As much as I hate to tell the ending to this story...
Lilly rallied and was doing well Monday night. Her condition continuously improved. Prospects were looking good for her survival. Then her parents decided that they no longer had the finances to pursue treatment. They euthanized her.
I was stunned and crushed. To drag her through all of that, only to have her euthanized! It was such a blow.
To top it off, I feel like I wasted $5000 of their money...
I'm so sad. :(
The High Cost Of Becoming A Vet
7 years ago
10 comments:
Wow I am very surprised. That is not the ending I was expecting... I'm sorry to hear that :( :(
So sorry. It hurts to lose. In this case, it sounds like everyone did.
Wow, that must be very hard on you... all the work plus the emotional ups and downs. But I'm sure it was even tougher for the family. You did MORE than the best you could for your patient, so focus on that! Such is life.
What a tragic end to immense heroic measures you took to save this dogs life. You are more than a great vet...you are a great human being. The passion you put into your work is heartwarming and impressive. This is a tough loss for all involved. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
*lets breath out*
I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry for you, and Lilly and her folks. To work and fight so hard......then to lose to money.
Thank you for all the thoughts. I was crushed when I called and heard the news. It's important that I did what I could, but if I'd known that would be the outcome, I never would have wasted the owners' money!
I was so discouraged to hear this outcome.
It is important for you to remember than you did not waste the owners money. You did what you were trained to do and did it well.
They chose to waste their own money by throwing it away.
I'm so sorry -- had been hoping for a better outcome.
WHAT?!?!? They euthanized her when she was IMPROVING?!?!? How the heck did they rationalize that?
I hope that I never understand people like that. :(
I found that this outcome was not uncommon in emergency. I remember very clearly a vet I worked with bringing back to life a cat that had been brought in with no heartbeat or respirations. Absolutely amazing. The owners were hysterical and said to do anything. The next day we transferred the cat, who was improving, to specialty and the owners euthanized due to money despite a good prognosis.
I try to be non-judgmental. People are very emotional and want to do everything in the heat of the moment. Reality doesn't set in until later. Non-medical folks have a hard time understanding how long recovery can take. They may not believe the estimate. I do think euthanasia is reasonable if someone runs out of money, if they're going to lose their house etc. I honestly don't know what I'd do in such a situation so that makes it easier to withold judgment.
I suspect these owners simply didn't understand how long a full recovery could take and how sick their dog was. They might have unrealistically hoped for a much faster turn around. And in the midst of such an emotional event, they might not have really heard or comprehended the amount of money involved.
You can't fault yourself for their not understanding. No matter how well you explain stuff, sometimes it just doesn't sink in.
I feel bad for the dog, going through all those invasive procedures and surgery only to be euthanized.
And by the way, excellent work on the medical end of things, I'm beyond impressed!
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