Life, Death, and the Veterinarian

Today euthanasia has been heavy on my mind. I've heard people tell me they could never be a veterinarian because they could never euthanize an animal. Euthanasia is tough...and I hold back tears every time, but I truly believe it's the best option in some cases. After all, when you have an animal who is suffering...who won't even get up to eat or drink because of the pain... how can you prolong its suffering especially if you believe its disease process is terminal? It breaks my heart to leave an animal to suffer just for the sake of prolonging its life.


Anyway.... I'll move on to more cheerful Saturday ramblings. It doesn't feel like Saturday. I was at school for most of the morning, did on paper work for a couple of hours while intermittently napping, and now I'm contemplating cleaning my disaster of an apartment. I have to say I'm ready for Wednesday to get here when I start a new block. I haven't cooked a real dinner in weeks and any sense of nutrition has died... Today I ate three donuts...the first because I was hungry, the second because it was different from the first, and the third because I was sad to be stuck at school (and depressed about one of my cases). They were quite tasty :) Then I had a bowl of cereal, two egg rolls, and a bowl of strawberries for my dinner/lunch.

Plans for the week:
-CLEAN the house!!!!
- Study for Surgery exam
-Study for anesthesia exam
-finish loads of paper work regarding my current patients
-Sunday: 8am-8pm work Equine ICU
-Monday: on call
-Tuesday: Work ICU until 12:30am
-Wednesday: 6:00 care for current patients and transfer to new students. 7:30am Orientation of Oncology! NEW BLOCK!!! And the good news is Oncology patients usually go HOME, and so I MIGHT get a weekend off! HOORAY! I <3 sleep.

Kites, corndogs, tornadoes in a veterinary hospital...and hope

Credits are of course in my Sweet Shoppe Gallery.


This has been a rather challenging block for Chase and I. He's working on a paper, and I'm stuck working with ill-fated, 1200lb animals with hard hooves. I love my primary patient (most of the time), but I'm ready to get to a block where I'm working with dogs and cats again. I'm tired of the on-call and late night ICU shifts...colics and broken legs...and the poop. ANYWAY...enough whing... how about something fun!

A friend and I recently went kite flying just for the sheer fun of it. We had a blast and it brought a bit of joy back into my step. Kites will always be a sign of hope for me now. This last Christmas, Chase prayed to see a sign that everything was going to work out alright in the form of a kite. What did we see on the way to the hospital, but a bright red kite caught in a tree! So that's what I think of when I see a kite. On another note, I prayed for corndogs and mac and cheese for lunch at the Zou yesterday (since I was feeling really stressed with the day). Sure enough, we had just that as the daily special. I know those two examples sound perfectly silly, but when specific (albeit silly) prayers are answered so specifically...I can't help but smile and thank God for the many blessings he's poured out on our lives. Even if Chase and I have some struggles coming up in the future (with careers and whatnot), I know God will see us through.


Today was surreal. I performed anesthesia for an elective procedure on horse this morning...went straight into the hall to take shelter immediately after the fellow was recovered and in his stall. The tornado sirens were on full alarm. What happens at a veterinary teaching hospital during a tornado? Well all 100 students + current clients + patients who are able + clinicians pile into the basement level hall and take cover. It was a zoo! There were students with their precious patients in their arms and nervous looking clients everywhere as clicians tried to finish their examinations in the hall! Luckily no tornado touched down in Columbia, and all animals made it safely back to their crates. As soon as that was over, I rushed in to perform anesthesia on an emergency colic. What a day! I just got home to eat two egg rolls, pile my soiled scrubs into the washer, and take a shower! And the whole crazy cycle will start anew tomorrow morning.

Please pray for Chase as he struggles with his pHD.



Peace and love, y'all. Stay safe with the stormy weather!

The Joy of Nature

These pictures are from last weekend. It was a beautiful trip and I'm enjoying revisiting the pictures. Today I'm feeling a bit run down from all the ICU and on call shifts. I'm so dang tired. I feel like this is the first night off I've had in awhile, and I just can't bring myself to study. Hopefully I'll sneak through rounds tomorrow... I'm on call tomorrow...working ICU on Wednesday until 12:30am...and then I'm on call EVERY FREAKING DAY of the weekend...Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Talk about drawing the short straw... Anyway, the moral of the story is...I'm done with this block emotionally.. BLEH. So ready for the next thing.


Anyway, I wish I had more time to enjoy the beautiful spring, but I'll take what I can get! Enjoy these pictures.... peace and love, y'all

Countdown to graduation (or at least I think what time it will be)....11months, 25 days, 16 hours, and 10 minutes.

Sneaky Chase and Katie

These are both for "big sis"

Chase and I went hiking today, and we came upon a curvy stretch of trail that ran through tall grass. So we made our best sneaky faces and took pictures!

I'm currently on the graveyard shift in Equine ICU. Yay for late nights/early mornings......yup...y a y.

A layout!

I made a layout that I'm really fond of! I entered it into a CT contest. Haha, I doubt I'll make it, but winning the 10 gift card (drawn at random) would be AWESOME! If by some miracle I do end up on her CT, the requirement is 1 layout a week. I think I could do that. It might be really difficult during my surgery block...but that's not for weeks. And besides...you have to have a little fun!

This is a picture of all the little ribbons I left for Chase listing 100 reasons why I love him. Some of them are quite silly ^_^ Credits are over at Sweet Shoppe...and DST.

Ugh...too bad I have school tomorrow. I have ICU duty until 12:30 am tomorrow. It's going to be a long night! Next Saturday I have the 8pm to 8am shift...another long night! Yucko...yuck..yuck. I can't wait to get out of school. I'm never working an overnight shift! And I'm never going on call again! Unless...of course...I'm paid very well for it....VERY WELL.


Oh...well time for bed.