#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

This past week has been kind of crazy. My car broke down over the weekend and my friend/coworker and I switched days off this week so I could get the car taken care of Tuesday. And then all the crazies have been coming out of the woodworks lately (basically if I was there tuesday I would have been screamed at by a client instead of my coworker who took it very well, sometimes are screamed at, insulted, I have been called heartless before). I think I need a vacation...not even to go anywhere, like a staycation. I think I just need some time off for me.

My boyfriend David tells me all the time I need to be more positive and that it will help me feel better. I know he's right but sometimes its so hard when you deal with depression, work in a veterinary clinic (in not the best part of town, aka kinda poor), and in general I can be very cynical. I know I feel best when I'm positive and optimistic. With the week we've been having at work its been extremely difficult. 

We received a fax this week from a group called ExecTech Management Consulting. They send us daily or weekly faxes with tips (usually for our boss or manager) on how to deal with certain things. One of the faxes we got this week was about being optimistic. I read it and since I already planned on writing about being more positive it fits right in!!

So to give credit to their company (http://www.exectechweb.com/) this is an excerpt from 2011 ExecTech Services Inc part of their ExecTech Management Consulting Tips and Ideas. The paragraph is titled: We Can All Be More Optimistic. They call this the "Optimist Creed."

Promise Yourself....

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.*

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. 

To make all your friends feel that ther is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.*

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. 

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.*

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. 

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.*

I know many of us are always trying to better ourselves and when I read this it really put a huge smile on my face because I knew I needed to do this. I've put asterisks near the ones I need to work on the most. I know this is just a piece of paper or a excerpt on the internet but I really feel like I can do this :)

Update on kitten: One of my pretty good friends in Gainesville, FL may be interested in adopting him! So happy!!

Sending happiness and positive thoughts and energy to you all. If you would like to share any ideas with me please feel free to drop me a line on twitter: @thecraftafarian or email me: craftafarian@gmail.com or check out my blog: http://craftafarian.blogspot.com or find me on almost any social media. 

<3 Lindsay @thecraftafarian

Thanks for tuning in guys :) 

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Lindsay on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

Hey there! It's been one of those weeks for me. Just kinda crummy. No real reason, just life is getting to me. Don't get me wrong, life is actually good. I've been walking the dogs more, trying to do more yoga, eating better. The most frustrating thing is when I'm sad or bummed out for no apparent reason. This is something I've been dealing with for almost 15 years.

Let me give you a bit of a back story. 

I have been dealing with depression/chemical imbalance/whatever they feel like calling it that year since I was a kid. My parents and I weren't aware of it at the time. I thought what I was feeling was normal. My parents (when I say my parents that means my Mom and Step dad, my Dad is referred to as my Dad. Even though he is just as much of a parent and perhaps more supportive but this is how I refer to them) just thought I was being a teenager and going through a long angry phase. It's hard to remember a lot from back then, I remember having strange thoughts when I was or young as 11 or 12.  Things like it wouldn't really matter if I were gone and I wish it would all just be over. I remember having such a difficult time dealing with any emotions. Things that were just crummy became devastating. Empathy was extremely difficult to deal with at this time. I would cry for no reason, tears would just well up in my eyes as a knot would catch my throat. I remember screaming at my mother I didn't know why I acted and felt this way. I would be sent to my room in which I would sit on my bed and cry and remind myself why I needed to stay in this world. My dad needed me, my brothers, the pets. That was all I needed sometimes to pull back from the brink. 

I believe part of the reason my Dad and I never really fought (oh PS-It's hereditary, I'm like this weird little female copy of my dad, less cynical and more squishy, but we can finish each others sentences sometimes, its creepy) anymore was he sat me down after a big screaming match when I was like 11 and reasoned with me. He said since we didn't get to spend much time together (joint custody) that its silly to fight and argue and we should just enjoy the time we have together, we never fought again. EVER. But see, its like he knew/knows how to get through to me. Because I'm a mini-me, er him. Whatever. 

Flash forward to high school. Still having issues with parents. At this point my Dad and I lost touch (he moved out of state due to financial reasons). I started dating. God that was horrible. Haha. Massive mood swings and major depression disorder is not a good time for high school. Especially when you work two jobs to keep yourself out of the house AND go to school in a different city for a magnet program. That was lame but some of the experiences I wouldn't give up. 

The guy I'm dating Senior year of high school I am still sorta seeing on and off first year of college. I have a major nervous breakdown and he tells me that he thinks I need help. I agree to go see the school shrink and personal counselor. Around this time I found my dad and we got back in touch. This is 2003, I am prescribed effexor and trazadone. Throughout the few years I was seeing a psychiatrist I was put on a number of drugs in combination with one another. Here's the list and I was not on all these at the same time but a few were prescribed as a "cocktail". Effexor, Risperdall, trazadone, prozac, abilify, zoloft, xanax. Weeee. Gosh there was another one, surprised I can't remember?

Currently I only take Prozac (generic) and that was finally by my request. I have no idea if this is the correct medication but its the one I've had the least amount of lasting side effects from and I wasn't getting much help from my doctors at the time. I've spent parts of my life staring into space as my body adjusted to the medications, sleeping for hours upon hours, puking my guts out due to drug combos, and god knows what else. This stuff can be really strong. The reason they first started playing with my drug cocktail was when I maxed out on effexor dose. 

I gave up talking to counselors and shrinks. It doesn't work for me. But I will say however that I absolutely need to be on medication for the rest of my life. I have tried to wean off them and its just not worth it. At this point I truly believe I have a chemical imbalance that needs to be regulated with my meds. I still have bad days and good days, but so does everyone. Granted my bad days may be worse than some I haven't found myself thinking those terrible thoughts in many many years. Currently I just have my prozac filled by my general doctor and I don't have to see a psychiatrist, if I ever need my medication changed or increased I will probably have to go through all that bullshit. 

It was a long journey and its something that I will always have to battle but staying positive is one of the most important ways to combat it. Another big part for me was my pets, they needed me to be ok to take care of them. And in turn they kept me company and made me smile. 

Just because my experience with therapy, medications, and this medical condition were less than ideal doesn't mean that everyone's experience will be the same. I highly encourage you to seek out help if you feel you may need it. Research all your medications, their interactions with one another, and get a second opinion if you are able. If you are a student and your college has a student health center you may be able to get very affordable mental health care. Please please please seek out help if at least to get you started. 

Some people need medications and some don't, part of the problem is some doctors push drugs without diagnosing. 

And if anyone ever needed to talk please please reach out, believe me, I have been there. I know and understand the feeling. 

<3 Lindsay @thecraftafarian

blog: http://craftafarian.blogspot.com

email: craftafarian@gmail.com

PS--One super cute thing I get to deal with lately is this cuddly almost 7 week old kitten!! He brings a smile to my face, when he's not trying to climb up my leg like I'm a tree.... 

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

It was just another Saturday night at the clinic. I tend to go down there later then the other technician. I'm a little OCD about certain things. I don't want the boarders to have to wait longer than 12 hours to eat or go out. I always try to do 9am and 9pm. The other tech will go at 9am and 5:30pm. Being 9pm it was very dark outside. I was letting the dogs that were boarding for the weekend out, checking on the cats, feeding and medicating everyone. I always have my dogs with me when I go to the kennel. They really enjoy going for the ride and visiting with the other pets. They love the fenced in yard too. The main reason I take them with me is because the my veterinary clinic is in a kinda sketchy part of town. We have special alarm codes to alert police if needed as well as a panic button. I also always carry pepper spray and my two large 60 lb shepherd mixes. Sometimes I have a knife, depending, because I don't want to get in trouble for a concealed weapon. 

As I was finished for the night I set the alarm, the dogs and I walked outside, and then locked the door behind me. They are sniffing the bushes and plants near the clinics door and suddenly I heard the cry of a kitten. 

Meeewwwww!!

Dammit. DAMMIT. I thought to myself. I called the dogs over (who for some reason didn't seem to notice the noise) and put Wynnie in the car. She's great with other animals but she is more excitable and I didn't know what exactly I would be dealing with. I couldn't really tell from the cry what age it was and I have in the past had to capture a feral kitten. Not the most fun thing to do. Leaving Wynnie in the car, I put River on a leash and told her to heel. I wanted to bring the dog with me to look around because the noise wasn't coming from the bushes right next to us it was coming from the other side of the driveway, bordering the neighboring business's property. And I didn't want to be abducted off the side of the road.

River and I begin walking towards the mews. I used my phone as a light because in my panic that there was a little kitten outside I didn't remember I had a flashlight in the car somewhere. The clinic is right off of a major road so the panic was justified. I would be completely devastated if the little kitten ran out into the road. I was able to see movement in the bushes and the little guy kept crying out to me. I tried to grab him but the bushes were thick and he wiggled out of my hand. I felt how small his tail was and the adrenaline kicked in. I. WILL. GET. THIS. KITTEN. I realize that it may be afraid of the dog so I made River lay down and stay. I starting talking to the kitten hoping it would come to my voice. He kept mewing to me when I talked. Once River was a few feet away he realized that the dog wasn't going to get him and he was more concerned with crying out for help. He crawled into a clear part of the bushes so I was able to reach my arm down inside the brush and lift him out. I had no idea how big he was until I had him in my arms.  

I pull him from the bushes and immediately hug him to my chest not caring if he is dirty or full of fleas (which he was...YUCK!). It wasn't that cold outside but he was tiny. As soon as I held him against me I felt him nuzzle into me, poor baby. So he doesn't seem feral, the last kitten I found outside was feral and not friendly (she's good now with people she knows, we ended up keeping her, its hard to find them homes when they aren't friendly and sweet). 

Leaving the dogs in the car, I took him inside and treated him for fleas, grabbed some canned food from the back and a cat carrier. I weighed him and assessed his health and age. A little dirty but looks pretty good over than the fleas. Small but eyes are open and he has teeth. Weighed in at 1 lb 1oz. He's probably about 5 weeks old. 

He's a lucky kitten! At this age and as a stray if he were taken to a county shelter he may have been euthanized for being too young. Certainly if he were any younger, they don't even give them a chance.  Also, the other tech and I were thinking about switching weekends and since she  comes a lot earlier he may never have been rescued. I didn't hear him crying when I got there. Who knows...

Well I've had him now for a week. So he's about 6 weeks old. Definitely a little boy and such a monkey! In a week or two he will be ready to be adopted. I've already dewormed him and treated for fleas. He's had a bath and ear cleaning. I may have to pay for his first set of vaccines myself but we'll see. The hardest part is finding a good home. I'm very particular who adopts my foster pets. It has to be someone who trusts their vet, understands that pets require time and money, and doesn't see him at "just a cat". Pets are worth every bit of time, effort, and money but you have to understand sometimes you have to do a lot and spend a lot. There are also ways of doing things a little inexpensively.

If anyone is looking to adopt a kitty and understands that he will need vaccines every 3 weeks until he's 16 weeks old. Also needs monthly flea/Heartworm prevention as well as a good balanced high quality cat food and yearly check ups at the veterinarian.  I love this little guy already and it's only been a week but that's how I do my job. I love each and every patient. That's why I'm so good at what I do, I put my heart and soul into it. 

 

PS-Dude! I was SOOO happy to find out that the little guy was past bottle age. That is some serious shit! Feeding every 2 hours...glad I don't have to do that again!

-Lindsay @thecraftafarian

#nerdsunite

click here to follow Lindsay on the twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

So I finally got those pictures I was hoping to get for this post. A friend from high school saw my facebook post for help regarding photos I needed off my uncharged laptop for which I did not have a charger (because I'm a very bad nerd and didn't back up my files from my old laptop). I met him at a nearby starbucks and we sat outside while he worked on my computer. It was really cool because he told me what he was going to do before he did it. To pull data from a laptop you have to unscrew a panel and remove the hard drive--which sounds kinda scary! Since the laptop was in working order and just needed photos on a deadline he just grabbed those off my hard drive for me. So I can share these awesome experiences with you! So if you are in the Central FL-Orlando Area and need some computer help he is CompTIA A+ certified just contact me on twitter and I will get you in touch with him!! So yeah thanks to Robert I now have my old photos from UF Vet School yay!

Last week was the stories of the deer and kangaroo. This week is the white bengal tiger and the cougar. The cougar was actually a little frightening. The tiger didn't shake me in the least. My boyfriend is still annoyed that I helped with these animals. He doesn't want me to get eaten. I share his sentiments, but come on! What an experience!!

The bengal tiger was a gorgeous boy. He was 10 months old and belonged to a circus, I can't remember if it was Barnum and Bailey or Ringling or what. I know it was a circus or some place with performing cats. The poor guy had broken his tibia and fibula (hind leg bones). He was brought to UF Zoo medicine for care. To top it all off the young cub also had a calcium deficiency making it more difficult to heal his broken leg. He was in a large cast and on cage rest as well as medications. Since we were small animal our job was just to go in there at night and check on him. Make sure he didn't chew his cast or run out of water. He was a very sweet boy, very very gentle. We never actually went into the cage with him but interacted from outside and we could scratch his chin through the bars of his cage. He never tried to grab us (although he couldn't fit his front legs thru the bars) or bite us.  It was really really really cool to work with him even on the limited basis.

The cougar on the other hand was an awesome experience but I was on edge the entire time. It was tranquilized thankfully. Actually it was on a CRI (constant rate infusion) of propofol. Which is an injectable anesthetic commonly used in humans and animals, I'm sure most of you have heard of it somewhere. So she was on that as well as other medications. This was actually someone’s pet. Apparently it would sleep in bed with its owners. Crazy! The cat's name was Cayla and she had anal fissures (tears in lining of anus...owwie!) and an infection. So she had to be on IV antibiotics, pain medications, as well as anesthetics because she was sweet to her owners but to other people she was a regular cougar. We never had a problem with her or her anesthesia. And I would never have been super nervous if they didn't make such a big deal about the dart gun. Yeah, a dart gun. Although the big cat was hooked up to tons of drugs on the off chance that she woke up we had to be provided with a dart gun. We were shown how to take it from the briefcase thing it came in, screw it together, load the dart, and shoot. After zoo med left my shift mate and I alone with this giant anesthetized cat I took one look at Cayla, looked at the dart gun, looked at my shift mate and said "Fuck the dart gun, if that things wakes up I'm gonna bash it in the head with the defibrillator." It literally took like 3-5 minutes to put the gun together and load it. Annnnd we weren't allowed to have it ready with the safety on!!! I love animals and so does she, every single one. But I love my face just the way it is. The lady in the photo is my buddy Sharon who is now in Vet School, sooo proud of her!!

Crazy times at UF Vet Med. Seriously. I may have more to come but we'll just see what happens this coming week.  

Peace. Love. Pawprints

-Lindsay @thecraftafarian

craftafarian.blogspot.com

#nerdsunite

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

What's shakin nerds? This week I'm going to talk about some past experience with exotic animals.

Super super cool! 

So most of this takes place at the University of Florida. I worked in their Veterinary Medical Center, Small Animal Hospital ICU/CC (intensive care unit/critical care) for almost 2 years. Although much of the experience I had with their management was abso-fucking-lutely horrible, the medical experience I gained far out weighed the emotional and mental trauma I endured. Now most of my direct patients were only dogs and cats but sometimes Zoological Medicine/Exotics would either have a patient in ICU (for better care then the zoo ward-no overnight care) or I would end up in Zoo med because they didn't have any overnight technicians to help them. 

Some of the most memorable cases were: the kangaroo in ICU, the wild doe in the zoo ward, the white bengal tiger in zoo ward, and the cougar in ICU. 

The kangaroo was in ICU because he needed to get fluids, plasma, and other medications usually all at the same time. So we had to place a central line which is a special intravenous catheter that is placed in the jugular vein. It has multiple ports that empty into the vein separately so the solutions are not mixed.  

The photo is of me leaning in his little cage. Unfortunately I  don't remember his name, I believe he belonged to a zoo or exotic handler. He did well and was eventually transferred back to zoo ward and went home.

The deer was a wild doe that was hit by a car. A good Samaritan (its what we call them in the vet world, and originally it is a bible reference) saw her get hit and brought her into the hospital on emergency. The driver of the car that hit the doe drove away. The man who brought her in also saw her fawn so he went back to find the baby who was hiding at the time. The veterinarian on call for zoo med came down to ICU to get some help. I volunteered. (I like doing different things) The vet asked the vet student (always a vet student on call during the weekend as well as vet) to put in a jugular catheter but she was unable to do so. He asked me to. At this time in my career I had never placed a jugular catheter, tons of regular IV catheters in the legs and even ears. Yes, ears. Some dogs like basset hounds have big floppy ears which also have a nice little vein that can be used if needed. Well I figured it would be just like the other catheters only a much larger target. I never told the vet or the vet student that I hadn't done this before, because essentially I have, just not in this vessel. And I was successful! Unfortunately the doe had to be euthanized as she was fatally injured. The nice man who saved her from suffering was able to save her fawn. 

There's always happy and sad times in my job. 

FYI I only have one actual picture from this time to share currently but next week I should have more. My old laptop is not charged and like a very very bad nerd I didn't not back up any of my files so they are currently trapped on a computer that I cannot turn on. Annnnd the charger is MIA. I'm pretty sure someone borrowed it....like a while ago....ALSO I contacted my Senior Vet Tech/good friend (she was the lead tech on our shift until she went on maternity leave and then I became lead tech) and asked her to email me any photos she has from when we worked together. 

Anyway, the big cats will be next time! I MUST have photos of the kitties to show you with the post. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair :)

OMG! And let us never forget how AMAZING social media is because I posted on twitter and facebook that I needed to borrow a charger for an old compaq presario V5000 model--low and behold help has arrived!!! It isn't in the form of a charger but a facebook/IRL friend from high school contacted me and let me know that he has a compTIA A+ certification. So basically he's going to pull all the data off my old laptop for me even if we can't turn it on. Will only take about 30 minutes and he said NO CHARGE!! AMAZING! Do you know how much this usually costs? To copy over a hard drive? Its apparently called data recovery. I did a quick check online and it can cost up to $350. I may have to buy this dude some starbucks!

Yaaay!! Peace. Love. Pawprints.

-Lindsay @thecraftafarian

craftafarian.blogspot.com

#nerdsunite