Ring tones

At my new internship we have a shared intern emergency phone that we all use when on ER duty as well as a personal cell issued to us (this means that when one is on ER you typically are carrying a minimum of 3 cell phones if you have your own personal cell; crazy!!). All doctors here as well as many of the techs also have phones. All of these phones (with very few exceptions) have the same generic AT&T ring tone because no one takes the time to change them. Since my first day here, this has made me even more insane than usual so this weekend, while on ER, I took steps to ratify the situation.

Unbeknownst to my colleagues I changed the tone of both my personal phone and the shared phone. I then handed the phone over to my internmate who is on overnights and waited for the fun to begin. I was here late dealing with a last minute case and ICU was a little bit of a circus as typical for my being around (it is all quiet when neuro/cardio guy is on - an internmate). In the midst of the insanity, I secretly dial the number on my phone and place it back in my pocket to let it ring looking completely innocent of course. Very loudly the phone begins to scream Boogie swing which is, I'll admit, a rather annoying tone.

Neuro/cardio guy nearly jumps out of his skin and starts looking around frantically for the source of the noise. He then realizes from whence it comes and grabs the phone saying that is the most annoying ring tone ever. Only then does he look at the phone and realize that I, minding my own business in the opposite corner, am the source of his call. He's now threatening to change the ring tone... I advised him to do what he wanted but I'll just change it again and may make it more annoying. That seemed a sufficient threat. I'll have to work on everyone's sense of humor around here....

Bloodletting

I now remember why I got on to post yesterday. My computer was being a pain and by the time I managed to sign in I had forgotten my purpose. It's really sad what vet school has done to my memory. BVS I could go to the store without a list and get 1000 items without forgetting anything; now, AVS, I go to the store for one item and forget why I'm in the parking lot...

Back to my story. We tried a novel but not new treatment option the other day on a problem case. We have this dog in the hospital who needed to have a carpal arthrodesis. He's had multiple complications and has a very swollen and infected foot at this point. His cephalic vein was ligated during the surgery so we decided to try using leeches to decrease the venous congestion in his foot. It was a circus in the minor procedures room. The leeches were shipped overnight in a thermos that looked very much like a container for coffee. The stubborn little boogers didn't want to come out and kept attaching to the sides of the container. We tried pouring water (distilled) in the container but were only getting 1-2 out at a time. Finally, some bright soul hit the container on the floor to dislodge the remaining critters. If leeches have ears, I'm quite certain those are now deaf!

By far, the most amusing aspect was watching people's faces. I have a tendency to stand back from the crowd and observe proceedings and this one was awesome. The leeches are snake-like yet snail-like and were swimming around faster than anyone expected. Additionally, they kept trying to exit the containers and had to be corralled. No one wanted to touch them and there was a definite squeamishness about the potential for them "biting" if picked up. Once the fear of getting them out was conquered, it became a game to place them with all of the senior clinicians present getting in on the act. I really cannot do justice to the circus-like atmosphere but I was doubled over in laughter much of the time. The good news is that the foot/leg seems to be improving. Are the leeches responsible or just time??? Don't really know but something is working.

I should post a copy of the description of medical leeches encouraging purchase. It sounds like an old-fashioned snake oil salesman's pitch. Cures male and female sterility and gout amongst other things. Interestingly, there is an actual scientific paper out there about the benefits of therapy. And yes, they do actually sell medical grade leeches which are guaranteed not to spread disease but should not be re-used. We decided to keep our leeches and name them after various faculty members. They apparently can go anywhere from 50 days to a whole year between feeding and are hardy little creatures living up to 10 years. We felt that they had done a good deed for the betterment of a fellow creature so they did not deserve to die...now the fun of picking names begins (evil laugh).

Tidbits

Being back in the university setting as an intern has offered new, unexpected challenges. It has been difficult for me to become accustomed to students who are not motivated. As a student, I was extremely OCD and enjoyed having multiple cases. I probably drove clinicians crazy with my compulsion to be completely in the loop and have some "say" in the decision making process. I find it difficult to comprehend those students that whine "Oh dear, I have two whole cases and can't keep up with either!!!" There are so many of them that just don't even seem to appreciate what they are doing. On the other hand, of course, are those that are truly a pleasure to work with; they take wonderful care of their cases, don't complain, and work very hard. It is impossible not to have favorites with this situation...

Interestingly and unexpectedly, I am thoroughly enjoying teaching. Did not think that I would... The other challenge is the multitude of egos. The egos are much easier to deal with here than they were in New York, though!

Seeing some interesting cases which brings me to a "public service announcement" as dear friend Can'tSpell likes to say. Please, please, please do not feed your dog bones!!!! I know, it seems natural and normal but you don't realize what trouble can be caused. We had to remove a bone from the caudal esophagus of a little dog the other day that had been there for 2 weeks. It was fed on purpose and the owners put off treatment thinking the problem would go away. We had to open the abdomen and thorax, access the esophagus through the thorax incision. There were perforations in the esophagus and it was partially necrotic. We chose not to do a resection / anastomosis but to remove the bone and place a feeding tube to bypass the area and allow it to heal. The dog is currently septic (bacteria in bloodstream) although she seems to be improving a little but she is definitely not out of the woods!! So now the owners are left with $1000's invested and not even sure yet if the little dog will survive all for the sake of a bone.

I am very pleased to have my cats with me again. They have finally decided that it is safe to come out of the bedroom and into the rest of the house. Watching them learn to interact with the dogs again is quite amusing and they have toys strewn throughout the house. Last night, they stole my watch off the counter, as if there aren't enough toys!! The dogs are also happier; they are playing again and not so grumpy.

Speaking of grumpy, I'm a little less so myself now since I am no longer on the vampire duty. Don't find myself craving blood so much now that I'm awake in daylight. Funniest part is that I rarely sleep any more hours than I did during the day but feel so much more rested. I am not a night person but definitely prefer the early a.m.

Unfortunately, I don't have any wonderfully amusing stories to share but thought it might be a good time to catch up a little. Can't Spell hasn't done a good job keeping posts up lately although I know she has some amusing stories to share. Maybe I'll have something better soon.

Time to resurface

Fuzzy Buddy Before After - A Different Dog

So it's been a while and I'm sure all of you wonderful people have been wondering how things turned out in my crazy life [as if you don't have your own crazy life to worry about;)] It's been just a tiny bit hectic of late with moving and starting a new internship. My move involved going South (home), picking up my crew of cats then heading west. I managed, somehow, to get here on time, find a place to live prior to having to start that actually allowed my pets, and even catch up on about 95% of the things that were screaming for my attention at home.

I have only just managed to cut my poodle's hair, however, and still have not gotten the Bichon. If the pictures work appropriately, I thought you all might enjoy seeing the before and after transformation; it still amuses me. Yes, veterinarian's pets do tend to follow the cobbler's children rule of thumb.

To be out of New York and back in civilization is wonderful. People are much more sane here and it's lovely to have room around me and not feel that need for a permanent hula hoop around my waist to keep people out of my personal space. The kids are happy too and demonstrate that by playing more than I've seen them do in over a year. So far, the new internship is going well. I started on overnights so am on the crazy graveyard shift at the moment. The first night was very busy, of course, since I was still unfamiliar with the computer system, etc. Since then it has not been as intense and has allowed me time to get my feet under me again.

I'm enjoying most of the people. The senior clinicians are fun (at least the ones that I have met so far) and I'm really enjoying working with the students. This surprised me since I did not think I would like the teaching part. It amuses me to no end that I have a faculty license and have to sign off on all kinds of things...they put that much power in my hands and let me loose on the world? Frightening thought isn't it? My intern mates are wonderful and we get along well; they have all impressed me a lot. Ironically, the only group that has been any problem so far is the residents. Why do we all get so competitive that we have to put others down to feel better about ourselves? I dunno, I've always kinda lived by the idea that I am what I am and there's no reason to pretend that I'm better than that; take it or leave it. Would be a lot simpler if others would do the same instead of pretending they are always right and never make mistakes.

Overall, the change has been good and I'm rather looking forward to what the year will bring. The big question is how long this will be true...hmmmmmm.....

July is here!

Hi all- sorry it's been a while. July is here and as a public service announcent please keep your pets cool!

More soapboxes

Sorry guys, been a little boring around here lately! In a bad way- no clients! Apparently, June has some graduations or something in it... :) So I have to once again go up on my soapbox and rant about stupid things...

1) If you sell puppies and you have a history of Parvo being on your property, don't sell puppies anymore.
2) A poodle/yorkie mix is a MUTT and is not really worth $450, even if it is cute. If you want a MUTT/Mixed breed dog, go to a shelter.
3) And definitely don't BREED those MUTTS and sell them for $450 if you have PARVO on your property!!!!!

So elderly couple come in this morning with a puppy from a local well known nasty pet store/puppy mill, er, pet store, that they bought last night. It wasn't very active when they bought it, but the owner told them, "Oh, this floor is just slippery." It starts having diarrhea and vomiting last evening and by this morning when I saw it he could barely stand up. Raging positive on the parvo test.

So this puppy was sick when she sold it. It was already weak and, since the incubation period for parvo is a longer than 24 hours, it definitely got Parvo at her place.

So a nice elderly couple have to take the puppy they've kinda gotten attached to back to place they got it from trying to get their money back. I just hope and pray that the person who owns that establishment (I can think of so many other words for it) has her own vet to take the poor thing to. I hate this place. I'd LOVE to see the Department of Ag shut it down!!!

I just saw a cool case as well. A presumptive Diskospondylitis (I wasn't able to do blood cultures). I've never seen one in practice before, so that was kinda cool. Cool things are fun!

Ramblings of an insane veterinarian

Not going to rant your kind ears off this time although to quote an old favorite movie of mine, "The situation has not improved..." First, thanks to all for the kind and encouraging words regarding "Rantings..." I appreciate hearing from you. This post is started to give an update 'cause I FINALLY (now that the internship is almost over) managed to do a couple of the "touristy" things I've been wanting to do.

One of the techs took me to the Metropolitan museum last Wednesday. We barely scratched the surface of all the wonderful things there are to see. The day started with me wandering slowly, in awe, from room to room and gazing at each individual object. It's impossible to go through in a logical and orderly manner, by the way, I think they have deliberately designed the place to make you miss things. I developed a distinct fondness for an Egyptian wooden whip handle carved to look like a horse and really enjoyed the wooden dog with real teeth and tongue that opened his mouth when manipulated. As the day went on, suddenly it was announced they were closing in 20 minutes!!! What happened to the time?? We had not even made it to the second floor due to my gawking!! The 20 minutes became a mad rush practically running from room to room to see some of the "favorites" that we had not seen and, of course, the way out when official closure was announced was the long way to see yet more. You really need a couple of days to see the whole thing if not more. This is a reason to visit NYC, for those of you who have not. Doubtful that I will manage to steal time to get back before I leave but that, coupled with a few really good friends I've made while here, actually gives me an incentive to visit again (never thought I'd say that!)

Yesterday, one of the original intern group that I started with who did not get to finish due to crazy red-tape mumbo-jumbo took me to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This is also a must see. It is amazing and awe-inspiring. Did I mention that I'm proud to be American? Don't claim that we've always been right and never did stupid things but I love our country. It worked out really well since she had to go to work that evening we left early, rode the ferry to the Statue and walked around for a while. Found out that you have to get tickets 2 weeks in advance in order to go inside and since our plans had been hatched the night before around 11p.m. that was out of the question. We then rode to Ellis Island and poked around the museum until she had to go. All admission is free but you do have to pay passage out ($12, I think). I would strongly encourage you to visit there as well; it was mind-boggling to get a glimpse of the past and imagine what the immigrants must have seen and felt. Someday, I hope to return when I can plan in advance and go inside up to the crown (which I think is opening again in July this year).

I was afterwards abandoned to navigate the crazy public transportation system alone and get back to where I needed to be. I'm not fond of public transportation; suppose it's a good idea but I'm very attached to my car and the independence it affords. I'm sure it won't surprise those who know me well when I say I don't enjoy being at the mercy of others. Found my way safely back, very exhausted and promptly collapsed into sleep rather than working on packing and cleaning the apartment like I should be doing. Especially since my crazy landlady is at it again demanding a rent check when our agreement said that my deposit covers the last month's rent and she has already received notice...If I pay, I'll never see my deposit because I know she'll find some excuse to keep it and I can't afford that with moving expenses.

Couple of other things to ramble about then I shall shut up and go back to bed since I'm on overnight tonight. I really don't like feeling as if I cannot trust anybody. I've always been a bit of a reserved person and it takes a while for me to open up to anyone but, with the exception of a tiny handful, there is no one here that I can trust. One of the overnight techs has made a weird comment a couple of shifts in a row asking if "we have anything for a migraine." I've told him more than once we only have ibuprofen in pharmacy for human use and my suspicious, cynical little mind thinks he's hinting for something to the point that I'm uncomfortable handing him a prescription of tramadol to hand to an owner. (I'm the only person on overnights with pharmacy access). Additionally, I feel that I have to be really careful what I say in front of anyone because it is likely to get reported with a different slant than how it was said. I'm usually pretty tight-lipped but it's actually harder for me on overnights because with exhaustion comes delirium and a tendency to lose some of my typical filter. Why can't people just treat each other how they want to be treated and not be such back stabbers?

The other interesting, and disturbing, phenomenon that has disrupted my life of late is weird dreams. They are most likely a product of too little sleep, too much stress, and too much to do but I have had dreams and premonitions in the past that have come true and these just won't stop. They all involve a particular friend and they haven't typically been really bad, just mostly a feeling that I am needed to help for some reason. Except that last night I dreamed of death. Which is one reason I'm still awake at the moment. They've all been disturbing enough to wake me and make it difficult to go back to sleep for a little while so I have to get up and do something to shake off the stress. I've contacted the friend and been advised everything is fine and I don't want to keep pestering but I can't help but be concerned. And this from a person who is usually very nonchalant moving through life and does not tend to worry.

My last comment is that I've seen an awful lot of cases of late that have a very simple diagnosis; AFU, pronounced A-foo in my world. We all know what this means and it appears in a variety of guises from congestive heart failure to renal failure (or combo) to atresia ani in a 100 gram kitten... Really stinks when you get on these types of runs but what blows to me is when some of the doctors are not honest enough with the owners to bluntly (but kindly) tell them the real prognosis. If an owner chooses to go ahead and attempt treatment with that knowledge, that's one thing but if they are not adequately informed, I feel that we are being criminal. At least in veterinary medicine we do have the option of "humane euthanasia." Don't know that I advocate it in human medicine because my cynicism says that it would be horribly abused (just as it is all too often in vetmed) but there are times that I am definitely thankful for the option--much as I hate that part of my job (I'm always in tears and usually a wreck unless something requires my immediate professional attention).

I think that is all that I will say for now since I really need to go back to bed. Four more overnights in a row then one more in a couple of weeks and that's all! Change rotations Monday and that will be my last 3 week rotation. I just keep telling myself I can do this but I keep thinking of an old country-western song where the cowboy is traveling through a blizzard and dies at the end "only 100 yards to MaryAnn's..."