Oh Blessed Chaos

Hello everyone,

It was very exciting at the clinic today.  I normally do not write my blog on a day-to-day basis, but rather talk about broader topics. Today is an exception. Be prepared for a really long yet invigorating post. *sings* Be prepaaaaaaared.

I want to start by saying that through my experiences thus far in the veterinary field, I have discovered that I thrive on chaos in the clinic. My ideal day is when I never get a lunch break, my hair is coming out of its pony tail, and my scrubs are covered in blood, pus, anal gland extract, potassium bromide, snot, slobber, nail dust, you name it—because it means that I’m busy. Henceforth and forthwith, this was the perfect day.

The morning started with a few vaccination appointments, and then it got exciting when a bull terrier came in that had discharge in its eyes, expelled bright orange urine, and was very lethargic. Dr. Rogers examined the dog and suspected a tick-borne disease. The orange urine suggested that the disease affected the liver or kidneys. To determine the disease, Dr. Rogers took one drop of blood from the dog’s ear and smeared it across a glass slide. This is called a ‘blood smear.’ Dr. Rogers stained the slide and looked for parasites under the microscope. He discovered that the red blood cells were full of the parasite Babesia canis. Under the microscope, it looked like the red blood cells encapsulated little teardrop shapes (the parasite). Babesia canis is a protozoal parasite that infects red cells and can produce hemolytic anemia when the parasite lyses the red blood cells to complete its life cycle. Transmission is primarily by the brown dog tick.

Even though Babesia canis is a relatively rare parasite, this is the second case we have had in the past two weeks. The disease is severe—the dog can die after three days. Luckily, the owners of these two dogs were observant enough to bring their dog to the vet at the onset of symptoms. Because many people here do not have much money allotted for veterinary care, owners may wait a few days to a week before bringing their dog to the vet. If these dogs’ owners had waited to “see if the problem went away by itself,” it would have been too late.

Generally, dogs are stoic. Dogs only outwardly show pain or discomfort if they are truly in pain. Dogs are pack animals, which means that they have a distinct place in the pack hierarchy. Consider your own dogs: a dog may be more submissive to some members of the family than to others, depending on its perceived rank in the family. For example, Buddy, my 10-year old cockapoo (half cocker spaniel, half poodle), views my dad as the top dog. He refuses to look at my dad in the eyes, and obeys every command except for when he is in a playful mood. When my dad comes home from work, Buddy greats him with more enthusiasm than when the rest of us come in. Likewise, for the longest time, if my brother Tony got in Buddy’s face, Buddy would actually growl at him! Buddy viewed himself at a higher rank than Tony. How does this relate to how a dog shows pain? When a dog is in a pack, showing pain could mean that he may decrease in rank. This could lead to him receiving less food and being picked on by other members of the pack. Thus, dogs try to hide their pain as much as possible. The bottom line is: if your dog is showing pain, bring it to the vet, because there is a high probability that something is wrong with your dog.

Anyway, back to the case at hand. We treated the dog with a few different medications. We took care of the parasite with an IV injection of Forray 65, an anti-parasitic, and an IV injection of Mildox, which is the injectable version of the antibiotic Doxycycline. Because the dog was anemic, we also gave an IV injection of Vitamin B12, which would help the body produce more red blood cells. This is why Sookie from True Blood takes Vitamin B12; she allows her vampire boyfriend to drink her blood. Ew. So Mom, if you ever catch me taking Vitamin B12, please double check that Jack has not been turned into a vampire. It is for my own good. Kthanksbye.

After the dog had been treated, I kept watch over him the whole day. He was on IV fluids, so I took him out to use the restroom every couple of hours. I changed his fluids when he ran through a bag, and I made sure that nothing was impeding the line. By the end of the night, he was much brighter and even started barking at the cats. This morning, he even got aggressive, which is a good sign that his body is recovering. We caught the parasite in time.

After we treated that dog, we got a call that a leopard would be coming in. A leopard! Cassie and I were beyond excited. We would have been lucky enough to see one in the wild (which we had not), but we going to get to touch one! This was a rare, probably once in a lifetime opportunity, and we could not believe our luck.

The truck from the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Center rolled into our driveway. While we were waiting for Dr. Rogers to get the tranquilizer ready, we heard the leopard’s story from the leader of Moholoholo. Part of what he does is that he encourages farmers to call him when they see a leopard near the farm. Leopards will kill farmers’ cattle, and since cattle are valuable, farmers will shoot leopard on sight. Moholoholo’s goal is to rescue leopard from the farms. They set up a friendly trap for the leopard and bring the leopard back to the sanctuary, and Moholoholo pays for all of it. The leopard will be released back into the wild far from the farm. This is the story of the leopard which had just arrived. Immediately after they caught the leopard, they had brought it to Dr. Rogers to examine it for injuries, determine the sex, and if it was a female, determine whether it was pregnant.

Dr. Rogers darted the leopard. I was standing about two feet from the box. The Moholoholo leader, impatient and agitated, (unnecessarily) cried, “Pull out the dart! Pull out the dart!” Foolishly, one of the Moholoholo helpers reached into the cage and pulled the dart out, causing the very awake leopard to release one of those characteristic heart-stopping growl/roars. I thought I would only ever hear that on Animal Planet. It was breathtaking and almost surreal. I had heard the sound so much on TV that my mind could not comprehend how it could exist in my reality. The feeling was similar to meeting a movie star. The leopard turned and swiped at us through the cage and ferociously barred its teeth. Wow. We had hardly waited three minutes (you are supposed to wait at least six), when the Moholoholo leader became incredibly impatient. He reached into the other side of the cage and grabbed the leopard’s tail, saying, “See, I bet it’s asleep already.” Dr. Rogers protested “Leave it alone, just leave it alone!” but it was too late. The leopard swiveled around and growl/roared at us again, swiping through the cage. We had clearly stressed the animal. The leader complained, “Why is it taking so long to fall asleep, Pete?” Oh brother.

I may have mentioned this earlier in my posts, but when an animal is being tranquilized, it is incredibly important to try to minimize stress. Well shucks, that was not exactly what was happening. There was no need to be in a rush. The dart did not have to be pulled out immediately. The leopard was not going to fall asleep immediately. When you are working with a wild animal, you must be cautious. All of us working at Provet just wanted everyone to calm down.

Right at that minute, a car sped into the driveway. A crippled woman opened the car door and yelled, “Snake bite! Snake bite!” I immediately ran to the car, took the limp, seizing dog in my arms, and sped into the clinic. Dr. Rogers and Janelle abandoned the not-yet-sleepy leopard and ran inside after me. Everything happened in a blur. Janelle brought out an IV catheter, fluids, the anti-venom, and a bowl of warm water. Dr. Rogers inserted the catheter, which was very difficult because the dog was shaking and the veins were tiny. After he placed the catheter, we immediately started IV fluids. Because the dog was seizing, I gently restrained the dog on the table so that no one had to worry about it falling off. The dog was foamy at the mouth and was struggling to breathe. He had killed snakes in the past, but this spitting cobra had gotten him this time. The worst thing was that the dog had been bitten 2 hours before the owners were able to come to the vet, for whatever reason. Perhaps they had not found the dog when it was bitten or had trouble gaining access to a car; who knows. All that mattered now was that the dog was in our care.

Janelle warmed the anti-venom in the water and then handed it to Dr. Rogers to inject intravenously. Dr. Rogers asked the owners, who had come into the room at this point, “This dog needs five anti-venom doses and each costs R1500. Would you like us to continue?” They said yes. Dr. Rogers injected the first anti-venom doses, but the dog was still struggling to breath and was seizing. Dr. Rogers decided to put the dog on the anesthesia machine to relieve the seizing, steady the breathing, and give the dog’s body a chance to heal from the venom. Venom from the spitting cobra causes neuromuscular damage, meaning that the dog needed time to regain control of his muscles. Dr. Rogers injected an anesthetic, then Janelle placed and secured a tube into the trachea through which oxygen and more anesthetic (Isoflourane) would flow. She inflated the cuff of the tube to keep the tube secure in the trachea. Otherwise, the dog could cough it out.

We were about to move the dog onto the table near the anesthesia machine in the other room when we realized that there was a leopard lying there. The rest of the Provet team and the Moholoholo team had carried in the leopard in a carrier while we were busy with the dog. The leader asked, “Pete, can you just look at this leopard real quick? I have other things to do today.” If the situation had not been so serious, I would have laughed aloud. Really?! Dr. Rogers said, “Hold on, let me just stabilize this dog first.” I simply cannot believe that the Moholoholo leader expected Dr. Rogers to let this dying dog lay on the table while he checked whether the leopard had a penis or a vagina. Sometimes people amaze me.

Dr. Rogers ordered that the leopard be moved to the floor and the dog be placed on the anesthesia table. Then, the leopard could be moved to the dog’s old table in the outer room. The scene was quite comical as half the people moved the leopard, taking pictures and sneaking short strokes of its fur while trying not to drop the animal at the same time, while the other half moved the quivering dog, its intravenously-attached fluid bag, and all of the needles, anti-venom bottles, and medications to the anesthetic table. We hooked up the dog to the anesthesia machine and monitored its heart rate and blood oxygen concentration.

Now that the dog was stable, we could focus on the leopard. Dr. Rogers determined that the leopard was female and felt her abdomen for kittens. He did not feel any, so he decided to do a few x-rays just be sure. The x-ray machine was in the same room as the anesthesia machine, so we had to move the leopard back into the anesthesia room with the dog, but on the x-ray picture. (I must admit that the image of the two animals, both unconscious, on two different tables in the same room was quite amusing, so I snapped a few pictures.) The leopard also had several torn pieces of skin from attempting to free herself from the box. We sprayed these wounds with a disinfectant so that they could heal without infection.

The x-rays showed that the leopard was not pregnant. Before we moved the leopard back into her box, we all got to stroke her and take as many pictures as we wanted. As I said before, this was a lifetime opportunity. Who knows whether any of would be able to stroke a leopard again? Unlike cheetahs, which can be tame-ish in captivity and can be stroked while they are awake, leopards will never be able to be touched while awake.

We moved the leopard back into the box and injected the antidote to the tranquilizer. The leopard was soon on its way to the Moholoholo rehabilitation center and we could focus all of our attention on the dog. He was still in the same condition as when we left him: decent breathing, heart rate, and blood oxygen content considering his condition. After he had been under anesthesia for two hours (we began treatment around 2:00 p.m.), we removed the Isoflourane and just gave him oxygen. When his blood oxygen content was stable enough, we removed the oxygen as well. We kept the IV fluids running and put him in a cage with hot water bottles around him. It took him a very long time to wake up from the anesthesia. Dr. Rogers said that even if he was awake, he might not have regained the neuromuscular control to move just yet. Cassie and I left the clinic at 6:00 p.m. and Dr. Rogers stayed at the clinic until 7:00 p.m. Janelle came in two times during the night to check on him. I thought about our patient all night.

Cassie and I arrived at the clinic this morning with bated breath. We were so worried that the dog had not made it. When we arrived at the clinic, we ran into the patient room and saw an alert, yet much subdued patient gazing up at us. He had lived! We did it! I felt so happy I could dance. This dog had been at death’s door, and yet we were able to coax him back to the light. It is moments like these when I realize how much I love veterinary medicine.

Phew! That was certainly a long post. I hope that you enjoyed it and learned a little something along the way. I apologize for any spelling or grammatical errors. I wanted to write everything down and post it before I forgot it all. I’ll proofread it tomorrow. I also apologize that I cannot post pictures right now; internet is very expensive here. Until next time!

Sincerely,

Aria

Where Art Thou, Internet?

Hello everyone,

Now that I have ranted about my obsession with rhinos for the past week, it is high time I write about more of the cultural aspects of South Africa I have come to discover. The process of my adjustment to South African culture is a little bit like getting a Tetanus shot—it is painful at first, and then the pain dulls to an ache for the next few days. Whenever you use your arm, the ache reminds you about your recent visit to the doctor. As the tiny red spot on your arm fades, your body produces antibodies against Tetanus bacterium that may assault your body. Your immune system is stronger and will protect your body against Tetanus for years to come.

This is how I felt about my adjustment to South Africa. The first couple of days were rough. I felt like I had been submerged in an icy ocean; I could not swim, and my family and boyfriend were 8000 miles away. I could not even call them the first couple of days. I was shocked with every cultural difference—I was reminded that I was not in the United States anymore, and I sorely missed my home country. Then, I began building up my defenses. I finally got a phone and could receive comfort from my parents and boyfriend about my experiences. I’m happy to say that after receiving support from my family, boyfriend, Cassie, and my host family, I feel much more stable and able to handle and find joy in the cultural differences that confront me every day. I can look back on the past two weeks and reflect on how much I have grown. I have already shared some of the cultural differences I have experienced so far in a previous post (understanding accents and lack of skim milk), but now I want to share a few more.

The lack of internet was probably the most substantial adjustment. At home in the states, most internet plans are unlimited, meaning that you can watch movies, upload photos, and Skype for hours without worrying about your internet bill going up. Here in Hoedspruit, South Africa, Internet is sketchy at best. There is one Internet café in town, where you can purchase 1hr/100mg plans for the equivalent of $5 (40 rand). Your Internet stops as soon as you use 100mg of data or stay on the internet for 1hr. To give you an idea of how much data this is, in this area, Skyping for 20 minutes uses up my entire data card. So I have to stop the call and buy a new one if I want to keep talking.

I thought I would be fine. I mean, who needs Internet when you have South Africa to explore? I was sure I could handle it, but for the first week or so, it turned out that I actually could not handle it. In the United States, I had an iPhone with a 2G data plan. I could use my Macbook Pro to connect to unlimited Wi-Fi at home and at Harvard. Between my iPhone and my laptop, I had instant access to all information, at any time of day or night. The second I received an email, my iPhone would immediately let me know. I could check Facebook in a heartbeat. I could watch all of my TV shows on line, Skype with distant friends, and look up biochemical pathways instantly. I could share my life (photos, videos, emails, interesting articles) with everyone I cared about. I was connected to everyone around me.

The power of having instant access to information is something that many of take for granted. For, as I soon discovered, I could not do any of the aforementioned tasks without 1) asking my host family to drive me 15 minutes to the Internet café, or 2) begging the staff at the vet to let me on the Internet for 30 seconds to see if I had loving emails from my family and boyfriend. I was disconnected from the Cloud, and felt it deeply. This must be how the Borg feel when they de-assimilate from the Hive.

In all honestly, it felt like I had lost an arm. It was like I ingested a potion that took my superpower away. I felt exposed and helpless. I am ashamed that I was so dependent on the Internet. However, when you always have access to it in your pocket and on the computer 24 hours a day, it inevitably becomes a part of you. I bet if many of you were thrust into an 8-week environment where you could not connect with your friends and family in the ways you were used to, you would go a little crazy too.

What killed me I was having such amazing experiences but could not share my pictures with anyone I knew. I was so excited to show my family all of the pictures of me treating the rhinos, because I knew they would be as excited as I was. I had also spent hours on iMovie making a rhino anti-poaching video, but could not share it with the world. The United States desperately needs to know more about rhino poaching, and I felt helpless when I was unable to provide that information. As you know, I finally found a way to post the video on my blog. Let me assure you that it was a struggle.

I tried using an Internet data card at the Internet café. Well, I sat in the café for an hour and got to about 20% of the upload when I had run out of time. Well, shucks. That meant the upload was automatically canceled and I had wasted an hour of my time and $5. I did not want to use the vet’s Internet to do this because I was scared I would use up all of their data. My last resort was to beg my host mom to allow me to use their coveted, expensive Internet to upload my video. They rarely let students use it because when they did, the bill was monstrously large. So we struck a deal: I could use the Internet as much as I wanted, but I would pay for it. I just told them that they could take their normal bill amount and subtract it from the total, and I would pay for the excess. This calmed me down a fair amount. The first few days, I had been an emotional wreck. After I knew I could update my blog, upload a few pictures, and email my family and boyfriend whenever I needed to, I felt much calmer, more secure, and more ready to immerse myself in my South African experience. Why should I be unnecessarily anxious when I can just pay for it to go away?

At this point, while I can say I have grown accustomed to the Internet, I am not quite at the phase where I’m saying: “I love not having internet! It’s so liberating!” Yeah…no. I am sure I will get there by the end of my eight weeks, though.

Not surprisingly, the people here are, refreshingly, not dependent on the internet and technology in general. They have many more hobbies and spend much more time outside than Americans do. My host family only uses the Internet to pay bills. What I’m learning is that the less you pay attention to your connection to the

That’s all for now! I promise I will have much more to say about culture in future posts. I just don’t want this one post to be a gazillion pages long.

Also, I forgot to mention this—if there is anything at all that you would like to know about or would like me to write about, please let me know!

Sincerely,

Aria