[Dailydrool] Specialty care in the boonies

[Val Brewer]

I am not a nurse. I live in a somewhat rural area on a very rural island in the 
middle of nowhere. It is very beautiful here. My husband works at a community 
healthcare center in behavioral health caring for substance abusers. I am 
retired and take care of my two basset hounds and sew a lot and do art and am 
quite happy. Once a year or so we take a "vacation" to the main island in our 
island chain (Oahu, Hawaii) for specialty medical appointments (sleep apnea for 
him, neurological problems for me). Okay. Not a problem.

One of our hounds, Bo, also has specialty needs due to his lifelong ulcerative 
colitis. We have a good vet here who was trained in emergency medicine in 
Colorado and has pulled Bo's bacon out of the fire quite a few times. Also not a 
problem, though who knows whether we all would receive better or worse care in 
more medically/veterinarily sophistocated climes.

At any rate, it hadn't occurred to me that our situations were in any way 
unusual until I dropped off the hounds' overnight bag at the doggie daycare 
center where they will spend the next two days while we spend our time on Oahu. 
We love this daycare as the hounds are never caged; it is a 'milieu' environment 
where the dogs romp freely though supervised, and the attendants and owners seem 
knowledgeable and loving. They also do overnight boarding in the non-caged 
milieu. When I asked if special needs dogs could be accommodated, I was assured 
that this was no problem.The dogs have spent quite a few half days here with no 
problems at all, so they are not strangers.

So, today, I dropped off an overnight bag prior to the dogs' arrival tommorrow 
morning. I explained that due to Bo's medical condition, he was fed five times a 
day in small meals (all pre-prepared: I/D kibble mixed with pureed chicken 
breasts), with a time schedule attached; and that he took three medications 
daily (pre-prepared with pill pockets included). And that he had a minor 
anatomical problem due to his prior three hernia surgeries--that he had a little 
pouch at the end of his intestines (not a hernia) that filled with poop, so when 
he pooped, if he bulged, a human should assist by poking a finger at the bulge 
and moving the lump into the proper channel to be expelled. And, of course, if 
there were any problems, we had an open account at Bo's vet's office and were 
good for our bills. None of this seemed particularly out of the ordinary to me. 
Ah...acclimation.

You should have seen the owners' and the attendants' eyes bulge. "Are you sure 
he doesn't need to be in an animal hospital?" asked the owner. Um. No. All he 
needs is what I described. Okay was the final verdict. But it made me appreciate 
again all the wonderful care that is so routine for so many in rescue and in 
nursing care for humans with special needs and for all of us who deal with the 
ups and downs of healthcare and aging in this life. So, thank you everyone. A 
special thanks to Sandi for her loving attention to her partner Pat in her final 
days. Semper fido. Val
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