bad blogger!

OK, so I apparently stink at this.   I am still a victim of morning to all-day sickness, I am usually sick at least once a day, and this weekend it was up to 3 times in the day.   Oy.  I feel a lot better after lunch typically and so far I've only lost it at work once :)  And, I am definitely seeing a bigger belly than I would usually tolerate.  Clothes still fit, but only because I like them roomy anyway.  Otherwise, morning sickness, exhaustion, frequent trips to the bathroom, and mood swings are about my only symptoms :)

So Monday I had my second appointment with the new doctor, and I am so pleased with him.  He is so nice, and even though we were still one of the last people there, he was still asking us questions and not rushing us at all.  We had a quick abdominal ultrasound and saw the three babies and their heartbeats (first time abdominally!), the rates were 175, 178, and 175.  I always get so nervous that one won't be there anymore, but then once I see all three I make them look for more, just to make sure!  He said I could come back in 2-3 weeks, he asked how my stress level was, if I needed to come back in 2 weeks, or if 3 would be ok.  I said three was fine, but since the receptionists were all gone by the time I got there I had to call for an appointment.  Which I forgot to do until today, and he is booked until 4 weeks!  I don't know how that will go...

Otherwise life is good :)  We still stress about insurance, finances, still can't believe this is really happening to us, etc. but we are dealing.  Every day is different, with new worries, anxieties, excitement, or whatever.

I had an interesting case at work last week, an indoor/outdoor 8 month old cat whose owner was out of town for 5 days and came home to find a couple nails looked infected and she thought he may have been digging under a bedroom door.  But as soon as I sedated him to clean his toes up, it didn't look like that was the case.  The first nail on one food was completely gone, including the bone attached to the nail.  There was a hole where the nail/bone should be.  This digit is not a weight bearing digit, and is the least likely to be affected by trauma.  The rest of the nails on that foot looked completely normal.  The other affected nail was the second digit on the other foot, but I could see the nail protruding through the crusty discharge, so I thought it was still present, but as soon as the crust was cleaned off the nail popped right off the pulp (or blood supply) of the nail.  The nail pulp was still attached to the bone, and the skin was still around it.  Again, all the other nails on that foot looked fine.  I didn't think this looked or sounded at all like trauma, and more like an immune-mediated condition.  I sent photos and consulted my favorite veterinary dermatologist in Dallas, and he agreed.  The most likely diagnosis is considered VERY rare in cats, and unfortunately no good treatments with a generally poor prognosis.  The only cat he has ever seen with it was euthanized at 1.5 years old.  Very sad for the kitty cat, we'll see what happens...

That's all for now, I'll try to be better about updating!

Still at home...

I'm still at home sick.  I'm 99% sure I have the flu, one of my coworkers has the exact symptoms of fever, cough, congestion, sinus infection coming on, etc. and tested positive for Influenza A.  I can't be on tamiflu, so Tylenol will have to cut it.  The fever has come down, and I'm feeling a little better, with a little more energy.  But I still have a horrible cough and congestion.  The nausea was back today, but I may have contributed by taking too many medications at once.  Bleh.  Tomorrow I'll go back to work with the help of drugs, definitely not all taken at once again.

Yesterday was the first appointment with the Perinatologist, our new high risk doctor.  He confirmed that there are still 3, growing and with more similar heart rates now.  They appear to be "triamniotic, trichorionic", which means separate sacks, placentas, etc. so they are probably fraternal.  They are called "spontaneous" because we weren't on any fertility medications.  We go back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound and bloodwork.

The biggest risk is going to be preterm labor, which he says is higher for me because this is my first pregnancy and my uterus hasn't stretched before.  The other cause of preterm labor will be the cervix, so they'll be checking it as we go along and there are some treatments they can do if we need to.  He doesn't believe in bed rest, which is HUGE for me.  Basically I can work as much as I feel up to it and can.

I asked about expectations, we wondered what the likelihood of losing one would be, and he said it will more likely be 3 or none.  Basically, if one starts to have issues then it is a bigger risk to the other two, and could result in the dreaded preterm labor before they are viable.  The crucial week to get past is 32, where survivability is essentially the same as full term, and the biggest "danger zone" period is 18-20 weeks.  He said we should expect that they will spend time in the NICU, something I'm dreading already.  We will now have September babies if we are lucky, not October, as the doctor won't let me go past 35-36 weeks, and hoping to get past that 32 week mark.

I think that is all for now :)  Trying to rest and recuperate before going back to work, especially since I'm at the e-clinic this weekend so no more time off until next weekend :(

Triplets...

It's for real.  We went in to the doctor for an early ultrasound last Tuesday after I had bad abdominal pain and bleeding when we were leaving Orlando.  I couldn't believe it, I still can't believe it.  Everything's changed.  I had picked out the perfect stroller, nope that one won't do anymore (for those of you out there, the Uppa Baby Vista looked ideal).  I was adamantly opposed to a c-section, not only will I have a c-section but I will probably deliver early and the babies may spend time in NICU.  I was going to see my lovely, female doctor, nope now I get the male high risk doctor.  I was going to work my butt off until the day I delivered to save money for the baby and maternity leave, now I will likely have to cut back on hours significantly before they even get here.  It's a lot to take in.  Before it felt surreal, especially because I had no symptoms of pregnancy, so it was a mind-body disconnect, I knew I was, but I didn't feel like it, especially didn't feel like I was having 3!

But now... I feel it.  I got a cough/cold this weekend, and actually had a fever (I never have fevers).  Everytime I cough it is body wrenching, and makes me want to vomit.  I think the cough and morning sickness hit simultaneously, yay.  I certainly don't know how much longer I can go on like this.  Hopefully the cold goes away, but right now it feels like it is moving to my sinuses, so I'll have to check with my doctor to see what kind of antibiotics I can take.

I go to the high risk doctor TOMORROW, yay!  Hopefully all three babies are still there and doing great.  I have a long list of questions: our upcoming travel plans, suggestions on insurance plans (we're covered but wondering if we should switch), what to expect for my work schedule, antibiotics, radiation and gas anesthesia exposure, and lots more...  I'll keep you posted!

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...