Tis the Season...

Ahh, it is that time of the year...when the snow comes and Santa's workshop is in full gear...and we get to put up pretty decorations all around the house. So I did some baking the other day on my time off - some pretzels with white chocolate and some chex mix - I still have to make my puppy chow and then decide on one cookie to make. And today, I went and bought myself a little tree and decorated my apartment...and made some egg nog coffee drink...mmmm! So, make sure to scroll down below because I have posted some pics of my decorations. And may I say that the kitties love this holiday as well...Webster and I were so excited setting up the tree....he helped so much....I put the tree up, he tried to knock it down...I put the bulbs on, he batted them to the ground...oh but he was just so happy to have a tree back again!!! So I am finally on a couple days off...2 and then Wed on call. Lets see, what did I work this past shifts? I worked Wed-Fri, Sun. Wed-Fri were l-o-n-g shifts of about 19hrs each!!! I had some very cool cases though. Had a neck abcess - huge about the size of a soccer ball--had to go in and open in up surgically - I cut into it with my scalpel and pus just started pouring out!!!! It was very awesome...yet grotesque at the same time!!! So I flushed that out and debrided the tissue inside the abcess pocket....very carefully as I was looking straight down at trachea, esophagus and two pulsating jugular veins...oh yeah...and I was all by myself...I have to say though that it was great!! Placed two penrose drains on each side of the neck (so that I could close the wound yet it would still be able to drain.). What else, last night I had a dog that swallowed 2 garland strings of popcorn and fruit loops...and the needles that were attached to them....oops and ouch!! So, I took an x-ray first and the two needles were sitting right in the stomach so we did endoscopy and pulled them out that way. The stomach was pretty ulcerated afterwards so he will go home on sucralfate and pepcid!! Saw a couple vomiting diarrhea cases of course....a couple had pancreatitis so admitted, fluids, pain meds, antibiotics, NG tube for feeding. One was a hemangiosarcoma (cancer in the spleen)...sad case...owners were totally not expecting that but luckily on my PE I had felt fluid in abdomen and a huge spleen and so had talked with them about that being a possibility...and unfortunately I was right! What else did I see?? We had a lot of stats....dying cats...2 we saved with CPR!!! One went on a ventilator and then came off and is still alive, the other we saved and brought back to life and then owners couldn't afford further care and so we had to euthanize....very sad after we worked so hard to bring it back to life and actually did it!!! Saw a big parrot with a bleeding tail blood feather...so I yanked it out....crisis averted!! Saw a torn toenail...sedated, yanked it off, bandaged it, dog went home....another life saved!!! Yes, ER is exciting and you get to see a lot and maybe I will miss it a tinge but on July 8, 2008 I do not think many tears will be falling...!!