We're pregnant!!!

So we found out on Valentine's Day, but I'm writing this the day after, and I won't post it until we tell our families.  I took the test because I had been feeling exhausted, peeing a lot, there was a chance we might be, plus I thought "how neat to find out on Valentine's", AND, we had a test left over from a previous scare.  I had convinced myself that it would be negative, and it was too early, and I wouldn't tell Sean if it was negative.  So bright and early I got up to use the bathroom, and almost forgot I was going to test.  Before I knew it, there seemed to be a faint line where there had never been one before.  I had to look again, and there it was, less faint than before.  And I hadn't even waited the 3 minutes.  I crawled back into bed and woke my poor sleeping husband.  I can't even remember what I told him, something about how I took a test and I thought it might be positive.  He turned over and told me my heart was pounding, and I told him he better go check and make sure I wasn't imagining things.  He did, and came back to bed saying it was there, not as dark as the control, but very clear and obvious.  We prayed together for our baby and our lives changed.

We have spent the last 24 hours talking about going to the doctor to get the confirmation, talking about how and when to tell our families, and how things will change.  I am worried about losing it, for all the people I know that have had babies, almost half have had miscarriages or problems.  I am worried about all the plans I had and how this will change them.  But for every worry, I am more and more excited.

I am still having trouble getting my head wrapped around this.  I just re-read this post and realized I didn't say the P word once.  Not once did I say we were ready to get pregnant, or that I am now pregnant.  Maybe I am waiting for that final confirmation from the doctor telling me it's true.  I have a long list of questions for my doctor, and hopefully they can get me in tomorrow for the real test, because I had been walking by the HPT every hour or so to be sure it was really there, until my dog ate it this morning while we were at church.  Now I have nothing to reassure myself it's really happening...

Two Cases, one happy and one sad

I love doing what I do.  I love the interaction with clients and caring for the animals.  Some days are great, some days are not so great.  I want to use this blog to talk about patients and people that have touched my life, that continue to be in my thoughts.

I recently had a patient, Sam, that I diagnosed with osteosarcoma, and talked to the client in great detail about the cancer, chemotherapy, pain control, etc. only to have him go to the emergency clinic and have GDV, where they made the right decision to euthanize.  Osteosarcoma isn't a common cancer, but it is the most common kind of bone cancer, and it has a life expectancy of 2-12 months depending on the aggressiveness of treatment.  GDV on the other hand, is more common and can be equally devastating.  The stomach flips in large breed dogs and requires surgical intervention, but even then complications can occur and be life threatening.  Poor Sam was only 7, and it was so sad, but also seemed to be a gift from God.  The owner, who had just wrapped her head around the idea of amputation for his cancer, did not have to make any decisions regarding surgery, chemotherapy, and didn't have to wait for the cancer to inevitably metastasize and kill Sam despite all her efforts and financial commitment to the contrary.  To me, it seemed like such a God thing, the chances of Sam having both of those conditions at separate times in his life, let alone simultaneously, were so small.

I had a new client a couple weeks ago, a very nice widow with a dog, Molly, that had been sneezing.  She had tried a medication in the past, but didn't think it helped much.  I talked to her about trying a therapeutic trial of steroids and antihistamines, and if there was no improvement we may need to do a CT or other testing.  Also, that the dog's worsening dental disease may be causing her upper respiratory congestion to worsen.  We talked early this week, and she said all was well; she had noticed a dramatic improvement in the sneezing and so we would continue the antihistamine and only use the steroid as needed.  Two days later she called, Molly was not acting like herself, drinking lots of water, and not eating.  I saw her and diagnosed her with pancreatitis.  The owner, who didn't have the money for a basic dental was now faced with days of hospitalization and therapy that would likely be double that amount, and easily triple or quadruple.  Fortunately Molly rebounded rapidly, though pancreatitis can be a severe disease that can necessitate aggressive and sometimes long term therapy.  She ate well the day after being admitted, and we started oral meds that night.  I went in to the clinic on Saturday morning to check her kidney levels, which had been elevated due to dehydration but we weren't able to get a urine sample to rule out renal disease, and then discharge her to her grateful owner.  Molly's owner hugged me, wished me Happy Valentine's Day, and thanked me.  It made me feel so good, she had been a new client and now she will likely be a client for life.

Hopefully more cases to come...

Our Story - the first blog

Soo, this is all new to me.  And I have never been the type to "journal" or have a diary.  But, I wanted a way to track our lives on a daily basis both as a memoir and for therapy :)  For some of you this will just be too much information, and you certainly don't have to continue to read.  Some of you may be grossed out by my work stories, and you certainly don't have to read those either.

I'll start at the beginning... Sean and I have known each other since the end of high school, we met through mutual friends and went to Senior Prom together.  We didn't even realize until after the fact that we had Honors English together junior year, and often played cards with our mutual friends.  He had longer bleached blonde hair, and I didn't pay attention.  I don't know why he didn't notice me!  We had the time of our lives together all through college, despite some initial long distance.  I have to say I fell in love with him during the long distance.  I don't know why long distance gets a bad wrap, you really get to know a person, have serious discussions, and need some concrete issues to talk about to keep your interest peaked.  After college Sean finished his commitment with the National Guard on Homeland security duty at a weapons facility in Arkansas, and I worked full time at the veterinary hospital I had been part-time with for years during school.  That year cemented my commitment to becoming a veterinarian, I knew there was nothing else I would be happy doing.  Sean and I got married in 2004, the most beautiful wedding I've ever been to!  We bought an adorable old house on two acres in Stillwater, I had to be within 10 minutes of school, and Sean had told my father he would live there when he asked for permission to propose.  It worked well, the rare occasions we had car issues, Sean dropped me off at school and I waited for him to get home to pick me up or got a ride home.  Sean commuted an hour each way for law school in OKC, something I don't know if he would sign up for again.  We had 4 fun but stressful years getting our educations.  

We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 10 months, and realize now how fast time is going to fly.  We love our home and our neighborhood, we just got new living room furniture (I'm sitting on the new chair as we speak) and we moved the hand-me-down 80's era couches to the spare room and study.  The house still has some small projects, and I wouldn't mind painting some of the walls since they are all beige, but all in all we are filling in the space well :)  We debated on moving to Texas when we graduated, but decided that we would stay close to home.  Sean liked his job, and we would be near family.  When we bought our second house and were both working in Oklahoma City, we decided these would be our true "honeymoon" years, rather than the first 4 years of marriage.  We would have financial independence, be working adults, and a home we could make a more permanent future in.  

Sean is General Counsel for a finance company in OKC that deals primarily with car sales and car lots.  He loves it and enjoys the business aspect as well as being the legal expert.  Plus he got an amazing deal on his car because he bought it at a dealer's auction, that's a good perk.

My primary job is 3 days a week at QCVC, an atmosphere that I love and where I learn a lot.  I work with two wonderful veterinarians who practice the best quality of medicine and give me the benefit of the doubt with all kinds of questions.  I also work a day and a half or so a week at FPH.  And about one weekend a month I fill in at VECCH, which is always exciting and gives me the chance to see lots of crazy cases.  I'll probably blog about cases, I like to consult with my veterinarian friends every opportunity I get.

Sooo, that's about all now.  We'll see how this works...