Snowy had terrible abrasions and sores on her head and on the side of her face - we were petrified!
Dr. A had called G in the morning and had informed her that Snowy is still disorientated and cannot stand without collapsing. The usual drip cannot be used on her as she may strangle herself accidentally from all the struggling (to stand). So Snowy had to be injected the fluid. The point is, Dr. A had not mentioned anything about the abrasions and sores. G and I were perfectly certain they had not been there when we admitted her.
1 Jul 07: Day of admission
3 Jul 07: The wounds
In the 30 mins we were there, we saw for our very own eyes the damages Snowy had involuntarily inflicted on herself from the collapses. She crashed, flopped, smashed, toppled, thumped herself against the metal bars (all 4 sides of the cage, no solid surface) she was in. Only a thin piece of towel was there. Nothing else. We felt terrible, real terrible. Uncle Y stood at the side, silent with immense sadness. I don't know how else to describe the pain in our hearts.
Snowy, totally helpless...
G and I had to improvise the condition with whatever we could find - the newspapers. We laid the papers on the base of the cage and the sides so it wouldn't be too painful for Snowy when she hit herself against the bars when she collapsed.
The cages used for hospitalisation. Snowy is in the middle.
We would have expected intervention from the nursing staff (or the vet) to do something about the cage (to perhaps cushioned the cage) once they noticed that Snowy was hurting herself. Even I could think of at least an e-collar to minimise contact of her head to the metal bars, why can't the professionals? When we questioned (nicely) the female staff about the wounds on Snowy's head, she said she wasn't sure and asked that we check with the vet. We were appalled - the staff didn't know?? The wounds were so apparent! Unless she's implying she did not check on Snowy (or it wasn't her responsibility to) since Sunday to be alerted about Snowy's wounds! Gosh.
When we later check with Dr. A, he explained that the wounds are likely "internalised". G and I have our reservations about this explanation (though we are not certain). I asked Dr. A if they were going to do anything about the cage otherwise it will be a matter of time Snowy is going to break her skull or her neck. He suggested using an e-collar (*roll eyes*) or transferring her to a carrier (those you use to transport the pets around) with smooth surface. Aren't these measures they ought to have thought of in the first place?!?!?! Isn't this something they would have anticipated given Snowy's condition?
Snowy crashing herself.
G and I have plans to transfer Snowy to Dr. H, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (Dr. H's clinic is closed on Tue unfortunately)! We are very disturbed about tonight's finding.
I managed to get in touch with Dr. H via their emergency line and discussed the situation with her. We will discharge Snowy from Dr. A tomorrow morning and send her to Dr. H. It is only at Dr. H we can really be assured of quality care, attention and conducive recovery environment.
I can't wait for morning to come.
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p.s. I am not doubting Dr. A's professional knowledge and skills and I'm not saying he's not nice (he is ok) but I'm awfully disturbed about the hospitalisation conditions.
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6 comments:
So sad to see Snowy's struggling and suffering.Hope her new ward give her more attention and care.With her fragile condition, her surroundings should be padded to prevent further injury and discomfort.
G & Celeste & Uncle Y, all of you have been thoughtful and caring about Snowy.
Lots of hugs and good wishes to you, Snowy.
Hi Celeste,
Very sorry to hear about Snowy's progress so far. But you have certainly made the right choice to discharge Snowy & get her moved to Dr H's clinic. My cats see Dr H regularly and followed her to current clinic. So, I can also vouch for the level of care she and her team put in at the clinic.
But I have a qn re concussion diagnosis at Dr A's clinic. How can a concussion be picked up by an xray alone? Anything to do with head is usually very complex.
Remember to retrieve the xray film from Dr A's clinic when you discharge Snowy so that Dr H can read the film & put in her independant reading.
Some quick qn:
1. is there any bleeding?
2. is Snowy able to focus her eyes on something or able to follow your movement?
Hope everything's gona be fine & Snowy will recover in due course.
Wounds on Snowy's head looks bad.
Hope she can pull through this difficult period.
Snowy, you and your kitties are in our thoughts and prayers.
Hi, I would like to help with Snowy's medical bill.
Pls let me know how I can send a cheque or transfer funds to you via atm.
Drop me a msg on my blog which I check daily..
The wound on Snowy's head looks bad. Gotta be careful the wound doesnt get infected, else it'll be added problem.
Really cant understand how on earth can the folks at Dr A's clinic not see that.
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