Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Just Another Tuesday? NEVER!

Tuesday can be such a "blah" day. Monday gets to be the day everyone dislikes because it marks the end of the weekend/beginning of the work week. Wednesday (for us) is library and church. Thursday #1 has off and we enjoy the evening together. Friday of course starts off the weekend. But what about Tuesday? Aren't Tuesdays just...forgotten?

Awhile back I had a post called "Just Another Tuesday? Never!" and whenever something 'interesting' happens on a Tuesday, that is what I call those posts. Because I feel bad for Tuesdays.

This week in preschool, Draycare style, we are doing the letters "v" and "w". To go along with the letter "v" I decided we should go visit a veterinarian. We happen to be living next door to a vet, in fact renting from a vet. I called them up to make arrangements and the secretary informed me that school children under 18 were not allowed to have field trips there due to the fact that they could get hurt. School children under 18??? How many are over 18 out there? I know there are some, but really...?

Ok, so I'm sure I could have called a few more vets, but I happen to know the vet in charge of our county animal control. I serve on a steering committee for our county parks and rec that manages/does fund raisers for our dog park, and he is also on the committee. I called them next. We were assured that we could visit, but they were not sure what all they had to offer. Being that we are 3 & 4 years old, I told her we were not expecting too much :o)

I also talked to Doc B. last Thursday about it and he seemed excited to have us come. He mentioned that the kids could pet some animals and listen to their heartbeats through a stethoscope...that sounded just our speed.

The kids were very excited to visit the vet, and we even had to make a quick stop at ALDI (more on that later) and we picked up a box of doggie biscuits. A little "thanks for having us". We pulled into the lot and we had our usual "be polite, be quiet, don't touch unless told it is ok" speech. Everyone was ready to go inside and see what a vet does. Oh my were they going to find out.

So we get in and a nice lady takes us back to pet a friendly kitty. We talk a bit about how these kittys don't all have homes and people will come adopt them. We talk about the litter boxes, water dishes, etc. Then in comes Doc B. He is excited.

We are here just in time he says, he has just put a dog to sleep. I about wet myself. The kids just stared at him. I should have taken a camera, but I forgot...and we really need to keep this blog G so pictures today...not to be posted if I had taken them. He then told the kids the dog was just sleeping, because he was going to have surgery *WHEW*! I was relieved beyond what you can imagine.

He said we could watch the surgery so we all trooped back into a small room where a Pomeranian was laying very dead like on the exam table. The smell was...not great. It was very warm. Doc then proceeded to tell us he was going to neuter this dog. Yep folks, my home daycare/preschool class got to witness firsthand a dog being neutered. Doc explained that this kept the dog from being able to produce more puppies that wouldn't have homes. The kids thought it was a good idea for all puppies to have homes, so he proceeded.

Before I tell you exactly what went on, I have to say I nearly fainted for what I can remember is the first time in my life. I've stood up too fast and blacked out...but this was different. This was everything going swimmy...gray....back to color...sweating like crazy...and thinking I might vomit. I had to leave the operating room and go sit down. I am not squeamish, but I think the heat, smell, and procedure which you will now read about got to this pregnant woman!

The kids watched him scrub in, shave the dog, got an explanation of sterilization of instruments, saw him CUT THE DOG OPEN, remove the testicles, and sew him back up. Then they were introduced to vaccinations (which were given), paperwork, and saw him be microchipped. Then the dog started to wake up and was put into a recovery kennel. I kid you not, that is what the vet had planned for our preschool group. So what did you do this Tuesday?


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On a totally unrelated subject we had not one but 2 doctor's appointments for Little Monkey Man yesterday. He does not have food allergies, but the second doctor isn't convinced that Celiac can be totally ruled out. Evidently the average person who is diagnosed with it isn't diagnosed for 9 years after the symptoms start. It just takes that long to get a positive test. He wants us to put him on a gluten-free diet (including corn products/soy/and oats) for a few weeks and see what happens. If nothing, well then keep looking for something. If his diarrhea clears up, we have an answer. He could just even be wheat intolerant but until we clear it TOTALLY out for awhile we won't know.

So we stopped by a couple of grocery stores (after I did research online along with reading all the doctor's paperwork) to see what he could have. At home we had eggs, bacon, raisins, apples, and carrots. Somehow I thought he needed a bit more in his diet.

This is what we bought. Wheat is in EVERYTHING. If he is lactose intolerant as we suspected before, he is in big trouble because a big part of a gluten-free diet is dairy related. So far no improvement today in diapers...but we know it will take a few days. If the GI doctor was right and his gut just needs to heal, this is also a high-fat, high-protein diet...and he is eating his probiotics daily. He is also back on PediaSure to ensure that he is getting enough calories. I never thought I'd be buying that stuff again. Oh well! Thanks for your prayers, we appreciate it-we know God has big plans for this boy!

12 comments:

Genesis said...

You had me cracking up with the vet story! What an experience for your kids!! I can't even imagine ... good luck with going g-free. Hopefully it'll give you some answers and your poor baby some reprieve.

Liz K said...

ok, remind me never to take my kids on a field trip to the vet! Ho.ly.Cow!

Hope all the diet stuff works! What a lot of work mama!

Kim M said...

Oh my, what a Tuesday indeed! I hope you gave explanations to parents, there could be some interesting questions/discussions at home tonight!
Am praying for the little guy.
A. Kim

Jenilee said...

wow! all I can say is wow!! What was that dr. thinking?? :) lol

hope you can get his diet figured out soon. so frustrating! poor guy :)

also, email me about lunch!

mrs. fuzz said...

Wow, I never thought of a vet as a place to visit. That is pretty awesome! Were the kids staring in shock with their mouths open? That is hilarious. Got more than you bargained for, eh? Taking doggie biscuits is such a great idea too!

I have a lot of friends with various food allergies and a couple that are celiac. It's amazing how much of a life overhaul it is. And yes, wheat, dairy, and SOY is in everything! We have a son that has a peanut allergy and it seems like peanuts are in everything too! It's kind of nice that there are so many gluten free options these days.

Jenilee said...

Oh, I just read this to my husband. lol what a day you had!

CM said...

What a field trip, and for preschoolers! Too funny, I bet they had a story to tell when they got home :-)

I'm praying for Monkey Man. Blessing for that little guy!

Beth S. said...

Hey Jenney! The vet story cracked me up! Thanks for sharing!!

Going GF is tough! Something you may or may not be aware of is to also watch for hair and body products - shampoo, soap, body wash, ect. Many times, a wheat product is also in those. Look on the ingredients, you'd be shocked to find it's in some stuff that can be absorbed through the skin! Good luck!

Esther said...

Wow. Just. Yeah. Wow. Yep. That's all I've got!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness.....I keep laughing about the vet visit!!! I wish I could have seen the look on all of your faces....hahahhaha...Poor Hombre del Mono..I pray that God will guide his doctors to find the problem! His poor poor lil tush! :( I hope he's not a screamer...my youngest is...just breaks your heart that much more... {{{HUGS}}}

The Alburger Family said...

Never a dull momoment with you!! I can only imagine the scene at the Vet. Hillarous, there were tears in my eyes!!

I hope you all get everything figured out with Monkey.

Jen said...

Sooo very funny. I am thinking that this is something my vet might do also. I'm wondering what the kids were saying during all of this. Pre-schoolers can say some really funny things.
Good luck with the new diet for your little one. We shop at Aldi too. Glad to see that you don't have to spend tons of money in organic/whole foods type grocery stores!