Now, I will start off by saying that the Lord recently blessed me with a job at a vet clinic in Athens. I am thoroughly enjoying it and I reckon I knew I would. Well, I am the kind of person that can handle gross or bloody situations. I have been the recipient of a wounded toe (see earlier posting "Who stole my big toe"), I have delivered baby goats, I have doctored many "boo-boos" of my siblings and critters, and I am fine with all that. Now, I thought I would be fine in the Vet clinic too. I thought "Surgeries.... No Problem." I knew I would be assisting in these and I thought I would be just fine. After all, it's not like I'm scared of blood.
No, it has nothing to do with blood. Dental cleanings on a dog are not bloody, but I still almost hit the floor. Spays and Neuters are a little bloody, but not in excess. I still had to take a seat on the surgery room floor. What is wrong with me??
So Dr. Liebl is performing a Dental on a little Beagle mix, I am holding the dog's tongue out of his way. I'm fine. I'm OK.....But now everything is getting a little blurry. I am hot. No, I am sweating. Some water would be nice. Or, to be honest, why don't you just pour a bucket onto my head. I start swaying. Dr. Liebl looks at my face and says
"You Ok?"
"No" -I am not the kind of person that likes to admit to not being "OK", but I knew if I wasn't honest, then he would soon have to be picking me up off the floor.
"Are ya feelin' faint?"
"Yessir"
"Henry!!! Come help me hold this dog. Jessica, you sit down."
I did as he said, quite thankfully, and stayed there til he was done.
How embarrassing!!
I was so upset. Why couldn't I just handle it? I am not a squeemish girl in any way.
In my life I have been bitten by a chpmunk, sqiurrel, and even an otter. I have caught snakes, I love to run after Anole lizards, and I find hunting for crawdads a fun endeavor. Like I mentioned, I have delivered goats, and I give our critters their vaccinaations. I just have no good reason to be acting so foolishly in the vet clinic. But I can't help it. It is not really something that you can control.
On the other hand, we had a cat come in the other day with an infected wound. Dr. Hendrix had to cut open the wound and flush it with iodine. He had to squeeze it and make all the blood and infection come out. Then he injected it with antibiotic. I was right there watching it all, very fascinated, and I was fine. I really was. And that was bloody.
So I just don't know what to make of it all. Maybe it is the smell of Ketamine or the lights that makes me go. But then only sometimes it does. I asked Dr. Liebl if I would ever get over this nonsense, and he said I would. He asked me if I was anemic, I said no, but I told him I do get faint at other times. For instance, I almost hit the ground when I was in the barn one time, for no apparent reason. One time in the store I got pretty close,too. Maybe I just have "low sugar blood content" in the words of Barney Fife.
I really don't know, but be aware of this, I will always do my best to sit down(whether on the surgery room floor or wherever) before I fall down.
