Veterinary hospital days are
often filled with surprise when patients become ill or emergencies arrive; you
never know what might happen. So, it was
this week at our veterinary hospital.
I had a rather full morning
with surgery and an afternoon schedule filled with bird patients. Early in the afternoon, I was in the exam room
with a wonderful woman and her pet Amazon parrot. We talked and laughed as I examined her bird. I took some tests to determine why her parrot
was ill. The woman was super sweet and
animated as we talked about her “baby”. At
some point, near the end of the appointment, I left the room to make up some
medications for her parrot. I asked one
of my technicians to go over the medications with her so I could move on to the
next client. When the technician went
into the room, the woman was in distress saying that she needed to get out of
the room because she was becoming overheated.
The technician apparently helped her out to the reception area, then all
hell broke loose. I was in the next room
and did not know this was occurring. The
next thing I know, my technician with a panicked look on her face came to me
and said, “Dr. Cappel, we need you in the reception area for an emergency!” I dropped what I was doing and hustled to the
waiting room expecting to see a dog or cat in distress. What I actually saw was my manager sitting next
to a woman that was struggling severely to breath. She could not really talk as she was sucking
for air, but she croaked out, I need oxygen.
I asked the manager if 911 had been called and she said, “Yes, they are
on their way.” I asked if someone was getting
oxygen, and my technician ran to get the machine. The client clutched my hands and looked at me
with terror in her eyes and blue lips and whispered, “Dr. Cappel, don’t let me
die.”
Oh, good Lord! This is not something that I am qualified to
handle. If her bird had collapsed, I
would know exactly what to do, but this?
I didn’t even realize that it was
the same lady that I was just talking to in the exam room. My mind was all over the place. She kept sucking for air and trying to vomit
all the while clutching at my manager and myself and begging us to help
her. My manager rifled through her
purse, trying to see if there was a medical alert card, or medications that might
help us determine what was wrong. When
the oxygen machine arrived in the reception area, I tried to apply the dog mask
as best I could to her face. People’s
faces are shaped differently than dog faces, so it really didn’t fit, but it
was better than nothing. She continued
to struggle and panic. The only thing
that I could think to do was to try to get her to calm down and focus on
getting oxygen into her non-working lungs. As I held the mask to her face, I decided
that the only thing I could do was to get her to focus on me and calm
down. If I remained calm, maybe she
would too. So, with terror in my mind, I
put on my calmest doctor-face and started to tell her that I was not going to
let her die. I was here with her and she
needed to focus on getting the oxygen into her lungs. I kept telling her that she was doing great,
the EMS was almost here, and that I was there with her. She was not going to die. It seemed like forever, but she began to calm
a bit and her lips became slightly less blue.
Her terrified eyes bored into mine as I calmly reassured her. In my brain, I was begging God to keep her
from dying in my arms. She was calmer and breathing a little better when EMS
arrived. They quickly loaded her onto their gurney, placed an appropriate oxygen
mask on her face, and wheeled her to their vehicle.
After she was safely with
the EMS team, I was able to take in the details of the situation and thank God
that I didn’t have to witness a human death.
Our veterinary team, our manager, and the other clients present in the
reception room were all outstanding.
They voluntarily became involved in keeping this woman safe and getting
the emergency response team in route.
They jumped into action to help a fellow human being through a crisis. They acted to the best of their ability, with
kindness, to do what they could to help her.
The teamwork and concern were remarkable.
Veterinary teams are
trained to respond to an animal emergency -- not human. After she left, the team attended to her Amazon,
setting him up to board for the evening and giving him his medication. What a
great lesson in staying in the moment, keeping calm, and taking action – even
if you have no idea what you are doing. Compassion
is compassion, and we all stand together to care for every soul.
Julie Cappel
"Keep calm because pain makes you stronger, fear makes you braver and heartbreak makes you wiser." - Ritu Ghatourey
Join me on the Podcast!
The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast with Dr. Julie Cappel
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