Memorial Day

I had written this post earlier today and somehow lost it.  I will try to recreate it from the best of my memory....

Memorial Day.  To some, it means picnics, the beginning of summer and time off.  To me, and to all of us, it should mean so much more.

My son last night, in an effort to negotiate for dessert, said, "It's a special holiday, it's Memorial Day, the veterans fought for our right to have dessert."  I corrected him and said, "no, they didn't fight for dessert, they fought for freedom."

Having a grandfather who fought in World War II and a great-grandfather who was a medic in World War I definitely gives me some appreciation for the sacrifice our veterans have made.  My great-grandfather developed depression, anxiety and even underwent electro-shock therapy.  In the light of modern medical knowledge, I'm sure he had PTSD, but back then it was just thought to be mental illness, they didn't understand it.  My great-grandmother also sacrificed as she was a working mom, supporting her family in the 1920's and 30's when it wasn't that common because of my great-grandfather's hospitalizations.

A couple of weeks ago, my family was at a race that was helping to support our wounded veterans.  My son was staring at a man who had two prosthetic legs.  He was getting ready to run.  Instead of saying, "Don't stare," I talked with my son.  I told him, "see the man there who has different legs?"  Yes, my son said in awe.  "That's pretty awesome he's running today isn't it?  My son asked what happened to his legs.  "I don't know his story, he may have not been born with legs, he may have lost them in an accident, or he may have lost them defending our country."  "Wow, " my son answered and pondered.

As I've written before, my husband and I don't want to over-shelter our son.  We don't want him to become part of a society that seems to be becoming more and more entitled every day.  We want him to be a person of gratitude.

In light of this, we let him watch the Memorial Day Special on PBS last night.  Perhaps unwise, because he is easy to have nightmares, but he's always enjoyed watching for the music.  We let him watch a little bit more (although not the most gruesome).   We watched and talked about gratitude.  My heart changed a little as I watched and thought of my grandfather and great-grandfather who fought for our country, our rights, our freedom and for the right of my son to have dessert.  I'm pretty sure my grandpa would have agreed, that's an important right.  Our freedom to live and be peaceful and grateful and enjoy dessert rests on all those veterans, now and before who fight for those who they never even got to know.

Elizabethan Collars...

Elizabethan Collars- also known as: "the cone of shame,""lampshades," "leg killers," and E-collars.  They range from the basic plastic cone to elaborate devices like inner tubes, fabric neck braces and more.  Their basic function is to keep your pet from pulling their stitches out, licking themselves, or opening their incision with their teeth.

This does happen.  It is not pretty.

Ranging from just a little bit of skin infection to cases where the abdominal contents come out through an open incision, it's just not good.

This is a public service announcement.  If your veterinarian tells you to put a device on your pet to keep it from injuring itself.  Do it.

I once spent a New Years Eve doing surgery on a cat who had gotten a cheap spay at a cheap clinic.  The owners had spent about $250 on the spay and they spent over $1,000 fixing the spay and long-term antibiotics.

I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the nnumber of times people have told me, "well, my pet hasn't been licking at the incision" for me to tell them, "the only way that happened is from your pet licking at it."

Unlike normal humans, cats, dogs and other animals don't have the common sense to not pull out their sutures, and to not eat themselves.  It sounds gross.  It is.

I won't get into details, but just understand this is a common, preventable occurrence.  Just the other day, I saw someone, who had gotten surgery elsewhere.  By the time I saw the damage the dog had done, the owner told me I was the third person who had asked if her dog had an E-collar.  There is a reason for this.  It's considered common sense in the veterinary world and now I'm passing it on to you.

If your pet can't tolerate it, you have a long line of excuses, etc..  Let us know.  We have ways of working something out.  (There have been many dogs wearing boxer shorts and onesies because of a modification of the "E-collar" in my history.  Let us know.  Don't assume your pet has common sense.

Poison Alert

Recently, I was made aware of an incident where there was a person who didn't like squirrels.  I'm not familiar with the person, but my guess is, they didn't like animals.  (I mean- if you have a dog or a cat, then you wouldn't have a squirrel problem... just a thought).

Apparently, the individual put out rat poison to poison the small mammals.  They didn't really think out what they were doing or the consequences of it and I will refrain from putting in the many judgmental comments I could share.

Often times, when there is a poison such as rat poison, it doesn't just affect the animals you want it to.  Whether it be a rat, mouse or squirrel you are trying to kill, it puts dogs, cats, other mammals and even our majestic eagles and birds of prey and larger predators at risk.  Besides the ability of other non-targeted animals getting into the "traps" or places where the poison is put out, it's very easy for the poison to drain into different areas (if you put it under your porch and you have a good rain with wet ground, it can easily seep into the lower areas of your property).  We saw this quite often when I worked in the emergency room.  The newer poisons are even more dangerous than the first generation ones, some of the poisons there are not antidotes for.

Don't listen to your local hardware store salesperson for what "trap" or "poison" to use.   That's akin to me asking my manicurist for a good solution for acne.  Ask a professional before you do something that could have many, many consequences (and before you have all your neighbors very mad at you).

The Lord is My Shepherd

That is one of scripture's most comforting passages.  Until you get to know sheep.  Then you re-think what the Lord is really saying about us.  I'm only partially kidding.

I think the first time I met sheep was long, long ago, at my great-uncle and aunt's house.  They were romantic and peaceful.  I probably wasn't much older than 5 or 7.  My great aunt and uncle were pretty awesome and had cool farm toys.  That's about the extent I have of that early memory.  Later on, I found out that they were actually unlikely sheep farmers.  If memory serves me right, just a year or two ago my great-uncle told me the reason he had sheep was he didn't like to mow the grass.

I started knitting when I was 6 or 7 and have been knitting since.  Yarn is expensive, especially nice yarn, so I dreamt of having my own sheep and making my own yarn.  Somewhere in high school or early college my parents actually gave me a "spinning" class.  Not like the bicycle type of "spin" but using an actual spinning wheel and making yarn.  It was pretty cool.

In my undergraduate years I took a "sheep management" class.  I got to learn all about sheep farming.  I had no intention of becoming a sheep farmer for a living, but I thought it would be helpful when I had my own "hobby farm" someday.  With the way I knit, it could even become self-sufficient.

Photo by Meg Herriot 2007.  Do not reproduce.

In veterinary school, I was one of the lucky few who got to take the last "small-ruminant" rotation.  Our beloved professor retired after our class graduated.  It was probably one of my favorite rotations in vet school and it prepared me in ways one wouldn't think.  There's something about delivering lambs at midnight.  I also found out that I had actually paid attention in some of my classes, but didn't remember everything.  Without going into too many details, there was a wine-bottle trick that I had thought my professor was kidding about- no, it actually does do the trick (and more than just the relaxation of the vet drinking the wine).

  It takes physical labor, mental fortitude and definite problem-solving skills.  It takes more athleticism than you would think.  Sheep are made to be "flight" animals.  Even though they might need assistance, when able, they will run away from you.  Animals typically are "fight or flight".  Cats have excellent skills in both areas.

Photo by Meg Herriot 2007.  Do not reproduce.

One of my fellow vet-students, Sarah actually commented that I would make a good quarterback because I was known for running after sheep who needed assistance, tackling them and then getting them into a position where I could assist.  My classmate Sarah and I actually realized when we were working with sheep, "If the Lord is my shepherd and we are his sheep, I'm not sure that's His nice way of saying we are REALLY stupid," I can't remember which of us said that.

I still like sheep though.  There's something about a newborn baby lamb, it's innocence and sweetness.  As I told my husband, I've done more C-sections in sheep than I have in dogs or cats.

About 4 years ago I convinced my husband (reluctantly) to go to a "Sheep and wool festival."   I think he thought it was going to be like going to a giant yarn store.  We got there and my son and him enjoyed the "folksy" music, the live demonstrations and seeing all the different breeds of sheep.  It was a kinder on the nose situation than your regular county fair (due to diet, sheep excrement does not stink nearly as much as other species).  Now my husband and son are hooked and it is an annual family affair.  Now I just have to continually remind him how much he doesn't like mowing the lawn so I can get a few sheep of my own!

A Year With Mary Book Review

When I first obtained "A Year With Mary" by Paul Thigpen, its appearance was the first thing that struck me.  It is an elegant book with gold-lined pages and leather-bound with a ribbon to mark your spot.  It is a book that definitely resets me from the "Kindle-reading digital world" we seem to live in.  It would be great for a gift and I intend to give it to a few special people in my life.  There's something about having a well-bound book that is elegant, and a beverage of your choice, that just seems to put you in the "meditate and enjoy" mood.

I liked how the book is organized.  It may be "A Year With Mary" but you don't have to start on a particular day and you can skip through and look at particular themes.  I often find myself starting the "one reading a day for a year books" and getting frustrated after a few hectic days are missed and then I fall behind and just give up.  I would say this book works well for "a reading day, as able" which is perfect for a busy women's life.

It is well organized and laid out in a manner that is easy to read.  With reflections from the Saints and Fathers of the Church, a thought to meditate on and a closing prayer, it's very doable to get a "small retreat" all in just one page.  Along with it's rich content, the physical presence of the book sets it apart.  As you physically hold it, it engages you in your walk with Mary.

This book was a joy to read, and although it may be titled "A Year With Mary," I think I will be reading it for many years to come as the meditations and content are timeless.



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Valley Fever- that's my Lyme Disease!

So there are certain regional diseases that veterinarians and human doctors know well, because they see them all the time, but once you get out of the area, you don't see them, so they recede into the distant parts of your memory (filed somewhere with disease information about turtles, pigs and chicken poop- all things I needed to know about for my national board exam, but then I promptly drank a half bottle of wine to forget it all).  Sometimes, especially us older medical professionals forget to look for the "Zebras" as they are called.  90% of my day is spent treating the same things I've been seeing for the past decade.  I've seen so many ear infections, I think I've actually had my ear infection "spiel" in my dreams.  Most of the time, even before we go into the exam room, just with a basic history, understanding of the breed and our medical knowledge we have a good hunch as to what's going on.  That doesn't minimize the need for diagnostics and more inform

ation to confirm our hunch, but it narrows our focus.

Sometimes, when we forget to ask about travel history, or we get in the zone of seeing the same thing, over and over, we can miss things, or feel totally out of whack when something that doesn't meet the norm happens.   Having a history as an ER doctor helps me remember to look for the zebras- and to be extra cautious about things.  Dogs with elevated liver enzymes, or the possibility of?  I"m not sticking that jugular (because I remember having to manage a case where the referring vet did that and the dog didn't clot and the saga....).  Yep, in the ER you see the 0.5% of cases that end up really bad.

I've also worked in different areas of the country.  Where I went to school in Michigan, a little over a decade ago, I only saw one case of Lyme disease.  It wasn't very prevalent at that time.  Then I worked on the East Coast.  I saw Lyme Disease all of the time!  Other than the rare cases that got horrible kidney failure from Lyme Disease, I was able to be a hero with a simple prescription of antibiotics.  It was cool.  Take a sick, anorexic, limping dog back to healthy in a couple days- that's my kind of "fix-it".

Then I moved to Arizona and learned all about Valley Fever, or coccidiodmycosis.  Just like 25% of the cases on the East Coast tested positive for Lyme Disease, about 25% dogs in Arizona tested positive for Valley Fever.  Let me tell you- just like the unruliness of the Southwest of Old, this disease is feisty and difficult.  It doesn't go away with 30 days of antibiotics like Lyme Disease- No- it has to take 6 months or longer of anti-fungal therapy.  It also crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes seizures, fluid in the lungs, lymph nodes that look like lymphoma and so on.  It's a nasty bugger.  I used to fight it on a daily basis.  Whenever I have a case now with enlarged lymph nodes, I first ask the owners if they could have traveled to the Southwest, because it can look a lot like lymphoma and the treatment is the opposite.  A medical doctor friend of mine said it's the same in people and whenever people get accidentally diagnosed with lymphoma instead of the fungal disease (for example people who vacation in Arizona and are exposed to it and then get sick when they get back home).  They get treated with chemotherapy and end up REALLY sick or can even die because treating an infection with chemotherapy is never a good idea.

Recently, I had a moment in an exam room where I thought the owners might possibly have gone into shock.  They had moved from Arizona- the same part that I had once lived in.  They brought a dog to the East Coast who they knew had Valley Fever- but I was the first veterinarian they had met on the East that was familiar with it.  I rattled off the info I remembered, and told them I would double check because I hadn't dealt with it in a while and wanted to make sure nothing I had changed and make sure I was remembering it right.  They sat in shock as I explained that all the symptoms their dog had that the ER vet and other vet's hadn't explained could possibly be explained by Valley Fever (I gave them the caveat that it was also possible it was caused by something else- because remember I was an ER vet and I've seen some wacky stuff).  I then asked them if they had gotten info off of the "Valley Fever Center for Excellence".  "The What,' they asked.   The "Valley Fever Center for Excellence, I repeated.

Their mouths almost looked like they dropped a couple of inches.  "Uh- there's a website that has all this info on it."  As I rattled off what I remembered from ten years ago, I got on the website in the computer in the room with them.  Yep, 10 years later, my memory still held up and I was correct with what I was saying.  My husband would be shocked by this as I can't remember simple tasks at home and get distracted easily.  I try to explain that there's a lot stuck in my brain and sometimes the short-term memory get's the short end.  So- the moral of the story is- you never know how helpful moving around the country can be- or how helpful it is to have medical professionals who know a little bit of everything (though we all hope to know a lot of everything!).