Week One: The Learning Curve

I've come up to the clinic tonight to take advantage of free wifi and check on a couple of our in-house patients.  Both patients are female dogs.  One is middle-aged with a broken pelvis and nasty gash from being hit by a car, the other is a 6-month old who is trying her best to tough out the cursed parvovirus.

It's been a little over a week since I checked in last, and looking back over the past 8 days all I can say is: phew!!  I've seen and learned a lot over this past week!  The mission team was here rocking socks Monday-Thursday.  We tackled the surgeries and attended to walk-in appointments Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  The cases ranged from standard vaccinations to severe corneal ulcers (yep, that's the eyeball) to abscesses, arthritis, gastrointestinal upset, ringworm, etc.  We were clipping right along and getting into the groove of the clinic.  I woke up on Thursday in a great mood!  It was one of those productive, hyper, smiley moods that makes you appreciate the little things in life and work efficiently.  It was perfect for the day that Thursday would become.  The entire week's schedule was full before we even made it to Window Rock, but as rez time would have it, many people weren't able to bring their pets to the clinic throughout the week for one reason or another (too far, too expensive, dog ran away for a few days...).  Until Thursday.  EVERYONE showed up on Thursday.  After 8 spays, 6 neuters, random walk-ins, and 14 hours of non-stop action, my energetic mood deteriorated and the mission team went through several states of delirium. After leaving the clinic we had grand plans of eating dinner, drinking a beer, and going to bed promptly so we could wake up the next morning and watch the sunrise with the rest of the mission team.  Instead, we ate dinner, drank a couple beers, and played grade school card games until 3:00am.  It's funny how second winds hit.  Lauren was the only one committed enough to go on the sunrise hike.  The rest of us enjoyed staring at the backside of our eyelids until mid-morning.

Once we all finally rolled out of bed on Friday we drove up to Chinle to visit Canyon de Chelly (pronounced "shay").  It was a beautiful afternoon hike complete with spectacular views, ruins, caves, and climbing.  It was a rewarding end to a productive week! :)


Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly.



White House ruins on the floor of Canyon de Chelly (1000 ft. below rim).



  By Saturday morning the entire mission group, aside from Lauren, had left for their 14 hour drive back to College Station, TX.  Lauren and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and decided to make our way down to Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.  We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant in Eager, AZ and received a "Gig 'em Aggies!" greeting from a man in the parking lot.  My "Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine" decal gave us away.  Both of our sandwiches were delicious, and they seemed even better when we learned that our lunch ticket had been covered by our new Aggie-loving friend!  We never caught his name, but he said he was originally from San Angelo, Texas and had 2 daughters who just graduated from college.  He said they were dirt poor and agreed that we probably were too.  He was right.  His generosity was uplifting and very much appreciated!  After lunch, Lauren, the dogs, and I arrived at Big Lake where we spent the weekend camping, hiking, and generally chillaxin'.  We popped my hot pink tent at a campsite with a waterfront view.  It was perfect!  The weather was great, the dogs were happy to run and swim, and the views were stellar!

Cheyenne & Seu awaiting the commencement of the "retrieve the stick out of the frigid mountain lake" game.

Saturday night's sunset over Big Lake in Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

Sunday's hike: Lauren, Seu, Cheyenne, and I at the top of Big Lake's ranger lookout station.

The four of us returned to Window Rock on Sunday afternoon feeling refreshed from our outdoorsy weekend.  Lauren and I cleaned up and headed into Gallup, NM (the closest sizeable town) for dinner and a movie before she left for her summer road trip adventure.  More perfection.  :)  We saw Disney's "Brave" and I had to restrain myself from calling my mother at midnight to apologize for being like Merida.  It's a good thing I didn't call; otherwise she would have undoubtedly been very bear-like.  You'll have to see the movie to understand those sentences.  Sorry.

And so here we are, partially into a new week!  So far, so good.  I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by an amazing clinic staff who laughs at my jokes and not at the stupid things I do every-now-and-again.  I am starting to respond to "Dr. Mills" and enjoying breaking my title in like a new pair of shoes (though I still prefer being on a first name basis).  I have my own corner in the vet's office and am beginning to establish a sense of professionalism in my mind.  As long as I have a coffee cup in-hand I feel legit.