And then I SLEPT. I slept on the way there. I slept in the cabin. I slept in the boat. My Sister-I-Love Cara, seeing that I could not stay awake, said, "It must be exhausting making medical decisions for pets all day every day." And THAT is the closest anyone has ever gotten to describing what is hardest about veterinary medicine. I love it, and the snuggles unique to our career sure do help, but I - like every other veterinary medical professional - get worn out.
I slept fourteen hours the first day we were home, then twelve, then ten and now I am trying to sleep eight hours a night. EVERYONE knows they need downtime. I keep trying to not need downtime. It has - I am not overstating this - almost destroyed me more than once.
The days off, the nights at home, the early afternoons, the vacations, they can all offset the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion if I let them. It is a GOOD exhaustion - a rewarding, worthy, where I am supposed to be doing what I am supposed to be doing sort of exhaustion, but draining just the same. Everyone - my family, my friends, my vet team and my boss - is looking out for each other, and we do what we can to make sure we are all well, but it is all for naught if the lifeline is not grabbed when it is offered.
