I almost went to bed at 6:30 tonight. I am so, so tired. But then pizza was delivered and I was more interested in food than sleep.
Today was a good day. I got up at about 8 and said screw you to lecture capture. Instead, I leisurely studied for Radiology so I could get the damn quiz out of the way before Nesmith's appointment.In the middle my studying, Amber came over, as she had the day off, and she brought Granny Donuts! Granny Donuts is my favorite place to get donuts in the area. They are more delicious than they should be and incredibly inexpensive. Amber had never been there and was disappointed that they were out of the more exciting flavors but she got some raised glazed ones, which are my all time favorite, so I was super psyched. I took a study break and hung out with she and Aaron while we ate delicious donuts. They really hit the spot. I went back to studying, while they hung out some more. I eventually took the quiz and huzzah! One thing down!
Eventually, it was time to take Nesmith in for his echocardiogram. I was so nervous. I love that little dog so much and had this great fear that he would get really sick and I wouldn't be able to spend time with him because I was doing my 4th year rotations. I really didn't want that to happen. Mum and I got to the clinic and everyone was really happy to see me. I only worked there for a few months (had have been bringing my little troublemakers there since I was 4), but it felt really nice. When Tina saw me, she came out and gave me a big hug. It was exactly what I needed. It's always comforting when someone who knows you need a hug gives you one, but when someone who has no clue does so it's somehow even more wonderful. Plus I've missed her and it was nice to know she missed me too :)
Dr. R, the traveling ultrasonographer, showed up shortly after we did and set up his equipment and we went back to the treatment room. Nesmith was a wiggly little beasty at first but eventually calmed down and was a perfect patient. Dr. R was the perfect doctor for this. He's one of those people who exudes calm. He's efficient but takes the time to explain everything he's doing and seeing. And that wasn't because I'm a vet student as I didn't tell him. I hope to eventually be that good at describing things to clients when I'm out in the real world.
Nesmith has a grade 4/6 heart murmur in his mitral valve, the valve that is between his left atria and left ventricle. It's the most common places to get a murmur. The murmur results in regurgitation of blood from the left ventricle back into the atrium and has caused the left atrium to become slightly enlarged, just barely enough to make it cause his coughing. This is GREAT news! It's not a bad kind of murmur, it hasn't cause too much damage, he has no signs of congestive heart failure, and a the degree of his murmur isn't that unusual for a 10 year old dog. Dr. R put him on enalapril, an ACE inhibitor, for its effects on lowering blood pressure, which will help his heart pump more efficiently and decrease the amount of regurgitation into the atrium.
He went up to get billing straightened out while mum and I reveled in the good diagnosis. When he came back he said "So, you're a third year veterinary student, eh? Well, I charged you a recheck fee instead of a new patient exam and took a little off of that too." What? He did not have to do that. How incredibly nice! It was the icing on the cake. Then asked about how school was going and such and it made me feel great because he said that the exam schedule is ridiculous and you pretty much shove all the info into your head for an exam and then it all falls out as soon as you've finished taking it. That is exactly how I feel and it's nice to hear someone who knows what they're doing say that. He said that the important things get hammered into your head during rotations and you figure the rest out as you practice. He wished me good luck and I thanked him profusely.
I am so relieved. I have no words. And I keep tearing up because everything turned out for the best and everyone was so incredibly nice today.
It's time to go curl up in bed and doze off to something happy :)
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