We took Winnie to the vet this morning. She was supposed to have a mass removed from her leg. We had the vet take a look a few months ago. She determined that the mass wasn't cancerous and suggested that we have it removed...to the tune of $400. Needless to say, it has taken us several months to get to a place where we were RELATIVELY comfortable paying for the surgery (we figured it was going to hurt no matter when we did it, so why not?). Couple this with the fact that we noticed the mass was bleeding the other night...but I digress.
Anyway, they did pre-op labs and found that Winnie's blood sugar was off the charts high. So, they diagnosed her with diabetes and said that they weren't going to do the surgery until her sugars were under control. Even though we didn't actually do the surgery, we still got to pay about $200 for insulin, the vet bill, and syringes. Sheesh. Fortunately, if we get things under control, Winnie can still enjoy somewhat of a "normal" life.
The vet tried to console me by telling me that because I'm a nurse, I won't have to bring Winnie into the office as regularly as some other owners would be required to, because I can monitor for signs of hyper or hypoglycemia at home. For that I am grateful.
I was a little surprised when I teared up while talking to the vet. As much as we love to gripe about the responsibilities that having two large dogs brings, I guess I have to admit that they are a part of the family, and that it really does make me sad to think about not having Winnie around. Connor asked about Winnie about a dozen times today while she was gone at the vet. I explained what was happening...and when Brandon got home, Connor informed him that Winnie had "diet peas".
I am going to go and deliver the insulin administration demo to my husband. Who knew that nursing school would come in so handy?
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