Thank you to the people at the Emergency Veterinary Clinic of Waterloo Region who were there when Jack came home late Thursday night with miniscule needles embedded in his body. In particular, thanks to the vet who removed the needles from Jack's paws, nose, and eyelid. She did an amazing job considering the lack of specialized equipment. I'm sorry I didn't catch your name.
Thank you to Julie, the vet working the night shift at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). She was kind and sympathetic, and did wonderfully in assisting with the needle removal.
Thank you to Jen, the technician who got a late-night phone call about the equipment required to closely examine Jack's wounded eye. She also lent a helping hand in examining Jack on Friday, and ensuring that he had a comfortable stay at OVC. Thank you for taking Jack's loose bowels in stride, and I hope you had a change of clothes at work.
Thank you to Chantelle, an opthamologist at OVC who came in to examine Jack even when she wasn't doing clinics on Friday. She was thorough and straightforward, and fully explained all of our options to us. She supervised the operation that would remove that final five needles from Jack's eye.
Thank you to the anesthesiologists who safely put Jack under for his final operation, and in doing so caused him to resemble a poodle owned by a six-year-old. Thank you to the staff at OVC that took care of Jack while he stayed there overnight on Friday. Thank you to everyone at work for being understanding when we told them we had to talk the day off to take care of Jack.
Most of all, thank you to Tara, our dear friend and studying veterinary opthamologist, who - without hesitation - got up from bed and drove from Kitchener to OVC in Guelph. There she spent over an hour removing 30-40 nearly invisible needles from the inside of Jack's eye. Afterwards, she set us up with the necessary medications to keep the eye from getting worse, as she recognized that Jack would need more specialized care. The next morning she spent her time calling countless clinics in Ontario, trying to get Jack an appointment with an opthamologist. She ended up getting us an appointment with Chantelle, her supervisor. In the afternoon, with Jack unconscious, she used a microscope and some amazing skill to remove the remaining needles from Jack's eye, thereby mitigating further damage. And all throughout the ordeal, in her confident yet unassuming way, she would keep us up-to-date with what the current status was, what the options were, how much things would cost, and what needed to be done. She lessened our worries and healed our cat. Her dedication and compassion is inspiring.
Carolyn and I thank you, and Jack - though he might not appreciate the cone and eye medication - thanks you.
[Edit: Just to let everyone know, Jack is doing much better now. He is receiving eye medication to help heal the ulcer on his cornea. He's going in for a checkup on Wednesday, and if all goes well, he'll have the cone off by the weekend.]
[Edit 2: Photo credit goes to Carolyn]
