Ethel is scheduled to be Spayed again...

Went to the North Park Animal Hospital yesterday, where the Vet examined Ethel thoroughly.

I liked the place and the Vet; it was a typical lower to middle-class professional office. The staff was efficient. Though the place was busy, we were seen at our appointment time. There were no display cases in the waiting room of shampoos, foods, etc.

I got a chance to meet and consult with our new Vet; he thinks that a THIRD spay will do the trick. He said (like everyone else in the world), that Ovarian Remnant Syndrome is rare, but it happens (Twice?)

The procedure will be more complex, and two Vets are going to be doing the surgery. I will also take longer, meaning that Ethel will be under longer, there will be more danger to her for infection, or even worse complications.

I have decided to leave her there overnight, though I really can not afford it, but I think it will be money well spent. Unlike here, if I were to bring her home that evening, she will be in a confined space and the drugs will have worn off before I have to deal with her. (Yep, I learned last year after her second spay, that it is not easy to deal with a drugged, unhappy cat, whose ‘sister’ is worried, when you have no real ‘confinement’ area, and from a wheelchair!)

Ethel’s THIRD spay has been scheduled for May 10, 2007. This long delay is so that both Vets would be available for the procedure. But with my luck, the delay may also mean that she’ll go into heat again just before, she will be just about due then!

The trip to and from the appointment on MTS Access, absolutely wore me out! Ethel weighs 10 pounds now, and the soft-sided mesh carry case probably weighs 3 – 4 pounds. That is a lot of extra weight to carry, lug around, get on and off the wheelchair van, and keep in my lap during the ride (with the shoulder strap around my neck). The ride there was not too bad, I lucked out, and we went straight from my curb to the Vet’s parking lot. It probably took about 20 minutes and Ethel complained the entire time.

The ride back was another story! We were picked up at 5:30P and the driver did not use the disabled parking spaces in the lot, but loaded us at a red zone on the street. Even then, she did not get a good alignment of the lift on the available sidewalk. Then the hell started! With Ethel crying every minute of the way, this driver took us east to La Mesa! At first, I just thought we were going to pick up another client, not so! Besides, I was busy trying to placate Ethel, in the carry case on my lap, who had definitely had enough!

The next thing I noticed, we were passing Grossmont Hospital! The driver then transitioned to another freeway, and we circled BACK, past SDSU, got on the 8 West, and were finally headed towards home. The routine 20-minute trip took well over an hour!

She had to have been not only a ‘new’ driver, but also someone very unfamiliar with the area, and obviously did not know her east from her west! Once I realized where we were, I started giving her directions, but by that time, we were more than double the distance from home...

Both Ethel and I were wiped out once we finally arrived here. Ethel is recovered today, her usual jaunty self. But it will probably take a couple more days for me.

Did I mention stressed out?