Emergency Vet

The past several days I have been down in the dumps.  Back to regretting my decision to come to Wisconsin.  Wondering why I wanted to leave an "easy" life to come to a place where the challenges I face are suffocating.  Mad at myself for not appreciating more the life I had in Columbus.

Everything these past few days just seems so hard.  For example, I had a sore throat and wasn't feeling well for several days.  Had I needed medical attention, I had no idea where to go.  I have no doctor here.  For that matter....

I have no dentist here.
I have no gynecologist here.
I have no hair dresser here.
I have no friends here.
I have no family here.
Hell, my husband isn't even here right now.
I don't have a library card  here.
I don't know who to call if I want to get the carpets cleaned.
I don't know a professional painter here.
I have no mechanic here.
I don't know my neighbors here.

I had a well-established life in Columbus.  That's how I like it.  Established.  Predictable.  If I needed something, I knew who to call.  I had relationships and I am a relationship person.  Here in Wisconsin, I have a massive deficit of relationships.  I feel that void. It makes me sad.

Today (Saturday), I found myself in a situation in which I needed a relationship-- and quick.  I needed a veterinarian.  Back home in Columbus, I had a vet that I love(d).  Seriously, I love him.  If he wasn't married and I wasn't married, I would totally want to marry him.  I don't care if he is almost old enough to be my father.  I love him.  He is smart and sensitive and kind and interesting and wise and handsome.  My family has taken our pets to this wonderful man for vet care since I was in middle school---25+ years.  I absolutely adore him.

But, here I am in Stoughton, Wisconsin and all of a sudden today I needed a vet (and quick!) for poor little Rudy-Patoody.  I noticed a spot on the living room carpet where someone had an accident.  I didn't know at first if it was Rudy or Jada, but I noticed blood in the urine spot and knew that wasn't good.  A short time later, I took the dogs out and noticed when Rudy peed, she was peeing blood.  A little bit of panic set in.  I have no vet here.  It's a Saturday.  I don't know where the emergency vet clinics are in this town.  Scott isn't here.  What am I going to do?

I ended up calling a place here in Stoughton:  Chalet Vet Clinic.  The office was technically closed, but someone took a message and said she would have the on-call vet give me a call back.  The emergency vet did call me back promptly.  When I explained what was going on, he offered to meet me at the clinic in 20 minutes.

How nice was that?  

I got a urine sample from Rudy, which was almost all blood. Bless her heart.  I took the sample and Rudy and off we went to Chalet Vet Clinic to meet Dr. Johnson.  The preliminary diagnosis is that Rudy has a bladder infection.  She is now on meds and I'm hoping she starts to feel better soon.  While on the surface this seems simple enough, I feel a sense of worry about the etiology of the bladder infection.  She has never had one before and she has always been generally healthy.  But, she is an old girl (turned 14 this past summer), which makes me wonder:  why a bladder infection?  why now?  I hope there isn't something more serious going on with her than just a bladder infection.

For today, though, I felt enormous gratitude that Dr. Johnson was able to meet us and give Rudy the treatment she needed.  Another plus is that Dr. Johnson got his veterinary degree from Ohio State, so I know he has been well-trained. 

In addition to feeling gratitude for Dr. Johnson meeting us on an emergency basis, I also felt a mild sense of empowerment that I dealt with this situation as it presented itself.  I had no one here to call for help or support.  I just dealt with it.

I dealt with it the same way I have dealt with many similar situations over the past 10 months since moving here.  For example, there was a time when I didn't know where any post offices were located, so I had to figure out where to find a post office.  There was a time when I didn't know where Chase bank was located, so I had to figure out where to find a Chase bank.  The list goes on and on.  While in some ways it's been fun to explore and get to know a new city, in other ways it's been exhausting.  Probably even more so since I have mostly been on my own up here.  Things I used to do at home with little to no thought now require effort on my part here in Wisconsin.  There are times when I just feel like I don't have any effort in me.

But, I'll chalk today up as a success of sorts.  I still don't have a doctor, dentist, gynecologist, hair dresser, mechanic, friends, family or husband here.  Today, though, a vet was needed.  A vet was found.  A small success. 

Now let's just hope little Rudy gets to feeling better soon.