#GivingTuesday

Do you have a veterinarian that means a lot to you? A veterinarian that has saved your pet’s life? A veterinarian that has been there from the first day to the last of your pet’s life? A veterinarian that was there and you cried on their shoulder, because you had no one else to turn to? A veterinarian that has answered your questions and calmed your fears?

If so, Not One More Vet, Inc. (NOMV) is an organization that you need to know about. Veterinarians are 4 times more likely to die by suicide than the general public and 2 times more likely to die by suicide than other professionals. These are statistics that the veterinary community is not proud of, but rather is a struggle that we, veterinarians, have regularly. This is not just an American issue, it is an international crisis. Current data shows that between 1 in 4-6 veterinarians has considered suicide. There are many factors that lead into this and there are a lot that still are not known. Not One More Vet, Inc has made its mission to end suicide in the veterinary profession. Through education, a peer-to-peer support group, and our grants program, NOMV has saved lives. We are working to give veterinarians the tools to deal with the specific stresses that we deal with on a daily basis. Through the highs and the lows of life, we are there for each other.

Did you know that Facebook and PayPal are donating up to $7 million dollars this Tuesday, November 27, 2018? A non-profit can receive up to $50,000 in a match. Last year, the match was gone by 6 am, but the donations will make a huge difference in the life of a non-profit.

This year Not One More Vet, Inc (NOMV) is hoping to raise at least $12,000 to provide up to 12 grants in 2019. These grants are used to help veterinarians that are in crisis.

In 2017 and 2018, the NOMV Grant Program has assisted in paying for in-patient treatment for multiple individuals in mental health crisis, finding relief/locum veterinarians for clinics when there has been a crisis or death of the veterinarian, obtained medication and food for a struggling single parent veterinarian, and many more ways. We hope to expand our program to help even more individuals as we have not had the funds to help everyone that has come to us. Please consider Not One More Vet, Inc. in your holiday giving plans!

If you would like to donate via Facebook, you can donate here.

If you are not on Facebook, but would still like to donate, you can do so here with PayPal, Credit or Debit card. You can even set up a repeating monthly donation!!

If you have any questions about what NOMV does, please let me know. I am happy to answer any questions you may have!

Please, tell me about the veterinarian that means a lot to you!

             How can you save a life?

Why do I do what I do?

Four years ago, I joined a small group of veterinarians in a group called Not One More Vet on Facebook. Two years ago, I joined that group as an admin to add individuals to the group after verifying that they were in fact graduate veterinarians. We went from about 2,000 people to currently over 16,000 members. In 2017, the other admins and I started a 501c3 non-profit, Not One More Vet, Inc.

Today, we published a blog post from one of our members, Guided by Something…. As I read this blog post, tears streamed down my face. Why do ask? Because lately, my physical and mental health has been suffering. I haven’t had the chance to take care of myself. I have been sick in mind, body, and spirit. I have been feeling lost and as if nothing I do matters. That I am not enough. Even though I still do not feel 100%, I realized that little and big things happen all the time that I don’t know about. I realized that if my other admins and I had not been here to manage NOMV, to add this author to the group, to give a bit of ourselves every day to thousands of others, then this life may be not be with us any longer.

This week is Veterinary Technician Week. A week to celebrate the wonderful work that the technicians do to promote animal health. If you haven’t already, please go to your local veterinary clinic with a little treat, send a card, or a pizza. Let the technicians, and the entire veterinary staff know that you care. You too, can be a part of saving a life.

The Other Side of the Exam Room

            Boots in the sun

Today, I was the on the pet owner side of the patient in the hospital. My cat, Boots, went to Animal Dentistry and Oral Surgery Specialists, LLC to have his oral cavity examined

He has had some issues prehending food, but we attributed it to a previous injury. Recently, I noticed he had some bleeding from the crown of one of his canine teeth after brushing. We scheduled the appointment.

The following radiograph (x-ray) shows that there has been significant disease in his teeth for a long time. The infection inside of the mandibular canine teeth (pulpitis) spread to the bone. The wide pulp cavity of the canine teeth show that the damage was done when he was very young. Other that picking up food gingerly he never showed signs of problems or pain that were noticed by my husband or by myself.

 

Boots’s mandible prior to surgical extraction of the canine teeth.

Despite having 6 teeth surgically extracted, he ate his dinner with much more ease than he ever has before.

My job is literally to be able to tell when an animal is in pain or is sick. I am so embarrassed to admit that I missed the signs in my own little guy. I am sad that I allowed him to be in pain and discomfort for years. I can’t expect you, the client that is not trained, to know the signs and to see them all as well.

Please know that when a veterinarian recommends blood work, radiographs, or any diagnostic test, it is not out of greed for money, it is because we need the information to best help your pet to be healthy.

Thank you, Dr. Honzelka, for taking care of Boots for us today. It was worth every penny for him to be cared for and to remove the pain he was in!

Travel, Lots of Travel

It has been awhile since I have posted a blog as life has been crazy busy for the last few years, but it seems like forever. Between relief work throughout Wisconsin and Alaska, the mission to Mongolia, veterinary conferences, as well as Not One More Vet events, I have barely had a moment to just sit (other than on an airplane or in a car/bus/train).

Moose in Wasilla, Alaska

On March 31st, I left home to spend 5 weeks working in Alaska, followed by a week at the Estonian University of Life Sciences, specifically at the veterinary school. While in Estonia, my Not One More Vet colleague, Dr. Carrie Jurney, and I spoke about The Science of Happiness. Seven groups of veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary technicians came through the doors to listen to the initial lecture and then attended workshops where we worked through emotional intelligence and crisis intervention. Our wonderful hosts took us to learn how to blacksmith with Mart Salumaa at Eesti Põllumajandusmuuseum! Seriously, this was one of the coolest things I have ever done!

Melanie and her initial hammer strikes

Carrie, Mart, and Melanie after successful blacksmithing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Town Tallin, Estonia

 

I found the Mongolian Embassy in Estonia!

On May 13, 2018, I arrived for the first vacation to do nothing that I can remember taking. I was not there for a wedding, a conference, or work. I was there to rest my brain and body and to spend time with my sister and her family in the United Kingdom. I was able to sit, to sleep, to read, to lay in the grass with the sun shining on me, to play with the kids, and of course Dr. Mario marathons with my sister. I had the joy of meeting some wonderful people, including veterinarians that I have only known by name and Facebook picture.

Melanie and sister, Kayla, at Isaac Newton’s house in the orchard.

Relaxing in the garden, soaking in the rays

Relaxing and letting my body rest was so important. I need to do this more often – resting. I suspect that you may need this, too. Please take the time to take care of yourself in this super busy world that we live in. Busy is not a virtue, although it appears that we may have tried to make it so.

This is not good-bye, it is see you soon!

Goodbyes are hard, so we will focus on just seeing each other later!

When is your next vacation? Will you at least take a 10 minute break?

 

 

Perspective on September 11

This day, September 11th, always touches my soul in many ways. Since my last post of this kind, I have had so many more things happen in my life. My business has grown, and I am busier than I ever thought I would be. I am a part of saving lives on a daily basis through Not One More Vet, Inc., the non-profit that I am blessed to be a part of, with the goal of preventing suicide in the veterinary profession. Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have caused devastation around the Caribbean and the southern USA mainland. My heart is broken for the devastation, especially that in the Virgin Islands where a part of my heart was left behind after working there in 2014 and 2015. I am in preparation now for heading down to help with relief efforts in Texas after Hurricane Harvey, but my heart longs to help in the US VI. Please extend your love of the world to those around you. Offer a piece of yourself and your life to someone else. The only way that we will solve the problems of our world is to extend our hands, ourselves, our supinator.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I am reposting my thoughts from September 11, 2013, because it says the words that still need saying. My life has changed since this day 14 years ago, my life has changed since this day 2 years ago. Fourteen years ago, I was shocked by what had happened while I was focusing on my dreams of becoming a veterinarian. Two years ago, I was in a new job and loving it. One year ago, I was relieved of my position at that job with no warning, no explanation. Today, I am still saddened that our world is filled with so much hatred and anger. I am still hopeful that we will learn the lessons of the supinator muscle – even if it is one person at a time, one life at a time. I am mourning the lives of those that have  been lost – to terrorism, to war, to suicide (this week is Suicide Prevention Week – please pay attention to those that are around you, a kind gesture or words of support could save a life), to disease, to malnutrition. I celebrate my life and business (that change in employment status lead to the development of my own business!). Our lives are never all happiness or all pain. We live in a dichotomy of feelings. Happiness. Sorrow. Pain. Joy. Fearfulness. Confidence. I am amazed at how we can be so many things at one time. Embrace them all as they all are apart of our humanity.

Take time today to hug someone you love. To meet someone new. To stretch your comfort zone, just a bit, to help someone in need of friendship.  Start to build a relationship with someone based on dignity and respect.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Today is September 11, 2013. It is amazing how different and yet how similar the world is compared to 12 years ago. Where were you and what were you doing 12 years ago today? I was sitting in the anatomy lab at the University of Wisconsin – Madison School of Veterinary Medicine dissecting the supinator muscle. I will never forget that muscle and what it does. The supinator allows the front leg (or arm) to rotate the paw (or hand) toward the other paw (or hand). I remember my professor telling us, “The supinator allows the hand to rotate as if you are holding a bowl of soup.” When I think of this position, I think of giving and sharing. It was a contrast of thoughts within my mind – hostility and aggression versus gifts and renewal.

As information came out about what was happening in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, my head was spinning. I was forced to face some of my deepest fears and anxieties. One might ask why as I was thousands of miles away from the destruction on the east coast. I was “safe” in Wisconsin. The planes crashing and the towers falling, shook me to the core. For years, I had struggled with depression and anxiety – specifically anxiety that if someone was even 5 minutes late, then they either hated me and were not going to show up or that they were bleeding to death on the side of the road and I was thinking horrible thoughts about them hating me. The thing about depression and anxiety is that there is rarely rational thought within the mind at the time. I was suddenly imagining that I was the person in the building or the plane that could not get to their family. I was the person that was left wondering, wishing that their loved one would come home, yet never would.

We were given the option of going home, to leave class and do whatever we needed to do. I couldn’t leave, but I couldn’t stay. I decided to walk around the building and a friend offered me a cell phone to call my friends on the east coast to make sure they were alright. While I was walking, I heard the radio announcing the fall of the second tower. I went back into the lab, shared the news, and sat down with my partners. I sat back down to focus on something that I could control, to focus on the supinator – the muscle of giving and sharing.

As our world now struggles with thoughts of Egypt and Syria, of continued unrest in places all over the world, I hope and pray that leaders of all nations learn the lesson of the supinator. To turn away from violence and instead focus on healing, giving, and sharing. To share ideas, thoughts, and feelings. To give food and aid to the people that are down trodden. Every major religion that I have studied shares the same basic tenants – to take care of the poor and the sick. I know that religion sparks many wars and acts of evil, but that is not the intent of any of those religions. I am saddened when the will of man destroys what is beautiful in this world. Please, leaders and followers of our world, stand up and respect each other. Sit down to a bowl of soup, a cup of tea, and learn to love each other, not in spite of, but because of our differences. Your supinator allows you to turn your hand into a hand shake, not into a fist. Let us learn from our supinator.

Five Days to Go

I have 5 days to raise the initial payment for my Mission to Mongolia. My goal is raise $10,000 to cover specific fees for staying in Mongolia, travel costs, rabies titer, passport fees, and incidental costs that arise. In 2014, I actually ended up needing medical care while in Mongolia.

In 5 days, the initial $2,000 need to be in my CVM fundraising account. If you are interested in helping me reach my initial and final goal, I would greatly appreciate it! Please also keep myself, CVM, and the Mongolian people in your thoughts and prayers.

How to Donate to a Short Term Missions Account Online:

• Go to http://www.cvmusa.org/ and then to Support > Short Term Missions.  Fill in the Designation box with a drop-down menu to “other” (at the bottom of the list). A white box will appear, and please enter in my account number (UCVSTM1655) and write in my name, Melanie Goble – ST Missions in that box. CVM will make sure it gets designated to my trip. Please let me know if you have questions.
• Checks can be made out to Christian Veterinary Missions with “UCVSTM1655/Melanie Goble” on the memo line and mailed to Christian Veterinary Missions 19303 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98133 or given to me to mail in.

I can’t wait to see you again, my Mongolian friends!

Not One More Vet (NOMV)

In 2014, a new Facebook group was started called Not One More Vet (NOMV) by a wonderful veterinarian named Nicole. She was pained by the death of Sophia Yin from mental illness. Nicole thought this Facebook page would be a good way for close veterinary friends to talk about the stresses that we go through and to hopefully make an impact, however small, in veterinary medicine. It could be a place to start changing the way we view mental illness and suicide as a profession. Even the CDC has noticed that veterinary medicine has an unusually high number of anxiety, depression, and suicide, to the point that the CDC has been working on figuring out why this is the case. There are many theories, including access to methods, frequent explanation and belief that euthanasia is often the best (or only) option, perfectionism, compassion fatigue, and many others.

I was lucky enough to be asked to join this group about 2 weeks after it began. I have made new friends and seen a change in my own mental health for the better. In August of 2016, I heard that there was a backlog of people trying to join the group, but it was becoming more and more difficult to verify that people were in fact veterinarians, so I saw a need and offered to help. The group of 4 admins (Nicole, Carrie, Jason, and David) jumped on the offer and the as more veterinarians were approved to join, the requests to join came in exponentially, we have added 2 additional admins (Nora and Leigh to help as our international contingency has grown dramatically). As of today (April 1, 2017), it is no joke, but the group has reached 11,400 members! Wow, is it a lot of work to keep track of everyone and see that when they cry out for help, we are there to give it to them.

Despite having so many veterinarians connected and doing a lot to help them, we have not been able to stop the suicides. We have stopped some of them, and multiple people have come to us to share their stories of coming back from the abyss of depression and the edge of suicide and surviving. Until we can reach them all, we are not done. For this reason, Nicole, Carrie, Jason, David, and I have started Not One More Vet (non-profit status pending). On that page, we have resources available for anyone in the midst of a mental health crisis. There is also a location on the web page for veterinarians to register to join the Facebook group, as well as links to Your Daily Dose, our self care blog, and ways to contact us for speaking engagements, donation information, or general questions.

A fellow veterinarian was given this “Veterinary Survival Kit” along with the mentioned items after speaking to a middle school class!

 

If you are a pet owner and appreciate your veterinarian, please let them know! Some days we go from a euthanasia to a new puppy appointment to a giving devastating news to a family to a sick animal that just needs a little extra help to get better. We do our best to be positive and support you. We may not be able to say it, but sometimes, we (and our support staff) need your support, too. A hug, a smile, a kind word, or even some chocolate or fruit can go a long way.

Are you a veterinarian or have a loved one that is a veterinarian that you think may need help? Please contact us. We would love to help and serve you!

Return Mission to Mongolia

I am happy to announce that I will be returning to Mongolia with Christian Veterinary Missions to train and mentor veterinarians in their small animal clinic in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city. I purchased my airline tickets this morning and will now start the journey of preparing my mind and soul, and raising the funds to travel.

Golden Eagle in Flight

My last mission to Mongolia in 2014 was a life changing experience. I left a portion of my heart in Mongolia with the loving people and the vast, amazing landscape of the countryside.

When I returned from Mongolia in 2014, I unexpectantly was removed from my job, but that provided me with the amazing push to start my own business, Renewed Strength Veterinary Services.  A lot has changed for me in the last 2 years, but thankfully, I am a stronger, and hopefully better person than I was before.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I move forward on this journey.

If you are interested in supporting this mission or would like more information, please let me know. You may also go to the “Mission to…” page on this blog to learn how to donate. Please, take a moment to leave a message of missions you have been on or how someone has been a blessing in your life.

Thank you and God bless you!

Feces occurs

Last night, after spending the day with one of my best friends, her son, and new baby and then the evening with my sister and two of my nephews, I learned of a colleagues ultimate horror. The loss of her mother, unborn child, and husband all within 6 weeks. I can’t imagine the pain or how to get through it all without wanting to die along with them. Another colleague, David, has posted in his blog the words that I could not come up with. Thank you, David.

Life Along the Edge

A woman I don’t even know and almost certainly will never meet, a veterinary colleague who is part of a Facebook group to which I belong, has had unspeakable tragedy. Six weeks ago she lost her mom. Four weeks ago, she had a miscarriage. As I write this, only hours ago her husband was killed in a bike accident.

What do you say to someone to whom this has happened? Maybe they should have just forwarded that damn meme and Jesus would have blessed them?

Why is life so un-fucking-fair? Visit any pediatric cancer center and you’ll ask yourself that question in your sleep. Times like this I am glad I am not a pastor. Not that I haven’t thought about it. I think I am empathetic enough and the world needs more non-judgmental spiritual leaders. On the other hand the world definitely does not need a foul mouthed, whiskey…

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Are you prepared for an emergency?

As the USA, and other parts of the world, are dealing with storms, flooding, and so much more, are you prepared for an emergency?

If you have seconds or minutes to seek shelter in a tornado or minutes to hours to seek higher ground in floods, do you have a plan?

Is your cat amenable to being grabbed and taken into a storm shelter? Can you get your cat into a carrier or on a harness and leash in under 60 seconds?

Is your dog acclimated to being in large groups? Is your dog reactive to the sight, smell, or sound of other dogs?

Do you have copies of your animal’s vaccine and medical history?

Being prepared is not just knowing where to meet in case of a fire or natural disaster.

Notice she is wearing a harness and leash and is in her carrier.

What do you need to be prepared for your pets?

• Have copies of documents:
  • vaccination history, including current rabies certificate
  • medical and surgical history
  • microchip number (make sure your information is up to date and have an out of the area contact number as well)
  • veterinarian’s name, address, and phone number
  • municipality or state license or other identification
  • if your pet is a service animal, have your documentation for that as well
• Extra food and water in portable containers. Don’t forget the bowls, too!
• Medications
  • Heartworm and flea/tick prevention
  • Prescription medication
  • Over the counter medications that your veterinarian has recommended (such as for allergic reactions)
  • Don’t forget toothbrush and pet toothpaste (You are brushing your pet’s teeth every day, right?)
• Easily accessible leashes, carriers/crates, collars or harnesses
• A plan for a location to go to that accepts pets, and know to locations of veterinarians near-by

What can you do to prepare your pets?

• Take the time to train your cat to wear a harness and leash and to load into a carrier, may mean the difference between life and death or having to leave your fuzzy friend behind.
• Train your dog to wear a basket muzzle. Some emergency shelters will not allow dogs without a muzzle due to the risk of injury to people and other animals. A basket muzzle, allows the dog to eat, drink, pant, and prevents the dog from biting or eating things that are not meant to be eaten. This is most important for dogs that are reactive to the sight, sound, or smell of other dogs. Remember that even the most mild-mannered dog may snap and bite when in a stressful and chaotic situation.
• Acclimate your pets to car rides, or be prepared for vocalization, vomiting, and general dislike of the trip for everyone.
• You may even want to consider getting a life vest flotation device for your dog, and get him or her used to wearing it, especially for short nosed breeds such as pugs, French bulldogs, bulldogs, boxers, etc.

These are just a few ways to help protect yourself and your furry family members in the case of an emergency. Do you have any tips or recommendations to share? A story about an emergency evacuation or natural disaster and how it effected your family?