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...
No comments:
Post a Comment