My personality is that I am a giver. I give of myself to help those I care about. I've never really thought about why, and I don't really even think about it when I am doing it. I do like most have some expectations because I am a giver. I have no ulterior motive for doing is apart from the wanting to make others happy in life or to ease their pain. I guess to some degree that's why I became a veterinarian.
This week while teaching the students we got to the question "How can you do such a job for a long time when you very often have to deliver difficult news and how don't you carry that with you ?"
Now, I don't pretend to know all the answers and I think everyone’s pathway is different. I responded with a story that has somewhat grown by the people that have told it over time and I have rarely mentioned it.....During my second residency as the day drew to a close and the night revealed itself a call went out. It was a regular event and one that I would always respond to when I was working...."STAT". I lumbered off to ECC in the anticipation that the new intern would need help and I was always happy to lend a hand if help was needed. I was presented with a cold 2-year-old Yorkshire terrier whose glucose was in the toilet. We ran a warm water bath and gave some glucose while waiting for the intern to come back and explain the situation after talking to the owner.
A few minutes went by and the intern came back
visibly upset saying that she would have to euthanize the dog as the owner had
no money. Now in my mind this little dog was young and just needed some warming
and some glucose and I couldn't accept that this could happen. I spoke with the
intern privately and it turned out that the lady bringing the dog in had just
lost her husband and this was her two year old sons dog and she had no idea
what to tell him as he'd been through so much. The intern and I left ECC and we
walked slowly back to the front desk. I explained to her quietly that no matter
what she heard me say in the next few minutes she was not to say a word. At the
front desk we greeted the lady and her son Danny. Danny was holding onto an
action figure in his hands. I don't recall the figure maybe a superman doll.
The woman explained her situation. She was visibly shaken and in tears and
Danny had been crying. The little dog had been normal that afternoon and had
not been ill ever. She could not understand why this was happening.......
We spoke for a few minutes and she was
resigned to it that she couldn't afford any treatment let alone our consultation
fee and that she would have to euthanize the dog. I looked at her at that
moment and said " No Ma'am. That won't be necessary. Occasionally we have
access to anonymous donor funds. In this case we have access to anonymous donor
funds. We will hospitalize overnight and see how he does. He is already doing
better. Tomorrow if he is doing well and he has recovered we may be able to
send him home." The lady was a little taken a back, but she agreed. After
she had signed some forms I went to the front desk and handed them my credit
card. The liaison just smiled at me and she said, "How much this
time?" They had been through this many times before. The intern just
looked at me. Initially she was lost for words and then she just started
rambling. I don't even remember what she was taking about. After they ran my card,
we went back to ECC. Back in ECC the dog had started to improve. His body
temperature had increased, and his glucose had stabilized. My head tech looked
at me and said, " Another Koala Koala fund?" I had heard it before.
It had been started a few years earlier by another of the interns. I just
looked at her and smiled and said "You have $600. Let's get him
right!"
I stayed around until he was stable,
and we had come up with a way to get him through the night while covering him
for diseases that we could treat but not test for.
When I walked in to ECC the next
morning bright and early here was the dog wagging his tail. He had eaten and he
had a normal temperature. I nodded to my head tech in appreciation and headed
to the treatment room to set my belongings down. I then stopped off at the
front desk to pay the rest of the bill as the dog would be discharged that
morning. What I didn't expect was my mentor to come and find me. He found me at
the front desk about to pay the bill and said, " I hear that there was
some fun and games last night?" I just looked at him and shrugged and said,
"sometimes you just have to have a win." He smiled at me and said,
"Did you get bloodwork?" My response "Ahh, that would be a No, as
the funds don't extend that far..." He looked at me and reached into his
back pocket, removed his credit card and said, "Well I guess we have to
do a little more to get this guy out of here...."
By the time the dog left, he had been
vaccinated, treated for worms and heartworm and given six months of a medicated
diet.
As I write this story, I still get a
little emotional about it as our industry is full of great people who often do
not expect anything apart from a smile and a thank you. Sometimes in giving of
yourself that is all you need..........
Somebody once wrote "A
kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal...."
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