2001-05-15
6:51 a.m.

You know, I think even my hair is tired today. The next few paragraphs are going to be me gushing over my wonderful day at the veterinary clinic, while the last paragraph is my venting about the inevitable bad news of the day... I had a little trouble sleeping last night, and I woke up around eight this morning, and decided to go to the veterinary hospital. My mom wasn't thrilled about her eight o'clock wakeup call, but she delt with it. It's amazing to watch the coffee pot at the clinic, the staff must go through about six or seven pots a day, and there aren't really that many people working there. I messed around with all the dogs that were being boarded there, until Dr. C came in and asked if I wanted to go on a call with her. Dr. C is just awesome, so of course I jumped at the chance to go with her. Now, if you have ever met this woman, you would know that she is very soft spoken. Even while doing surgery with her, in a small area I sometimes have problems hearing what she is saying. So, I assume that she is one of those people who listens to classical music, and drive quite safely. Well, as I tightened my seatbelt, I was surprised to find myself listening to heavy metal. I kind of gave her a shocked look, and mentioned what I had thought her taste in music to be. She got a good laugh out of that.

Our first stop was just a normal coggins and vaccinations, no biggie. Ten minutes we were in and out. Dr. C then says we are an hour early for our next appointment, so we stop off at Wal-mart. We of course made our way straight to the pet aisle, I mean, where else would we go? I then got to hide my smile as Dr. C piled my arms full of dog bones, treats, cat food, and other such stuff. To top off the pile..a big box of doughnuts. She kept telling me not to say a word, and not even to dare to laugh..her threats didn't work, because after the huge, jumbo box of dog treats was added to the pile, I couldn't help but laugh. You would have to know this woman to understand. When it comes to people, she is so closed off and withdrawn, she just doesn't have that connection with them, but when you get her around an animal, you see the connection. Since we had some time to waste, I asked her about veterinary stuff. I mentioned that my dad kept telling me I would grow out of it, and that if I really wanted to do something medical, to be a doctor, because at least then I would get more money. Dr. C quickly defended me, saying that although starting salleries were sucky, that I could make really good money as a vet, and to follow my dream. She told me that she could never imagine being anything else, and that she saw a lot of her in me. It was amazing, because I had never really seen her get that passionate about anything, or at least not outwardly like that. I was also deeply touched by what she said.

After that, we then went to our next appointment, another coggins test. This time, it was on a mare who had given birth to a cute little filly about five days prior. Dr. C and I went out and played with the filly for a few minutes. She was such a doll..until I watched her hooves fly two inches from my face. She was still a sweetie though. She was just playing. With that all done, Dr. C and I headed back to the clinic. I was as happy as could be, having been with Dr. C. I mean, even though I have seen a lot of coggins being done, it was nice to talk to Dr. C. Once at the clinic, I helped out with some horses, one of which is going to be bred soon. She is such a beautiful mare, and with the stallion she is being bred to, should have a foal that will make an awesome jumper. Sorry for you non-horse people who have no idea what I am talking about..just smile and nod.

Dr. C then comes and asks me to come along with her on another call. When we get into her truck, she begins her soft spoken exlanation of the call we are going to. It turns out she is going to do surgery on a pony. What happened, was the back legs kept popping out of joint in the "knee" area (trying to make this understandable to those who don't know horse terms), and it was pretty painful for the pony. So, after many failed attempts at helping the poor little guy, Dr. C was at her final resort. It was a surgery that she really didn't like doing, and avoided at all costs, because it normally caused the horse to have really bad arthritis later on in life. What she would do, was go into the horses legs, and cut one of the ligimits, allowing the joint to move more freely. Anyway, in the middle of this explanation, I got to see how unsoft spoken she could be ;) our conversation went something like this:
Dr. C: "Yeah, I try to avoid doing this at all costs, I just hate to do it, but we really don't YOU DICKWEED, CAN'T YOU SEE I AM F***ING TURNING HERE um..we really don't have a lot of options left. We've tried pretty much every..OH YOU SON OF A BITCH...thing."
Me: "Uh..mmhmm" ::looks out window and tries to contain laughter::

The surgery was interesting, although I spent about an hour and a half, in the hot sun, supporting this horses weight. He needed to put his weight on the leg that was being operated on, but he kept shifting to the opposite side, so eventually, I had to keep contiuous pressure on him so that he wouldn't shift weight. In case you didn't know..horses are really really heavy. I was really honored that Dr. C would choose me to come out and help with the surgery, rather than one of the vet techs, it made me feel special, cause she even told my favorite tech, Kathy, that she didn't need help cause she was bringing me. Heh, my ego needed a boost. After the surgery, the horse was groggy, so we decided to stay a few extra minutes, just to make sure that the horse did okay. Well, there was also a little colt, about three weeks old, at this farm. Of course, Dr. C and I have to investigate. He was such a sweet little guy, he would run up to you, and then swing his butt around, and it would look like he was wanting to kick you, but all he wanted was a butt rub. There is nothing like seeing this little miniature looking horse enjoying a nice scratch on the butt. I only wish I had brought my camera, or at least my sketch pad. We had one more stop after that, which I hated enough not to talk about. The lady there seemed to think I was some sort of slave or something..grr, I won't even get into it.

When we got back to the clinic, I was beyond shocked to see it was already after five. I had been there for eight hours..where had the time gone? It was then that I finally let the fatigue over take me. I was so exhausted, I had been on my feet all day. I now have a lot more respect for people who's jobs don't allow them a chance to sit down. Plus, I hadn't really gotten too much sleep the night before. I called my mom, then proceded to gossip with the staff that hadn't gone home yet. You guys would all be amazed at how much gossip your local vet actually has. Dr. C then shared my views on her driving and taste in music to the staff, they all got a good laugh out of that. "Dr. C...drive slowly..boy were you wrong." Once I got home, I don't think I could have made it to my bed any faster. I can't even begin to say how wonderful a nap is when you are beyond the point of exhaustion.

Then, there is the bad news of the day, I mean, heaven forbid one day go by without some type of bad news. My mom called the lawyer in California about the investment money. He told us that if we got fifty percent of it back, we would be beyond lucky. He also told us, that we wouldn't get anything until November, or December. Well, our scumbag Georgia lawyer has been swearing that we will get the money by June, which my mom had really been counting on. I know we shouldn't have counted out chicken before they hatched, but basically everything has been set up around getting that money in June. So, my mom and I are back to being screwed. She still won't allow me to get a job, even though I have offered so many times. I'm just afraid of the point where I need to get a job, and my stupid panic attacks rear their ugly head. I mean, I still have trouble going into a gas station to buy a coke, I don't know how working will affect me. I guess I'll find out eventually.

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