Disaster

Susanne had decided to tough it out and do all of Paxton's overnight care by herself. She thought that going to pick up Moppy last night just to head back out in that direction this morning would have been counterproductive. Susanne was curious to see how this would affect her day at work.

Susanne was having a great day until her last appointment. She was technically finished for the day, but she decided to take one more appointment to try to help out another doctor that was behind. It was supposed to be straightforward and routine. When Susanne entered the exam room, the patient was very anxious and panting frantically. This dog was extremely stressed with just being in the veterinary clinic. Susanne did the physical exam and gave some vaccinations. Shortly after the vaccinations were given, the dog's breathing changed a little. Susanne sent the owner outside with the dog to see if taking her out of the stressful environment would help to calm her down. After finishing the medical notes and getting everything in the computer for check-out, Susanne went outside to check on the situation. The dog was still anxious and panting, but the owner felt like this was normal for her. They indicated that sometimes it would take anywhere from three to twelve hours to recover from a visit to the veterinary office. Susanne offered to keep the dog for observation or for the owner to take the dog home for monitoring. The owner decided to do the latter because she worried that leaving her at the veterinary clinic would exacerbate the problem or make the stress level rise even more. Not even twenty minutes later, Susanne received a phone call from the owner saying that the dog was now vomiting in the car. This had now turned into an emergency situation. The owner was instructed to bring her back in immediately. By the time they had arrived, the dog was turning blue. A team of five doctors, including Susanne, intervened. They started CPR and gave a variety of drugs that should help jump start the heart. Unfortunately, it was a little too late. The patient passed away on the table after working on her for at least twenty minutes. Susanne was devastated and mortified. It appeared to be a case of anaphylaxsis associated with the vaccinations that had been given earlier in the evening. The patient had no history of any vaccine reactions. If only we could have a crystal ball that would allow us to predict awful events like this before they happen. Susanne's heart ached for the owners. She knew exactly what they were going through because of the recent unexpected loss of Maverick. She was still affected by the loss of such a loyal companion...a family member.

Susanne had to write an incident report about the entire situation. The plan for tomorrow was to contact the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the vaccinations for them to review the case.

Finally, Susanne finished all of the paperwork. She ended up not getting home until close to 1:00 am. She was again by herself for Paxton's overnight care. She wasn't sure how she was going to manage this. What a crappy ending to her day.