Cheesehead Vet Student in OZ: 2014 In The Making: The Highs and Lows

Hey Everyone!

I was going to wait until I finished my "New Years Post" but I realised that its already two weeks into January and that post still isn't close to finished so I will tell you all my news now:

On Wednesday January 8th, 2014 I took my first supplementary exam EVER. It was a shock to say the least. Once that shock subsided and I focused on my studies I realised even with moving so many times this year some of the material actually sunk in. I didn't have to start at square one and that maybe relearning all this NeuroPhysiology at a slower pace would be a good thing. I am confident that I will see neurological cases in my future career and it was really good for me to get a second chance at the material. Even with that said I never want to sit a supp exam ever again! To much pressure and my future on the line… not a fan…. Whether I was ready or not, I took the exam and to my surprise I PASSED!!! I actually got in the 70s which is really good in Australia! :) The worst thing about the supp is that no matter how good I did, I am only awarded a 50%. So even with my midterm that was in the 80s and with my original final (46%) I would have ended up in the 60s for a final grade; however now my transcript says Unit Pass with a 50%… ehhh!! If I would stop moving so much and would have gotten in the 70s the first time around on my final I would have been looking at a Distinction for my final mark in the class! OH well… I AM STILL IN VET SCHOOL AND CAN MOVE ON TO SECOND YEAR WHICH IS AWESOME-SAUCE!!!! :) :) :) Upon reflection, out of everything I have done and have gone through this year I am really surprised I only had to sit one supp exam! Worst school year of my life in terms of my performance and I can't wait to kick some Vet School butt!!

The news of my passing the supp exam came one day later, Thursday the 9th. Thursday started off as bad as any day could…. with the passing away of Piggles The Kow Spotted Kat! For anyone who doesn't know, I brought home two, one-week old kittens who had been found in a field and turned into my work. The smaller black one I named Pepper and am pretty sure it was a female, and the black and white fat boy I named Piggles. They were so small and their umbilical cords hadn't even fallen off yet!! OH and I am pretty sure they were born on Christmas or right around then. Piggles was immediately good at suckling and always wanted to eat (every 2 hours that is), but tiny Pepper didn't really have a good suckle reflex. It took a bit of work and she finally figured it out but she would only eat a few mL and then be done where as Piggles ate at least double what she would. After a few days of no sleep, constantly making sure their bed was warm, I came home from an 8 hour shift on New Years day to watch Pepper take her last breath in my hands. It was the most precious yet devastating thing I have ever experienced in my life. And to think the first time using my Vet School stethoscope was to hear the last 10 heartbeats of baby Pepper… It was so unexpected! I knew she was small and weak, but I just didn't see that coming that day… A very sad ending to a new year. Brian and I drove to our favourite hang out, walked for a bit, cried and said our last goodbyes and put her to rest. The next day and a half Piggles constantly searched for his sister and was so distraught! nothing would stop his whining and searching until the magical tank top! I had Piggles on my chest to bottle feed him and after he was done eating he snuggled up to my heart and while I was holding him he slowly sank into my tank top between my "TaTa's" as my aunt and mother call them! He stayed there for hours and just slept!! It was the first rest he had gotten in days! However, it was now January 2nd and my exam was on the 8th, so I handed Piggles off to a coworker so I could rest and study! :) So as soon as my exam was finished I rushed to my work to see Piggles once more… It was incredible how much I missed such a tiny little being!! <3 Upon retrieval he had gone severely down hill, He had to be tube fed a few times because he stopped suckling after his stomach became blocked and he had developed a pretty severe ataxic shaking (most likely cerebellar disease) and he was SOOO thin. :( I took him home to try my hardest to give him a fighting chance. I drove immediately to one of the bigger pet stores in town and had to get a wallaby/small kangaroo type nipple which is really soft rubber and really long and thin type of teat. By the end of the night Piggles was making huge improvement and actually got a few good suckles out of the new nipple. After checking on him every hour throughout the night (not actually waking him, but moving him back to the warmth) because he kept crawling to the door of the kennel he was in and purposely go away from the heating pads, but he was so sick that he was not yet producing sufficient body heat on his own yet! By 5am I had to tube feed him again, and by 8am he was taking his last breath in my hands. Again it was one of the most heart wrenching things I had ever gone through and Brian was at work, not by my side unlike last time :( Piggles and I went through this together. Squirt (AKA: Little Man) was also there from around 730 trying desperately to get Piggles to make a whimper, he was licking him so much and trying to toilet him, but my little piggie just couldn't fight any longer and it was weird, I think Squirt knew when it was about to happen because he gave Piggles one really cute rub and lick on the head and left my bedroom. It was then that Piggles took a big sigh, one last breath and was gone. Brian got off work, and we went to go place Piggles to rest with his sister. In all of this, I am such a proud momma of Squirt and I know my aussie bestie, his other mommy (mommy #1) is proud as well. Squirt was such an amazing foster father to those two little babies. He was fascinated with toiling them and making sure they were alright when they cried. I know his ultimate goal was to get some of the bottle milk (which is FREAKED out for when he first saw the bottle again) but he contained his jealousy and wants, to take care of their needs! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen out of a 3 month old UN-NEUTERED MALE CAT!!!! He must have remembered the agony of nappie-rash that he suffered since he didn't have another kitty to clean him and humans can only do so much with cloth and baths for a kitten. Oh I mean diaper rash for all my North American readers :)

In the end I allowed myself to be sad for one whole day, but after that its about celebrating their short lives. I loved them and did all I could for them. I know their lives were better with me than dieing together cold in a field where their mommy left them. Maybe she knew something we didn't and left them on purpose, but I had to give them my best. And I will do it over and over again. :) Saving their lives, even if for a short time, gives so much meaning to my life and my time on this planet.

Veterinary Medicine is where I belong.