My Siamese Has IBD (Or So Was Told)

That's the part that baffles me most. I just don't get why she
wouldn't just 'fess up that something had gone wrong if it was a
reaction to the anesthesia. It makes it seem like there was a
combination of errors- anesthesia reaction plus something else that
she wouldn't want to admit to, you know? Then again, if it was a tech
doing the procedure instead of the vet, that would explain it, too.
Regardless, it's just completely unethical on the part of the vet to
not tell you about whatever had happened. It's not like an owner
doesn't understand that things sometimes go wrong, but it is not her
decision as to whether or not the owner should know when something
goes wrong.

*** I've been wondering the same. Unless the BAER vet was right ... that
Ming had a heart attack while under anesthesia. What he suspects is that it
was a tech who administered the anesthesia to perform the flush. It's
possible Ming could've choked, then stopped breathing. Then the tech lied
to the vet. Something tells me that that's more the likely scenario.
Because out of the blue while I stood there during that week to make my
payment, the vet made a comment about "this is why I pay my techs
expensively; it's hard to find good techs." Where that came from, I don't
remember .. if she's responding to a comment I made about her techs doing
everything like being in the back and answering phones. But in hindsight
now, I'd say I can take the comment as a defensive one.



You sound like a tough cookie, Zaida; I know I'm impressed. It sounds
like Ming couldn't be in better hands with this challenge, and I
think if anybody can get the little guy adjusted to the changes in
his abilities, you can.


*** Gee, thanks, Laura. I just feel so sorry for him. He loves looking out
the window, you know. My husband even said to allow him for a few minutes
outside. But that just scares me because he is totally deaf. He can still
make a leap for that wall if he wants to; I don't underestimate this cat at
all. And I'm not scared of him leaping and missing, but of getting hit. So
I dare not let him out even if it's to make him feel good.

*** OT (I hope you all forgive me) ... There's a very long story behind
Ming. I adopted him when he was feral. I don't know where he came from,
but all I know is it all started when he came over to visit. There are
other cats in the neighborhood, I suspect some from the backyard neighbor
who prefers to let his cats loose and uncollared. So here's Ming who came
over to snack and sleep in my house for a good 3-month period. Then one
day, he stopped coming. 3 days have passed before I saw him again. Then
gasp I discovered he had a big chunk of his rear end gone. But the wound
isn't fresh anymore; it was green with pus and obviously festering. I
didn't know what to do. I cleaned it, bandanged it and applied antibiotic
as best I could, but I also bought a collar and put it on Ming, attached a
note with it for any of the neighbors to find and read. Then the next day
as I had hoped, the other backyard neighbor said that no one owned this cat;
but that he also visited her and her kids. Apparently, some rottweiler was
loose in the neighborhood several nights before. She did say I can keep
this cat. So without further delay and concession from my husband who said
I can keep Ming vbs, I immediately took him in to an emergency vet close
by and the rest is history.

*** I literally saved his ass. lol.

*** But incorporating him within the household in totality didn't come easy.
He was sweet when he was visiting, but after bringing him in permanently, he
was such a b****. He literally climbed "walls", window screens, curtains,
blinds. He had an incessant howl and he peed everywhere. Oh he knew where
the potty was, but he just refused to be "won" over. He also bit our hands
or would pounce on our ankles. There was no telling with this cat. He was
absolutely unpredictable. I had nearly given up on him so many times, I
can't count the number of times I came thisclose to bringing him to the
pound. We had, oh I'd say, at least 10 months of sleepless nights because
all he wanted was out. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I have to
compromise. So I let him out one day. He came back after 7 hours, dusty,
dirty, muddy -- but happy apparently.

*** Surprisingly, giving him a bath was a breeze. Ah, so he was cared for
at one point in his life. At any rate, when I wrote the Siamese Rescue to
ask for help in curbing Ming's bad habits, I was told among other things to
never to let him out. The dog bite was a good example why not to and though
I did understand, Ming's personality was such that I had to consider what it
was that just made him tick the way he did. I sometimes wonder how he
became feral. He is neutered, so the neighbor and I were guessing that he
must've been abandoned.

*** So ya know, Laura, giving up on him many times in the past would've been
too easy.


I've also perused other boards on the Humane Society
posts and you'd all be surprised how many vets are simply screwed.

Screwed how? Incompetent?

*** Exactly.


And by
the by, the animal lawyer I contacted told me that the cost to pursue
this
matter outweighs the cost that I can recover.

No real surprise there; did he say whether you'd be able to recover
court costs and fees if you won?

*** Actually, this was what the lawyer wrote:
==========

Ms. Tandoc:

First of all, it sounds to me like Ming is improving finally. Obviously,
the difficulty with your situation is that it would be difficult to show
that the IBD is somehow related to the ear flush. Since you indicate you
have gotten second opinions, a veterinarian is the correct party to help you
get to the underlying problem. In terms of a legal case, you still have the
difficulty of proving that Ming's symptoms and problems are related to the
ear flush. Even then, and despite the fact that you have spent quite a
large sum of money, the cost of pursuing the case would not justify what you
would recover, even if you were given back every dime you have spent. In
other words, it would cost more to go after the vet than you have already
paid. That tends to be the problem with these types of cases ...
cost-benefit analysis often makes them unfeasible.

My advice is that you find a new vet that you are pleased with, focus on
getting Ming to continue the eating and healthy again, and, if your are
insistent on going after the first vet consider small claims court. You
will need another vet to testify that the first vet caused the problem
(often the toughest part of the case) and then establish your damages (what
you have paid) in order to prevail.

Sorry I can't give you better news, and best of luck with Ming.
==========


If nothing else, I hope that this veterinarian learns to be honest
with her clients. Good luck, Zaida.

*** With her ego, I expect her to be miffed, Laura. :-) But I've been
reading California's VBM's complaint process and I expect an uphill battle,
to be realistic. She could simply get fined and the matter wouldn't even
appear on public record. I will keep y'all updated for sure. :-)

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Hi Laura and everyone!

I've been in a tailspin since my last post, occasionally checking this ng.
I've sad news.

Ming has been diagnosed officially as being deaf bilaterally (both ears).
I
found a vet within reasonable distance who had a BAER diagnostic equipment
and I took Ming there. I was present and assisting the vet throughout the
whole procedure. He sedated Ming with a small dose of Katamine and found
that this cat is very sensitive to this drug. He suspects if it's the
same
one the vet administered during his ear flushing procedure, that Ming OD'd
on it. His personal take is that Ming suffered an acute MI (heart attack)
and from that, Ming was anoxic (lacking oxygen) for a good 4 to 5 minutes
during the ear flushing. Anoxia, he suspects, is enough to affect any
number of nerve tissue, and in Ming's case, render his 8th cranial nerve
(auditory) damaged.

He said that other cats normally come out of sedation, from the small dose
he gave Ming, within 10 to 15 minutes. In Ming's case, it took 45
minutes.
Even at home, he was still groggy coming out of it and it took 5 hours to
fully recover. This vet thinks that Ming's vet's assistant probably lied
to
the vet. I even had the notion in the first place that it wasn't the vet
who performed the ear flush procedure but one of her assistants, which
begs
the question: who is allowed to perform any procedure involving
anesthesia?
Just the vet, right?

As for Ming, I've been giving him nothing but total TLC, playing with him
gently now. Because he's strength is nowhere near as his old self. As
I've told the vet who gave the BAER test, Ming is weak in his hind legs
and
yes, he did note that to be true. Ming can't push himself to jump. And
he
totally misses the couch or chair. When having to jump to bed, he has to
pull himself up by standing up to lean himself with his front paws against
the side of the bed, then pull himself up with his claws from that
position.
Last night he missed, I think, because I heard a big thud and that woke me
and my husband up. I immediately picked him up from the floor and when I
got him to the bed, he was shaking his head; poor thing.

I also have lighting now in the hallways, through the staircase and
kitchen.
He still loves to roam around the house, but I make sure his pathways are
always lit. His meows are so-loud now and he doesn't "talk" to me in
those
different inflections that he used to have anymore.

What is my next recourse? Vet board? The last vet told me that even if I
had taken Ming to the farthest part in town (Tustin, California - I live
40
miles away) where they have the fancy diagnostic machines, no surgery can
bring Ming's hearing back if it's an auditory nerve damage.

I am so sullen with this diagnosis, even if in my heart, I knew, but
denied
the possibility of his being totally deaf. I'm so grief-stricken that I
can't even begin to write up the most objective complaint report. I have
all the forms here and have been dragging my feet. My brother told me
that
I'm grieving is what I look like, being unable to put together the courage
to fight the b**** who did this to Ming. Small claims court? No vet
would
like to support me on my behalf (remember their famous line "in the best
interest of professionalism"?) BUT yes, I do have the last vet's
diagnosis
on paper and yes, he knows what I'm planning to do. So he stamped it with
his name, address and phone number, wrote in his diagnosis of "this pet is
deaf bilaterally", then signed his own name. That was the best he could
do
without having to speak up against a co-vet in writing.

I don't know ... after Ming someday, I don't think I'd ever want to own
another pet, knowing what I know now that if something ever does go wrong
with my pet, I can't count on any vet to be honest with me.

At any rate, thanks everyone for all your input and help in the initial
stages to help me muddle through. If someone out there knows what other
legal recourse I have to ensure that this mishap goes into Ming's vet's
file, I'll do everything I can to do that. I find myself completely
stupefied that at this day and age, "mistakes" like these can still go
unpunished. The BAER vet said to me that most likely, Ming's vet's notes
will stand. I'm like "even in the face of total deafness?" The only way
I
know for her to get away with this is to say to the board that she
informed
me of everything that was performed or has been diagnosed in Ming. Well,
I
have this long thread to support all my suspicions from day one.

Will keep you all posted. Thanks again!


Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Hi Laura and everyone!

I've been in a tailspin since my last post, occasionally checking this ng.
I've sad news.

Ming has been diagnosed officially as being deaf bilaterally (both ears).
I
found a vet within reasonable distance who had a BAER diagnostic equipment
and I took Ming there. I was present and assisting the vet throughout the
whole procedure. He sedated Ming with a small dose of Katamine and found
that this cat is very sensitive to this drug. He suspects if it's the
same
one the vet administered during his ear flushing procedure, that Ming OD'd
on it. His personal take is that Ming suffered an acute MI (heart attack)
and from that, Ming was anoxic (lacking oxygen) for a good 4 to 5 minutes
during the ear flushing. Anoxia, he suspects, is enough to affect any
number of nerve tissue, and in Ming's case, render his 8th cranial nerve
(auditory) damaged.

He said that other cats normally come out of sedation, from the small dose
he gave Ming, within 10 to 15 minutes. In Ming's case, it took 45
minutes.
Even at home, he was still groggy coming out of it and it took 5 hours to
fully recover. This vet thinks that Ming's vet's assistant probably lied
to
the vet. I even had the notion in the first place that it wasn't the vet
who performed the ear flush procedure but one of her assistants, which
begs
the question: who is allowed to perform any procedure involving
anesthesia?
Just the vet, right?

As for Ming, I've been giving him nothing but total TLC, playing with him
gently now. Because he's strength is nowhere near as his old self. As
I've told the vet who gave the BAER test, Ming is weak in his hind legs
and
yes, he did note that to be true. Ming can't push himself to jump. And
he
totally misses the couch or chair. When having to jump to bed, he has to
pull himself up by standing up to lean himself with his front paws against
the side of the bed, then pull himself up with his claws from that
position.
Last night he missed, I think, because I heard a big thud and that woke me
and my husband up. I immediately picked him up from the floor and when I
got him to the bed, he was shaking his head; poor thing.

I also have lighting now in the hallways, through the staircase and
kitchen.
He still loves to roam around the house, but I make sure his pathways are
always lit. His meows are so-loud now and he doesn't "talk" to me in
those
different inflections that he used to have anymore.

What is my next recourse? Vet board? The last vet told me that even if I
had taken Ming to the farthest part in town (Tustin, California - I live
40
miles away) where they have the fancy diagnostic machines, no surgery can
bring Ming's hearing back if it's an auditory nerve damage.

I am so sullen with this diagnosis, even if in my heart, I knew, but
denied
the possibility of his being totally deaf. I'm so grief-stricken that I
can't even begin to write up the most objective complaint report. I have
all the forms here and have been dragging my feet. My brother told me
that
I'm grieving is what I look like, being unable to put together the courage
to fight the b**** who did this to Ming. Small claims court? No vet
would
like to support me on my behalf (remember their famous line "in the best
interest of professionalism"?) BUT yes, I do have the last vet's
diagnosis
on paper and yes, he knows what I'm planning to do. So he stamped it with
his name, address and phone number, wrote in his diagnosis of "this pet is
deaf bilaterally", then signed his own name. That was the best he could
do
without having to speak up against a co-vet in writing.

I don't know ... after Ming someday, I don't think I'd ever want to own
another pet, knowing what I know now that if something ever does go wrong
with my pet, I can't count on any vet to be honest with me.

At any rate, thanks everyone for all your input and help in the initial
stages to help me muddle through. If someone out there knows what other
legal recourse I have to ensure that this mishap goes into Ming's vet's
file, I'll do everything I can to do that. I find myself completely
stupefied that at this day and age, "mistakes" like these can still go
unpunished. The BAER vet said to me that most likely, Ming's vet's notes
will stand. I'm like "even in the face of total deafness?" The only way
I
know for her to get away with this is to say to the board that she
informed
me of everything that was performed or has been diagnosed in Ming. Well,
I
have this long thread to support all my suspicions from day one.

Will keep you all posted. Thanks again!


Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Hi Laura and everyone!

I've been in a tailspin since my last post, occasionally checking this ng.
I've sad news.

Ming has been diagnosed officially as being deaf bilaterally (both ears).
I
found a vet within reasonable distance who had a BAER diagnostic equipment
and I took Ming there. I was present and assisting the vet throughout the
whole procedure. He sedated Ming with a small dose of Katamine and found
that this cat is very sensitive to this drug. He suspects if it's the
same
one the vet administered during his ear flushing procedure, that Ming OD'd
on it. His personal take is that Ming suffered an acute MI (heart attack)
and from that, Ming was anoxic (lacking oxygen) for a good 4 to 5 minutes
during the ear flushing. Anoxia, he suspects, is enough to affect any
number of nerve tissue, and in Ming's case, render his 8th cranial nerve
(auditory) damaged.

He said that other cats normally come out of sedation, from the small dose
he gave Ming, within 10 to 15 minutes. In Ming's case, it took 45
minutes.
Even at home, he was still groggy coming out of it and it took 5 hours to
fully recover. This vet thinks that Ming's vet's assistant probably lied
to
the vet. I even had the notion in the first place that it wasn't the vet
who performed the ear flush procedure but one of her assistants, which
begs
the question: who is allowed to perform any procedure involving
anesthesia?
Just the vet, right?

As for Ming, I've been giving him nothing but total TLC, playing with him
gently now. Because he's strength is nowhere near as his old self. As
I've told the vet who gave the BAER test, Ming is weak in his hind legs
and
yes, he did note that to be true. Ming can't push himself to jump. And
he
totally misses the couch or chair. When having to jump to bed, he has to
pull himself up by standing up to lean himself with his front paws against
the side of the bed, then pull himself up with his claws from that
position.
Last night he missed, I think, because I heard a big thud and that woke me
and my husband up. I immediately picked him up from the floor and when I
got him to the bed, he was shaking his head; poor thing.

I also have lighting now in the hallways, through the staircase and
kitchen.
He still loves to roam around the house, but I make sure his pathways are
always lit. His meows are so-loud now and he doesn't "talk" to me in
those
different inflections that he used to have anymore.

What is my next recourse? Vet board? The last vet told me that even if I
had taken Ming to the farthest part in town (Tustin, California - I live
40
miles away) where they have the fancy diagnostic machines, no surgery can
bring Ming's hearing back if it's an auditory nerve damage.

I am so sullen with this diagnosis, even if in my heart, I knew, but
denied
the possibility of his being totally deaf. I'm so grief-stricken that I
can't even begin to write up the most objective complaint report. I have
all the forms here and have been dragging my feet. My brother told me
that
I'm grieving is what I look like, being unable to put together the courage
to fight the b**** who did this to Ming. Small claims court? No vet
would
like to support me on my behalf (remember their famous line "in the best
interest of professionalism"?) BUT yes, I do have the last vet's
diagnosis
on paper and yes, he knows what I'm planning to do. So he stamped it with
his name, address and phone number, wrote in his diagnosis of "this pet is
deaf bilaterally", then signed his own name. That was the best he could
do
without having to speak up against a co-vet in writing.

I don't know ... after Ming someday, I don't think I'd ever want to own
another pet, knowing what I know now that if something ever does go wrong
with my pet, I can't count on any vet to be honest with me.

At any rate, thanks everyone for all your input and help in the initial
stages to help me muddle through. If someone out there knows what other
legal recourse I have to ensure that this mishap goes into Ming's vet's
file, I'll do everything I can to do that. I find myself completely
stupefied that at this day and age, "mistakes" like these can still go
unpunished. The BAER vet said to me that most likely, Ming's vet's notes
will stand. I'm like "even in the face of total deafness?" The only way
I
know for her to get away with this is to say to the board that she
informed
me of everything that was performed or has been diagnosed in Ming. Well,
I
have this long thread to support all my suspicions from day one.

Will keep you all posted. Thanks again!


Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)


"soft" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)


"soft" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)


"soft" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 17:32:50 -0700, "Zaida"
wrote:

Your story was very touching - I don't have any legal advise for you
but I will keep you and Ming in prayer

Rev Karryl

"Zaida" wrote in message
...
*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)



You're welcome. I think you are a class act because your response to this is
so measured. I'm afraid I'd do something that would send me up the river if
someone did this to my cat.

"Zaida" wrote in message
...
*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)



You're welcome. I think you are a class act because your response to this is
so measured. I'm afraid I'd do something that would send me up the river if
someone did this to my cat.

"Zaida" wrote in message
...
*** Thank you, thank you, {{{everyone}}} =)



You're welcome. I think you are a class act because your response to this is
so measured. I'm afraid I'd do something that would send me up the river if
someone did this to my cat.