so, i'm a liar. i said something once about how i would post about bright, shiny, happy things. that was a bald-faced (or bold-faced) lie. LIE. L-I-E.
i euthanized the first 3 patients i saw last night.
patient number 1: poor kitty came to me twitching and staggering. kitty could not stand. the third eyelids were up, but kitty was still making biscuits and purring. in the span of 30 minutes, the vomiting began. the bloodwork showed hyperglycemia, hyperkalemia, elevated BUN, and a low pH (acidosis). the antifreeze test was screamingly positive.
patient number 2: one of 2 pitbulls in a fight in the owner's garage. torn up but very salvegeable. needed xrays and stitches. the owners were concerned about future aggression toward the other dog (although the new puppy instigated it), as well as their 2 month child (a legitimate concern). they requested euthanasia. the male owner held the dog after he passed and sobbed into the bloodied fur.
patient number 3: an outdoor cat that presented cachexic, laterally recumbent, with pupils of unequal size. since she was outdoor - anything was possible. trauma, toxin...owners requested euthanasia.
and i didn't give away a single treatment last night. i didn't knock anything off my charges.
as someone so astutely pointed out: if you're a nice person, the mechanic still expects for you to pay for the new transmission - it doesn't matter how badly you need the car to get to your job and support your children.
lest i be accused of being heartless - i do NOT equate beloved family pets with the dodge neon in the driveway. the parallel is still there.
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1 comment:
when you see less emergencies and more daily things you can knock some charges off of the emergencies that are covered by the 90% derm you see in private practice :)
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