Well, ... eyes. In fact lately I have had quite a few interesting opthalmologic cases which I could not refer so I had to deal with them on the spot. Thou I have consulted the diplomat specialist on one in particular.
I had 2 corneal ulcers. One was old and superficial and multiple attempts of conservative management failed. The eye kept staining with fluorescein, thru many frustrating weeks of believing it can be managed without surgery.
The other one was new and acute, a good case of desmetocel turned anterior chamber prolapse with some iris in the equation in an 8 month puppy.
I did in both a procedure, quite straightforward, which I've come to love...a 3rd eyelid flap. Technique is important, as tension applied had to be just right; owner compliance ever so important as after care as eye drops and E-collar is vital; and another new trick is the usage of own patient serum alternatively with antibiotics;
Both of them healed well after 3 weeks of the flap in place. Even the nasty iris one healed well, with a good new scar but still, healed!
Another cool one, a case of Horner's syndrome in a 5 year old male neutered Dobermann; was a bit puzzled with that but after reviewing some neuro-ophtalmology and the nervous path way (long live Predoi..NOT:) all became more clearer.
And outside of the eyes, we had a magic case of a diaphragmatic hernia in a 3 month puppy...a very nasty one that made it succesfully.... more of that in a later episode.
And 3 cheers to my current favourite drug... long live Dopram. Respiratory stimulant that is a God sent:)
Monday, 3 November 2008
Wednesday, 22 October 2008
Pictures at last...and more to come
It took some time, and lots of trials and tribulations with an otherwise very friendly tool, Picasa and finally here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/turcoaz . I plan to make this my virtual space for posting my pics for the future, in a very careful selection that is.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Saturday, 4 October 2008
1 in 4 Saturdays in my little island
Every 1 in 4 Saturdays, my turns comes for a working Saturday. We all have a big dislike for the day... not only you're working when most of the people are not, but the whole clinic is up to one vet to manage, which happens to be ... you, and apart from that the whole of George Town rushes in Saturday mornings to solve issues which they haven't had time to solve during the week.
It all starts at 6.15, out of bed, scrubs on, quick breakfast and the drive to work. Still have time to appreciate the scenery, the sea so peaceful in the mornings, as i drive right by, taking the slightly longer road to work. All to postpone the unavoidable...the following 9-11 hours of rush.
I drive by, look at the sea, the palm trees, the odd jogger (why don't they sleep???), and before i know it, I'm at work.
I don't have much time. I have an hour to finish the morning rounds, which is not a lot, and which means taking the files of every single animal in the hospital, making notes of each one's evolution from the previous day, giving the medication and deciding discharge, changes of treatment, etc. etc. I don't always get to finish in that small hour, despite the fact that I run around as fast as I can, but sometimes the sheer number of patients is too much. If I don't finish, I have to come in and out of appointments and finish the rounds.
Time runs, it's already 8 o'clock. The gates officially open. People sometimes queue up since 10-15 minutes ago, and before I know it, I already have 3 files lined up, waiting for me to call them in and do whatever everybody needs.
It doesn't stop for the next 6 hours. People line up, my stress levels used to go sky high when the files pile up and I had 5-6 waiting....now I am more cool about it, I just take each case at a turn and focus on that specific one. I have to see appointments, which tend normally to be yearly examinations, but also walk-ins, people that have an urgent problem and called in the day before to be seen, and on top of that if there is any big emergency coming in, like a road traffic accident, I have to drop everything off and solve that one and then come back to the waiting people. It feels like MASH for most of the time, except there is no Alan Alda around, but a receptionist that is just as hectic as I am, checking people in, answering the phone calls, trying to calm down the nervous people that have been waiting for an hour by now:)
At one the gates close officially, and that leaves me to finish off the rest of the waiting people. It's been 5 hours of non stop talking, so by the end I feel myself not being coherent. I fight that as much as I can:)
So typically around 2 the appointments finish. It's the time to go back in the main hospital area, and start doing all the animals that need further attention...x-rays, blood work, etc. They are either in-patients or patients that i have saved for later during the morning appointments.
In the same time, I am officially on-call after one, so I have to keep handy the on-call phone and make sure I answer it.
A good Saturday will not involve major surgery...but you never know.
Typically around 4 I finish everything...and I can start the afternoon rounds. Again the files, notes, the evening meds...
And so, around 5.30-6 pm a optimistic vet gets into the car to drive off at home into the sunset...which does not mean I will not have to come back within 3 minutes, (remember I am still on call? anything can happen. anything!), 2 hours, 5 hours, middle of the night....
or hopefully only the next morning when I have to turn the phone in....and I am off the hook!
By then, however, I am totally drained of energy, but I still can't help to enjoy my Sunday in the Caribbean. I love my diving on Sunday mornings, and the quiet underworld where there are no phones or emergencies:)
It all starts at 6.15, out of bed, scrubs on, quick breakfast and the drive to work. Still have time to appreciate the scenery, the sea so peaceful in the mornings, as i drive right by, taking the slightly longer road to work. All to postpone the unavoidable...the following 9-11 hours of rush.
I drive by, look at the sea, the palm trees, the odd jogger (why don't they sleep???), and before i know it, I'm at work.
I don't have much time. I have an hour to finish the morning rounds, which is not a lot, and which means taking the files of every single animal in the hospital, making notes of each one's evolution from the previous day, giving the medication and deciding discharge, changes of treatment, etc. etc. I don't always get to finish in that small hour, despite the fact that I run around as fast as I can, but sometimes the sheer number of patients is too much. If I don't finish, I have to come in and out of appointments and finish the rounds.
Time runs, it's already 8 o'clock. The gates officially open. People sometimes queue up since 10-15 minutes ago, and before I know it, I already have 3 files lined up, waiting for me to call them in and do whatever everybody needs.
It doesn't stop for the next 6 hours. People line up, my stress levels used to go sky high when the files pile up and I had 5-6 waiting....now I am more cool about it, I just take each case at a turn and focus on that specific one. I have to see appointments, which tend normally to be yearly examinations, but also walk-ins, people that have an urgent problem and called in the day before to be seen, and on top of that if there is any big emergency coming in, like a road traffic accident, I have to drop everything off and solve that one and then come back to the waiting people. It feels like MASH for most of the time, except there is no Alan Alda around, but a receptionist that is just as hectic as I am, checking people in, answering the phone calls, trying to calm down the nervous people that have been waiting for an hour by now:)
At one the gates close officially, and that leaves me to finish off the rest of the waiting people. It's been 5 hours of non stop talking, so by the end I feel myself not being coherent. I fight that as much as I can:)
So typically around 2 the appointments finish. It's the time to go back in the main hospital area, and start doing all the animals that need further attention...x-rays, blood work, etc. They are either in-patients or patients that i have saved for later during the morning appointments.
In the same time, I am officially on-call after one, so I have to keep handy the on-call phone and make sure I answer it.
A good Saturday will not involve major surgery...but you never know.
Typically around 4 I finish everything...and I can start the afternoon rounds. Again the files, notes, the evening meds...
And so, around 5.30-6 pm a optimistic vet gets into the car to drive off at home into the sunset...which does not mean I will not have to come back within 3 minutes, (remember I am still on call? anything can happen. anything!), 2 hours, 5 hours, middle of the night....
or hopefully only the next morning when I have to turn the phone in....and I am off the hook!
By then, however, I am totally drained of energy, but I still can't help to enjoy my Sunday in the Caribbean. I love my diving on Sunday mornings, and the quiet underworld where there are no phones or emergencies:)
Saturday, 20 September 2008
Vet Saturdays ...
I don't think many people out there have the 'privilege' to enjoy Saturday afternoons at work from time to time.. but there you go, for us, the vets, that's part of life... Not the nicest, though! So this is why I'm posting on the blog at 4.30pm on a sunnny Saturday, because I'm actually in the practice where I work, unlike the happy British people roaming around and feeling hot with these unbelievable 18 degrees that have come as a surprise after a 'summer' with mean temperatures of 15 degrees. And there you go, the phone rings... I'll leave you all until tomorrow, cause it will be Sunday, won't it? - and of course I'm working until 6pm... ghrrrr... :))
Sunday, 14 September 2008
Sziget fest 2008
10-18 Aug, a week of fun!
If you're looking for a holiday to relax and rest, than surely Sziget festival is not the place to go! The festival takes place on an island on the Danube and this year reached it's maximum number of visitors, more than 385 000 peoples, most of them Hungarians and French.
The usual Sziget fest day starts with drinking your coffee as you stand in line for showers, which takes about 20 minutes of standing in the hot hot sun. The water should be hot but the boilers are no match for the huge filthy croud.
:))
Then u can visit Budapest, or go to the supermarket to buy food, or stay on the island where there are many things to experience, like drawing, making your own earings or clothing from recycled materials, body painting, bunjee jumping, climbing, visit the luminarium or different exhibitions, shopping and so on.
Starting 3:00 p.m. there are live performances to go to, on more than 10 different stages, so there's plenty to choose from and no way to see everything you'd like. Among others, we saw Alanis Morisette, Goran Bregovic and REM. After 00:30, the best party is at Roma tent, where everybody's dancing like crazy on Gipsy rhythms, performed mostly by East European Bands.
After that, you can either dance all night (you've got many discotheques to choose from) or go to sleep..
..home sweet home!
To conclude, I definitely recommend it to all party lovers out there ;)
If you're looking for a holiday to relax and rest, than surely Sziget festival is not the place to go! The festival takes place on an island on the Danube and this year reached it's maximum number of visitors, more than 385 000 peoples, most of them Hungarians and French.
The usual Sziget fest day starts with drinking your coffee as you stand in line for showers, which takes about 20 minutes of standing in the hot hot sun. The water should be hot but the boilers are no match for the huge filthy croud.
:))
Then u can visit Budapest, or go to the supermarket to buy food, or stay on the island where there are many things to experience, like drawing, making your own earings or clothing from recycled materials, body painting, bunjee jumping, climbing, visit the luminarium or different exhibitions, shopping and so on.
Starting 3:00 p.m. there are live performances to go to, on more than 10 different stages, so there's plenty to choose from and no way to see everything you'd like. Among others, we saw Alanis Morisette, Goran Bregovic and REM. After 00:30, the best party is at Roma tent, where everybody's dancing like crazy on Gipsy rhythms, performed mostly by East European Bands.
After that, you can either dance all night (you've got many discotheques to choose from) or go to sleep..
..home sweet home!
To conclude, I definitely recommend it to all party lovers out there ;)
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Post hurricane
From the category "all is well when ends well" so was hurricane Gustav, at least as the Cayman Islands are concerned. Everybody was super prepared, and all activity has ceased during the storm. Winds of up to 70 km/h, some rain, water level rising quite a lot, but in the end, all finished without consequence and the sun is out again. And so are the usual invited visitors, like this huuuge male crab from the above picture.
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