Sick animals at risk in El Paso
Yesterday morning, my beloved cat Humphrey passed away...he had been at the animal emergency center all night and was stable, but the center closes at 8am, and I was forced to move him to his regular vet. clinic for the day and was instructed to bring him back and forth like that until he was eating on his own again since there are no 24 hour animal hospitals in the area and it was crucial that he be monitored at all times. When they took him off the oxygen, he collapsed and despite attempts at CPR, he died.
He was under the care of Dr. Robinson at the Eastwood Animal Clinic for the duration of his illness, which started a little over a week ago (she didn't know exactly what caused it, but his liver was in terrible shape and he had stopped eating on his own). He stayed overnight, received IV fluids, etc. and was sent back home with me and a bucketful of meds., some Hill's AD formula, and a syringe so I could force feed him every 4-6 hours. He seemed to be getting better, but another panel of bloodwork showed his chemistry was still way off, so I brought him in for "strong antibiotic" shots for 3 days...on the third day, the staff had us waiting for about 40 minutes before anyone saw him, and Dr. Robinson was in surgery with another animal by the time he was seen. The 2 technicians we saw were not remotely involved in his case, and I was very upset at not having someone who was familiar with his case see him that day as well as the fact that they had a very sick patient waiting that long to be seen when the other animals there were getting routine shots and check-ups, etc.
That was Wednesday. He began rejecting his food later that evening, and I had to rush him to the Animal Emergency Center. They worked all night to get a catheter in him, but he was so dehydrated his veins were impossible to get hold of. Eastwood had told me that the AD formula was hydrating enough that I didn't have to hydrate with electrolytes or extra water, but clearly that was not the case. I also believe they overmedicated him and after further research, I found out that prednisone (one of the meds they gave him) can not be processed if the liver is compromised...did this medication make him sicker than he already was by making his liver work harder for a drug it couldn't absorb and convert? Did they really care about saving my cat, or were they just making as much money as they could on him?
Placing blame will not bring my little guy back, I know, but I just want to warn people about the clinic that failed us...and I really want to rally some people up to get a 24 hour animal hospital here in El Paso...moving sick animals back and forth can be fatal, as it was in Humphrey's case. He was very, very sick and may have died anyway, but I just wish it could have been at home, in my arms, with dignity...not in a strange place without me being his last memory of this world.
Humphrey's lifelong companion, Harley, is as devastated as I am...they slept with their little paws curled around each other for the last 12 (going on 13) years...if anyone has suggestions about how to cheer her up, I would really appreciate it. I'm so worried about her, I don't want her get sick from heartbreak...thanks for listening, whoever's out there...
|
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Linear Mode
