Popsicle Days

Lately, we have been braving a lot of heat and a lot of storms down here.  I enjoy going out with my son on the back porch, and though I'm trying to stay away from sugar, I get enjoyment from my son enjoying a popsicle and then "cleaning up" the patio from the mess.  He always gets sticky hands and is hard to get him to wash his hands or get his hands wet.

That is until the other day.  My son was asking me what I was doing when I took a Kleenex to my nose and was acting uncomfortable.  I told him I had a bloody nose (probably a combination of heat and allergies).  My sweet little guy quit what he was doing, grabbed one of the dishcloths we keep at his kiddie table for emergencies and proceeded to get the cloth soaking wet.  He hasn't quite grasped the concept of wringing out the dishcloth yet, so he came walking over to me leaving puddles of water as he came.  He then instructed me to put it on my nose and lean my head back (you know, those things that I tell him when he has a nose bleed and he doesn't listen to...)

My son's gesture was very sweet and now I'm thinking his exposure to popsicles and their stickiness is helping him overcome his aversion to wet hands... or so I can hope.

Purple Light

A while back on a walk with my in-laws, my mother in-law taught my son "red light, green light".  I think I had tried to teach him this earlier as a game, but at the age he was at, and in the context of trying to get him to stay with you when we were walking, it worked great.  He could get a green light to run in places where it was safe, yellow light near driveways or if he was getting too far ahead and a red light for obvious reasons.

 We had been using this "technique" for a while on family walks and it worked well for a bit, but then I think he got bored with it.  I started to let him yell out the commands to us (which did give my husband and I a bit of exercise) and added in a new command, "Purple Light".  "Red light" just wasn't interesting enough for my son, so "Purple Light" means stop whatever you are doing and run as fast as you can to the other and give him a hug.  It brings joy to us to have him stop and run and hug us, but I think it brings me even more joy when he wants me stop and run and hug him.  I hope "Purple Light" will continue to be popular with my son for a long time.  Alas, kids grow too fast, but I think hugs never get too old...

Orange Juice Stand and a wet super-hero

Last week, on a really hot day, my son declared it was, "Movie Day".  My husband and I inquired to what he meant.  He said, "Going to the theater and watching a movie on the big screen, like when I saw Peanuts."  That was a year and a half ago, and ever since, he had declared to us that movies were too loud and too scary.  That was fine with us, movies are very expensive too, so they would continue to just be a special treat for my husband and me for date nights.

Well, my son was adamant that it was "Movie Day" and knowing that the heat index was supposed to get up over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it didn't sound like a bad idea to me.  I searched to see if there were any movies that were even appropriate for him, and found Pixar's "Cars 3" which seemed to have halfway decent reviews for a kids movie.  Apparently the posting on the internet was wrong, because when I took my son to the theater at 11:15am, the ticket office said they didn't have any showings until after 1pm.  My son was upset and said he would sit and wait until then.  I was sure he wouldn't really want to wait two hours in a movie theater (or if they would even let us) so we searched for another one and he reluctantly agreed to leave, but insisted we couldn't stop and run errands.

We went to the movies at another theater and he had a great time and tried to stay to watch another one (after shelling out close to $50 for the tickets and his soda and parking, I tried to explain this was a special treat).  We went to lunch and then the only way I could convince him to willingly and pleasantly join me at the grocery store was to tell him he could pick out his own flavor for ice cream.

As we went through the produce aisles, I picked up two oranges.  He noticed they were like balls and I told him he could have them.  He was very sweet and insisted to me that he wasn't going to "squish them into the grocery cart like he did with the peaches last time".  That was an ordeal where I ended up rummaging through my purse for kleenex and wipes to clean up a mess and having 2 or 3 peaches I had to pay for ending up in the grocery trash... Lesson learned.  I told him I gave him the oranges because I was sure he COULDN'T squish them like the peaches, but I appreciated his promise.

As we continued to shop, my son started saying something about making orange juice for neighbors and we needed more oranges.  For my picky son who doesn't like to eat fruit most of the time to ask for more oranges, I decided not to quash that request.  We went back and I asked him how many he wanted.  Five, he said.  He was excited and held onto his oranges for the whole trip.

As I got home and started unloading groceries he took off for downstairs and out the front door with oranges.  It was about 3 pm, but he was convinced he needed to make orange juice for the neighbors like Daniel Tiger did.  I tried to get him to stay inside until I was done unloading groceries, but had a hard time, I ended up coming with ideas of things he needed to get upstairs, sprinting up the stairs ahead of him to get a few groceries put away and then coming back down with him with supplies.  The prospect of sitting outside for the next 3 hours to wait for the neighbors to come home in the heat was just not appealing.  Fortunately, a neighbor across the street who had just picked up her daughter from school was passing by.  I pled with her to please come over and have some orange juice from my son's stand so I wouldn't have to stay outside for the next couple of hours.  She looked slightly perplexed, but obliged.

They came over and had said some freshly squeezed orange juice (I was able to convince my son that a necessity of having an orange juice stand was thoroughly washing your hands before you touched other peoples beverages).  My neighbor offered to pay, as she thought it was like a lemonade stand, apparently, according to my son, "Daniel Tiger gave orange juice to his neighbors because it is a neighborly thing to do".  Free orange juice for neighbors, that's not a bad lesson my son had learned... Fortunately, quenching the thirst of two neighbors was enough to satisfy my son and he decided it was time to move on.

It wasn't too hard to get him to move on at that point when I suggested we take his new chocolate ice cream out to the back porch.  My dog Dewey, the "Arizona Dog" likes to sunbathe in 100 degrees.  It's kind of crazy, but he'll actually ask to go outside in the backyard and lay out in the sun when there is a heat alert.  I decided to let him on the porch with us too.  Not long after I had gotten water bowls, phone, ice-cream bowls, etc. out on the porch, I heard thunder.  There hadn't been any warning of storms other than the vague, "It could storm between noon and 9pm".  I told my son it looked like there could be storms to our north, and we would monitor it, I told him at the first sight of lightening, we should all run inside.  I surveyed the porch for Dewey, who has thunderstorm anxiety and he was as cool as a cucumber, so I decided I would start rounding up other stuff first.  As I did this, the lightening started.  I got my son inside first and then went for the dog.  Well, that was an adventure...  My son apparently likes to get excitable about storms, he's not really scared, but he's like my sister who has a strange fascination love/hate relationship.  He was like a cheerleader through the screen door.

That didn't help the already freaked out dog. As I was trying to wrangle him inside, the cat snuck out.    This is the same cat who I previously had to jump from our 2nd floor porch to our neighbors 2nd floor porch to get her off of before she could jump to another neighbor'
s porch.  The prospect of jumping porches as the wind was picking up and the lightening was going made me forget about the dog and get the cat.  I got her inside and then almost gave up on the dog.  Except I didn't.  The mom in me just couldn't leave him out there.  I wrangled him inside and got some anti-anxiety medication down him (He was so stressed he refused beef jerky and all of his most favorite treats).  My son was excited; he had had perhaps the most exciting day he'd had in a while and he almost looked at me like I was some type of frazzled wet-haired super hero.  I had tried to spend the day like a kid but responsibility had kicked in.  A very memorable day and one I'm not sure how my son would re-tell it.

A Day In the Life.... of a general practice veterinarian

I've given some info in previous blogposts about what it's like to be a veterinarian, but those of us veterinarians and technicians in the veterinary community really feel a lot of people just don't get it...  A couple of years ago, my husband would give a bunch of "Monday Night Quarterback Talks" with feedback from what I brought home and how he thought things should go.  Fortunately, we had the childcare and he's a wonderful guy, so I convinced him to come in and be a "honorary tech" for just a Saturday morning.  He didn't get the full scale picture (it was only a Saturday morning and because he gets queasy, I tried to keep him away from the gross stuff).  He did get an idea that it was a little different from how he thought it was before and new respect for my coworkers.

This is going to be a long blogpost, only meant for people who really want to get a taste of things.  If that's not for you,  wait for Friday's post which will be something cute about my kid.

Well, the best way to start this is with a discovery that my four Physics classes at the University didn't go to complete waste.  I always wondered how they would be relevant to being a veterinarian.  Besides concepts of velocity and force with fractured bones and pets hit by cars, and electrocution wounds and how to use the paddles during CPR, I have a new one to add.  The concept that I had to pass on to someone that, "Please don't use the shock collar on your dog while I'm holding your dog."  Yep, that actually happened.  They went to shock the dog while I was holding the collar.  I won't get into a diatribe about shock collars (that'll be another post).  One point for physics class and the concept that if electricity flows, it flows to any object attached to it.  Luckily, I saw her big electric control before she zapped me.

A typical day for me involves vaccinations, preventive health visits, parasite exams, preparing cytologies (my husband was confused why I carry a lighter with me when I don't smoke, but this would be the reason).  I look under the microscope and identify bacteria, yeast, inflammatory and cancer cells and crystals in the urine.  I help clean ears and teach people how to do it, restrain animals to get their blood drawn and toe nails cut, or I perform those tasks myself.  I express anal glands (won't go into that one), clean up after animal waste and chase animals around trying to get samples.  I occasionally have to rodeo a rambunctious labrador or calm an angry cat (all while trying not to get injured).  I also sometimes make copies, enter charges and answer phones.

Diagnosing diseases and finding appropriate treatment is the fun part for me.  It's like being a detective and occasionally I get something I haven't seen before.  In 10 years of work, I've probably diagnosed 20 ear infections a week x 52 weeks in a year x 10 = roughly over 10,400 cases.  I've got a spiel for many diseases that ooh and awe the owners but that are like my "bread and butter" routine stuff.

In many cases, I'm the dermatologist, neurologist, cardiologist, ophthalmologist, internist, orthopedist and more because owners either choose not to or are unable to go the specialist.  I don't really do many surgeries now but before I used to be the surgeon and dentist too.  How many of your general physicians would be able to take out a 15 pound spleen or pull an abscessed tooth?  Yep, that's the life of a general practitioner.

Just today, I dealt with cases of "Cognitive Dysfunction" or dementia, testicular asymmetry, anal gland issues, gastrointestinal parasites, a bee sting (Did you know some dogs need Epi-pens too?) and urinary issues, among other things.  Interesting cases and helping animals is why many of us came into the profession and one of the reasons I haven't specialized in something specific.

Now the difficult part of the profession and the part that puts a lot of stress on our profession, the communication issues.  The talking with owners about finances is probably our least favorite thing.  The even worse thing is when owners accuse us of being money-grubbing and worse.  I've had people say many inappropriate things on these lines.  Just for the record, I don't make any money off of whether people do or do not do certain diagnostics and treatments for their pets.  I make a set rate regardless of what I recommend people do, which means when I recommend something, it's because I truly think the pet should have it.

The majority of my time though is spent speaking with and educating people about many issues, some as mundane as grooming (and that it's not ok to have a matted dog to the point of discomfort) to the dramatic, such as a young dog with possibly irreparable trauma or telling a young child their pet is terminal.  There can be many awkward discussions too (such as weight loss and obesity issues that many human medical doctors don't have the nerve to confront people with) to anxiety problems that are actually due to the owner (either their anxiety rubbing off on the pet or inadequate training).  I won't go into the asymmetrical testicle or other reproductive conversations- that can get awkward.  These conversations are difficult and often unappreciated.  Often you spend ten minutes explaining something and the next question is regarding what you just explained.

There are other difficult conversations, such as discussing quality of life issues.  This may seem straightforward in some cases, but if you've ever euthanized a pet you would understand the emotions and difficulty involved.  When people consult you about their family member that will become depressed or even commit suicide if they lose their beloved four-legged family member and ask for your advice, that's a hard conversation.  So is explaining terminal illness to kids or euthanizing animals that have saved their owners lives in various ways.  Ending any four-legged animal's life is difficult for most veterinarians and it's something that I've determined if it ever got easy, I would have to quit.

These are all a day in the life of a veterinarian.  Please remember this the next time you see your veterinarian.  For every day I have people who are rude or unappreciative, that one person who actually listens to what I says- and does it- and says I make a difference helps to make up for a day of the other type of people.

The Blessings of a 12 hour Car Ride

The title may be strange- but true.

We have endured many a long car ride together as a family, first as a young couple, then with a small child.  It can sometimes be very hard.  It can sometimes be challenging.  It's always humbling when the 4 year old is more patient with traffic than my husband or me.

The Blessings of a long car ride:

1) It's a great time to talk with your spouse.  It's really kind of funny, but the most fruitful, serious and life-changing discussions my husband and I have are normally on long car rides.  We can do our financial planning, scheduling and overall philosophical discussions when we are present to each other for a long time with no other distractions than the road (it especially helps that we have a data plan that makes internet surfing limited on these drives).

2) You get to listen to things you would never listen to otherwise.  The boredom of a long ride makes you creative with what you will listen to.  Books on tape, new radio stations and even a kids science podcast whose title is "The Velocity of Poop."  Yes, I'm not lying and it was actually based on a scientific study.  This last trip my son discovered the "Wow in The World" podcast by NPR and he loves it.  My husband and I actually learn too (when we are not completely grossed out).

3) Life lessons can become obvious.  On a recent trip, it was hot and we had to stop at a McDonalds for a restroom stop.  I decided to treat my son to an ice cream cone.  Then I heard his tantrums and screaming in the bathroom.  He came out and was being completely unreasonable and a not very nice "Human under construction".  I gave his ice cream cone to a little girl with her father waiting for their food.  They were maybe slightly confused by what was happening and my son was very upset.   On the very long trip back, my son asked if we could stop at McDonalds, he then repeated, unprompted, "I'm not going to be a fool this time and do something to lose my ice cream cone".  I'm more appeasing to my son on an airplane ride because there are innocent people on the plane, but when we are taking a car ride, unless my son has good reason for his grumpiness (lack of sleep, discomfort or hunger) my husband and I are not pushovers.

4) You get to laugh at billboards, political differences of regions and how every state has its "Driving vices".  It almost becomes a game for my husband and I to identify the license plate by identifying the bad driving habit first.  I could say what each of the state's habits are, but that could possibly be offensive.  I will let you guess.

Yes, it's Friday and I didn't completely forget to post....

In between about a five hour storm last night that played out with lightening penetrating through my eyelids, an early trip to the gym with my Dad, dropping off a car for routine repairs and then taking a trip with my family to see a relative  - at his house - where I haven't been in over twenty years - it has been an engaging day.

I always find it interesting how I need a vacation from my vacation.  I'm pretty sure my son has no recollection that he has an actual bedtime.  Today he tried to convince us he needed to go back to the family cottage to take a bath because the bath tub is just not as cool as muck and a crawfish nibbling on your toes.  Though rest and relaxation rarely happen for parents of a preschooler, it's been a special week and with the toss up of what was normal activity and schedule and not, it has still been refreshing, if not relaxing.  My husband is smart in our scheduling that we have at least a day after coming back from vacation to "re-aclimate",  as if we've been in space or deep under the sea and need to prevent getting the "bends".  But vacations do help to get out of the norm for a little bit and help us remember that in the hustle and bustle of everything, family time is so precious and so important.

Happy Fourth of July!

This July 4th I'm taking a break to spend some time with family!  Have a great 4th of July and remember all those who came before us to establish our independence and keep us free to Pursue Happiness.