Operation day.....not!

Magnificent horses!

Well, got myself all psyched up for nothing on the knee surgery, folks.  Got a call yesterday, late afternoon, informing me that there had been a problem in the orthopedic operating room at Sheridan Hospital and all surgeries for today have been postponed.  On further digging, found out through a nurse friend of mine that works there that an operation went awry (not my surgeon, thank goodness) which caused an arterial spray all over said OR.  They need several days to decontaminate and re-sterilize the room. I sure hope the person that was on the table is still alive!  I’ve been in surgery as an RN when someone’s artery has been nicked and it’s like something out of a horror show.

I did a short stint in cardiology at Harbor Hospital in Baltimore many years ago and we had a cardiac catherization go wrong on us once.  The blood from the poor guy’s femoral artery shot all the way up to the ceiling like some eerie, macabre, bloody water fountain. We couldn’t get the weighted bag we keep reserved for those emergencies on him to stop the blood flow fast enough. Needless to say, he did not survive. It rarely happens but when it does, it’s devastating! There’s nothing anyone can do but watch helplessly as all their blood exits in less time than it takes to react. I forget what the force of blood volume is in your arteries, it’s been a while since I was in school, but it’s an amazingly forceful pressure.

Soooo, my surgery has been rescheduled for February 27^th.  Gonna be gimping around with the ole lavender crutches for another two weeks.  It’s okay, though, as Rob’s 60^th birthday is next week and I now won’t be in the early recovery time and can enjoy his day with him. Things always work out, I’ve learned. No sense in getting all flustered about things you have no control over.

When you have diseases like AIDS and MS, like I do, you have to learn to give up a lot of control in your life.  I never know what my body has in store for me on any given day.  My friends have learned that sometimes I make grand plans and have to bow out at the last minute because my body is not cooperating.  It used to really make me angry but I’ve lived with this fact so long now it’s just part of “me”.  I still get frustrated though, as I like to be a person of my “word” when I make plans.  I used to be involved in a lot of volunteer things here in Buffalo.. I was a member of the Wild Bunch, the ambassadors for the Chamber of Commerce and I ran the Mountain Plains Heritage Park Board and many other little things here.  I’ve had to step back and only have one volunteer job now. I can’t keep letting people down because I don’t feel well on a given day.

The only volunteer thing I do now is run the Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) here in Johnson County, under Marilyn Connelly, the Homeland Security Officer. It’s my job to make sure the animals are taken care of in case of a disaster. I’m the desk jockey supervisor.  I like this job because I don’t really have too much to do unless something major happens.  All of us on the team have been trained by the group, American Humane, out of Englewood, CO. These amazing people are the ones who were on scene with Michael Vick’s fighting dogs rescue…well, actually they respond to every natural disaster involving animals as well as hoarding, abuse and puppy mill violations. They are also on the set of every movie involving animals to make sure they are not harmed in any way.  Let me tell you, that part of the training (the abused animals and what we’d see) almost killed all of us volunteers emotionally! How some people can be so cruel is beyond my comprehension!

Our DART booth at the Business Expo, signing up families with pets so we know who's house to knock on in case of emergency, homes with pets now registered!

If you are ever looking for a great charity, these are the folks I recommend donating to. They were at Katrina, well, like I said, they are the first responders anywhere in the country to help the animals.  They’ve been responding to disasters since World War I. Right now, my team is awaiting our next level of training from them “Animal Rescue Training for First Responders” and then I think we are going also to be learning large animal rescue skills for helping horses and livestock.  Right now, we are only qualified to set up emergency shelters for domestic pets.  There’s a lot involved, keeping sick animals away from healthy, aggressive away from the others.  It’s not just about throwing them into a shelter like you can with people. You have to worry about air flow and people traffic and a myriad of other things I had no idea about until I got involved.

I’m also looking forward to one course they offer because the title is just darn funny.. “Officers and Canine Encounters: Bark..Stop, Drop & Roll techniques”  Huh?  Who barks, me or the dog? Guess I’ll find out when I take the class.  Several of the ladies who are on my team have gone on to get certified for the “ready teams” nationwide.  Anytime there’s a disaster or major hoarding/abuse case, they’ll get called to fly in and participate in the rescue. I’m jealous, I wish I could be on that team, helping all over the country at a moment’s notice. Nothing fills my heart more than helping an animal in need. 

Okay, well, I’ve emptied my head for another morning.  I’ve got to get ready for my day of cripping around. The nice thing is that I had set aside this day and the rest of the week for recovery and thus, have nothing planned!  I think it’s a good couple of days to go visiting girlfriends I haven’t seen in a while.  Nothing like coffee and chewing the “fat” with your friends to make a day sparkle!

Today is my daughter’s 34^th birthday.  Happy, Happy Birthday darling! We’ll be calling her this evening and I can’t wait to hear her sweet voice.  As I’ve said, she may not be my biological child, but I love her as if she were!  We are actually the same age difference as my mother and I so I could have had her, right? Did I tell you I was working in Balboa Park in San Diego, right next door to where she was born..on the day she was born?  The universe is a serendipitous  place, full of  amazing coincidences. I may have told you that Rob and I actually lived within 3 blocks of each other back then, unaware that someday we’d be together! Gives me chills to think I may have winked at that cute Navy Chief (Rob),  roller skating on my way to work back then!

“A coincidence is a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous”

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle”~ Albert Einstein