The Traveling Vet Mom

It is a shooting pain that starts mid back and follows my 8th rib around to the front on my right side, sometimes it is mild, sometimes it doubles me over. I have pain off and on along my ribcage since 2019. It is a nerve pain I have gotten since I had my lung lobectomy almost 5 years ago.  I was 35 years old with a 2 month old baby when I was officially told I had non-small cell adenocarcinoma in my lung. Lung cancer. I felt like I was hit with a freight train, like an alternate realty had just became my life. I am sure you are wondering as many people do when they realize I am a lung cancer survivor is how could this happen and how did you find out?  This is where luck plays a roll.  Rewind 2 more years to when we were trying to get pregnant. I have suffered from abdominal pain on and off due to a sensitive GI tract since I was a teenager. I was having one of these painful bouts and in the emergency room. To confirm that this was just my normal digestive problems and no...

Tonight I did acupuncture on a little poodle that has neurological symptoms from head trauma, meaning she currently cannot walk but is slowly improving with supportive care. She is doing great recovering with supportive care but acupuncture just adds some pain relief, helps her nerves to fire more easily, and stimulates her GI tract to keep moving. In the last 24 hours, I also went to a human acupuncturist and had my own acupuncture session for sciatica pain from a herniated disc that I've had for years. (shout out to Adriana Acupuncture in Miami-she was great!) My back has been an issue for 15+ years,  I have managed to avoid surgery by using chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage, inversion (both with a table I have and with aerial yoga), and an occasional steroid injection. Acupuncture has helped me with so many ailments over the years from my back pain and sciatica, to pelvic floor pain post-partum, and post-op thoracic issues after my lung cancer surgery.  I have been p...

Last week I had to perform a surgery to repair a surgical site that had come apart that another doctor had performed 5 days before. These surgical complications happen and I do not think the other vet was at fault at all. I truly believe this can happen to the best of us if we do enough surgeries.  Anyways, after I finished performing the surgery and rounding the other doctor, she asked for some advice to help her know how to prevent these complications from happening in the future. I gave her several tips and tricks I do when I perform surgeries to prevent me from having post-op complications such as knotting my suture line in multiple places, using stronger suture, and testing my suture line when I am done suturing. She was so grateful for my help and tips. This interaction made me stop and think a minute. Why do I perform all these fail safes in surgery?  Then it dawned on me, my anxiety that brings me turmoil in other aspects of my life has caused me to adapt to be a bette...

Got to work this morning at a general practice I work at once a month and got surprised with a gift for World Veterinary Day!  World Veterinary Day was on April 27th. This day every year reminds me of how grateful I am that I stumbled into this profession. A profession that allows for humans and animals to be together in this world side by side. I have some of the coolest colleagues in the world and am so PROUD to be part of this distinguished group of people. Here are some highlights of what the collective veterinary community does but there is SO much more: Keep our food safe via food inspection and USDA regulations Prevent zoonotic diseases (disease shared by humans and animals) from spreading  Stop emerging diseases with work through the CDC and one health Maintain wildlife safety and regulation through fish and game departments and wildlife research Keep our animals in our zoos, aquariums, and sanctuaries healthy so that we can enjoy the wonders of being close to exotic a...