It started out like any other typical Thursday until I experienced triple the trouble. Except today was going to be a day for me to take care of Tracy. I had already made myself 3 appointments. And the first one, thankfully, went well that morning. Now 2 more appointments to go in the afternoon. Little did I know, that I would soon be rescheduling those two afternoon appointments.
Responsibility from the Trouble Earlier that week
Just a few days prior to “that Thursday” I had to take our Boston Terrier mix, Dexter to the vet. Why? Because over the weekend his eye had somehow got damaged. We thought it had been scratched on something. Anyway, so on Monday he had been prescribed 3 meds by the vets. One was an oral pain killer and the other two were eye drops.
Because the eye drops were two entirely different medications, the vet told me to make sure they were given spaced two hours apart. So after my ENT (ear, nose, and Throat) doctor appointment, I went home to feed and medicate my fur babies. Well, at that time, just Dexter needed the medicine.
A Troubling Text from My Daughter
So not long after I got home I got the following texts from my 9th Grader:
“Mother. My head hurts. Because in gym today I got hit on the right side of my head rlly hard.” Followed immediately by “At like 11:25 or sometime after that time can you pick me up early please? If my head still hurts, I’ll tell you if it does.” Of course I immediately texted her back asking if the PE teachers had seen what had happened. And in typical teenage fashion she wasy very communicative, “no. Well idk. I’m in wwp rn & we’re going to the police station soon so. Otherwise I would’ve told you to get me sooner/now, but yk.”
I replied to her last text with, “Well if your head still hurts when you get back from Working with People maybe you should go see the nurse.”
Going on to My Pet Parent Responsibilities while still Thinking of my 15 year old Daughter
Anyway, it was going to be a bit before she would be back at the school and could go to the nurse so I fed our seven cats. I learned along time ago that if I don’t want War between myself and one or more cats, Kitties get fed before I do anything else of importance. Then I went to put an eye drop in Dexter’s eye. Because obviously I didn’t want his head down in the food bowel before he received the eye drop.
Blood Curdling Screeching
Almost immediately after I put the drop in Dexter’s eye he backed off and let out a horrible screaming noise. By this time our adult Calico (the mama to our four kittens) had also left her upper perch where I had fed them. Since she was near by and Dexter was running from her terrified I was somewhat concerned she had maybe clawed at him. So I kept shooing her away and took Dexter to my bedroom.
Now, we have three total adult female cats and the two who were there before the Calico do NOT get along at all. So anyway, one of our Tabbies, Amy Lee, chooses to remain in my bedroom and bathroom. She had been shut in my Master Bathroom when I put Dexter in my bedroom. I normally feed the other six cats together on a homemade stand in our living room. Then take care of Dexter. And after him, Amy Lee.
Poor Forgotten Toby
As you can imagine I had a lot on my mind. Anyway, that morning before taking the girls to school our Black and white kitten had decided to visit Amy Lee. I had completely forgotten that he was locked in my master bathroom with her.
So poor Dexter still howling in pain accompanied me to my bedroom and I brought a plate of both hard and soft dog kibble in the room for him. I knew he needed his oral pain killer, like NOW. So I had hid it in the soft food. But poor Dexter was in so much pain he passed up the plate of food on the floor and went straight for my bed. Then he moved from my bed onto the litte love couch that was in my room.
And because I opened my Bathroom Door…..
Well, I had also brought some soft cat food with a spoon in that I intended to feed Amy Lee. So I opened up my bathroom door! Amy Lee, stayed in like a good kitty as I knew she would. But the little black and white guy, Toby, was a different story. As soon as that door was open he darted out of the room.
And yep, you guessed it, that four month old kitten went straight to the plate of dog food I had placed on my floor.
Poor Dexter was Still in Trouble. And little did I know how much trouble at that time.
Of course I did what any responsable pet owner would do. I checked the plate on the floor right after I threw Toby back in with Amy Lee. I fed them the soft cat food as soon as possible to keep them in the bathroom. But sure enough when I went to check the soft dog food plate, the pill was GONE!
Ah curumba, well, I knew I was calling the veterinarian anyway. So I was hopeful that they would tell me to just keep an eye on the kitten and bring him in if need be. I don’t think I had read how much of a heavy duty pain killer that was yet at that time. And it was for an ADULT DOG, NOT A small Kitten.
Traumatized from Pain.
Poor Little Dexter was in so much pain. That he was shivering and shaking. I knew it was from the pain and Not being too cold. Because I keep my house at like 75 degrees. Dexter, like me, has never liked pain. But I mean this poor guy was literally shaking as he yelped on and off.
I knew I needed to get his pain killer in him. Thankfully, Toby ate the 2nd to last one and Not the last one. So I told Dexter that I would be right back. Got a piece of turkey sandwich meat out of the fridge. And grabbed Dexter’s last pill. Made sure no cats followed me in my room.
I didn’t Know if He was even up for Eating Human Food, But I had to Try
I tore the meat into pieces and got the pill kind of “caked” into one of the pieces. And I sat on my couch right beside poor, shivering Dexter. Thankfully he did stand up and moved over to me. Then he sniffed at my fingers. And slowly ate the sandwich meat with the pill inside. He was in such severe pain that it took him a few minutes and he almost did Not finish the last piece of meat. But he did.
While I was taking care of our family pets, my 9th grader, Phoebe, had sent a few more texts. Phoebe responded to my advice that she should go to the school nurse with…
“No I’m scared. It still hurts, also in like 20 minutes can you please just come get me from the high school?” Followed by, “Also I think the right side of my head is bleeding a little, but it isn’t that noticeable because it’s behind my hair.”
So here I am dealing with Three Pretty Major Family Emergencies All Happening simultaneously….Triple the Trouble.
so I responded to Phoebe, of course. “Are you scared because ur head hurts or scared to go to the nurse? Do I need to take you to the Emergency Room?”
Phoebe, “Please mother.” And, “I might talk to the nurse about it when I go back to the high school in 10 minutes, but I’m not sure.
Me: “Yeah I think you should go to nurse as soon as you get back to High School especially if you feel head is hurting pretty badly.”
But I did still need to call the vet with Dexter being in that much pain. Plus blood had run down his face out of that right eye.
So even though I was very concerned about Phoebe, I knew that she was still conscious and aware of what was going on. So there was little more I could do for her at that point. Dexter was right there in front of me.
I called and of course one of the techs answered the phone. And I explained to her how Dexter had started screaming right after I had put the one eye drop in. As well as how he was in shiver shaking pain. Also that blood had come out of his eye. After consulting with the vet, she asked if I would be able to bring Dexter in and drop him off. And I said “yes.”
And Again, I almost forgot about Toby, the Kitten….
Now, before any of you come at me as being an awful cat owner….remember I had two other kids with pain at this time, my Phoebe and our family dog….
- Right after Toby ate the dog food with pill in, he was still his normal rambunctious self.
- Dexter was in clearly visible agony..like more than I had ever seen anyone (human or animal) in before.
- My daughter, I also knew might have a concussion or even be bleeding from her head, but I had no way to verify that just yet.
- I was supposed to have a Zoom appointment at noon with a Brand new provider. And it was darn near close to noon.
- I also had a 2 pm scheduled with my mental health counselor. This is also a pretty new counselor as I had only one other appointment with her a while back. And I am very respectful of others’ times so HATE when I have to cancel or reschedule appointments.
Anyway, yes I did mention to the vet tech about Toby eating Dexter’s food and pain killer. She put on hold to discuss with the vet again. And when she got back she “Dr. H says you better bring that kitten in as well.”
Thank God we had already started working on Crate and Car Ride Training with our Kittens
So I placed Toby in one of our small crates. And then attempted to put Dexter’s leash on him. But because he was in so much pain he yelped and ran away when I tried hooking the end of leash on his collar loop. Well Thankfully he likes car rides. And I am sure knew I was taking him somewhere to get some relief and help. So he just went out straight to our van as I carried his leash and the small crate with Toby inside.
After placing Toby in the vehicle I gently lifted Dexter in as well. And placed him as comfy as I could on the seat. It was December and we live in the Midwest so I grabbed a blanket that was in the back and wrapped it around the shivering Dexter.
Sending My Daughter A couple more texts….
“You will need to get excused from the office before I can leave with you anyway” and “I am at home with pets right now and Dexter eye is bleeding so I gotta drop him off at the vet but then yeah I can come get you.” Well obviously I sent Phoebe those texts before I loaded the 4-legged kids in the van.
Phoebe’s responses are priceless…
“you don’t need to take me to the emergency room but can you make an appointment for me or something. I’m sure it’s alright but I just want to make sure because ” and “It rlly hurts. & both.”
me: “Ok, I will see what I can do but go to office either way and see nurse if you possibly can because we don’t want to screw around with a head injury u know.”
Phoebe: “Ok. I can’t go to the nurse rn tho I’m in algebra.” And, “I don’t want to he late.” Then, “Be”
More texts from Phoebe, “Can you just excuse me please?” Right after, “Can you just excuse me please?. Just tell them I have an appointment.” And then, ” I have to put my phone up. Bye.” Teenagers, right? Anyway so as I am driving to the vet I also call the High school.
Explaining the text Conversation to the office
Obviously, I knew that none of the teachers, including the PE ones, were aware of Phoebe’s head trauma so I assumed they must not have noticed how her head was injured. I explained what I could to the office lady. And she put my on hold while talking to the High School Nurse. Thankfully, the nurse told other office lady what she was up to. When the lady came back to the phone she informed that the nurse was heading to the Algebra class to grab Phoebe right then.
I was told that the nurse would give me a call back after she had a chance to check on Phoebe. And talk with her.
This Triple Emergency is All Happening Very Quickly
Because I have been very detailed here, many of you may be thinking, “well, she sure ain’t acting very quickly here. But please do keep in mind, that this Triple Emergency as well as my reactions to them, all happened within the span of a 30 minute (maybe less) time frame. Or at least my knowledge of all three was happening together within less than 30 minutes.
After Dropping off Dexter and Toby at the vet, I started driving towards the local library. It was around 11:50 am. And I wanted to get parked there before noon. Because, obviously I had not yet had time to reschedule the noon Zoom appointment I was to have with a Nutrition Specialist.
Anyway, I did Not quite make it to the library when the Nutritionist called. That was fine, as thankfully she called me before trying to go through Zoom. I told her how my daughter had hit her head at school and asked if I could reschedule. And she informed me that would be best as apparently she had laryngitis herself anyway.
We rescheduled just in the nick of time…
The High School nurse called me back just as I was hanging up with the Nutritionist. Thankfully, Phoebe’s head was not bleeding. And there was no evidence that it had bled. The nurse had asked Phoebe about her symptoms and did some basics screenings. No evidence of a concussion either, Thank God.
Apparently, Phoebe was standing still during a game at Gym class. And a Boy classmate bumped her head while he was running. Phoebe doesn’t remember the name of the game, but that didn’t matter to me anyway. The boy kept running while Phoebe was standing still as per the rules of the game. Apparently, no one, including that boy, was any the wiser that he had accidentally “hurt” Phoebe.
Phoebe May Not have Realized she was Hurt at First.
Phoebe had told the nurse that she felt dizzy immediately after the boy bumped into her. But she apparently didn’t realize she was too hurt either. She wasn’t really aware of which part of his body bumped her head. Whether it was like his head or arm or what.
Phoebe said she felt dizzy as she walked to the locker room. As well as maybe a little disoriented. And then I guess her head started hurting. But she didn’t mention it to anyone right away because she thought she was okay. Plus I am pretty sure she was excited about getting to go on a field trip to the police station for her “Working with People” class.
She began texting me while she rode the bus to the Police Station
After talking with the school nurse, then Phoebe. And the nurse again..it was mutually decided that it was in Phoebe’s best interest for me to pick her up from school. I called the clinic and got her an appointment as soon as I could after I would pick her up.
Then I received a call from the vet tech almost immediately after I picked Phoebe up from the High School. I was told that Dexter had had an ulcer in his eye which had ruptured. And was given two options.
What were the two Options?
- Option 1: We can sew the eye shut. Send him home with pain killers. And wait a few weeks to see if the eye will heal up on its own.
- Option 2: the veterinarian can do surgery and remove that right eye.
Ok, so now we are talking major surgery here. And of course I wanted to do what was best for Dexter no matter what the cost. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t have that on my mind. And I haven’t taken my own advice, and got Pet Medical Insurance yet either.
Anyway, the vet tech went over pricing of both options with me. And then did explain that if we went with Option 1 and it did Not heal properly on its own, we would then still be left with doing Option 2. When I look back now, I question why on earth was I even given option 1. That poor dog was in pain in a bad way.
This was big deal to me. Even though the vet tech told me that most little dogs do quite well with just one eye, I still told her I would need some time to think about this. And discuss with my family. I mean, after all, we are talking about removing a body part here.
Navigation of Important Surgery Discussions while at Clinic with My Daughter
Dexter is for sure our family dog. But Sarapheen, our twelve year old daughter, has claimed him as her dog. Obviously her and our other daughter were both still at school while all this was happening. And poor Sarapheen would be the last of our immediate family to find out what was going on with her beloved dog.
Phoebe got called back almost immediately after we checked her in at the local clinic. After the nurse took her vitals and asked some questions, I called my husband while waiting for the doctor. I had to tell him about Phoebe and Dexter all at once in a whirlwind.
I barely got said what the vet tech had told me and I had to hang up with my Husband.
The doctor came in and checked Phoebe over and then ordered X-ray. So I called my husband back and was on the phone with him while Phoebe went to have her head and neck x-rayed.
I also was on and off the phone with my mother as I mean this all going on was a pretty big deal. My husband at first was hoping we could try to save Dexter’s eye. My mom, if I remember, correctly, started to cry. Although, I was a bit on the fence, I was definitely leaning towards removing the eye.
Financial Costs Were Not my Only Concern
Thank God Phoebe’s X-rays had all come back normal. Phoebe had also been given Ibuprofen by the High School Nurse. And although, Phoebe still had a headache by the time she left the clinic she was starting to feel better. Doctor’s orders were basically rest and Ibuprofen as needed.
Also, yes I did ask the Vet tech about how little Toby was doing. And she informed me that he was doing great. Apparently, he was a Happy little Trooper.
My youngest also Found out about Toby and Dexter before Sarapheen.
After leaving the clinic I had to pick up our ten year old from school. She didn’t need to stay after for anything. Sarapheen would be at the school for an additional hour due to her last day of Basketball Practice.
And of course, our ten year old, Harley, heard the on and off phone conversations I had with her dad and Grandma. I also did some research. And we discussed the matter of our dog’s eye thoroughly. But we still were not going to decide anything without talking to Sarapheen first. The vet wouldn’t do surgery until the next morning anyway.
They gave Dexter pain killers and made him as comfortable as Possible.
When I asked the vet tech what the odds of his eye healing were she said probably about 50/50. And said that if it were her dog she would have the vet do the surgery. She again reminded me that they have done a lot of these surgeries on small breed dogs. And that they do pretty well afterwards.
I was also surprised to hear that Toby also had to spend the night at the vet. I knew Dexter would have to, but I really didn’t realize how serious the situation was for Toby either. It didn’t really occur to me at the time, but Toby could have died.
A Decision was Made
After some thorough research and discussion, we decided it was best to have the vet do the surgery. I called the vet clinic to let them know to proceed with the surgery in the morning. Just for verification, I asked if we would basically just be prolonging Dexter’s pain if we went with Option 1. And she said “Yes, and he is definitely in pain.”
The vet called on Friday morning to verify again that we wanted her to go ahead with the surgery. I said yes. And we were also informed that Toby could now be picked up at any time. We picked Toby up early that Afternoon. The vet techs informed us that Dexter’s surgery went well. But we were unable to see him because he had just got out of surgery when we got there to pick up the cat. So Dexter was in recovery.
This all happened the week before Christmas.
Of course we were all anxious to see our Dexter. But he had to spend one more night at the hospital. Thankfully we were able to pick him up a little before noon on Saturday. And we took our one eyed cutie home along with two oral pain killers and his antibiotics.
Christmas was on the following Monday. So although Dexter had an eye removed right before Christmas, it was obvious that he was in much less pain. We were all very happy that he would also be home for Christmas Eve and Christmas!
Good News
I am happy to report that Phoebe, Toby, and Dexter are all alive and well. Phoebe’s headache was much improved the next day. And was completely gone the day after. So no headache through Christmas.
Toby made a Full recovery. Although, to my knowledge he was never too ill to begin with. But that was thanks to the vet. She flushed his system out. I don’t know what would have happened had she not. But my guess is he would have seemed fine for a while. And then the next day we would’ve found his still lifeless body. Thank God that didn’t happen.
Dexter is Almost Back to His old, lovable self.
I am pretty sure Dexter was still a bit doped up when we pick him up. You know, from sedation and pain killers. He slept quite a bit the next few days. But he still ate and drank ok. And was able to go potty outside.
Today, our seven year old puppy still likes to sleep. But he has gotten some more energy back. And is back to enjoying walking, play time, and car rides. Of course, he also like’s cuddles and licking Nana’s (that’s me) feet when he can get away with it. He is, as the vet staff had told us, doing really well with just one eye.
