-62114041198508405902011-11-16T11:15:00.002-06:002011-11-16T11:35:30.555-06:00The Final Countdown5 days until I take the biggest test of my life. Sometimes I feel like I am going to rock it and sometimes (most times) I worry about failing. <br /><br />Failure is my ultimate enemy and my worst nightmare. I loathe failing at anything - I am competitive and driven and I usually succeed in the things that I try. I ran a marathon after the orthopedic surgeon told me I'd never be a marathon runner. I applied (and was accepted) to multiple vet schools after my undergrad advisor gently suggested choosing another career path. I'm currently studying using VetPrep to study for boards, in addition to some other reading materials. It is a bank of 4000+ questions (about 1/3 or so are repeats) that you do as separate practice questions or timed 30 question exams. It tracks your percentage as you go through and tracks your strengths and weakness by species and by category (cardio, derm, anesthesia, toxicology, etc). Up until I got back from the honeymoon 3 weeks ago, I was at a stellar 15% or so. I finally made it to 85% today, with only 600 or so questions to go... KJ made a joke the other day about me not sleeping until I go to that 100% because that is the type of person that I am. Its so true. I'm a freak when it comes to goals. Which is actually a problem sometimes because I get so caught up in accomplishing my goals that I lose track of having fun... not that this particular goal has any relation to fun. You get the point. <br /><br />Anyway, I'm still alive and here. I can't wait to return to the real world. Im my head, I keep telling myself, "I'll do this when boards are over, I'll do that when boards are over." <br /><br />I seriously can't wait to do laundry and clean the house. For real.Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-459650378568216252011-11-08T19:32:00.002-06:002011-11-08T19:50:28.775-06:00Whoa Fourth Year!I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted! The year is flying by and I can hardly believe it is NOVEMBER! So much has happened! <br /><br />The highlights: <br /><br />1. KJ and I got married :) YAY!<br /><br />2. We went on our honeymoon! YAY!<br /><br />3. I chopped off all of my long, gorgeous, slightly obnoxious long hair and donated it to Wigs for Kids. YAY! My flowing locks that fell past my boobs are now chin length and angled so I feel like I have no hair, which is awesome after two years of growing it out for the wedding! <br /><br />And now that we have been back in the swing of things for a couple of weeks, I can comfortably begin to freak out because I take boards in TWO WEEKS. So, in two weeks you will be seeing a ton more posts about fourth year adventures and animals and my next marathon. Maybe married life as well ;)<br /><br />I'm on the diagnostic medicine rotation right now... meaning that I do necropsies everyday and pretend like I have a starring role on CSI: Vet Med. The beauty of it is that all my patients are dead and don't need weekend treatments. <br /><br />And it happens to fall over Thanksgiving, meaning that I take boards Monday the 21st, I have Tuesday the 22nd off (all of the fourth years get two days off for boards and since mine is a Monday, I'll get a blissful day of freedom after the exam), and I go to school Wednesday the 21st. I figure I'll then drive home Thursday morning, enjoy an awesome, stress-free day with my family, enjoy some nice stress-free shopping on Friday, followed by a stress-free weekend. Then Dad has surgery on Monday, so I requested my first personal day off (you get 5 for the year). I get to be home for FIVE WHOLE DAYS. AND I don't have to worry about studying for boards anymore so I can be stress-free for the rest of the year... relatively speaking. <br /><br />I cannot tell you how excited I am to be *almost* done with board studying. Its been looming out there on the horizon since we started vet school and it is finally *almost* here. I'm getting my butt in gear for the two week haul of cramming/learning and then its nothing but freedom to have a life again. <br /><br />And send out those wedding thank-you notes...Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-74780985581064300802011-10-07T07:02:00.002-05:002011-10-07T08:06:48.469-05:00Long Overdue... and Foster PupI can't remember the last time I blogged... which means it has been far too long. I finished a month long rotation on anesthesia and moved right into equine medicine and surgery. This meant that my "cushy" 7:15am-5pm hours turned into 5:30 or 5:45am to 6:30pm (or later) every day. Weekends were only 6am-12pm... but still, lots and lots of time spent at school and not a lot of time doing other things. Like wedding planning. I'm getting married a week from tomorrow. Holy sh*t. I'm excited, but nervous because the coming week is going to be busy! <br /><br />Equine has been amazingly fun. Aside from the long hours, I've had a couple interesting cases and have had an awesome rotation group - and really awesome clinicians. This is the first rotation that I've really felt comfortable with the clinicians and can make jokes and feel more comfortable in my own skin. This is kind of ironic because equine medicine is what I am LEAST confident about - I definitely know infinitely times more about small animal medicine. Nevertheless, I have never laughed this much on any other rotation and our trio of clinicians are really great. Its a group of three younger guys that are really chill and laid back and not intimidating at all (as some equine folks can be). Us fourth years, on the other hand, are a group of four girls that are constantly giggling and cracking jokes - we try to be entertaining and not distracting!<br /><br />On a side note, KJ and I are currently fostering little Ally, a small 12 pound long haired Dachshund mix. She presented to orthopedic surgery 6 weeks ago with bilateral angular front limb deformities with short ulnas. She was actually "walking" on her carpi - completely weight bearing, although she did like to sit up on her haunches like a meerkat. They performed a bilateral radial and ulnar osteotomy in order to correct the curved long bones and lengthen her ulnas. A few weeks later, she came back for recheck radiographs and she had a fracture across the most proximal screw on her left radius... so then they put on an external fixator. At that point, her new adoptive mom had just adopted a two year old child and was having back surgery, so she asked our rehab specialist if she could find a temporary foster home for Ally - they thought of KJ and I right away because we were frequent visitors during Ally's first two weeks after surgery and rehab. <br /><br />So now Ally lives with us for awhile - we will have had her for one month tomorrow. Last night, we were sitting in the living room and KJ was sitting in the leather chair with Ben and I was on the couch with Ally on my lab, playing with her like a baby and talking to her, and he said, "You are getting attached...". I just looked at Ally and replied, "I know... but I just want her to know love". It will be so hard to give her back, but I just want her to know that so many people love her... how is that not the best gift you can give to someone - human or animal? She is an amazing little girl - a real fighter and she tries so hard - we can slowly see her little personality come out as she has started feeling better - she plays with toys that the big dogs throw around and they are too good of dogs to steal them back from her. It melts my heart to see how good our furballs are with her. <br /><br />As good of a time as I've had with little Ally, I'm not sure fostering is for me - I get too attached and have a difficult time letting go :(Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-41636593881314126512011-08-28T22:34:00.001-05:002011-08-29T15:09:44.477-05:00Workout Update... and Girl FightsI have lots to update about my anesthesia rotation - but I still have two more weeks left, so during downtime this week, I'll catch up with that.
<br />
<br />I decreased the amount of P90X to 3 times a week and started running and swimming again. Plus, since I've been on anesthesia, its been tough to find time to workout unless I do it at 9pm at night (hell no). But, as of now, I can do 5 whole pull ups now which is kind of awesome... my arms look super toned and I'm pretty sure I can kick anyone's ass now.
<br />
<br />In fact (long side note), Saturday night, I found out that our "friends", that are getting married on the same day as us, were in town. Last week, the girl (fiance of our friend) sent me a facebook message asking me not believe any rumors about her and that she isn't the reason that they choose to get married on the same day, it was just their circumstances, etc etc etc etc blah blah blah blah. I haven't given the situation a thought for months, but here it was, being brought up again. The next night, KJ and a few of his friends got an email from the guy (who is actually our friend) saying the same thing and not to blame his fiance for anything and etc etc etc blah blah blah. My god, this drama is ridiculous.
<br />
<br />So anyway, when I found out that they were in town, I was already drunk and watching Survivor play at the world famous Urbana Sweet Corn Festival (be jealous) and I decided I needed to kick someone's ass... namely hers. A minute later, Survivor finally played Eye of the Tiger... which got me super pumped up and I started practicing for the ass kicking that would ensue later that night in the event that we ran into them.
<br />
<br />Now, I've never punched anyone in my life, nor would I normally want to - but this whole situation has caused people to lose friendships and other ridiculous awful drama that I want nothing to be a part of, but it keeps coming up and hurting people's feelings. However, I was thinking about none of this at the time - just that it would be fun to get in a girl fight.
<br />
<br />Anyway, at some point during Eye of the Tiger, I turned around and saw A LOT of clinicians from my school/hospital just feet away from us... embarrassing but awesome at the same time. Eye of the Tiger ended and in my drunken state, I forgot that I even wanted to fight and I just wanted to go to the bar for something better than Miller Lite. All in all... a typical night.
<br />
<br />Because of my new-found ass kicking abilities, I decided to sign up for a triathlon and kick figurative ass. It is October 2nd here in town - its only a sprint, but its been three years since my last one, so I need a shorty to get back into the swing of things. 325m swim, 14.5 mi bike, 3.1 mi run - awesome! I'm so excited to be doing another one - I'm planning on breaking 1:30 for sure (I'm afraid to get too ambitious) - but I heard T1 is a super long transition, since we are swimming in the rec center, so not sure how long that will take... but if you are in the area, you should sign up too :)
<br />
<br />Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-90445765446606151932011-08-20T14:24:00.006-05:002011-08-20T15:53:34.996-05:00Lions and my other favorite patientsLIONS. Can you believe that in two weeks, I've had the opportunity to help out with not one, but two lions! A 15 year old lioness and a 22 year old lion to be exact. Both are living at the Exotic Feline Rescue in Indiana, and both were recently rescued from a "bad situation" in Texas a few weeks ago. For the first lionness, I was on Dentistry at that time and we did a double root canal on her left sided canines. To see a lion intubated and handled up close was incredible - since we didn't really get to assist with the root canal, we spent a lot of time taking pictures with the lionness - by her head, with her paws... super educational and productive, right? But awesome nonetheless. Her paws were much bigger than my hand... so we took pictures of that too.
<br />
<br />It was refreshing to see the clinicians (including our head of surgery) down with the lion taking pictures on their phones - a lot of times so many of them walk around like nothing impresses them and that they've seen it all - but to see a simple lion make the most seasoned professionals act like children at the zoo is really cool. Our profession is so unpredictable and awesome - most MD's don't walk around with pictures of their favorite patients on their phones and can't entertain at parties with hilarious tales about their crazy patients. Well, maybe the latter is true - but if my doctor is walking around with a picture of me on his phone, I'll be a little alarmed!
<br />
<br />Me on the other hand, have already accumulated lots of pictures of my favorites - my unforgettable Shy, who allowed me to put myself out there and fight for a dog I truly believed in and who never let me down; my lovely Lillian, a sweet 2 year old chocolate lab with aggressive hemangiosarcoma who wagged her tail and gave me kisses up until the minute she died; the two litters of puppies who were successfully delivered via c-section that we helped resuscitate and bring back to life; and the lions, two very large cats that made me marvel at their greatness and see that deep down, the clinicians are just like me - I know that in 20 years, patients like that will still impress me and veterinary medicine will never cease to amaze me.
<br />
<br />Enough about lions. We got the results back from histopath about Bubs - NOT A MAST CELL TUMOR! Crazy inflammation, yes, but tumor, NO! Regardless, he does have a history of cancer, but at least we know it hasn't returned! My sweet, perfect boy is cancer-free. Since his incision wasn't able to be closed all the way, we have been doing bandage changes every other day. My bandaging skills have improved greatly and he is such an angel, that I was able to do it all by myself today while he just laid on the floor and literally fell asleep. What dog does that?!?!?
<br />
<br />Have a lovely weekend - the end of summer is here... Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-28604566371277159552011-08-08T22:02:00.003-05:002011-08-08T22:26:14.644-05:00Bubba and his Health WoesBubba has another mast cell tumor. This time, it is on his left rear paw, just proximal to his toes. In other words, a shit-tastic place to have a growing mass. I caught it early, thanks to the fact that his allergies are horrible this year and he has been so itchy all summer long that I've been keeping a close eye on the condition of his skin. We did an impression smear of the mass and tape preps of his reddened, alopecic patches of skin and diagnosed his mass as a mast cell tumor with a concurrent bacterial/yeast skin infection. The real vets verified that we were right and he's going in for surgery on wednesday for a lumpectomy.
<br />
<br />The funny thing is, I just upped his dose of Benadryl this week due to his increased itching. His allergies have always been controlled with mere Benadryl (although it may be time to bring out a bigger gun in terms of medications), which was lovely since he has a history of mast cell tumors, and the Benadryl essentially kills two birds with one stone. But maybe I should have increased it earlier?
<br />
<br />And since I'm on dentistry, I decided to check out his mouth today and see if he needed a dental as well since he's going to be under anesthesia anyway. Wouldn't you know it, he has a slab fracture on his right upper fourth premolar with chronic pulpal exposure. I feel like a failure as his mom. I should have noticed it much earlier, but he's never stopped eating meals or seemed to have an issue when chewing bones and treats, so I never suspected anything. Thus, he'll be having a tooth extraction on Wednesday as well. They'll also be zapping off some skin tags that he occasionally nibbles at to top it all off.
<br />
<br />All in all, I feel like I failed my boy and should have been paying more attention before his skin started to get bad and when he broke his tooth. Damn it. I hate that my dog has cancer. Not that I would wish it on any other animal, God forbid, but he's just the best boy ever. I know everyone says that, but hes MY good boy. He makes me laugh out loud, he comforts me when I'm sad by resting his big head on my lap and letting me cry, he greets me at the door with great big toothy smiles like he couldn't be any happier than at that precise moment when I stepped through the door. He loves us with his whole heart and I know if given the chance, he would lay down his life for us. I know I'm anthropomorphizing him, but he truly is an incredible dog. He is actually sensitive - he blames himself when the other animals act up - when they do something wrong, he is the one that acts guilty, even though he has NEVER done anything wrong when we aren't in the house (You can't blame tiny teeth marks on him!)
<br />
<br />This all just makes me realize that life is fleeting - Bubba isn't dying and he will be fine now... but I can't imagine our lives without him. I love you buddy, thanks for making my world that much better because I have you. Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-72190700387151071472011-07-20T10:31:00.002-05:002011-07-20T11:11:53.622-05:00P90XI'm going on week 3 of P90X - I haven't done it religiously everyday (I've only had time for 5/7 days a week because of the crazy schedule), so its been about three weeks or so since I started. And I'm starting to feel kind of awesome. <br /><br />My arms were toned before, but they are looking slightly better (I HATE flabby arms!). My legs are a tiny bit skinnier, but I know they will never been chicken legs - I have muscular thighs and calves and that's never going to change! What I am most excited about is that my stomach is getting toned and I have hints of ab muscles! WOOOO! I noticed that I can do more during the workouts than when I started and I can finally do 2 whole pull-ups. Last summer, I was up to 3, but then the finger debacle happened, and I haven't been able to do any since then. So... its getting there. <br /><br />Plus, today, I put on my first size 4 pair of dress pants ever. If you are a guy, this may not seem like a big deal, but I've been a steady size 6 for years. My first year of undergrad, since I wasn't swimming or working out that much, I had to bump up to size 8 (EEEEEEK) which was a huge wake up call. Rewind to 4 years earlier - I joined the track team my freshman year of high school and started off as a sprinter because I couldn't run longer distances if my life depended on it - despite being a really good athlete otherwise (swimming, softball, and volleyball). As high school went on, I "graduated" from the 100 to the 200... to the 400... to the 800... and then I actually graduated, so I stopped at the 800. The turning point was one track sprinting workout where I outlasted all our best sprinters - obviously I wasn't as fast, but I had the endurance that they lacked. Coach "encouraged" me to try the 800 and I did much better at the longer distance than the sprint. My favorite workouts began to be the "LSD" runs - Long, Slow, Distance. <br /><br />Anyway - when I gained that nasty freshman 15, I decided to take up running again and fell in love with distance running. And I haven't looked back. I love love love half-marathons and while I enjoyed my first marathon, I'd like to do more before saying I'm in love with the 26.2 miles :)<br /><br />Moral of the story - after I finish the 90 days of P90X, I'm going to use those workouts as cross training for running and swimming. If you want to get in shape and not leave the comfort of your home, P90X is pretty awesome. I'm not doing the diet, but I'm eating relatively healthier. Last night, we got BBQ at this awesome place in Urbana and I usually get the massive combo meal with pulled pork, 4 ribs, and 2 sides (mashed potato casserole and sweet potato fries) - I do end up taking leftovers home... usually... But last night, I tried the portabella mushroom burger with pesto and fresh goat cheese from the local goat farm (that I volunteered at briefly) with the side of sweet potato fries. So, I'm still eating the foods that I love, just not in the massive quantities that I do when I'm in heavier training!<br /><br />Also, a friend of mine from school wants to do a triathlon, so he asked if I'd help him with his stroke - an excuse to get in the pool? Yes please. I'm SO excited to have a swim buddy!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-64443948455893251722011-07-17T22:51:00.003-05:002011-07-18T01:04:00.783-05:00Wildlife Massacre NightTonight, we had 4 wildlife cases come in - all hit by cars... and 15 euthanasias. How? One of them was a momma oppossum that was brought into the hospital in a box. We opened it, she looked dead, so we went to euthanizing the rabbit that was also brought in. You may think that she tricked us and she was just "playing possum", but no :)<br /><br />After the bunny euthanasia, we went back to the oppossum and I was looking at it to make sure that it wasn't breathing... well, its chest wasn't moving, but its abdomen sure was. I put on gloves and wouldn't you know it - its pouch was full of live, suckling babies. <br /><br />OH MY GOD. <br /><br />Not cool momma oppossum, not cool. We had to snatch each baby off of each teat (which was actually tough to do, those little buggers hold on tight) and euthanize each of them. Twelve little babies in all. Mom was already dead and ants were crawling all over her and in the pouch - it was quite gross. <br /><br />Busy night, but at least I'm home by 1. Which is five hours earlier than last night!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-80260539097868124442011-07-17T02:02:00.002-05:002011-07-17T02:17:35.550-05:00I don't do my best work at 2AMLast Saturday overnight for awhile... until end of October when I have my next ER rotation. However, I still have to get through the rest of tonight. And tomorrow night. And be awake and smart at 9AM for Dermatology. Which, by the way, I know nothing about. <br /><br />I'm tired. I was super productive today, despite being up till 3AM and getting up and getting my butt in gear by 9. Went to lunch with friends, got my glasses fixed, ran a bunch of errands, met with Dr. B to meet her cats that I'm cat sitting next week, AND got coffee in preparation for tonight. Thank GOD that I got coffee - it has been a really long day/night. My first case was a hit-by-car 10 week old pit bull puppy. Talk about tearing at my heartstrings. Lately, my only patients have been beagles and pit bulls - my favorite, favorite little loves. Plus, I've had all the hit-by-cars as well. My last one was a sweet, young beagle stray dog with a nasty anal tear. The two guys that brought her in watched her get hit by the car in front of them and they brought her in and were very concerned about her - super sweet. We just couldn't do a whole lot besides clean her up since she was a stray.... which sucks. <br /><br />My pup tonight was owned by a young couple (younger than me for sure) that had NO money with five kids. They were denied Care Credit... so he had to go home on limited pain meds after we did the most that we could to help him (IV pain meds, fluids). He had pain on palpation of his right TMJ and right elbow... so that could be a lovely discovery for the referring vet when they (hopefully) take rads and re-examine him on Monday. Poor little baby boy. I gave him a kiss and wished him good luck. <br /><br />We are just running super behind in terms of who still needs to be treated... Still waiting to treat a dog with a puncture wound that came in about 5 hours ago. The owner is another vet student, so she dropped him off and went home. Good thing, because this is taking forever. However, I did get to do my first abdominal tap on a probable FIP positive cat. We drained about 1200 mls from his abdomen - in the middle of which the tube popped off the stopcock and exploded awesome yellow fluid all over the tech... she was totally cool with it and we all laughed because it is 2 in the morning and it really was hilarious. <br /><br />Back to the grind... hope you all are having sweet dreams! :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-13283511797092609632011-07-13T12:35:00.003-05:002011-07-16T23:08:55.215-05:00Being DomesticI don't cook. I don't really know how... per say. I can follow a recipe and it usually turns out just fine, but I can't open up my fridge and throw some things together and call it a meal. Unless it involves opening up a Lean Cuisine/Healthy Choice/Smart Start and throwing it in the microwave, because I am a pro at that. <br /><br />Today, I decided to cook my mom's world-famous beans and rice. I did it for the first time a couple of months ago and it turned out fabulous, so I thought I'd go super big and do two full slow cookers chock full of yummy Colombian goodness (my parents left theirs at my house a few weeks ago - mom had cooked the beans and rice for us and brought it down when we euthanized Gypsy... and now I have stolen their slow cooker). Mind you, I've been eating this meal for my entire life - nothing suits my fancy better than Colombian food. My mom is a wonderful cook, but I seem to lack the culinary gene, so last time I cooked this, I had her walk me through it, step by step, over the phone. This involved something like 6 phone calls and it ended up tasting really good. The only problem is there isn't a specific recipe for it and that little fact makes me nervous. Last time, she told me 3-4 tomatoes - this time she told me 5, etc. I only called her once, just to make sure I had all of the ingredients and then I ventured into the kitchen alone to begin my big cooking adventure. <br /><br />Beans and Rice, Momma P Style<br />4-5 big tomatoes<br />5-7 green onions<br />1 bunch cilantro (or more if you love it as much as I do)<br />Garlic (maybe... 7 or 8 cloves? - I used about 1/4 cup of minced garlic in the jar... I'm lazy)<br />Lawry's Seasoning Salt - to taste - 2-3 tablespoons? probably more.<br />Cumin - to taste - 2-3 tablespoons? probably more.<br />Salt/Pepper - to taste.<br /><br />1-1.5 lbs ground beef or ground turkey<br />6-7 medium red potatoes<br />1 can dark kidney beans, drained<br />1 can light kidney beans, drained<br />16 oz chicken stock (low sodium if you wish to be healthier)<br />3 cups water<br /><br /><br />First of all, if you have a food processor, use it. If you don't, get one :) Or spend a lot of time chopping tomoatoes into tiny pieces. So, first chop the tomatoes into chunks and put them in the food processor for about 10 seconds - it should look pureed, there should still be bits of tomato, but you want it to be mostly liquid. Pour into a large frying pan.<br /><br />Chop cilantro and green onions - I used the food processor for this too because it is much faster. You want it to be sufficiently chopped up - I don't like big leaves of cilantro in my food, so I do it pretty tiny. Add to tomotoes in frying pan. <br /><br />Add seasoning salt, cumin, garlic, salt, and pepper - be generous with your spices! But you can always add more later. <br /><br />Heat at high medium heat. This part takes a little while - you want it to lose some of the moisture and turn thicker. It is okay for it to retain a little bit of liquid, so do this for about 20 minutes or so. <br /><br />Meanwhile, start browning the ground beef/turkey (I use turkey because it is healthier). Peel your potatoes and cube them - put in slow cooker. Rinse/drain the kidney beans - add to slow cooker. Once ground beef/turkey is done, add to slow cooker. Add chicken stock and water. <br /><br />Once the tomato mixture is good to go - add to slow cooker. Mix it all up - add some more seasoning salt, cumin, salt/pepper (because you didn't put enough in the first time) and stir it some more. Turn slow cooker on high. If you feel the need to stir and you are home, do so every 30 minutes or so. <br /><br />After a few hours, it should be ready to go. Make some rice. Taste the concoction in the slow cooker - add appropriate spices. Add rice to bean/meat slow cooker goodness and you are good to go. <br /><br />Last, add tabasco sauce and fresh cilantro - it makes it yummy. If you can't handle spicy foods, avoid tabasco sauce, but I promise you, it is delicious. <br /><br />I'll let you know how it turns out - so far, it smells GREAT!<br /><br />EDIT: It tastes amazing. I'm still eating it. <br /><br />If this was confusing - only add beans/meat to rice when ready to eat - don't just dump the rice into the beans/meat and let it sit like that :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-91842682941702240502011-07-12T02:11:00.005-05:002011-07-12T20:40:00.206-05:00ER OvernightsJust started week 2 of the small animal emergency rotation. I would have written sooner, except for a couple of reasons - the first being that my school computer is dead. HP and I are in a fight over the warranty right now. <br /><br />Let me take a moment to vent: Last year my powercord broke, which is covered by the warranty. So I call and ask them to ship me a new one. I confirm the shipping address twice since I can't use my computer and I need it ASAP, and end the call. Two days later, I track the shipment - it was on its way to parents house - i.e. the reason that I confirmed the shipping address in first place. I call, pissed off, and place a new order. Three days later, I attempt to track the shipment - no tracking number listed online for the order. I call HP again - turns out no order was placed the second time - even though I went through the whole process, confirmed the shipping address, etc. I place a THIRD order for the powercord - and they have the gall to ask me to send the other one back. Um, no I won't be doing that. <br /><br />Present day - My computer screen shattered right before finals and I now need to start studying for boards, so I would like it fixed. It turns out my warranty doesn't cover accidental damage - which I SPECIFICALLY ordered when I bought the computer three years ago. I called HP, verified that I was ordering the correct warranty, and placed my order. Three years later when I need to cash in on that warranty, I am told that I was given an incorrect item number for the warranty. I spend two hours on the phone with HP, talking to six different people - one of which was the supervisor of the tech support guy who told me he has no boss and is at the top of the chain of command of HP.<br /><br />Are you kidding me? I was so livid at that point that I congratulated him for owning HP and running such a successful, customer friendly business. <br /><br />I finally got routed around to the tech support supervisor's man's SUPERVISOR (weird, the first guy really doesn't own HP?) who at least made an attempt to help me. He said he'd ship me the box to send my computer in and that I'd be recieving it within the next two days. I verified my address and politely told him that I had had issues in the past with things being sent to the wrong address, so I just wanted to confirm the correct one. He read me my address and said nothing else was listed. The next day, I track the package... sent to my parent's house. I mean, come on, is this for real? It's almost funny how terrible they are. <br /><br />Moral of the story - whatever happens, stay away from Hewlett Packard. <br /><br />Besides the computer debacle, I'm really just exhausted. Working 70+ hour work weeks is starting to get to me. I am so excited for my next rotation - 9 to 4ish, Monday through Friday. How glorious. ER has been interesting - I've had a lot of cases, I've gotten better at drawing blood, taking blood pressures, pulse ox, ECGs, etc. Just basic, good skills to have for the rest of the my life. <br /><br />Last night was one of the toughest - a few very critical patients, but we were able to leave at 2:45am. At 4:15am, I got called back in and stayed until 7am. The one I got called back in for was a panting dog. It wasn't heatstroke or hyperthermia, but just a dog that had been lying under the owner's covers, woke up panting because it was warm and was brought in immediately. It stopped panting for us, the rest of the physical exam was completely normal. When the intern talked to the owners, the owner freaked and insisted the dog had hip dysplasia. <br /><br />... what kind of monkey leap takes you from minor panting to hip dysplasia? She then literally pleaded and begged the intern to tell her the truth - that her little cocker spaniel must have hip dysplasia. Her previous dog - a chocolate lab - had hip dysplasia 15 years ago, so she assumed this dog must have it too. I was so tired at this point that the whole conversation was hilarious to me. That sounds mean, and I'm very sorry, but we never mentioned ANYTHING about her hips or any orthopedic issues. I have no idea how her mind just went there! I know the owner was upset and tired herself, but this conversation got very weird very quickly. <br /><br />Anyway, today is my day off and I slept until 1:30 - which is only 6 hours of total sleep, but I feel better. I went to the pool and read a book, got ice cream, took the dogs for a walk, and am now relaxing with wine. I blew off P90x today because I was exhausted, but I'll definitely get back on it tomorrow :)Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-28191117871064846262011-07-03T19:09:00.004-05:002011-07-03T20:22:57.661-05:00Unexpected PraiseI successfully made it through RAHMS (I think it stands for something like Rural Animal Health, Medicine, and Surgery). I have one phone duty shift tomorrow from 2-8pm, which sort of sucks because it is the fourth of July and I'd rather be hanging outside than inside the phone room... I'm also on-call from 8pm to 8am the following morning - I guess when that is over, I'll officially have survived my one and only RAHMS rotation. <br /><br />Friday morning started off very strange. I arrived at school around 6:45am, ready for my first call of the day. The appointment was for "killing pigs"... i.e. euthanizing 7 pigs at the swine research farm. These guys were part of a research project and the study had ended, so they needed to be euthanized and sent out. They wanted it done via captive bolt, which essentially looks like a handgun. It stuns the animal, rendering them unconscious by damaging the skull and cerebrum. You can then choose to immediately exsanguinate, or allow them to die on their own. We watched Dr. CS do one of them, but we had been taught in class the proper location to use the captive bolt (or gun for that matter) - you draw an "X" from left ear to right eye, and right ear to left eye - and you shoot at the cross-section of the "X". Each of us did two pigs - there ended up being an extra pig that need to be euthanized after her cannula was pulled out (cannulas were placed in these pigs in order to sample GI contents). It was an experience - it was my first time using the captive bolt and I'm glad that I now know how to load it, use it, and clean it. If I am ever in the situation where an animal needs to be euthanized in this way, I'm glad that I know how to do it. These guys were my first real euthanasia and, to tell you the truth, it was pretty tough for all of us, especially beginning our day with that. <br /><br />Our next call was at a house belonging to one of the doctors at my school. I LOVE her and she has the cutest house and barn - she has one horse, a Paso Fino, and a cute little donkey. They needed Coggin's tests, vaccines, and their teeth floated - I've never actually seen teeth floated on a live animal (I've done it on horse cadaver heads) - so that was cool to see. <br /><br />We got back to school around 12:30pm and were hanging around the rounds room doing paperwork and enjoying Food Friday (the last day of each rotation, everyone brings food to share). Dr. CS walked through the room on the way to the office and looked at me and beckoned with his finger, without saying a word, and continued walking to the office. I followed him, a little uneasy that I had done something wrong, and he shut the door. He gently grabbed my arm and looked at me and said, "I just wanted you to know that I really enjoyed working with you and that you did a great job. I really hope that you'll come back and see us again." I stumbled through something like, "I had a great time, thank you for teaching me so much" and walked back to the rounds room, basically floating on air. He is an older guy that doesn't offer outward praise all that often. Plus, he is my favorite doctor. It meant so much to me that he personally took me aside to tell me that he enjoyed working with me - I actually started to feel more like a colleague, rather than a student, which is an incredible feeling. <br /><br />The rest of the day was pretty uneventful - I ended up going out on a call with another doctor that I like and another student (who is a large animal girl and really knows her stuff) - we were going to two different pig farms for health papers, a really boring, super quick visit. The only problem was these farms were two hours apart and in completely opposite directions from each other in relation to the school. We ended up in the car for over 4 hours, just chatting about the rotation, but mostly about one of the students on the rotation who has been an incredible headache for everyone that has had to interact with her. I'm pretty sure she must have some sort of psychological issue, and for that, I feel sorry for her. However, it doesn't erase the fact that she is a nightmare to work with, antagonistic, and rude. By the end of the rotation, I had to stop talking to her completely because every conversation left me wanted to blow out my brains. KJ told me not to feed into the craziness, which was the best advice he could have given me - I know that he must have been sick of me coming home and complaining about every encounter with her each day!<br /><br />Later that night, a bunch of us went out for drinks at my favorite bar downtown. KJ had gone to dinner earlier with some high school friends, one of which works as a tech at my school. At the end of each week of RAHMS, the clinicians and techs get together and evaluate each of the students on the rotation. After the first week, my evaluation went well - I was told that I was great to work with and enthusiastic about getting things done efficiently. She told KJ that after this past week, I had the best evaluation of the group - I was totally shocked, but super pleased. I was scared going into this rotation, since I don't know large animal medicine very well. But I learn pretty quickly and love learning how to do new things - I'm a very hands on learner, has which seemed to pay off for the rotations that I have been on so far. Anyway, I'm not tooting my own horn - it was just really surprising to hear that the clinicians thought I did well - and super flattering!<br /><br />I'm off to ER next - I work a few days shifts and then switch to a week and a half of night shifts - it should be very interesting and I hope that Iearn a lot!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-705208661149474795.post-13983476479546180192011-06-30T12:46:00.004-05:002011-07-02T21:59:43.409-05:00"Aw, you got some on your face..."This morning, we headed out to the dairy farm to dry off a couple of cows and pretreat a handful of heifers. For those not in with the dairy lingo (i.e. me) - that means that they are pregnant and will be expected to calve in the next 60 days or so. They stop getting milked and will slowly stop lactating and "dry off" while waiting to give birth. This allows them to take a break from working, manage any subclinical mastitis issues that may be going on, and prepare for the next lactation. They will then start producing milk again right before they calve. <br /><br />The way this dairy farm does it may be different from other practices, but this is the only place I've seen it done. First, a separate milk sample from each of the four teats is collected. This will later be plated on 4 separate agar plates (typically blood agar) to see if any bacteria grow. The teats are then disinfected and intramammary antibiotics are injected into each of the four teats. The teats are disinfected again and the internal teat sealant is injected which will form a plug, preventing bacteria from getting into the teat sphincter and setting up a potentially nasty mastitis infection. <br /><br />Drying off cows is pretty simple - they are used to being in the milking parlor and are used to having their teats handled daily. The heifers on the other hand, have never been in the parlor before and have no idea what to do. When I attempted to inject the antibiotics, they flipped out and started kicking. That is all well and good - I can handle that. What I couldn't handle was when I was about to go into the teat and she flipped out... but instead of kicking, she defecated all over my arms, neck... and face. Thank you GOD that my mouth was closed. It was not ideal, but it was pretty funny!Heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03331337258510887489noreply@blogger.com0