Ups and Downs
I'm sitting in a room surrounded by cages. Most of them are empty but six of them are occupied with patients. The first of which was accursed with the inevitably ill-fated name of "Happy." The only worse thing a person could to to an animal is to name it "Lucky." It is a well known fact that all dogs named Lucky are eventually hit by cars or stricken with cancer or brain tumors. This 'Happy' actually is a very chipper pup. She is adorable as can be, her downfall being she was actually hit by a car a week or so ago and after undergoing surgery to repair her back legs she still has pelvic fractures (that can be felt creaking and wiggling out of place when you pick her up) and an accompanied inability to properly urinate. None-the-less 'Happy' is as cheerful as ever chomping away on a rawhide bone and barking menacingly at all other creatures who dare to venture past her kennel.
Behind door number two is the ever popular post-op hemilaminectomy daschund. Since I have been here I have seen more little wide-eyed wiener dogs in need of back surgery than I'd ever imagined there could be. Apparently it's a common problem and the surgery to fix it is... pricey to say the least.
Down below him sleeps a fluffy white dog whose fur is tarnished with blood and gashes. "Tigger," who does not look anything like a 'Tigger' given that he is some kind of small white fluffy dog, has also been graced with a broken jaw. Everytime he looks up at me he has this confused mongrel look on his face, though he can blame that on his house-mate for attacking him needlessly.
To their right is "Tats." I'm not really sure what kind of dog he is, but he has the fur and build of a German Shepherd. He is black with tannish-gray eyebrows, and underside. He came from another doctor as a transfer and with him came an atrociously large bandage on his back left leg. He's been left here for observation while his parents scour up the money to get the treatment he actually needs. This treatment undoubtedly includes surgery and given that he's been intermittently regurgitating some kind of watery brown substance I'd say some other miscellaneous procedures and treatments as well. However since his owners don't have enough money yet, I get to watch him whine in discomfort and vomit once every four hours or so until they rob that bank or whatever it is they think they're doing. Tats is a very friendly pup, I don't think he's much more than a year old if that. I sat with him for a bit earlier and equipped him with a cushier pillow in an effort to make him less sad. He certainly doesn't feel well but he is napping comfortably at the moment with his head on his new comfy pillow.
His neighbor is Eddie, he is quite a character. Eddie has been laid up for quite a while now. He was initially hit by a car and we weren't sure if he was going to make it through the night. He had fluid in his lungs, broken bones left and right, puncture wounds everywhere, you name it. He spent his first few nights in oxygen barely moving. Turning him over every few hours so he didnt get bed sores was a task. Eddie is a big boy, it says on his chart he's a German Short-haired Pointer. I don't believe I'd ever seen or heard of one of those before him. Ever since he regained consciousness he's been friendly as ever. Just recently was he able to even get up and about without crying in pain. A little while ago he sat up whining, sometimes the patients just get anxious and there is nothing that can be done to appease them, but I thought Id give it a go. As I opened his door he began to stand up on his own. This was very surprising to me seeming as though it wasnt long ago he didn't want to get up at all. I asked him if he wanted to go outside (he knows how to get there trust me) and told him I'd follow him wherever he wanted to go. I slung a towel under his backside to help support him as he walked and I nudged him toward the door. He stepped out of it for a moment and turned right back around. He happily circled the room for a minute and then promptly returned to his bed. It seems he just wanted to stretch a bit! Rightly so I might add. I laid down with him for a bit and gave him a good ear scratch, he groaned happily and gave me kisses. He's napping now too. It's about time to start morning exams on everyone, 3 hours left of my 12 hour shift! Can't wait to curl up in my bed.
I must say I am enjoying the perks of this job. I'm pretty happy here most of the time. At night it's a minimal staff, (1-2 emergency doctors, 2-3 technicians, and 1-2 receptionists downstairs at the front desk.) I like having the big hospital all to myself. In the morning at 8am all the doctors and techs gather in this room (the ICU) and discuss the patients behaviors and histories. There is medical jargon thrown around like candy from a pinata. I feel kind of important, trusted. It's nice. Reminds me of when I had the key to the salon.
I'm also learning a countless amount of new things. My favorite things are how to run blood-work and test for diseases and parasites. I'm getting pretty good at drawing blood and still in the process of practicing placing IV catheters. Tonight I learned how to express anal glands, a useful skill for any technician. Messy, but necessary. Mostly I enjoy the quiet time with the patients, and freedom!
Tonight was comfortably slow, a much needed break from the rest of my life at the moment.
Oh, we also had a very interesting drunk woman come in with her cat. Her demeanor was amusing, through troublesome and irrational. She had a 6 pack of Red Stripe in the exam room with her and was insistent that we not do any invasive procedures on her cat, though when she dragged it out of it's carrying box it didn't look as though she knew the head from the tail. Ironically she refused to let US watch her cat overnight, so Simumu went home with subcutaneous fluids and some antibiotics.... in a cab.
Behind door number two is the ever popular post-op hemilaminectomy daschund. Since I have been here I have seen more little wide-eyed wiener dogs in need of back surgery than I'd ever imagined there could be. Apparently it's a common problem and the surgery to fix it is... pricey to say the least.
Down below him sleeps a fluffy white dog whose fur is tarnished with blood and gashes. "Tigger," who does not look anything like a 'Tigger' given that he is some kind of small white fluffy dog, has also been graced with a broken jaw. Everytime he looks up at me he has this confused mongrel look on his face, though he can blame that on his house-mate for attacking him needlessly.
To their right is "Tats." I'm not really sure what kind of dog he is, but he has the fur and build of a German Shepherd. He is black with tannish-gray eyebrows, and underside. He came from another doctor as a transfer and with him came an atrociously large bandage on his back left leg. He's been left here for observation while his parents scour up the money to get the treatment he actually needs. This treatment undoubtedly includes surgery and given that he's been intermittently regurgitating some kind of watery brown substance I'd say some other miscellaneous procedures and treatments as well. However since his owners don't have enough money yet, I get to watch him whine in discomfort and vomit once every four hours or so until they rob that bank or whatever it is they think they're doing. Tats is a very friendly pup, I don't think he's much more than a year old if that. I sat with him for a bit earlier and equipped him with a cushier pillow in an effort to make him less sad. He certainly doesn't feel well but he is napping comfortably at the moment with his head on his new comfy pillow.
His neighbor is Eddie, he is quite a character. Eddie has been laid up for quite a while now. He was initially hit by a car and we weren't sure if he was going to make it through the night. He had fluid in his lungs, broken bones left and right, puncture wounds everywhere, you name it. He spent his first few nights in oxygen barely moving. Turning him over every few hours so he didnt get bed sores was a task. Eddie is a big boy, it says on his chart he's a German Short-haired Pointer. I don't believe I'd ever seen or heard of one of those before him. Ever since he regained consciousness he's been friendly as ever. Just recently was he able to even get up and about without crying in pain. A little while ago he sat up whining, sometimes the patients just get anxious and there is nothing that can be done to appease them, but I thought Id give it a go. As I opened his door he began to stand up on his own. This was very surprising to me seeming as though it wasnt long ago he didn't want to get up at all. I asked him if he wanted to go outside (he knows how to get there trust me) and told him I'd follow him wherever he wanted to go. I slung a towel under his backside to help support him as he walked and I nudged him toward the door. He stepped out of it for a moment and turned right back around. He happily circled the room for a minute and then promptly returned to his bed. It seems he just wanted to stretch a bit! Rightly so I might add. I laid down with him for a bit and gave him a good ear scratch, he groaned happily and gave me kisses. He's napping now too. It's about time to start morning exams on everyone, 3 hours left of my 12 hour shift! Can't wait to curl up in my bed.
I must say I am enjoying the perks of this job. I'm pretty happy here most of the time. At night it's a minimal staff, (1-2 emergency doctors, 2-3 technicians, and 1-2 receptionists downstairs at the front desk.) I like having the big hospital all to myself. In the morning at 8am all the doctors and techs gather in this room (the ICU) and discuss the patients behaviors and histories. There is medical jargon thrown around like candy from a pinata. I feel kind of important, trusted. It's nice. Reminds me of when I had the key to the salon.
I'm also learning a countless amount of new things. My favorite things are how to run blood-work and test for diseases and parasites. I'm getting pretty good at drawing blood and still in the process of practicing placing IV catheters. Tonight I learned how to express anal glands, a useful skill for any technician. Messy, but necessary. Mostly I enjoy the quiet time with the patients, and freedom!
Tonight was comfortably slow, a much needed break from the rest of my life at the moment.
Oh, we also had a very interesting drunk woman come in with her cat. Her demeanor was amusing, through troublesome and irrational. She had a 6 pack of Red Stripe in the exam room with her and was insistent that we not do any invasive procedures on her cat, though when she dragged it out of it's carrying box it didn't look as though she knew the head from the tail. Ironically she refused to let US watch her cat overnight, so Simumu went home with subcutaneous fluids and some antibiotics.... in a cab.