Adventures in Veterinary Medicine by Ingrid King

Author:Ingrid King
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: The Conscious Cat
Published: 2013-08-08T07:00:00+00:00

Jordan

Jordan was a four-year-old Golden Retriever. Goldens make perfect family dogs, and Jordan seemed to have the perfect family. Mom and Dad were two of our favorite clients, and you could tell that their young son and Jordan were best buddies. And then the unthinkable happened: Dad backed the car out of the family’s garage, and accidentally ran over Jordan. Mom and son saw it happen, and to this day, I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about what they must have felt.

They rushed Jordan into our hospital. He was barely breathing, and one of his legs was bent at an angle that suggested that it was badly broken. Jordan’s family had called ahead, so we knew he was on his way in. Our staff set up emergency supplies: One of our technicians got out the crash cart, a tray that contained emergency drugs that are used to treat for shock and respiratory emergencies. Another technician set out large-sized breathing tubes. The X-ray machine was readied for immediate use. Our receptionist alerted one of the doctors that Jordan was on his way in. Both doctors on duty were seeing regular appointments at the time, but these clients understood.

Two of our technicians had a gurney ready to bring Jordan in from the car, but Jordan’s dad carried him into the hospital himself. Our techs led the way into the treatment room. As soon as Jordan’s dad lowered him to the treatment table, doctors and technicians got to work, and the scene was like something out of Grey’s Anatomy. A technician quickly placed an IV catheter and hooked Jordan up to fluids. After it was established that he was breathing, Jordan was moved to X-ray. While broken bones are a concern with this kind of trauma, the bigger concern is internal injuries, especially damage to the lungs, chest, and abdomen, as well as internal bleeding.

The X-rays showed that one of Jordan’s lungs had collapsed. This is also known a pneumothorax, a collection of free-floating air in the chest cavity. Jordan needed a chest tube, and he needed it fast. One of our technicians quickly intubated Jordan with a breathing tube that would administer the anesthetic gas to get him ready for the procedure. Once the chest tube was placed, Jordan’s breathing became visibly more regular. The X-rays also showed that Jordan’s pelvis and right hind leg were broken.

While all this was happening, two other technicians were taking blood from Jordan to check his red blood cell count. A low blood cell count, also known as anemia, can be an indication of internal bleeding. Thankfully, there was no evidence of it.

Jordan would need surgery on his right hind leg. Pelvic factures are usually not operated on, and eventually heal with cage rest. But before the broken bones could be addressed, Jordan needed to be stabilized. He spent the rest of the day at our hospital, and was transferred to a local emergency clinic for round-the-clock ICU care.

One of our doctors updated Jordan’s family on his status.

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