Sometimes we all fall down....

Two rough shifts in a row, and minimal sleep make for one very sad and emotionally exhausted ER vet. 

Two nights ago I performed a c-section on a 12 year old pug - yes, 12 years old.  The sweet old dog had delivered one stillborn puppy, and had four remaining in her uterus when she arrived to the ER.  Fortunately, I retrieved all four puppies alive!  Unfortunately, she had a rough recovery and required more care than a typical c-section patient.  Much of that to be attributed to her age and a moderate amount of bleeding during the surgery. Thankfully, her condition was not as a result of a surgical error, but simply a complication of her age, normal surgical losses, and other clotting factors.  As of this time, she's recovering well and stabilized, but it was hairy for a few hours.  Also unfortunate is that the clients are very upset with me.  I understand the frustration of not having your pet do well after an expensive emergency procedure, however I'm not all-powerful.  I'm human, and your 12 year old dog (compare to a 80-85 year old woman) should NOT be having litters of puppies.  This was preventable. Furthermore, I saved all four of her puppies (so cute!) and she's probably going to pull through, too.  I wish that the client could understand how much I care and how hard I work on my patients.

Last night I had a beautiful young male cat arrive with an obstructed urinary bladder.  I can't remember if I've written about this topic before, so I'll be sure to scan through and if not write a full informational post...  Most of these guys I'm easily able to treat, restore urine flow, and place a urinary catheter under anesthesia.  This cat was the second one in my career (of hundreds or thousands) that I wasn't able to relieve the obstruction.  Long story short, the clients nearly didn't allow treatment to start, so with the setback, they euthanized their beautiful cat.  I cried as I administered the euthanasia.  I feel like I let him down - but there was nothing else that I could have done to change the outcome.

So, as I said, emotionally exhausted. :( Time to go snuggle my pets.