~ A Sunday well spent brings a week of content... - Unknown
A string of three text messages woke me up last Sunday. The messages were from a client of ours who has an epileptic Beagle PoPo . I was startled when I read them... "Popo has been having seizures since Saturday evening 4.00pm (which means for the last 18 hours) and that now she was "Concerned". Popo has been suffering from epilepsy for the last couple of years and this was not the first time the clients had waited before they were "Concerned"
My first question was "Why did not you come over last evening itself" Nevertheless, I checked on her,she said the seizures have stopped, for now ,checked her medication schedule and asked her to let me know if she still gets more seizures. As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing again. I knew she needed attention,I agreed to see Popo on my clinic's day off. I was on my way to the clinic wrapping up my Sunday chores, my phone rang a block away from my clinic..My wife answered the call as I was driving. The client said, " I think I should go back home,looks like you guys aren't coming over." She replied, we are about 300 meters away from our clinic and that we are coming over only because we are concerned about Popo's seizures and that she needs attention.
Ignoring the snide remarks (and our previous repeated turned down requests of getting her epilepsy diagnosed),we started stabilizing Popo, as per our clinic policy we briefed her about Popo's condition and expected complications and got a consent form signed. We told her that,since she has been seizing intermittently for over 18 hours, there is a possibility where she would go in a status epilepticus (a condition wherein the seizures would not stop) . We briefed her that we do not offer a 24 x 7 emergency services and that Popo will have to be admitted to a hospital.
As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing yet again few hours later, We again pleaded the client to get Popo admitted to a hospital,as we dread the "Status Epilepticus". As always,it was turned down by the client and she preferred "Wait and Watch". Popo had a rough night. The "Wait" ended when the "Watch" struck 8.30am. Popo had slipped into a "Status Epilepticus", a condition Vets all over the world dread. I was crushed not physically due to the fatigue of long week without a Sunday break,but emotionally because it could have been prevented if Popo was admitted to the hospital. Had just woken up,got ready. Stepped out of my home to find out that some miscreants had punctured all four tyres of my car. Somehow hailed an autorickshaw on a busy Monday morning. Reached my clinic somehow to find out Popo had not reached there yet... The client now called and wanted me to come home and "give Popo a shot to stop seizures". I told her there was nothing I can do at your home,just get her over so that we can stabilize her.
Popo finally arrived. She was seizing, had turned cyanotic (oxygen deprived) and her temperature had shot up to 108.6 F (wherein there is a risk of brain damage). Her seizures were refractory to the anti-epileptic medications. Stabilizing her this time, meant inducing a general anaesthesia and intubating her,hooking her to the monitoring equipment. We yet again stabilized her and pulled her back from an imminent death. We yet again briefed her the seriousness of Popo's condition. For the last time, we pleaded the client to get Popo admitted as this could happen again and she needs constant monitoring. She agreed this time and got her admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately, the seizures came back in the hospital too and got worse, Popo passed away the next day.
Popo's death awakened the mother in her as for now her Pet was her Daughter... There were abuses hurled upon in the hospital, accusations made. Interestingly not against the hospital where she passed away but directed towards my practice... The reason being " We were not available at my clinic at 8.30am on Monday morning when Popo went into a status epilepticus". Although we did try and make it to our clinic as soon as we could,we explained her yet again that,this was the precise reason we had requested a hospitalization the day prior.
The fact is, we Veterinarians are humans at the end of the day. It is humanly impossible for one person to be there for all emergencies. There is a reason why there are 24x7 emergency hospitals all over the world which the Veterinarians refer their patients to. I was feeling bad about the simple fact that,my team members were the ones who saved her,yet we were the ones facing slander. Frankly I was not disturbed by the accusations she made but disturbed by the fact that Popo could have been saved if she was admitted to the hospital last evening itself. The truth is we Veterinarians are soft targets for redirecting their guilt...
"How My Vet Killed My Pet" haunts every Veterinarian.
~ Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day..
Sometimes you do everything right, everything exactly right
and Still you feel like you've failed....
Did it need to end that way...
Could something have been done to prevent this tragedy in the first place....
names have been changed. quotes from a television series.
My first question was "Why did not you come over last evening itself" Nevertheless, I checked on her,she said the seizures have stopped, for now ,checked her medication schedule and asked her to let me know if she still gets more seizures. As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing again. I knew she needed attention,I agreed to see Popo on my clinic's day off. I was on my way to the clinic wrapping up my Sunday chores, my phone rang a block away from my clinic..My wife answered the call as I was driving. The client said, " I think I should go back home,looks like you guys aren't coming over." She replied, we are about 300 meters away from our clinic and that we are coming over only because we are concerned about Popo's seizures and that she needs attention.
Ignoring the snide remarks (and our previous repeated turned down requests of getting her epilepsy diagnosed),we started stabilizing Popo, as per our clinic policy we briefed her about Popo's condition and expected complications and got a consent form signed. We told her that,since she has been seizing intermittently for over 18 hours, there is a possibility where she would go in a status epilepticus (a condition wherein the seizures would not stop) . We briefed her that we do not offer a 24 x 7 emergency services and that Popo will have to be admitted to a hospital.
As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing yet again few hours later, We again pleaded the client to get Popo admitted to a hospital,as we dread the "Status Epilepticus". As always,it was turned down by the client and she preferred "Wait and Watch". Popo had a rough night. The "Wait" ended when the "Watch" struck 8.30am. Popo had slipped into a "Status Epilepticus", a condition Vets all over the world dread. I was crushed not physically due to the fatigue of long week without a Sunday break,but emotionally because it could have been prevented if Popo was admitted to the hospital. Had just woken up,got ready. Stepped out of my home to find out that some miscreants had punctured all four tyres of my car. Somehow hailed an autorickshaw on a busy Monday morning. Reached my clinic somehow to find out Popo had not reached there yet... The client now called and wanted me to come home and "give Popo a shot to stop seizures". I told her there was nothing I can do at your home,just get her over so that we can stabilize her.
Popo finally arrived. She was seizing, had turned cyanotic (oxygen deprived) and her temperature had shot up to 108.6 F (wherein there is a risk of brain damage). Her seizures were refractory to the anti-epileptic medications. Stabilizing her this time, meant inducing a general anaesthesia and intubating her,hooking her to the monitoring equipment. We yet again stabilized her and pulled her back from an imminent death. We yet again briefed her the seriousness of Popo's condition. For the last time, we pleaded the client to get Popo admitted as this could happen again and she needs constant monitoring. She agreed this time and got her admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately, the seizures came back in the hospital too and got worse, Popo passed away the next day.
Popo's death awakened the mother in her as for now her Pet was her Daughter... There were abuses hurled upon in the hospital, accusations made. Interestingly not against the hospital where she passed away but directed towards my practice... The reason being " We were not available at my clinic at 8.30am on Monday morning when Popo went into a status epilepticus". Although we did try and make it to our clinic as soon as we could,we explained her yet again that,this was the precise reason we had requested a hospitalization the day prior.
The fact is, we Veterinarians are humans at the end of the day. It is humanly impossible for one person to be there for all emergencies. There is a reason why there are 24x7 emergency hospitals all over the world which the Veterinarians refer their patients to. I was feeling bad about the simple fact that,my team members were the ones who saved her,yet we were the ones facing slander. Frankly I was not disturbed by the accusations she made but disturbed by the fact that Popo could have been saved if she was admitted to the hospital last evening itself. The truth is we Veterinarians are soft targets for redirecting their guilt...
"How My Vet Killed My Pet" haunts every Veterinarian.
~ Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day..
Sometimes you do everything right, everything exactly right
and Still you feel like you've failed....
Did it need to end that way...
Could something have been done to prevent this tragedy in the first place....
names have been changed. quotes from a television series.
