first wildlife patient
I had my first wildlife patient today. I got the call last night around six asking if I wanted to be the secondary student on a case, and I was told to come in at 7:30am. I don't have much clinical experience and certainly have no wildlife experience, so I was nervous, even though the shift supervisor (Jordan, another first year) was going to be there.
The patient was a female cardinal, a pretty, bright-eyed little bird with an injured wing that had been exposed to a dog. The wing was already bandaged, so we couldn't feel it, but Jordan told us she'd felt something "loose." The cardinal was scheduled for x-rays later in the day, which I missed due to bus trouble (which I'll go into later).
Before we got started, we looked at the chart and saw that the doctor had prescribed fluids, painkillers, and tube feeding (in addition to the bird seed available in her cage). After drawing up the fluids, food, and medication, I was assigned to grab and restrain the bird.
If I remember correctly, this bird weighed about 36 grams, a little over an ounce. Jordan told me to put my first two fingers on either side of its neck, using my remaining fingers to hold its wings and body - similar to this picture, but with the bird's head up. It was very weird holding something as fragile as a bird's neck between my seemingly huge fingers, but Jordan assured me that bird's necks are very sturdy, and furthermore, cardinals bite.
Yes, that's right - the tiny, fragile thing in my hand was also armed with sturdy beak, and she wasn't at all happy to be poked and prodded and fed with a tube. She even bit the tube as we tried to feed her, which at least was probably easier than trying to pry her beak open. While I kept my fingers on either side of the cardinal's neck, she still managed to dart forward and nip the other student's finger. Still, not too bad to deal with.
While the cardinal seemed pretty sturdy, she may be euthanized if her wing injury proves permanent. I'll probably find out tonight when I go for the second treatment.
Why did I miss the x-rays? Bus trouble. I've ridden the bus all year and have finally gotten a scooter, but I've only ridden it once, and it's been raining today, so Leah kindly drove me to the vet school this morning. (<3) I decided to catch the bus home.
I was worried yesterday that the bus route might be canceled for spring break, but Athens Transit's websites didn't say anything to that nature. Instead, I found out that there's construction on the way to my stop, so my bus isn't stopping there this week. Instead, I had to walk to the library, which is a mile away. It took me about 25 minutes, by which point I'd missed the bus I'd wanted and had to wait for the next - they run once per hour. I finally got home at about 10:45 when I left the vet school at 9:20. Public transportation, do you just try to screw people over?
The patient was a female cardinal, a pretty, bright-eyed little bird with an injured wing that had been exposed to a dog. The wing was already bandaged, so we couldn't feel it, but Jordan told us she'd felt something "loose." The cardinal was scheduled for x-rays later in the day, which I missed due to bus trouble (which I'll go into later).
Before we got started, we looked at the chart and saw that the doctor had prescribed fluids, painkillers, and tube feeding (in addition to the bird seed available in her cage). After drawing up the fluids, food, and medication, I was assigned to grab and restrain the bird.
If I remember correctly, this bird weighed about 36 grams, a little over an ounce. Jordan told me to put my first two fingers on either side of its neck, using my remaining fingers to hold its wings and body - similar to this picture, but with the bird's head up. It was very weird holding something as fragile as a bird's neck between my seemingly huge fingers, but Jordan assured me that bird's necks are very sturdy, and furthermore, cardinals bite.
Yes, that's right - the tiny, fragile thing in my hand was also armed with sturdy beak, and she wasn't at all happy to be poked and prodded and fed with a tube. She even bit the tube as we tried to feed her, which at least was probably easier than trying to pry her beak open. While I kept my fingers on either side of the cardinal's neck, she still managed to dart forward and nip the other student's finger. Still, not too bad to deal with.
While the cardinal seemed pretty sturdy, she may be euthanized if her wing injury proves permanent. I'll probably find out tonight when I go for the second treatment.
Why did I miss the x-rays? Bus trouble. I've ridden the bus all year and have finally gotten a scooter, but I've only ridden it once, and it's been raining today, so Leah kindly drove me to the vet school this morning. (<3) I decided to catch the bus home.
I was worried yesterday that the bus route might be canceled for spring break, but Athens Transit's websites didn't say anything to that nature. Instead, I found out that there's construction on the way to my stop, so my bus isn't stopping there this week. Instead, I had to walk to the library, which is a mile away. It took me about 25 minutes, by which point I'd missed the bus I'd wanted and had to wait for the next - they run once per hour. I finally got home at about 10:45 when I left the vet school at 9:20. Public transportation, do you just try to screw people over?