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Date: 08/20/06
13:46:10
Subject: Popeye has
gone to the bridge.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. It has
just been a horrible weekend. As a teacher we are not supposed
to take a day off school the first week unless it's an 'extreme
emergency'. I followed protocol, called my assistant principal
twice and got no return call. Called my absence in and had an
approved personal day form in my mailbox before I took Popeye into the
vet on Friday morning.
We went back and forth on what to do and then decided to wait for
the thyroid test to come in on Saturday morning. Meanwhile they
had me bring him home thinking it was less stressful for him
here. However, he could not breathe, so I called the vet back
and was arranging to take him back in. In the meantime at 3:00
(when our school day is over) I received a "corrected form" from my
new principal stating that the absence was unexcused and I was being
docked for the day.
Those of you who know my history know that this was enough to put
me over the edge. This is a brand new principal and I was just
in shock. Meanwhile the vet said that if they hyper-t came back
as treatable Popeye was going to have to be hospitalized on oxygen for
several days at least....... I told the vet that my principal had just
docked me for the day and was obviously not going to work with me on
getting him to the vet (who opens at 8:00, when I'm supposed to be at
work at 7:15). Plus my mobile vet was going out of town
for the weekend, and if I waited until Saturday I would have had to
take him in to have him euthanized. I was so hysterical by
that time that I just called Dr. Love, and she said she would come by
and look at him. She said he was not going to make it without
oxygen and quite a few days of hospitalization if the test came back
positive for hyper-t. So I let him go.
I have just been in bed crying ever since. I did call my
principal and she said she would 'discuss it with human resources' on
Monday. It's a long story, and I wrote it all out because I plan
to get my psychiatrist to write a letter excusing the day as a sick
day for mental illness or filing a grievance. I just cannot
believe someone would be so cruel. I have been with the system
longer than this new principal and I have NEVER had a principal give
me a problem when I had a sick animal. If you want to see
the letter and have any advice I will send it to you personally.
Michelle, I thought being an attorney you might have some
advice? I don't really know your area of expertise.
Anyway, I am a mess and don't know how I'm going to make it through
work tomorrow. It's like on top of the death I realize I have at
least the rest of this year to work with someone who kicked me in the
teeth on what was already a horrible day. I don't see how I can
face her. How do you deal with people like that?
Popeye's passing was very peaceful. Dr. Love gave him a
sedative and found the vein right away. He was basically
unconscious when she administered the drug. I wrapped him in a
towel and slept with him that night and took him to my regular vet's
to be picked up by the crematorium. I believe Popeye would have
been 14 in November.
The thyroid test did come back negative, and Dr. Pruitt called me
Saturday morning and said I had made the right decision. She
believes he had thrown a blood clot (thrombosis???) in his lung.
If I had euthanized him and then found out it was treatable I guess I
would have been in worse shape than I am now. Please pray for
me.
Tonya
wendy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
If
Popeye is hyper-T, the meds can reverse some of the
damage to the
heart if the heart problems are related
to the hyper-T. You should
use the transdermal gel
(rubbed into the ear) because of the
difficulty in
giving Popeye meds. That's what Julie gets and
she
doesn't even know she's getting
meds.
:)
Wendy
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