Season's Greetings

Re: Season's Greetings

Jo Cobbett — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:50:34 GMT

[quote user="Wren"]

Off to see the cow that's been down for 3 days now.

[/quote]

I can beat that. We had a call on Christmas day from a client because their dog hadn't eaten for 2 weeks. Why on earth wait until Christmas day to ring us?!

Re: Season's Greetings

Arlo Guthrie — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:41:00 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Perhaps the excitement of it all triggered the cluster[/quote]

Not convinced. In my daughter's case, seems either completely random, or correlated with infection / raised body temperature.

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]your's is not a very happy time and I'm sure all of us have a lot of sympathy for you and your family.[/quote]

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I hope you managed a happy Christmas despite your daughter's illness[/quote]

Thank you both. Yes, we did have a very happy Christmas. Thankfully the day itself was seizure free, which made it easier for us, though she was pretty bombed out by the multiple seizures of the day before, so she didn't really understand enough to enjoy the day as much as everyone else.

[quote user="Anthony Todd"]

It struck me that you might be in a good position to comment on the NHS and/or the medical profession, rather than the usual or often one-sided uninformed opinions.

I'd be interested, for one, if you can bear to put it all down. We may learn how to deal better with similar situations in practice.[/quote]

Hmm. Slightly worried about taking this thread off on a tangent to 'Season's Greetings'!

I have nothing but good things to say about the medical profession. I think that is for a variety of reasons, but chiefly because when it is a child involved, everyone involved really goes the extra mile (and I mean EVERYONE from the hospital cleaner to the specialist). Plus we were extremely lucky to get Emily in front of the leading epilepsy specialist in the UK - initially privately, now under the auspices of the NHS. That was sheer good fortune, but it has nevertheless been a great comfort to us.

I've been wracking my brains trying to think what if anything a veterinary surgeon might learn from our experiences. Two things spring to mind. The first (when appropriate) is to refer to the best. As I said earlier, it has been a great comfort knowing that our specialist is at the top of her game, and a) she knows ALL the options, and b) she will be amongst the first to know of any new developments anywhere in the world. The second thing is the paramount importance of good, PLAIN ENGLISH communication with the patient/parent/owner, particularly when discussing an unfavourable prognosis. Example: we were told to prepare for the fact that our child may have "learning difficulties". Learning difficulties? I thought that meant a difficulty with algebra. Big deal. I now discover it is a euphemism for something far worse. That has been difficult to come to terms with, and I wish it had been better communicated at the outset.

Re: Season's Greetings

Anthony Todd — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:41:17 GMT

Arlo, your's is not a very happy time and I'm sure all of us have a lot of sympathy for you and your family.

It struck me that you might be in a good position to comment on the NHS and/or the medical profession, rather than the usual or often one-sided uninformed opinions.

I'd be interested, for one, if you can bear to put it all down. We may learn how to deal better with similar situations in practice.

Re: Season's Greetings

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:00:45 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]Very Happy Christmas to one and all. Looks like I'm on call of sorts this year - sod's law that for the third year in succession, my daughter has timed a seizure cluster to coincide with the 24th and 25th! Still, over the last 3 years, it's gone from being a daily occurrence to once every 10 days or so, which is cause to celebrate.

[/quote]. Perhaps the excitement of it all triggered the cluster. I hope you managed a happy Christmas despite your daughter's illness Arlo, it makes the family being together at this time all the more special.

Not wishing to belittle your problem, over the last few years my mother-in-law made a habit of always getting ill and being hospitalised over Christmas, to the extent it became a family joke about booking her bed for the 24th. Sadly last year she had the last laugh, went in a week early and died on Christmas Eve. It actually made things better because we didn't have to visit her Christmas Day. Thoughts of Spike Milligan's headstone sprang to mind! It seems the family tradition is being continued as my wife got ill this year, not so bad she was hospitalised despite a monumental nose bleed but enough to make us all feel guilty about enjoying ourselves. Well you have to look on the bright side of life don't you?

Re: Season's Greetings

Wren — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:28:30 GMT

It's OK, she's been and gone now. Car wouldn't start so had to walk 30mins to get here. Didn't think to ring and let me know... and she's a secondary school teacher! Dog looks better than it ought to too (walk probably cured it) so all's reasonably well. Off to see the cow that's been down for 3 days now. I will get breakfast eventually.

Re: Season's Greetings

Alan Tevendale — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 09:00:22 GMT

Merry Chrismas everyone.

Unlucky with the Chocolate dog! Bah humbug indeed.

On second call today so crossing fingers. Probably all waiting for me to be on first tomorrow.

Re: Season's Greetings

Wren — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 08:39:59 GMT

Merry bloody Christmas. Sitting at the surgery waiting for a client to arrive. They're now half an hour later than they said and I don't have a mobile number for them. When I say 'client'... it's an elderly collie, owners gone on holiday for Xmas, left dog with firend. Dog ate 100g bar of Grren and Blacks fancy drakest chocolate from under tree - LAST NIGHT. Person looking after dog has just found out that chocolate is toxic to dogs, doesn't know which vet the owner uses and has rung us. Bah humbug.

Re: Season's Greetings

james herriot lied — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 07:30:09 GMT

morning all

just typing this on my new tablet, which i havent quite mastered. kids up for two hours, no work till new years eve, full log pile and wine cellar. life is good

happy christmas to all

Re: Season's Greetings

Charlotte Marshall — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 23:07:11 GMT

Happy Christmas everybody.

I have had the Christmas pyo already. Sent it home at 7.30 this evening and off now till Thursday as the practice we share with is on call Yahoo! I just have New Years Eve on call to look forward to

Re: Season's Greetings

Busybee — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:43:52 GMT

Off tomorrow, on call Boxing Day. Was on Christmas Day last year and didn't have to see anything.

Had a very quiet day today too -clocked up 5 tea-breaks!

Re: Season's Greetings

Stephen Courtney — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:34:15 GMT

Poking the Christmas dinner is exactly what i usually do - didn't bad an eyelid when i read that! this year i have downsized as most of my extended family is abroad with their extended family on the other side, so just me, mother and an elderly chihua and boarding hamster,

so mine is just a roast chicken, basic trimmings, and lashings of ale. Woohoo!

Re: Season's Greetings

Mark Hedberg — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 21:22:08 GMT

Dunno, I thought it worked! :)

Re: Season's Greetings

emma o'connor — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:59:38 GMT

Whoops meant cooking the dinner.....damned iPad and predictive text!!!

Re: Season's Greetings

emma o'connor — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:59:02 GMT

Hectic day here as well, having a relaxing night at home tonight then on duty from 9am tomorrow until 9 am Boxing Day. Have a good hubbie poking the Xmas dinner and primed to bring mine into work if needed!! Merry Christmas

Re: Season's Greetings

Sarah Keir — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 17:40:50 GMT

Anyone else had a hectic day? Half the vets are on holiday so the rest of us doubly busy to start with and then RTA, fitting cat, ex lap kitten, dying animals that needed PTS weeks ago, PTS because cat messing in house..... Bah, humbug! Now on call and working tomorrow and coming down with fluey cold, again....

Re: Season's Greetings

ashvetenry — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 16:53:20 GMT

[quote user="ashvetenry"]

6 hours!!! Then off for a week- 4 years in a row, can't be bad.

[/quote]

Spoke to soon- ketotic dog with mega abcess,aagh! Was just too smug.

Merry Christmas all.

Re: Season's Greetings

Alan Tevendale — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 13:31:28 GMT

Merry Christmas everyone. Working this year so looking forward to Hogmanay up in Scotland.

All the best, particularly to you Arlo. Thanks for another great year on Vetsurgeon and all the best to your daughter over the next few days.

Re: Season's Greetings

Arlo Guthrie — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:31:36 GMT

Very Happy Christmas to one and all. Looks like I'm on call of sorts this year - sod's law that for the third year in succession, my daughter has timed a seizure cluster to coincide with the 24th and 25th! Still, over the last 3 years, it's gone from being a daily occurrence to once every 10 days or so, which is cause to celebrate.

Re: Season's Greetings

ashvetenry — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 10:40:24 GMT

6 hours!!! Then off for a week- 4 years in a row, can't be bad.

Re: Season's Greetings

CatherineThomas — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 10:02:53 GMT

Merry Chrsitmas everyone!

Fortunately we don't do on call but I have got to work all day today until 7, with no ops and only 2 appointments this afternoon so far. Although now I've said that there's bound to be a pyo and a GDV turn up at the same time as an RTA.

Re: Season's Greetings

Malcolm Ness — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 09:19:28 GMT

A little (true) Christmas story.

We are lucky enough to live in a village in mid Northumberland. At the centre of our village (in every sense) is "David's shop". David is an old-fashioned grocer, everybody's friend, who stocks just about anything and everything you might ever need - our entire Christmas food shop was done by giving David a list last week and when we collected the boxes this morning there was an "optional" box of things that he thought we might have forgotten - not a hard-sell ploy just stuff like bin bags, toothpaste and washing powder that we had indeed forgotten. Over the years, David has taken on other duties like meeting kids off the school bus, collecting prescriptions for anyone that can't get to the pharmacy and whenever he drives his van to the wholesaler in Newcastle he acts as an unpaid taxi service for one or other of the less affluent families in the district. Despite the last few days being a very busy time for him, he has managed to deliver by hand the orders of the house-bound and, no doubt, he found time for a cup of tea and a chat with each and every one of them.

Unfortunately, some in the village know the cost of everything but the value of nothing and they can't see that a village grocer is always going to be a little more expensive than an out of town supermarket.. One such couple, lets call them Mr and Mrs Cost-Of-Everything-Value-Of-Nothing, are empty-nester school teachers and consequently short of neither time nor money. They live next to the Church and very close to David's shop. So close, that when the Tesco Direct van drew up to their house on Saturday morning, there was a detectable frisson of un-Christmassy annoyance in the village. It was very, very windy on Saturday morning. In fact, it was so windy that a large branch broke from a tree in the Churchyard that fell against the windscreen of Mr and Mrs C-O-E-V-O-N's car smashing it into a million pieces - pieces which scattered around the tyres of the Tesco direct van delaying its onward journey by more than two hours.

God moves in mysterious ways.

Happy Christmas!

Re: Season's Greetings

James Laidlaw — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:40:34 GMT

3 hours today then 2 days off. Best Christmas wishes to all on here, even red star man/woman!

Re: Season's Greetings

mariette asselbergs — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:10:43 GMT

And me, we always have our first sheep caesar on boxing day (with the same client), so always a festive day!

Best wishes to everybody

Mariette

Re: Season's Greetings

KathW — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 07:37:33 GMT

Me too

Re: Season's Greetings

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 23:56:45 GMT

Yes - Merry Christmas to all.

So who's on call? (I am )