The steroid insomnia hasn’t been as bad this time, but it’s
obviously hitting me a little bit on this final day. What’s on my brain right now has little to do
with cancer and chemo except that for a moment it helped me to feel something
else and to even forget about it.
Sometimes people know what they will do with their lives,
professionally I mean, but sometimes the world throws you curves and you end up
in a place that was wholly unexpected but not unwelcome. There are always parts of a job that are
monotonous or drive you crazy but then there are days like today. I have a strange job, but only in the sense
that people often tell me they have no idea what I do. I manage a small veterinary clinic which is
supposed to mean that I work mainly with people: employees, client relations,
etc. But having worked there for over a
decade now, I have watched people’s pets grow from puppies and kittens to
senior pets. I have become dear friends
with clients and held them in very difficult times. I will give people my cell phone number
because sometimes that is just what you do.
Living in Houston (especially during an oil crisis) has also
meant that I’ve had to learn the ins and outs of shipping pets
internationally. This is not glamorous
but it is complicated and it is serious because if done incorrectly some
countries will euthanize an animal upon entry.
It’s stressful and expensive and for some reason I find myself drawn to
helping people through it. Maybe it’s
living vicariously through someone else’s adventure or maybe it’s figuring out
the process and making a plan (that’s the stage manager in me), but regardless,
I take it very seriously and I enjoy doing it despite the anxiety.
Today I had two major issues, a dog that I have known for
almost a decade and who is beloved by my staff was having a pretty major
neurologic episode and the doctor and I were having a difficult time getting
her into the specialist. I’ve been
working shortened hours because I get so tired, but I wasn’t going to leave until
we got the dog on the way and the medical record sent. While we were finally getting that wrapped
up, a new client came in who was supposed to be travelling to Central America with
his dog today. He had gotten the
paperwork done in Colorado but the paperwork was wrong. It wasn’t the right form, it wasn’t endorsed
by the USDA, it wasn’t even done within the right time frame. I got on the phone but quickly discovered we
were out of luck, there was no way I was getting this dog on a plane within 24
hours.
I can’t explain it, but I felt a kinship to this man and so
for the next two hours he made phone calls, I worked on paperwork and we did as
much as we could to figure out a solution.
It was still up in the air when I was starting to leave, but we had
options which was a step in the right direction. He was still sitting on the step as I was leaving
and he asked me for a ride. He had taken
a cab because he’s not from Houston, this was just a quick stop from Colorado
on the way to Central America and he was staying with friends. I paused for just an instant and then waved
him and his dog toward my car.
Do I normally invite bearded, tattooed strangers into my
car? No.
But sometimes in your life, you make connections and you trust your
instincts. It was a delightful car
ride. I found out that he is
dancer/performance artist going to teach English through movement in Central
America. That’s kind of when it all made
sense, a dancer from Colorado, he was my people. You just know them when you see them.
I had a similar experience in college when I found myself in
charge of volunteers and operations at a Space Convention. I went to a friend’s house to pick up a total
stranger who was going to be my partner in this brand new adventure and was
faced with the most adorable bearded man who to this day is still one of my
favorite people on the planet despite not having talked in years.
I was exhausted when I got home yesterday, but I was
happy. I felt like I had helped someone
and that for one fleeting moment, cancer didn’t enter the equation. I could just be me.
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